FANG, an African tribe occupying the Gabun district north of the Ogowe river in French Congo. The name means "men." They call themselves Panwe, Fanwe and Fan with highly nasalized n. They are a finely-made race of chocolate colour ; some few are very dark, but these are of slave origin. They have bright ex pressive oval faces with prominent cheek-bones. Many of them file their teeth to points. Their hair, which is woolly, is worn by the women long, reaching below the nape of the neck. The men wear it in a variety of shapes, often building it up over a wooden base. The growth of the hair appears abundant, but that on the face is usually removed. Little clothing is worn ; the men wear a bark waist-cloth, the women a plantain girdle, sometimes with a bustle of dried grass. A chief wears a leopard's skin around the shoulders. Both sexes tattoo and paint the body, and delight in ornaments of every kind. The men fight and hunt, carry muskets, spears for throwing and stabbing and throwing-knives with blades broader than they are long. They use crossbows made of ebony to hunt apes and birds. In battle the Fang used elephant hide shields; now apparently discarded.
In 1815 the Fang were an inland people inhabiting the hilly plateaus north of the Ogowe affluents, now south of the Gabun they have reached the sea at several points. Their language is of the Bantu family. The Fang were noted cannibals. Among certain tribes the aged alone were permitted to eat human flesh, which was tabu for all others. The Fang are skilful workers in iron and have a curious coinage called bikei, little iron imitation axeheads tied up in bundles called stet, ten to a bundle ; these are used chiefly in the purchase of wives. They are energetic traders and are skilled in pottery and in gardening. Their religion appears to be a combination of primitive animism and ancestor worship, with a belief in sympathetic magic.
