Tribal Art

The African art of the Byeri cult is illustrated by various anthropomorphic sculptures acting as "guardians" and embodying the ancestor.
A piriform face carried by a stretched morphology distinguishes this sculpture. The reduced arms, compressing the chest, form a block freeing the abdomen. Geometric legs extend from narrow bulbous hips. Shiny black patina. Erosions.
The boxes containing the relics of illustrious ancestors were guarded by the oldest man in the village, the "esa". Surmounted by a statue or a head that acted as guardian of the "byeri" boxes, they were stored in a dark corner of the hut, supposed to divert evil influences towards someone else. They were also used during initiation ceremonies for young people linked to the "So" society. During festivals, the statues were separated from their boxes and carried in parade.
The peoples known as the Fang, or "Pahouins", described as conquering warriors, invaded by successive leaps, from village to village, the entire vast region between the Sanaga in Cameroon and the Ogooué in Gabon, between the 18th and the beginning of the 20th century.