The idiom of war in the Bamum court arts

African Studies Center Working Paper No. 51INTRODUCTION: It is a widely acknowledged concept in the analysis of art traditions that in many instances the visual and verbal arts are purveyors of ideological beliefs. They may become tools in the persuasive efforts to express sets of beliefs and theories, to explain and to popularize them. As an excellent vehicle for communication, the visual and verbal arts can thus be highly inspired by the ideology of their creators, their commissioners, or both. It is the aim of this paper to show how this intimate relationship materializes itself in the visual and verbal domains in a West African kingdom, the Bamum State located in the Grass fields of Cameroon. I will examine this relationship in one specific sphere, the realm of warfare and conquest. [TRUNCATED

On legal change in Cameroon: women, marriage, and bridewealth

African Studies Center Working Paper No. 11