Il s’agit de deux animaux symboliques et mythiques dans la culture bamiléké. Leur représentation stylisée est très présente dans l’art, parfois sous forme d’élément décoratif. Dans l’un ou l’autre des cas, ils symbolisent la fécondité et la vie. Ils sont liés au mythe de la mort selon lequel, ils auraient dupé le caméléon et auraient apporté le message divin de la mort aux hommes, rompant ainsi leur immortalité. Ce mythe connait des variantes avec, dans l’une, le crapaud comme porteur du message de la mort (Harter, P, 1986, p. 342) et, dans l’autre, le lézard (Djaché Nzefa, S, 1994, p.153), ce qui explique leur usage symbolique similaire (Mveng, E, 1974, p. 77). Leur rôle de messagers de la mort fait d’eux le symbole de la continuité puisque, chez les Bamilékés, la vie est un cycle continu qui se renouvelle après la mort. La mort n’est donc pas un drame, ni une fin en soi, mais le recommencement d’un nouveau cycle. Ces deux animaux sont représentés comme le symbole de la dichotomie de la vie et de la mort. Ils sont particulièrement utilisés dans les représentations artistiques ornant les meubles, dans l’architecture et même dans les représentations et tatouages corporels. Les présentations les plus significatives sont celles qu’on retrouve sur les tabourets rituels et les trônes royaux.
These two animals are symbolic and mythical in Bamiléké culture. Their stylized representation is very present in the arts, sometimes as a decorative element. In either case, they symbolize fertility and life. They are linked to the myth of death, according to which they fooled the chameleon and brought the divine message of mortality to mankind, thus breaking their immortality. There are several variations of the myth, one using the toad as the messanger of death (Harter, P, 1986, p.342) and the other the lizard (Djaché Nzefa, S, 1994, p.153). This explains their similar symbolism (Mveng, E, 1974, p.77). Their role as messengers of death has made them symbols of perpetuity, since for the Bamiléké, life is a continuous cycle that renews itself after death. Death is therefore not a tragedy or an end, but the beginning of a new cycle. These two animals are represented as symbols of the dichotomy of life and death. They are often adorning furniture, architecture and even on bodies with tattoos. The most significant presentations are those found on ritual stools and royal thrones, celebrating their relationship with life and fertility.
Toads and lizards also embody fecundity, through their natural ability to produce numerous eggs. Their stylistic representation in an elongated diamond shape with an incised center, similar to that of the female sex, underlines their relationship to fertility.
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