Fang Tumu from Equatorial Guinea.
AI Overview
The Fang are an ethnic group from Cameroon, Gabon, and Equatorial Guinea who carved wooden statues for ancestor worship. These statues, called byeri, are often depicted as naked male or female figures. They are believed to have special powers and are used in rituals to propitiate or divine. The Fang people also keep the bones of their ancestors in reliquary boxes called byeri, and place a byeri statue or angokh nlo head on top to guard them.
Here is some more information about Fang statues:
Significance
The statues are thought to symbolize ancestors and guard the relics they contain. They may also reflect Fang ideas about rebirth and death, as they combine infantile features with more mature ones.
Wealth
The statues and the skulls they protect were a source of strength, welfare, and social power for the Fang people.
Style
There are several stylistic currents of Fang art, including Ntumu, Betsi, Mabea, Okak, and Ngumba.
Decline
The art of the Fang reached its peak a century ago and has since almost disappeared.