Former Byeri

Among the Fang each family has a “byeri“ or box of relics in which part of the skull and other bones of the most notable ancestors or ancestors are preserved. These lockets were preserved by the That one.The oldest old man in the family. Fang sculptures are mostly dedicated to the Byeri cult..The Byeri is a cult intended for illustrious ancestors to invoke their protection. These sculptures, custodians or guards of reliquary, can be strolled through the village in order to honor the deceased. For this purpose the statue is removed from its support and then installed on a kind of platform or base ofbraided straw for better transport during ritual wanderings. Outside ceremonies are kept in family altars. In many of them a posterior stem allowed the figure to be inserted into the hole practiced in the lid of the relic box, made of barks.These statues, like heads, are often anointed with palm oil.Byeri reliquaries also participate in the initiation rites of young people.

This figure as an ancestor of Eyema Byeri reliquary represents an illustrious woman sitting on a cylindrical stool and her hands resting on her knees. The cover of the locket represents a female ancestor. The beard of the woman is a sign of dignity and authority, which marked age and rank. Very old statue with an abundant patina sacrificial, lost in part by the course of time.