Victus Libri-classic-african Art

by Alexis Maxime Feyou de Happy

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2008 AMF DE H

PURPLE GRAIL

CLASSIC AFRICAN ART AS VICTUS LIBRI (LIVING ARCHIVE) BY ALEXIS MAXIME FEYOU DE HAPPY VOL. I FANG STATUARY AND THE FORGOTTEN MASTERS

My first encounter with Fangs took place around 1966-67, when my mother and I visited a Fang village in Southern Cameroon1. I was immediately impressed by their vibrancy, their joie de vivre, and most of all their frank expression of reality. As a young man I was charmed by the grace of Fang maidens. But it was at Seminary Santa Theresa, Yaoundé (Cameroon) in 1975-78, that I truly had the opportunity to learn Fang culture. I was also privileged to know Fang students, who were my classmates in Yaoundé. At the Seminary, students were encouraged to explore their environment and to question the things they did not understand: 1

The author’s father, Prince Joseph Feyou de Happy of Bana, was then the Prefect of Sanaga Maritime, southern district in Cameroon. He had total authority over Cameroon Fang country and other local communities, notably the last pygmy societies of Cameroon. It was a unique opportunity to immerse oneself in revealing aspects of a society in transition. It was also an opportunity to develop a genuine respect for other cultures.

we exchanged our experiences and debated ancestral values amongst cultures. My spiritual counselor2, Abbot Leon Messi (born Fang/Beti), was perhaps my most influential teacher. A writer and respected scholar he understood my thirst to learn3 and even made it his concern to teach me about all the plants in Fang’s countries. Abbot Messi studied in Rome in the early sixties and when he returned to Cameroon he devoted his time to the understanding of local culture. He was a professor of theology at Santa Theresa Seminary and was fluent in Latin and Greek, as were many of my classmates. His passion for Fang culture led him to write a book on Beti’s thought and our conversations on the subject were quite enlightening. The knowledge that I acquired then proved very helpful in understanding Fang sculpture. As I compared available data obtained from Western studies with those in Africa, a new appreciation on the different aspects of culture arose. Many factors have made it possible for me to transcend the mental barriers of slavery and colonialism in my analysis of Fang statuary and African art in general, including my dual-heritage (Euro-African or vice versa) and having studied in three continents (Africa, Europe and America), as well as having lived the African tradition to its core. In addition, I am fortunate enough to have a scholarly fatheri who made available to me at an early age the greatest Europeans writers and philosophers, and ensured that my siblings and I were taught by scholars and academics at home after school (for decades). I have been introduced to and conversant with the highest members of Bamileke secret societies, been privileged in France to exchange sound conversations with such eminent personalities as Bishop Lustiger and Abbot Pierre, who refined my understanding of Christianity—all this and more has given me a grateful artistic eye, liberated from all prejudices. CHAP. I ART OF THE SACRED 2

It was the seminary policy for student to be individually chaperoned by a spiritual counselor who served as their godfather in all matters of spiritually and intellectual upbringing 3 In 1976 Abbot Leon Messi gave the author St Thomas of Aquino Sum in French and began a discourse on general philosophy and its place in religion.

“There is always something new out of Africa!”4 wrote the notable Roman scholar, Gaius Plinius Secondus. Over a thousand years later, great masters of the cubist movement reintroduced African art to the world, not only affirming this platitude, but revealing new artistic forms born from the remnants of ancient schools of art of the African continent—delighting us once again with the beauty of pre-modern, modern, and post-modern art. What cubism borrowed from African art can be resumed in two words: deconstruction and reinterpretation. Of the former, Picasso comes to mind, of the latter Modigliani. Picasso used lines, chiseling and color juxtaposition to express an idea. Guernica5, his masterpiece on the Spanish wars fully demonstrated how a non-naturalistic medium can be used to carry a powerful message. We can understand here how the structural abstraction that is African art finds its reflection in cubism. We understand also the genius of modern artists who transcended the cloak of primitivism of which African art was veiled. Modigliani gathered from classic African art the expressive holiness of forms. The divine as understood by African master is a reality that exists in itself of which man can seized the substance only by contemplation. This is achieved through initiation, meditation and specific rites. All embedded in the subtle power of three-dimensional creations of which specific forms generate a sense of awe. Modigliani’s paintings with their somewhat elongated forms and narrow eyes, perhaps inspired by Senufo mask from present day Ivory Coast, though not religious pieces themselves succeed to evocate the same type of serenity (divine) found in African art. As we better appreciate this aspect of modern art we also learn to look at African art with a different eye, one oddly enough, though new, really closer to what masters of the classic period intended. The “Fang Byeri” style of African statuary, or fangism, is the nineteenth century quintessence of an artistic form that originally blossomed in Africa around the fourteenth century. No one knows the first carver who created the canonic style of African art, but we do know that the style is

4

Ex Africa semper aliquid novi (“there is always something new out of Africa”): expression of ancient Rome’s most notable scholar, known as Pliny The Elder, Gaius (or Caius) Plinius Secondus (c. AD23-AD 79). He was not only a scholar of great authority quoted for centuries, he was also a noted naval and military commander as well as a philosopher. He is most known for his 20 volumes on Germans Wars and his Naturalis Historia. 5 On April 26, 1937 during the Spanish civil war twenty eight German bomber descended on Guernica. The attack killed over 1,600 people.

devoted to the sacred: the celebration of African saints and ancestors of African liturgy is the heart of African statuary. This form of sculpture is so exceptional that all those who have taken the time to study it have been fascinated—if not forever hooked. However, in order to fully understand the power of Fang artistic form and to decipher—or perhaps decode—its meaning, we must first turn our attention to the people whose heritage bestowed upon us the illuminating masterpieces of nineteenth century Cameroon/ Gabon fang figures. FANG HISTORY Fang are the people living in the countries of Gabon and Southern Cameroon. Studies on the origin of Fang often trace the culture from the nineteenth century, suggesting that the Fang suddenly appeared, seemingly “out of nowhere” during this era. But between Cameroon and Congo there is a linguistic link that leads us to the Fang’s earlier origins. A famous scholar branded the term “Bantu”ii from this link, because it linguistically connected many cultures in Africa from the Nile to the Cap. The full implication of its meaning speaks to migrations that crisscrossed the entire African continent. It is from these migrations that the Fang found their way southward to their present location in Cameroon and Gabon. The creators of the famous Fang Byeri sculptures came from a tumultuous existence. Within just a few centuries, their continental journey brought them from Southern Cameroon to present day Gabon. That however, was merely the latter stage in an obscure history that has yet to be fully unraveled. As with many African societies, the Fang can be traced back to the Nile or North Africa. It is all a matter of time. Should you look at a twohundred year time frame, you have the Fang in Cameroon. Tracing their migration back five hundred years, the Fang are found in Lake Chad area. Go back further and they are in Fran by the oasis. Another five hundred years earlier and they may even be found in Europe6, according to an early French scholar. 6

Though the possible European origin of Fang has been rejected by Xavier it is not as farfetch as it may appear. There were indeed contacts between Europe and Africa. Around 875 AD, the emperor of the Franks sent an embassy to Kairouan. His goal was to obtain an alliance. The same emperor during this period also sent an embassy to Baghdad. It is therefore possible that as Trilles asserts there was a migration from North Africa (Tunisia) to the South. We know that Bamileke, Fang and other left Chad around

These are not always the same people of the same culture or race, however, because as with any population, over time new social and cultural elements enter. Since African civilizations seldom discriminate, a new member of society became a full member, regardless of race. There is a scholarly tendency to reject such ancestral richness and diversity because we want to isolate a people historically in one scope of time. However, African statuary and art, post-migration and pre-colonial, stands as evidence of the Fang’s willingness to embrace all peoples. At the source of these migrations was the Greek occupation of ancient Egypt. Romans followed the Greeks into Egypt, and later followed the Muslims. Around 500 BC a southward migration began in waves. Although the Greeks remained largely within ancient Egypt’s boundaries, the Roman invasion beginning around 50 BC extended to the heart of the continent. Roman centurions chased Garamantes rebelsiii all the way to Lake Chad. Recent archeological findings in western Cameroon show conclusive evidence of Roman presence. Greek and Romans were not racist; they were conquerors. There was full integration within the Roman army7 as long as one accepted citizenship. The conflict was political and territorial. Thus were created groupings of people that were culturally and racially mixed. Africans to this day, as we shall see, held great respect for their ancestors regardless of their “color.” The legacy of slavery and colonization completely obfuscated this aspect of African history, and the understanding of African art suffered tremendously as a result. Though the memory somewhat faltered after five centuries (classic African art as we know it today, at least what is left of it began around the tenth century AD), African art managed to keep alive a tradition of honor to the dead that saw no race or color barrier. Asians8, African or European ancestors found their place in the African pantheon. AFRICAN ART REVISITED

the sixteenth centuries AD. Lake Chad was the crossing point to the salt trade that connected North, East, West and Central Africa from for centuries) 7 A famous Caesar named Septimus Severus was bi-racial (African/Caucasian) and there were many African soldiers and officers in the Romans army as there were African in the upper class in Rome. 8 The most scholars have said about an Asian origin of Africans has been to mention a Middle East influence. It is indeed difficult to find the historical link here. However, the example of the Jewish African in southern Africa clearly showed how such a migration was possible.

Two centuries in limbo of what could be called “the cult of tribalism” almost denuded African art of its authenticity. The ostracism of institutional structures of the classic period not only blurred the understanding of African artistic expression, but also denied African artists any individuality whatsoever. Much has already been written about colonialism. The diatribe is generally political, with sporadic and timid attempts to address the moral issues. The genocidal spree that decimated the continent, where close to a million Bamileke were burned to ashes by French troops during the independence movement era, is barely addressed and often hidden. What is clear is that when historical evidence of such unfavorable acts of colonialism did appear, they were rejected for personal and/or political reasons. The mass killing was “officially” asserted to be a civil war. Eventually, a French pilot named Bardet found within him the courage to address the Bamileke genocide9 and published a book entitled OK Cargo, in which he compared the killing to Attila10 and confirmed that at least 400,000 people were murdered and three hundred villages burned to the ground. Sadly, the Bamileke massacre was not the exception in Africa. This speaks to an important aspect of humanity: the African tragedy is really the human tragedy. If humanity is the result of a complex and infinite soup of genes, any human that dies is a potential loss for all. When people 9

“Bardet was a helicopter pilot who took part in the military the military campaign between 1962 and 1964 in the Bamileke region. Bardet does not hesitate to use the word “genocide”, an officially planned scheme to physically eliminate an ethnic group. ..The genocide was followed by spreading fire on Bamileke possessions in other regions of the nation, Among those were the systematic burning of the Congo quarter in 1960 in Douala; the Madagascar and Briqueterie in Yaounde; the Nlobe and Tombell arson in Moungo regions…how many Bamileke perished in these planned and deliberate arsons is yet to be established…”Silvia Nagy, Edward W. Said., Sylvia N.-Zekmi, in Paradoxical Citizenship, Lexington Books, 2006, p.180. Read also Le Chemin de l’Unite by JosBlaise Alima and OK Cargo by Bardet. The Bamileke genocide continued until 1970 when it was stopped by the works of unsung heroes of the African tragedy. Other notable works includes Je Me Souviens de Ruben- Mon Temoignage Sur Le Maquis Camerounais (1953-1970) by Stephane Privali, Karthala, 2000 10 Attila the Huns (c. 448 AD) pierced the page of history with the brutality of his conquest over Europe notably the total destruction of Aquilea in Italy (raised to the ground). “The name Attila is associated with untold horrors and vandalism…” wrote George Horton, US Consul at Smyrna (Free republic, browse search. Smyrna 1922: The Destruction of a city, posted August 30, 2003, Destro). When in his book OK Cargo, one of the French officers involved in the Bamileke genocide compared what happened then to Attila, he was fully aware of the pungency of his words. How many times in world history were three hundred villages turned to ashes?

die en masse, it is humanity as a whole that is diminished, including the potential loss of select biological ingredients in humankind. When it comes to art, African art suffered great autodafe (burning of books during the inquisition) when it was burned in ancient Kongo following Portuguese invasion, despite conscientious Portuguese priests writing to the Pope and expressing their surprise that in Africa people not only understood the Bible, but also knew even more about theology than they expected. These cultural links, alas, are lost to us. We have to go back to history in order to relocate value and meaning. Ancient belief and knowledge had their value. The cultural heritage of Africa so admired by the Greeks was, and remains, important to all of civilization. In African Art, history matters not only as an epic narrative. It matters because it gives back to human civilization the wealth of a continent that saw in its bosom the continuous expression of human existence through its many tragedies as well as its triumphs. African art is truly a narrative in that it tells in forms and symbols the story of humanity. Indeed, the African continent has, through centuries and millennium, been the battleground of people and culture, as well as the playground of the gods. Before the artificial division of the colonial era Africa knew no frontier. Thus, several hundred thousand years ago, the descendants of Mitochondrial Eve11 moved freely from Africa to the rest of the world and back again. That great journey eventually blossomed into the global humanity as we know it today. But, the cultural balkanization of the continent that erupted out of the early twentieth century in effect created a “cancer” in the human family. An artificial notion of “the other” was created (colonialism and neo-colonialism). When it comes to art, this was tantamount to a lobotomy. The corpus of our commonality found itself excised and thrown into limbs of ignorance. We developed strange approaches to the understanding of the world. Thankfully, African art survived. It survived the autodafe and the “burning” of sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, when the new evangelists in perhaps the greatest cultural misunderstanding of world’s history rejected African Art, confusing it with ‘Evil worshippers’ paraphernalia’. It survived slavery and colonialism that forced millions of people to divorce from their culture. It also survived the destruction of African kingdoms and the carving 11

Mitochondrial Eve or Lucy has been proven by Mitochondrial DNA analysis to be the common ancestor to all people on earth. She lived between 300,000 and 200,000 years ago in East Africa.

of the continent that dismembered cultural entities. It survived because it was powerful and it was powerful because it carries within its artistic framework the testimony of humanity. This testimony, translated by inspired individuals that were not only talented but well educated in the history and culture of their people, lies today in our laps. It is well protected in world museums and private collections, the new guardians of this human legacy that is African Art.

i

HH Joseph Feyou de Happy published many books on Bamileke culture and history. He was the director of Cameroun’s National Institute of Education or INE (1978) and Vicepresident of Cameroon National Assemblee. He is the son of king Hapi Ptahfu of Bana, the last king (Foe, Feu, Fon, Phae) of Bamileke (d. 1981) ii

A term widely used today made popular by Belgian author Tempels in his famous book ‘Bantu Philosohpy’ published in 1962 by Presence Africaine. iii Garamantes were a mix population and they built great castles now uncover by archeological works. Romans described one garamantes prisoner as being “black as pitch”. Ivan Van Sertima, Golden Age of the Moor, Transaction Publicher, 1992