|
Tribe Snapshots Fang |
| Location: |
Southern Gabon, Cameroon |
| Population: |
800,000 |
| Language: |
Equatorial Bantu |
| Neighboring
Peoples: |
Kwele, Lumbu, Teke |
| Types
of Art: |
The Fang are best known for their wooden reliquary
figures which are abstract anthropomorphic carvings.
There are a few in collections that are still
attached to the original relics they were meant
to protect. |
| History: |
The Fang migrated into their current area from
the northeast in recent centuries as small groups
or families of nomadic agriculturalists. Their
militant nature allowed them to sieze land from
their weaker neighbors as they moved in. |
| Economy: |
The rain forests surrounding the Fang must be
subjected to slash and burn techniques, combined
with crop rotation to yield agricultural products.
By moving crops from year to year, erosion and
soil depletion is avoided. The main crops grown
are plantains and manioc. Large knives are used
to clear the forests, and most of the cultivation
is done with a hoe. |
| Political
Systems: |
The peoples throughout this region of Gabon
share similar political systems. Each village
has a leader who has inherited his position based
on his relationship to the founding family of
that village. As a political leader, he often
serves as an arbitrator and is equally recognized
as a ritual specialist. This enables him to justify
his position of power based on his relationship
with the ancestors of the village. Each village
consists of bark houses arranged in a pattern
along a straight street, and the size of the village
is often determined by the resources available. |
| Religion: |
The traditional religion of Fang centered around
ancestors who are believed to wield power in the
afterlife as they did as living leaders of the
community. The skulls and long bones of these
men were believed to retain power and to have
control over the well-being of the family. Usually
the relics were kept hidden away from the uninitiated
and women. Wooden sculptures, known as reliquary
guardian figures, were attached to the boxes containing
the bones. Some believe that the figures are an
abstract portrait of the deceased individual,
while others argue that they serve to protect
the spirit of the deceased from evil. It must
be remembered, however, that it was the bones
themselves that were sacred, not the wooden figures,
thus there is no apparent contradiction in individuals
selling what in effect was the tombstone of their
ancestors for considerable profit to art dealers.
During migrations the relics were brought along,
but the reliquaries were often left behind. |
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