Kwayep enjoyed both within the local context and in the greater surrounding area of Cameroon. The king’s house, in which Egerton lived, was built of stone and located in the center of a square court surrounded by a fence with a sliding bamboo gate. The courtyard contained eight houses, very similar to one another in construction, some larger than others. “They were square, of poto-poto, or mud plastered on a bamboo framework, about twenty to twenty-five feet each way, fifteen feet high, and surmounted by a lofty, conical thatched roof.”7 The king, having temporarily vacated his own house for his European guest, initially relocated to a house visible from Egerton’s. After a month of living in close proximity, N’jiké II moved to another stone house some distance away. Egerton still had the opportunity to catch glimpses of daily life, for example in another pleasant court a bit removed from his residence, which was more picturesque than any other part of the chefferie and reserved for the king, his wives, and their children (fig. 6). In his book, he reminisced about life in England, comparing and contrasting the two places in his musings and writings and describing his travel experiences in a popular style. He also appeared intent on making judgments about the situation in the colony and on delivering formal opinions regarding the lifestyle in Banganté, its economic circumstances, and modernization. Two Photographs and Some Observations Egerton was not the first European to notice that Kwayep was a sculptor of importance. In 1930 Frank Christol, a French Protestant missionary and minister, photographed Kwayep. The picture shows a grim-faced man with prominent cheekbones wearing a batik cloth hat (fig. 7). He sits on a caryatid stool, the seat of which is supported by male and female figures arranged in a circle, locally considered an insignia of rank. He is flanked by his sons and apprentices, who hold long staffs surmounted by figural carvings, two of which are abstractly rendered quadrupeds. Despite minor damage that has accumulated 91 COUNTERCLOCKWISE FROM LEFT FIG. 3: The Country Covered in the Author’s Journey. From Egerton, African Majesty, between xiv and xv. FIG. 4: F. C. C. Egerton, 1936, N’djetat, the Banganté Weaver, Tells a Story. From Egerton, African Majesty, pl. 32. FIG. 5: F. C. C. Egerton, 1936, The Potter at Work. From Egerton, African Majesty, pl. 76. FIG. 6: F. C. C. Egerton, 1936, The King with His Favorite Wives—Grave. From Egerton, African Majesty, pl. 26.
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