This striking dance headdress, composed of dyed chicken feathers, is worn by members of the Kuosi Society among the Bamileke People in Cameroon, West Africa. The Kuosi Society is a traditionally secret society composed of warriors responsible for enforcing moral authority. The headdress is worn in one of the most spectacular dances in West Africa called the Tso, and demonstrates all the prestige and vigor of the Bamileke chiefdom. The term Bamileke covers a collection of peoples in the valleys and highlands of West Cameroon, where they inhabit one of the most densely populated areas of Sub Saharan Africa. Traditionally, their social life is organized around the chief, who lives in what is called the chieftanry, a collection of huts intended for habitation and ritual activities. The chief’s wives and descendants live in the chieftanry along with a number of servants, who are the officials responsible for carrying out the chief’s orders. There are also, in every chieftanry, several secret societies such as the Kuosi, each one having a definite role that may be political or religious. On the occasion of seasonal celebrations, funerals, the enthronement of the chief, or other special occasions the secret societies perform in public processions and dances, showing off their costumes and insignias of office. During processions of members of the Kuosi Society, these headdresses are worn and displayed on a wall behind the royal family.