Headdress
Description
This headdress has an ingenious built-in storage system: it can be flipped inside out to encase the feathers within a rigid woven structure, protecting them during storage or travel. Hundreds of red tail feathers from the grey parrot (Psittacus erithacus) decorate this disk-shaped headdress. Only the king, some high-ranking individuals, and members of the all-male elephant society—known in different languages as Kuosi, Nekang, or Kem-ndze—wore this prestigious headgear at ceremonies and funerals. Typically, the headdress was worn pushed slightly back from the hairline. When used by members of the elephant society, it was accompanied by a cloth and glass bead mask (mbap mteng) in the shape of that animal, such as 1985.1082.
Object Information
Date Created:
1900s
Local ID:
2007.181
Credit Line:
Sundry Purchase Fund
Dimensions:
Diameter: 90 cm (35 7/16 in.)
Materials:
African gray parrot feathers, wood, plant fiber, probably cotton, string, and colorant
Cultural Attribution:
Bamileke-style maker
Rights:
Public Domain
