Byeri Reliquary Guardian

The cult of ancestors is based on the relationship between the offering of the living to the deceased and the protection of the deceased to the living. Some of the most important mortal remains, mainly part of the skull and pieces of other bones, are kept in the reliquaries of the ancestors. It is usually the remains of the nearest ancestors. They are venerated at the same time that they are feared because they can be dangerous to the living, which is why it is advisable to place them under the tutelage of a protective spirit.

Among the Fang, village of hunters, each family owns a Byeri or box in which the relics of the most notable ancestors are preserved.

The so-called cult of Byeri o rite Melan It is a family ceremony that initiates neophytes in the cult of ancestors after purification ceremonies. Separates the Byeri from the box, the skull of the ancestors and young people is exposed by a hallucinogenic drug, the wing, come into contact with the ancestors and dance in their honor.

The Bad Named OneByerio Keeper of reliquary is not nor represents the ancestor, he is the guardian who guards his relics, pieces of skull essentially, with some small piece of other bones as well as some small personal object. It can be a simple head carved with a kind of stem or trunk, nlo byeri,which is inserted into the box or a true statue, eyema byeri, which is placed on the box of relics of vegetable bark and sometimes fibers called nsekh byeriThese reliquaries were preserved by the Esa, the oldest old man in the family. Fang sculptures are in most cases linked to the cult of Byeri, as guards of reliquary, they are. They usually represent men sitting down although there may also be female statues, with legs bent and torso elongated, hands together that sometimes hold a cup, and with stylized head features. Often, from the first moment of their manufacture they were introduced into a palm oil bath or periodically and profusely covered by this oil.

These sculptures, custodians or guardians of the reliquaries may, on certain occasions, be separated from their boxes of relics and be strolled through the village, in order to honor the deceased. For this purpose the statue is removed from its support and installed on a kind of platform based on braided straw to facilitate its transport during ritual wanderings. Sometimes, the Byeri They carry inlays of copper or brass, mainly Cameroonians, which gives them a bright look and at the same time their brightness alienates potential enemies and forces from evil.

      The initiation into the cult of byeri involves a whole series of purifying rites that neophytes receive in a closed enclosure. For hours, in a trance, they sing and dance after having drunk “elan” hallucinogenic plant that helps them to the trance during which they come into contact with the ancestors of those who receive life - advice and slogans that they must transmit to older ones. Recovered from the trance enter the sanctuary where the byeriwhere they recite this prayer:

“You, Father, who never die,

That you will never know death,

And whose breath is always alive,

Without ever suffering the cold of sleep,

All your children are back here,

They're attached around you.

Cover them with your strength, O father,

Penetrate them with your shadow,

You, Father, who never die,

You, father of our lineage! According to R.P. Trilles 1912

The figure we present is a Fang Mabea The sculpture represents an ancestor, without a doubt the owner of the relics that are in the box. The statue has iron rings on its legs and brass plates on its breasts and eyes. The rather black patina does not conform to the first reddish-coloured Mabea statues. The clavicular cavity characteristic of this category of statues is also missing. The headdress and mouth with pointed teeth respond to the canons of ethnicity.