Wooden Statues of Mumuye

　　　　
　　　 Contents　　　　　　
　　　　　　　　　　　　　
　African arts
　
Ⅰ　Roles of wooden statues
　
　Ⅱ　 From occult arts to 　
　　 fine arts
　
Appendix
African masks

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　
　　　 My Profile　
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　
　　SASAGUCHI　Takeru
　 (surname)

　　　
　　 born in １９４０ in Japan
　　　
Ambassador to UNESCO　　

　　Ambassador to Cameroon
　　
Ambassador to Portugal　　

　　　
　　(since Jan. 2004)

President of the Institute of

Cultural Studies

Mail: yg5t-ssgc@asahi-net.or.jp

Welcom to my Site！

In this site , I would present some photographs of traditional wooden statues of Mumuye tribe in Nigeria. I collected those wooden statues in the neighboring country Cameroon where I was stationed as japanese Ambassador from 1995 till 1998.

African arts

Ⅰ　　Roles of wooden Statues

In the Mumuye tribe, the rhythms and disciplines of daily life have been governed
by traditional ceremonies in which masks who symbolizes the spirit power of
ancestors played major parts, while wooden statues are placed in a sanctury or in
houses of men of influence, and have been used for the purpose of medical
treatment, rain-making rituals, curses, prayers for harvest etc.

Frankly speaking, I am not sure what kind of roles each wooden statue as shown in
this site played in the prayer of Mumuye tribe. Nevertheless, I can feel, for instance
from the statue D, a kind of strength which may accept a prayer of victory, and from the
ststue A, a aura of the vast and strong power of medical treatment or curse. On the
other hand, from the statue B, C and E, we feel an affection which will accept a
prayer for comfortable daily life. As for the statue F, though its face is quite small
and simplified, with eyes, nose and mouth which give an imprssion that they were
shaped by pricks of a gimlet, the statue has some sort of dignity which shows that
it was an object of a devout prayer. 　

Comparatively small (20～40cm) statues as J, K, L, M are often regarded as being
made to pay a tribute to the memory of the dead in each family.

　Ａ：　ｈ（高さ）．　１１４ｃｍ　

　　Ｂ：　ｈ．　１１１ｃｍ　

Ｃ: 　ｈ．　１０２ｃｍ　

　Ｄ：　ｈ．　１５６ｃｍ

　　　　　　Ｅ：　ｈ．　１５２ｃｍ　

　　Ｆ：　ｈ．　１１６ｃｍ　　　　　　

　J ：　ｈ．　53ｃｍ

K：　ｈ．　47ｃm

Ｌ：　ｈ．　３４ｃｍ

Ｍ：　ｈ．　３４ｃｍ

　Ⅱ　　From occult arts to fine arts　　　　　　　　

Statues used for magic rituals of the Mumuye tribe were made in shape of holy spirits 　
( which might be commingled with the soul of ancestors), while a number of ordinary
statues are made in shape of a human being or an animal.
Statues of Mumuye with ther extremely simplified faces, long cylinder-shaped bodies,
twisted arms and pedestal-like lower half of the bodies show a kind of model, imaged
by mumuyes, of holy spirits who are not human beings nor animals but spiritual
existences with supernatural power.
The date of the production of each statue is generally not known exactly. But as to
the statues shown here, it may be possible to classify them, in order of the date of
production judging from their forms or touches of carving, into three groups of
Group A,B,C, Group D,E,F and Group G,H, I.
In the period when A, B, C were carved, statues seem to be carved with tools not
so sharp, but with a sensitivity and imagination so fertile of carvers. In D, E, F we
can observe, in principle, same sensitivity and imagination. But we can also feel some
sort of refining in carving skill which may be a result of an inflow of modern
tools from the outside world with which mumuyes came into contact since late
19th century.
G, H, I show this tendency more strongly. We can feel that, accompanied with
improvement of carving skill and influx of new culture from outside, interests in the
magico-religious existence behind statues are being replaced little by little, in the
sensitivity of the mumuye carvers of statues , by interests in the artistic finishing of
statues themselves.　　I am not sure whether this tendency is common to modern
carvers of mumuye in general, or if it appeared by chance to the carvers of the
statues G, H, and I.
But it seems that, from the viewpoint of tools, skill and sensitivity, carvers of
mumuye will not any more carve not only pieces like A, B and C with such naive
touches but also even D, E and F. It may be worth watching as an example of a
change brought to arts by the modernization of tools and sensitivity.

　　　　　　G：　ｈ．　１２２ｃｍ　

　　H：　ｈ．　１２５ｃｍ　　　　　　

　I：　ｈ. １０６cm 　

Appendix

African masks

Articles prsented here are african masks which I bought on the way to collect mumuye
statues. As I bought all of them in Cameroon, I am not sure which country some of them come from. Masks M１, M２, M３ and M４ may be from some west african countries like Nigeria, Niger or Mali, while M５, M６, M７ and M8 are from Cameroon.
On the head of M２ is a figure of a crow. The beard of M３ is made of withered grass. 　 M４ wears a hair ornament of cowries. M５ is a type to put on the head of wearer. M６ and M7 are a couple of male and female.　Ｍ６ and M7　are produced recently not for ceremony but as works of art, while their traditional form and colour is just as M8. The mask M8 shown here is a miniature made for tourists. The traditional size of this type is usually as big as that of M6 and M7.　