"The player of Mvett" Wooden Sculpture - Height : 40 cm

Wood carving is a technique that is practiced by removing material. It also refers to the work made of wood. Although the practice of wood carving is very old (there is no trace of it, because wood is a material that does not resist the ravages of time), clay sculpture remains the first technique and the first material used for sculpture. Woodcarving is a skill recognized by the Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage in France.

The mvett or mvet or mver refers to a stringed musical instrument known since ancient Egypt, and, with the capital letter, a set of warrior stories that are played accompanied by this instrument, forming the Ekang culture.

Born during the exodus of the Ekang people (Beti-Fang-Bulu) that we find today scattered between Gabon, Cameroon, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea and on the island of São Tomé, mvett songs were recited to the combatants to excite them before the battles.

Beyond wartime usage, Mvett art encompasses all aspects of Fang culture, be it poetry, philosophy, or scientific knowledge of the world, leading the Fang to call Mvett a total art.