Imbakiyam, voice of the Sô emergence

Imbakiyam

Source term: bull-roarer

Swung at the sortie de l'ésanso — the emergence from the esam sô, the initiation lodge — this rhombe, Imbakiyam, voiced the moment a Mangisa boy came back a man. In the great Beti rite of Sô, candidates were driven into a forest sanctuary, beaten, made to crawl through thorns, and ritually "buried"; months later, painted white, they circled home reborn. The roarer's droning cry belonged to that threshold, a men's mystery sealed against women and the uninitiated, from the Lékié forests around Sa'a.

sortie de l'ésanso

exit/emergence from the ésanso

Musée du quai Branly - Jacques Chirac, 71.1931.74.2802

Particulars

Object

Mangisa rhombe from Sa'a, local name Imbakiyam (Quai Branly 71.1931.74.2802).