Helmet of a warrior from Cameroon

The headgear consists of a frame made from bamboo covered with rigid leather and dark brown bristles. The conical shape of the helmet slightly resembles a lobster-tailed pot helmet (European type open helmet). The back part is longer, the front shorter and the sides are stepped. There is a marked thickening running through the centre of the helmet – a natural furrow, where the bristles are slightly raised.

It is a warrior's helmet of Bakundu ethnic group, classified as Bantu people of the north-west group, living in the present borderland of Cameroon and Nigeria, including in the delta area of the river Kalabar (Calabar). The headgear is made of the scalp of the Cross River Gorilla (Gorilla Gorilla Diehli) and served as an element of warrior gear / war clothing.

The item from the collection of Seweryn Udziela Ethnographic Museum in Krakow was acquired in the course of research in the areas along the coast of Cameroon, north-west of Mount Cameroon. The helmet is one of the most interesting elements from Stefan Scholz-Rogoziński's collection of almost 300 objects. Rogoziński, initiator and director of The First Polish Field Trip to Africa between 1882-1885, gathered an invaluable and extensive ethnographic collection. It reflects mainly the material culture of the Douala and the neighbouring ethnic groups at a time when these lands were of interest to Germany and the United Kingdom - the future great colonial powers.