Developed over the latter half of the twentieth century, this type of

Developed over the latter half of the twentieth century, this
type of hat is worn by traditional kings, or obas, to less
formal, secular occasions. Unlike the sacred beaded crown
with veil, a hat such as this one does not need to conform to
any ancient canons, so the maker can use his imagination
freely, inventing shapes, designs, and symbols. Contact with
foreign trading partners and British colonizers also inspired
new shapes and decorations, such as the fleur-de-lis,
flowers, and crosses, which were combined with traditional
faces, birds, zigzags, and interlace patterns. In this case, the
embroiderer has included Yoruba words around the hat’s
base meaning “your highness, the lord of Oke,” a salutation
to the ruler of a town called Oke.
During the pre-colonial period, the Cameroon Grasslands near Nigeria
were home to many small centralized kingdoms. Throughout the
region, hats were and continue to be particularly important prestige
items and symbols of identity: traditionally, slaves were forbidden to
cover their heads, while freemen were obliged to do so. Using a wide
array of materials, artisans create an astonishing variety of headgear.
Woven and dyed caps like this one have long been valued objects
distributed by rulers among important individuals and favorite clients.
This particular hat type is known as an ashetu and was constructed
using “knotless netting,” a looping technique thought to be among the
earliest textile processes. The bull’s-eye design at the top of this hat is a
common feature.
Unknown Yoruba artist, Nigeria
Royal Hat, Orikogbofo
Glass beads, cotton, thread
Gift of Budd Stalnaker, 2006.336
Unknown Pende artist, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Hat with Hornlike Projections, Misango Mayaka
Glass beads, fiber
Gift of Budd Stalnaker, 2006.362
Unknown Grasslands artist, Cameroon
Prestige Hat, Ashetu
Cotton, wood
Gift of Budd Stalnaker, 2006.328
This is another beaded hat that might be worn by an oba (traditional
king) when presiding over the activities of the court or when attending
other social occasions. As a former British colony, Nigeria has retained
vestiges of the British legal system, including the powdered wigs that
are still worn by members of the judiciary as part of their official attire.
This hat’s overt imitation of a barrister’s wig reminds onlookers that
the power of the oba always transcends the secular power of the state
(Arnoldi and Kreamer 1995, 47).
This hat, known as montolo, was made to be worn by an Ekonda
chief, or nkumu, in the African equatorial forest. This example shows
its typical form, a multi-tiered fiber cylindrical hat, decorated in the
front with a burnished brass disk. The disk not only enhances the hat
visually, but also emphasizes the prominence and wealth of its owner.
In the Grasslands, prestigious headgear frequently features
elements of the wilderness. Feathers are ideal, as they can
be found in a variety of sizes, lengths, and hues. A hat such
as this one might have been worn by palace dancers for
celebrations and funerary ceremonies. This type of hat’s
design is particularly innovative: the mesh cap to which the
feathers are secured can be turned inside out, pulling the
feathers inside its woven base and protecting them when
the hat is not being worn.
Unknown Grasslands artist, Cameroon
Prestige Hat
Feathers, jute
Gift of Budd Stalnaker, 2006.324
Within the Kuba Kingdom, elite individuals traditionally competed
over positions of power, signaling their upward mobility by
commissioning local artisans to produce elegant prestige items.
Worn by a senior male titleholder, a hat covered with intricately
beaded designs such as this one is called kalyeem and is among the
most visible signs of power and authority. As signs of leadership and
symbols of cultural identity, these hats’ importance has remained
constant throughout the twentieth century, even among men who
have chosen to adopt Western styles of dress.
Unknown Yoruba artist, Nigeria
Royal Cap in the Form of a Barrister’s Wig, Orikogbofo
Glass beads, cotton, thread
Gift of Budd Stalnaker, 2006.368
The Mandara Mountains, which lie along the northern part of the
Nigeria-Cameroon border, are home to numerous small, lineage-based
societies known collectively as the Kirdi, a label given to them by their
Muslim neighbors that translates roughly as “pagan.” In spite of their
relative isolation in the mountains, the Kirdi have historically been
connected to regional and international trade networks. This is clearly
illustrated by the beads, buttons, plastic pen case, and coin used to
make this hat.
A hat like this one might have been worn by a young woman as she
celebrated the harvest, paying tribute to the ancestors in a ceremony
of feasts and dancing while adorned with metal bracelets, beaded
necklaces, and calabash leg rattles.
Though made by the Pende, beaded bicorn hats such
as this are also traded to neighboring groups such as
the Yaka and Suku. Among the Yaka, the hat’s horns
symbolize leadership due to their association with the
buffalo, the largest of African bovines. Glass beads, such
as the bright blue and red ones covering this hat’s surface,
came into the area from Czechoslovakia beginning in the
early twentieth century.
The montolo is the key element of chiefly regalia, serving as a badge
of office and sign of authority. It is presented to the nkumu after a
lengthy preparatory process and at the end of an elaborate installation
ceremony. If a new nkumu is the first in his line to hold the office, he
must purchase his own montolo; in the case of succession, he inherits
that of his deceased predecessor. Once he has taken office, the new
nkumu can no longer be seen in daylight with an uncovered head.
Upon his death, the montolo is removed from the nkumu’s head and
kept by the elders until a successor takes his place.
Unknown Ekonda artist, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Chief’s Hat, Montolo
Fiber, pigment, brass
93.3
Hats such as this one were historically worn by members of the
Lega people’s Bwami Association. Formerly, all adult men belonged
to Bwami, a multi-level organization that was a source of political,
moral, social, economic, and spiritual authority. This hat may have
been intended for a Bwami member; however, features such as its
uniform patination suggest that it could also have been made for sale
to outsiders.
The typical kalyeem is cone-shaped and formed from thick coils of
raffia, then covered with woven raffia or cotton cloth, upon which
are sewn beads, shells, and sometimes feathers. The cowrie-covered
panels flowing from this hat’s top are a fairly common feature, while
the cylindrical form at its peak makes it somewhat distinctive.
Bwami hats are generally cone-shaped, made of plaited fiber decorated
with various attachments, and held in place by a strap fixed to the
sides and passed under the chin. The specific attachments indicate
the hat owner’s rank within Bwami. Mollusk shells, such as those
on this hat, refer to the second highest Bwami rank. The most
significant feature of this hat, though, is the elephant tail at its apex,
which refers to the highest rank. The combination of mollusk shells
and elephant tail on this hat is somewhat unorthodox and may be
another indication that this hat was made for sale (Elisabeth Cameron,
personal communication, 2014).
Unknown Kuba artist, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Hat, Kalyeem
Fiber, cowrie shells, beads
Gift of Budd Stalnaker, 2006.383
Unknown Lega artist, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Hat, Mukuba
Fiber, buttons, shells, cloth, reed, elephant tail
Gift of Budd Stalnaker, 2006.363
Unknown Kirdi artist, Cameroon
Girl’s Cap
Glass beads, buttons, pen case, metal, fiber
Gift of Budd Stalnaker, 2006.374
Designed to be worn by a Dogon hunter in Mali, hats such as this
one symbolize the hunter’s role as a bridge between the civilized
village and the savage bush. Their attachments are visual reminders
of the hunters’ powers over the wilderness, and they offer spiritual
protection for the hunters who wear them. The bush is a forbidding
realm, inhabited by dangerous animals and spirits. It is also the
source of all wisdom, knowledge, power, and everything that makes
life possible. The successful hunter must possess superhuman skills
and be able to overpower his prey using spiritual means. Items taken
from the natural environment—especially those from the untamed
bush, such as the claws and curling strips of leather attached to this
hat—evoke and harness the power of the wilderness and the animals it
contains. Similar hats are worn by the hunters of related ethnic groups,
including the Mande peoples, throughout the Western Sudan.
Further Reading
Abiodun, Rowland. “Verbal and Visual Metaphors: Mythical Allusions in Yoruba Ritualistic Art
at Ori.” Word and Image, no. 3 (1987): 252-70.
Arnoldi, Mary Jo, and Christine Mullen Kreamer. 1995. Crowning Achievements: African
Arts of Dressing the Head. Los Angeles: Fowler Museum of Cultural History, University of
California.
Beier, Ulli. 1982. Yoruba Beaded Crowns: Sacred Regalia of the Olokuku of Okuku. London:
Ethnographica, in association with the National Museum, Lagos.
Unknown Dogon or Mande artist, Mali
Hunter’s Hat
Cotton, leather, claws
Gift of Budd Stalnaker, 2006.387
Unknown Baule artist, Côte d’Ivoire
Chief’s Hat
Velvet, cardboard, gold leaf
Gift of Budd Stalnaker, 2006.334
African Hats
Biebuyck, Daniel, and Nelly Van den Abbeele. 1984. The Power of Headdresses: A CrossCultural Study of Forms and Functions. Brussels: Tendi.
Caps such as this one, made of deep red imported velvet and studded
with gold ornaments, are worn by Baule dignitaries to display their
wealth, communicate symbolic messages, and evoke the protection
of ancestors and former kings. Though some hats have solid gold
attachments, this one is adorned with pieces of carved wood covered in
gold leaf. These attachments depict the human face, a common subject
in Baule goldwork, and symbols related to leadership. The rectangular
ornaments incised with crisscrossing lines are visually similar to a
common gold bead that represents a bamboo screen, a reference to a
leader’s responsibility and knowledge: as the screen “sees” both inside
and outside the room, so must a leader know what is happening both
within his village and beyond it (Walker 2010, 68). The elephant on
the top is especially fitting: among the Baule, the leader’s preeminence
and power is equated to that of the elephant, as expressed by the
proverb “He who follows the elephant is not touched by the dew.”
According to oral tradition, Oduduwa, the maker of land and father of
the Yoruba, began the tradition of wearing the veiled, beaded crown,
or adenla, to represent kingship and restricted its ownership to his
descendants. That tradition continues today, as beads are the chosen
emblems of the gods, and ownership of beaded items is reserved
primarily for kings.
Beaded crowns are first constructed by stretching wet starched cloth
over a wicker or cardboard cone-shaped frame. After this has dried in
the sun, the embroiderer may mold relief figures into the crown, such
as the elephant faces on this example, using shaped pieces of cloth
dipped in wet starch. To create the beaded designs, the embroiderer
tacks single-colored strands of beads onto the crown’s surface. He
chooses designs based on the desires of the king who commissioned
his work, filling in any remaining space with designs of his own
choosing (Beier 1982, 34).
Power, Passage, and Protection
Garrard, Timothy F. 1989. Gold of Africa: Jewellery and Ornaments from Ghana, Côte
d'Ivoire, Mali and Senegal in the Collection of the Barbier-Mueller Museum. Photographs by
Pierre-Alain Ferrazzini. Munich: Prestel.
Ross, Doran H. 1992. Elephant: The Animal and its Ivory in African Culture. Los Angeles:
Fowler Museum of Cultural History, University of California.
Walker, Roslyn Adele. 2010. The Arts of Africa at the Dallas Museum of Art. New Haven: Yale
University Press.
This brochure was produced in conjunction with Fantastic African Hats: Power, Passage, and
Protection, a display organized for Focalpoint in Indiana University Art Museum’s Raymond
and Laura Wielgus Gallery of the Arts of Africa, the South Pacific, and the Americas. On
display February 17 through May 24, 2015, Fantastic African Hats was organized by Brittany
Sheldon, 2014–15 graduate assistant for the arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas.
Writing: Brittany Sheldon
Editing: Madeline Grdina
Photography: Kevin Montague
Design: Eric Van Scoik
C
lothing is powerful. What we wear communicates our personalities, beliefs, and
origins. The twelve African hats discussed here are drawn from various places in
western and central Africa and offer insight into the shared and individual cultures from
which they came. Thoughtfully designed by skilled artisans, they evoke the themes
of power, passage, and protection and embody histories that cut across countries and
cultures within Africa and beyond.
These headdresses are creative expressions of the centuries-long trade relationships
between Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Europe, conveying the exchange of goods
and ideas in visual form and indicating the wealth and power of their owners. Many of
the materials used in their construction derive social, spiritual, and material value from
their historical use as currencies by traders crisscrossing the deserts of West and North
Africa and navigating the rivers of central Africa. Metals such as gold and copper speak to
Africa’s indigenous wealth and ancient metallurgical technologies, which were developed
to meet the demands of kings, commoners, and foreign markets for metal currencies and
prestige items. Cowrie shells have similarly been used throughout Africa for hundreds of
years as money, amulets, and items of adornment.
Beads are also powerful symbols of indigenous technologies and historical trade
relationships. For centuries, the peoples of Africa have been making beads from seeds,
nuts, shells, bones, tusks, teeth, stone, coral, jasper, ivory, metal, and glass. Foreign beads
began arriving at trading posts along the African coasts by at least the fourth century.
Over the last century, buttons, coins, and other items have been added to the repertoire
of materials used to decorate prestige items. Hats adorned with these highly valued trade
items are symbols of their owners’ participation in or control over local and international
trade networks.
This crown features a variety of symbols. Most prominently, the bird
at the top may refer to okin, the royal bird, or the powerful female
ancestors known as “our mothers.” Though Yoruba crowns typically
feature one or more human faces, here they have been replaced with
the faces of elephants, which are symbols of leadership.
Unknown Yoruba artist, Nigeria
Crown, Adenla
Glass beads, cotton, fiber, wood, thread
Gift of Budd Stalnaker, 2006.405
Fantastic
Embellishments to hats, such as leather-wrapped claws and gilded amulets, provide
their owners with protection from harmful forces. Products derived from the natural
environment—such as feathers, shells, claws, strips of leather, woven fibers, and elephant
tails—are believed to contain the power of the wilderness from which they came. Gold and
metal are also widely believed to be powerful materials capable of subverting malevolent
forces. These hats and their attachments combine local and imported forms and materials
to create symbols more potent than any of their individual components.
Possibly the most significant element of this crown is its beaded veil.
The king’s divine countenance is considered dangerously powerful, so
the primary purpose of this veil is to protect onlookers from his gaze.
The veil also conceals the king’s identity and gives him an aura of
divine presence, diminishing his individuality and uniting him with his
royal predecessors.
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