Gilbert Lo-oh Mbeng

My name is Gilbert Lo-oh Mbeng, I come from Kom, a kingdom in the northwest province of Cameroon, West Africa. Kom is a kingdom with a long history. This kingdom extends its regard to the American people. The Fon of Kom is best understood as the King. He has written a letter to the staff and management of the Seattle Art Museum. I want to say that the Fon of Kom is amazed by the fact that his culture and tradition could be known thousands of kilometers away from his kingdom-Kom is a long way and it took me two days to be here from Kom.

When images were sent to me by Pamela McClusky, Curator of African Art at the Museum, I formulated a questionnaire and a schedule of persons in Kom to interview. I must comment here that there are certain things I was able to learn from the findings just because I am a grandson of the palace, because my father is a prince.