African Art Kirdi Shield

Ref: ao-271Height 87 CMWidth: 55 CMProduct DescriptionKirdi iron shield from Cameroon. Old and used piece over 70 years old. The Kirdis are an ethnic group from northern Cameroon, so called pejoratively by the Islamized populations (Fuldé and Mandaras) then by Western settlers.Kirdi is a name resulting from the local deformation of the name “Kurds” which pejoratively designates “heathens” as opposed to the faithful of Islam. In the mountains of Cameroon from the region of Garoua to Mora we find a wide variety of non-Muslim ethnic groups who over the past 60 years have converted in scattered orders to Islam or the Catholicism of the missionaries. The main ethnic group, the mafa, practice a form of monotheism tinged with animism, with a single creator god cohabiting with spirits. The first written mention of the word "kirdi" in Western literature appears in Major Denham's travelogue (1826).Kirdi iron shield from Cameroon. Old and used piece over 70 years old. The Kirdis are an ethnic group from northern Cameroon, so called pejoratively by the Islamized populations (Fuldé and Mandaras) then by Western settlers. Kirdi is a name resulting from the local deformation of the name “Kurds” which pejoratively designates “heathens” as opposed to the faithful of Islam. In the mountains of Cameroon from the region of Garoua to Mora we find a wide variety of non-Muslim ethnic groups who over the past 60 years have converted in scattered orders to Islam or the Catholicism of the missionaries. The main ethnic group, the mafa, practice a form of monotheism tinged with animism, with a single creator god cohabiting with spirits. The first written mention of the word "kirdi" in Western literat