Nativity from Cameroon

“The Republic of Cameroon, located on the western coast of Central Africa, is known as “Africa in Miniature” due to its cultural and geological diversity. The population is made up of over 200 different ethnic groups, with the main religious faiths being Christianity, Islam, and indigenous religions based in animism. The natural landscape includes mountains, deserts, rainforests, savannas, and coastline.

An artisan working for the Presbyterian Handicraft Center in Cameroon (Prescraft), a project of the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon, created this seventeen-piece Nativity. The hand-formed clay pieces are fired and then dipped in a solution containing eucalyptus to produce a glaze with a dark bronze-like patina. The animals in this Nativity include a sheep, camels, and distinctive zebu cattle.

Rev. Dr. Hans Knopfli, a Swiss missionary, began Prescraft in the early 1960s. Crafts are sold within Cameroon, and also exported to a variety of fair trade organizations in America and Europe. Prescraft’s mission is to preserve the indigenous arts and crafts of the region by helping artists “access fair, transparent, sustainable markets in order to generate income and social programming that improves their lives and their communities.” (Ed and Kirsten Gyllenhaal, label text, “World Nativities 2020”)