‘Grassfields: An African Culture’ is a beautifully illustrated, large-format book about the material culture of the western part of the Cameroon Grassfields. The Swiss author, Hans Knöpfli, is well versed in his field. He lived in the area from 1956 to 1993, working for the Basel Mission as a pastor and a teacher. Having been trained as a carpenter himself, he soon became fascinated by the work of the local artisans. He spent time with them, inquired about their art, the materials they used, and the meaning of the elaborate ornamentations. People felt that he was appreciating their craft and told him about their work and lives, their dances and masquerades, and their knowledge. His consolidated findings are presented in this book, which is based on an earlier, English version in four volumes.

The book is arranged in five chapters. The first chapter outlines the social fabric of the western Grassfields cultures. The second chapter introduces the creation of the objects for daily use, often artistically decorated: calabashes, bark containers, woven mats and baskets, combs, wooden vessels, pottery, blacksmithing, woven raffia cloth, and many more. Chapter 3 addresses the court arts, particularly the local architecture, royal insignia, wood carvings for the palaces and their rich symbolic meanings, drinking horns for title-holders, the arts of brass-casting, and the fabrication and meaning of the blue-and-white royal cloth. The fourth chapter is concerned with music and games in the western Grassfields, including the creation of the different musical instruments, games, and toys. Chapter 5 discusses local religion, customs and conventions, myths and worldview, mourning rituals and funerals, masked dances, and rituals for twins. The five chapters are richly illustrated with photographs that document the different steps in the process of creating all these objects and artworks. They show artists, potters, and weavers working; the practice of musical instruments, rituals, and dances; libations and sacrifices dedicated to the ancestors. They also show residential houses and palaces, villages, and landscapes.

This book is not about theoretical elaborations and historical explorations. It fascinates by its richness in artistic detail, its wealth of illustrations, its straightforwardness in explaining the materials and individual steps necessary for the completion of a work, and the respect that the author shows for the people with whom he worked and who were ready to teach him. Hans Knöpfli does not simply describe the technical process but follows the people when they collect materials, prepare them for treatment, work in their studios, and relax in their social environment.

Hans Knöpfli not only observed people and talked to them. He also learned from them how to produce the objects himself. And he understood that the young people whom he had taught as students easily faced unemployment after leaving school. This gave him the idea of creating three artistic workshops in the Grassfields: in Bafut, Bali-Nyonga, and Bamessing. By this means, he both provided his students with useful employment and helped to prevent artistic knowledge from being lost. He developed an early form of fair trade by helping the artists to sell the objects made in his workshops in Cameroon and other countries. For his endeavours to reduce poverty and revive the arts and crafts in the Cameroon Grassfields, he received an honorary doctorate from the theological department of the University of Yaounde.