Bell

The bell, also hand-bell or tulip bell, in its upper part or handle represents the French general and statesman Charles de Gaulle. The extended arms in a V shape and the cap are both very distinctive features of de Gaulle. The extended arms stand for the V sign of victory. The first documented usage of this kind of sign has been, however, ascribed to the liberal Belgian politician Victor de Laveleye on 14th January 1941, who used two fingers instead. Charles de Gaulle used to make the sign with both arms before every speech during his political career from 1942 to 1969.
Another significant detail is the distinctive military cap or kepi worn by de Gaulle. The kepi contains within itself a fragment of the French colonial history. The kepi came to replace its predecessor, the shako or casquette d’Afrique, in the 1830s. The shako is a a tall, cylindrical military cap, usually with a visor, made of cloth and covered in leather, which was, however, deemed very unpractical for the personnel stationed in Africa. The kepi, on the other hand, is a cap with a flat circular top and a visor that was much lighter and comfortable to wear. The encounter between cultures during the colonial time led to the introduction of the kepi to military personnel stationed in Africa, which was later on eventually introduced in the metropolitan or mainland France and by 1900s became the very symbol of French soldiers.
Africa could be said to have a long history of bells. The earliest bell found in Africa, a double bell from today’s territory of Guinea, has about 1000 years and it is assumed that single bells should have existed even before that. Bells were military as well as political emblems of chieftainship and kingship. Wherever the chief went, the bell would precede him and announce his arrival. Bells were used also in divination and during funeral rituals of kings.
Bells are significant artefacts for understanding the history and social as well as political organisation in Africa due to the fact that bells, besides being objects, are also insignia to categorise and classify kingdoms. In fact, because bells were part of an integral system of gift exchange between local rulers, the distribution of bells as a symbol of political office in a certain area and the changes in distribution in the same area might be indicators of both social and political organisation as well as the changes that such organisations underwent. (Tomi Batole 23/02/2018)