Camerún

This mask, due to its shape, resembles the head of a turtle or a frog. The need for protection or help, the concern for increasing their power, leads the men of the Grasslands to ally themselves with animals, with the forces of nature and the cosmos. The Pi is a person's animal double. It lives in the forest but participates in the life of the man whose Pi it is. The holders of a Pi gather in societies organised according to the chosen animal. These societies are different from the Mkem, but their members are the dignitaries who lead the Mkem and may have several Pi.

Provenance: Berthe Hartert-Kibabi, Belgium
Argiles Collection, Barcelona