3. Alternative Conservation and Heritage Practices in Equatorial Guinea. The Case of the Museum Felipe Osá Angüé

Collection Items

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  ItemWebsiteHeritage Practices in Equatorial GuineaMuseum Felipe Osa Angüé

  Interview to Felipe Osa Angüé

  Felipe Osá Angue was a significant cultural figure in Equatorial Guinea, known primarily for his extensive work in preserving the Fang cultural heritage. He meticulously curated a vast collection of ethnological artifacts and exhibited them in the Museum Felipe Osá Angue. The museum bearing his name serves not only as a repository of traditional artifacts but also as a testament to his dedication to maintaining and promoting the cultural legacy of his people.
  
  The story of Felipe Osá Angue's dedication to cultural preservation begins two generations ago with his grandfather. During Spanish control, his grandfather endeavored to pass down as much knowledge as possible about the objects that were part of daily life in the Fang community. He taught his children the names and meanings of each object, ensuring that this knowledge was preserved. This practice of documenting the biography of objects served to give meaning to their social life. When Felipe Osá Angue could not find an heir to continue this tradition, he decided to create a museum in Bidjabidjan to house the collection he had spent years assembling.
  
  An interview by Ministerio de Cultura y Promoción Artesanal can be found through the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKVEkHereBE
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  ItemStill ImageHeritage Practices in Equatorial GuineaMuseum Felipe Osa Angüé

  Felipe's collecting methods
  
  

  Felipe's collection process was innovative and challenged standardized Western museology practices and colonial biases that often positioned African art in a lower stage or simply cataloged them as ethnographic objects, decontextualizing much of their cultural value and purpose. He focused on obtaining objects no longer manufactured today, such as stools, bieri (reliquary figures), masks, ceramic plates and pots, metal ornaments, and decorative elements. These items were often linked to practices that have since disappeared, like metallurgy and pottery. Felipe’s approach involved searching for the owners of the desired objects, asking for authorization to collect them, and negotiating a type of reward or compensation for the owners in exchange for the artifacts: "Felipe Osá has dedicated many years to collecting objects from various Fang villages that are no longer being made today: stools, Bieri figures, masks, plates, and pots. He usually acquired them when their owners no longer found them useful, and often they came from old, abandoned settlements. Even though these were discarded objects that no one used, Felipe Osá sought out their owners, asked for their permission to collect the items, and negotiated some form of compensation (money, other utilitarian objects that he made). In this way, the forest museum of Felipe Osá became filled with objects and their biographies, with the stories and symbolic meanings they contain.” (72)
  
  The museum is unique in that it is not advertised through any media nor does it have set opening hours. Visitors typically learn about it through word of mouth. Historians Alba Valenciano and Llorenç Picornell describe the museum experience as immersive and personal: “Using a wooden mask, Felipe Osá transforms himself into the narrator-character who guides the journey through the social life of the exhibited objects. After the welcoming and introduction, visitors make a donation to the museum. In exchange, Felipe (no longer wearing the mask), ‘gifts’ to the visitors three objects. It is not about physically owning them, but rather it offers the possibility of selecting three pieces among all those on display whose meaning you want to know. Then, he explains how they are manufactured, what they were used for and what properties they had, and clarifies any doubts we have about it” (p. 72).
  
  Valenciano and Picornell assert that Felipe’s method represents a form of patrimonial activation outside the dominant power structures and discourses. In this setting, the objects do not convey their stories independently; it is Felipe who brings them to life with his narratives (p. 74). This way, the objects in the museum are not placed in display cases or on pediestals as in colonial museums but are displayed in a kind of altar. This creates proximity with the visitor and breaks the barrier between visitors and objects. Pieces can be touched and examined in depth. The exhibition does not differentiate between old pieces and those reproduced by Felipe throughout his life, challenging Western constructions and perceptions of ‘cultural authenticity.’
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  ItemStill ImageHeritage Practices in Equatorial GuineaMuseum Felipe Osa Angüé

  Bieris of the Museum Felipe Osá Angüé

  The Bieri figures at the Museum Felipe Osá Angue, associated with the Fang people of Central Africa, are significant artifacts that reflect both spiritual practices and the impact of colonialism on cultural heritage. Originally, these wooden sculptures were created to protect the relics of ancestors, encapsulating the spiritual essence of the departed and embodying the balance between life and death. Over time, however, their meaning has transformed. As Valenciano and Bayre explain, "the Bieri have lost the significance they once held before the arrival of Europeans. They are no longer representations tied to relationships with ancestors, but rather 'statues' of 'black African art'" (68).
  
  In Equatorial Guinea, the preservation of such cultural objects has been largely externalized, with most of the country's material culture now housed in European museums, such as the Museu Etnològic in Barcelona, the Museo Antropológico Nacional in Madrid, and the Musée du Quai Branly in Paris. This situation reflects the absence of a formal museological system in post-independence Equatorial Guinea, where the state has not integrated pre-European elements into the construction of a national identity. As a result, Equatorial Guinea remains "a country without museums" (69).
  
  Felipe Osá's approach to displaying these objects is particularly noteworthy. Unlike Western museums, which often emphasize the antiquity and monetary value of artifacts, Osá's museum focuses on the stories and symbolic meanings behind each object. The objects are not displayed in vitrines or on pedestals, but rather on altars, where the distinction between old and new items is blurred. This method challenges Western notions of "cultural authenticity" by emphasizing the social life and biography of the objects over their age or economic value.
  
  Felipe Osá's dedication to collecting and preserving these objects is also significant. He spent many years acquiring items like stools, Bieri figures, masks, plates, and pots from Fang villages, often salvaging them from abandoned settlements. Even when the objects were considered discarded or useless, Osá sought out their owners, asked for permission to collect the items, and negotiated compensation, ensuring that the stories and meanings of these objects were preserved along with the items themselves. This approach has allowed his museum to become a repository not just of objects, but of the rich narratives and symbolic meanings they carry.
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  ItemStill ImageHeritage Practices in Equatorial GuineaMuseum Felipe Osa Angüé

  Photographic archive of Felipe Osa Angüé

  Images from the personal photographic archive of Felipe Osa Angüé during an interview by Ministerio de Cultura y Promoción Artesanal of Equatorial Guinea.
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  ItemStill ImageAHORAEGHeritage Practices in Equatorial Guinea...1 more

  AhoraEG News: "Culture and tourism acquires the ethnological collection of Felipe Osa Angüé"
  

  The fate of Felipe’s collection after his death in 2017 marked a significant shift from his original vision. The collection was transferred to the Ministry of Culture, Tourism, and Artisan Promotion of Equatorial Guinea, with plans to integrate it into a national ethnographic museum in Malabo. While this move was intended to preserve the collection and ensure its continued accessibility, it also meant that the objects would be subjected to the institutional practices of conventional museology. This transformation raises critical questions about the future of the collection and the potential loss of the dynamic, context-rich narrative that Felipe had cultivated.
  
  The terms "ethnographic" and "ethnologic" themselves are problematic within the context of Felipe’s vision. These terms, rooted in colonial frameworks, often imply a distancing and objectification of cultural artifacts, stripping them of their original context and reducing them to mere examples of "primitive" or "exotic" cultures. This is precisely what Felipe sought to avoid in his museum, where the objects were not just relics of a bygone era but were imbued with life and meaning through his storytelling and engagement with visitors. The transfer of the collection to a national ethnographic museum thus risks undermining the very principles that Felipe's museum stood for, transforming a space of cultural activation and resistance into one of institutional conformity and potentially decontextualized exhibition. This transition underscores the need for a continued conversation about how these objects will be conserved, presented, and interpreted, to ensure that Felipe’s legacy is not lost in the process.
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  ItemTextCasa VerdeHeritage Practices in Equatorial Guinea...1 more

  La Casa Verde, Ethnographic Museum of Equatorial Guinea

  "La Casa Verde" in Malabo is a historic colonial building dating back to the mid-19th century, constructed from American pine and originally built in Belgium. This structure, one of the oldest in the city, has served various roles, including as the Portuguese Consulate and later as headquarters for Spanish companies.
  
  "La Casa Verde" is currently in a state of disrepair. Restoration efforts, initiated over two years ago by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, have been delayed and are now stalled, leaving the building in a precarious condition. Once a key tourist attraction, the building now stands largely abandoned, with locals expressing deep concern over its uncertain future. The incomplete renovations have turned what was once a symbol of Malabo's colonial heritage into a neglected site.
  
  The situation with "La Casa Verde" in Malabo raises significant concerns about the future of Felipe Osá Angue's collection. Despite its historical and cultural importance, "La Casa Verde" has fallen into disrepair due to stalled restoration efforts, highlighting potential risks for other cultural assets under institutional care in Equatorial Guinea. The neglect and uncertain fate of "La Casa Verde" suggest that similar challenges could threaten the preservation, presentation, and integrity of Felipe's collection if it is not adequately maintained and respected within its new institutional context.