Fang tribespeople migrated from the north-west during the 18th and 19th centuries and are today scattered across southern Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. They are principally hunters, but also farm. Fang social structure is based on the clan, a group of individuals with a common ancestor, and on the family. They also maintain tribal cohesion through the So and Ngil societies. Each family possessed a Byeri, or reliquary box, in which the bones of famous ancestors were kept. The box was kept by the Esa, the eldest man in the family.
The Fan's naturalistic treatment of human features and the distinctive oily patina was instantly appealing to collectors and artists alike. The great majority of Fang wood sculptures were related to the cult of the Byeri. The box was surmounted by a figure or a head who acted as a guardian and it was kept in a dark corner of the house and had an apotropaic function. It was used during the So initiation ceremonies for young men. The guardian figure was removed from its box and paraded around. However, from the 1920s on, these customs were abandoned.
