The old sculptural arts of the Bulu of south Cameroon

ethno-anthropological perspectives on statues and masks

Abstract

This article examines a collection of ape-like wooden sculptures, probably originating from the artistic tradition of the ancient Bulu people of southern Cameroon. Collected in the 1970s, these objects—anthropo-zoomorphic statues, busts, and skull masks—are of particular interest due to the disappearance of the ritual institutions that traditionally governed their production. The study aims to determine their cultural provenance and symbolic function by drawing on Beti-Bulu-Fang oral tradition, the testimonies of contemporary artisans, and anthropological and historical literature.

The results indicate that the Bulu philosophical-spiritual system, in which gorillas (ngui) and chimpanzees occupy a central place, structures the meanings of these sculptures. Considered as ancestral figures, mediators between the visible and invisible worlds, and archetypes of power, great apes constitute a privileged vocabulary for sacred objects linked to the ngi/ngil and melan rites. Recurring characteristics—abdominal cavities for relics, phallic prominence, human-ape hybridisation, use of raffia—corroborate their ritual significance, particularly in the fight against witchcraft, protection, healing, fertility, and rites related to childhood.

However, the cultural proximity between the Beti, Bulu and Fang peoples, as well as the effect of Christianisation and contemporary commercial production, complicates their definitive classification. Despite these limitations, a cross-analysis of sources suggests that these sculptures bear witness to a Bulu religious imagination centred on primates as essential spiritual figures.