Chamba Power Figure, Southern Benue River Area, Nigeria.

Description: Item: Chamba Power Figure. Size: 25.5 x 6 x 7.5 cm. Medium: Carved wood & pigment. Origin: Southern Benue River Area, Nigeria (see cultural and contextual notes below.) ShippingAfrican Origins ship dozens of international orders every week to every corner of the globe. We generally use Australia Post, a reliable, economic and fast service which also features online tracking. For multiple orders weighing over five kilograms we ship or via International Air Courier which also features online tracking. Please feel free to contact us directly with your country and zip code if you have any questions or special requirements regarding shipping or wish to obtain a quote for shipping to your area. We are happy to calculate combined postage quotes for multiple items. ReturnsAfrican Origins sells hand-made tribal objects which have been used, in some cases, for many, many years. We ask that you carefully study the photographs relating to each object prior to committing to purchase. In the event that you are unhappy with your purchase for any reason, we accept returns within thirty days of purchase date. About African Origins African Origins has been trading online since 2007. We are constantly on the look-out for interesting objects to add to our collection. Our tribal collection is sourced from tribal dealers, auction houses private collections the world over and also collected in the field. Where possible, we will specify the provenance of important individual tribal objects. Feedback The continued success of African Origins depends on positive feedback. If you are happy with your purchase, please leave positive feedback and we will do the same for you. If you are not happy, please contact us first before leaving negative feedback and we will do all within our power to rectify the problem. Please note that unless specified otherwise, no item from the African Origins shop comes together with a display stand. This includes objects that have a display stand visible in the images that accompany the listing. The Chamba, whose number today is estimated at 20,000, live south of the Benue River. They are socially divided into small centralized kingdoms, each headed by a king assisted by a council of elders whose powers are regulated by male and female secret societies. The Chamba kings are also assisted by royal women who serve as queens. After circumcision, young boys received an initiation that included the teaching of secrets. Each clan kept the skulls of ancestors, who were responsible for the prosperity and fertility of the lineage. Besides celebrating the ancestors, the vara cult celebrated the tutelary spirit, a personification of the first mala, or the paternal aunt of the chief. At the time of the masked celebration, she appeared in public, as well as at the funerals of members of the lineage; she would dress in the guise of a masked man in a fiber costume. The Chamba use a type of mask that symbolizes a bush spirit. The mask has a rounded head with a flattened open mouth and two large backward-sloping horns. From the helmet a muzzle projects forward and horns project backward in a single horizontal plane. The hemispherical dome of the Chamba mask is related to death, for it is said to be like a skull, an ancestral relic taken from the grave of an elder. Other features are related to the wilderness: the open jaws are the jaws of the crocodile, the horns are those of the forest buffalo. The wearer looks through an opening between the two jaws. The mask is linked to dangerous forces. These masks are either female (painted black) or male (painted red). The female mask is often explained as a reminder of their origin. According to the story, a young buffalo/beautiful girl removed its animal skin to take a bath. A passerby saw her, hid the skin, and married the girl. These masks perform at rites of passage: circumcision, chiefs' installations, and diverse funerals. They express the powers and dangers of the bush, where they are stored and from which dancers come, as well as the conjunction of these powers with the spirits of the dead. Chamba figures are rare and their function uncertain. They are usually covered with an encrusted patina. One type of Chamba figure is thought to be a medium for communication with the spirit world. Small figures were used to cure or protect an individual from snake bites and were attached to iron spikes and inserted into the ground. There is originality in the way the arms are joined to the shoulders: the wide hands separated from the body are sometimes united by a base that cuts through the thighs, the feet reappearing below it. The geometric facial features contribute to an impression of power. Other powerful objects owned by Chamba clan organizations, are linked to their secret knowledge of remedies for illnesses and misfortunes. Among these highly charged works may be ceramics, brass figurines, and musical instruments. All are kept hidden in a bundle or under a large pot. The unseen presence of this sacred material transforms the pot or bundle into an altar, a place of contact between natural and supernatural worlds.

Price: 190 AUD

Location: Marlo

End Time: 2025-02-01T06:18:11.000Z

Shipping Cost: 25.33 AUD