French Cameroon Culture
Monday, August 13, 2012
French Speaking Cameroon Languages
LTK: Can you talk a little bit about what languages are spoken in Cameroon?
Dr. Lathers: French and English are the official languages, but there are dozens of indigenous languages in Cameroon. In general, all people speak the language of their “village” (or their parents’ village if they did not grow up there), which is related to other local village languages. I live in the village of Bafounda in the Western Province. The native language is known as “Bafounda” but usually people just refer to it as the “patois” (French for a local language).
LTK: What differences do you find between the French spoken in Cameroon and the French spoken elsewhere?
Dr. Lathers: The French here is of course a bit different from that in France: a small example is that instead of saying “Comment ça va?” or “Comment tu vas?” (How are you?) when you great someone, you say simply “Comment?” (How?). I found this disconcerting at first, but now I’m used to it!
LTK: Out of curiosity, what are you speaking in Cameroon most of the time? Have you learned any of the indigenous languages yet?
Dr. Lathers: I speak English with my housekeeper and driver. They are from the English part of Cameroon. They speak Pidgin’ to each other and I have picked up just a few expressions in that language. It is made from English but it is really incomprehensible to Americans. Instead of “I am eating,” for example, they say “I chop.” Instead of “Did you sleep well?” they say “you sleep fine?”
I use French with villagers and colleagues and students, of course. My daughter’s schooling is in French. But we have both learned a few words of the local patois, which we hear a lot of. It does not have a written form, but I will approximate here:
Read more »Labels: Cameroon Culture
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 2:31 PM,
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Cameroon Fahion
Friday, March 9, 2012
A centre for Cameroonian fashion designers has been inaugurated in the nation capital Yaoundé. The centre has been opened to bring together Cameroonian designers under one umbrella as a means of encouraging creativity and productivity. The move is also intended to encourage the marketing and distribution of made in Cameroon labels on the international market. The centre for Cameroonian Fashion Designers was launched by the Minister of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises, Social Economy and Handicraft, Laurent Serge Etoundi Ngoa. The Minister lauded the authors of the initiative which he said would generate revenue and create employment.He said the inauguration would favour the growth and development of small and medium sized enterprises.
Labels: Cameroon, Cameroon Culture
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 8:48 AM,
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Bamileke Mask
Monday, February 13, 2012
Labels: Bamileke, Cameroon, Cameroon Culture, People
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 11:58 AM,
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Breast Ironing
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
WHO WILL KILL THIS MONSTER IN DISGUISE?
Breast ironing is a widespread well established cultural practice in Cameroon. It is also practiced in countries such as Guinea-Bissau, Chad, Togo, Benin, and Guinea. Breast ironing is the massaging and pounding of young girls' breasts at puberty with hot objects such as kitchen knives, traditional sticks, pestles and bananas. The object is to stop the breasts from growing so as to limit early marriages or stop sexual advances from men. Most perpetrators of these acts, elderly women in the villages have advanced several reasons for this. For this group of women a girls breast is only suppose to be seen if she is ripe for marriage and anything short of this is a crime.
In the widikum community in North West Region of Cameroon an old woman is not shy to expose her breast as a prideful sign of passing through the breast ironing ritual in her teenage age successfully. There are already well established female mobilization forces in these communities solely responsible for the ironing of breast. During the exercise mostly performed at night, the perpetrators and their host sing a high pitched tune “to make the operation nicer”.
More than two million girls in Cameroon have faced a breast ironing night. Victims who are ready to comment on the act report that the effects of breast ironing are painful and cause a lot of psychological and emotional stress in them. Young men in rural areas may refuse to marry women who have experienced breast ironing. Victims (girls) are left with horrific testimonies. Some of them today already mothers look back with anguish and deep revulsion.
Today, many NGOs in Cameroon are raising awareness on the effects of breast ironing. The Association of Aunties which works for the emancipation of single mothers with support from the German technical cooperation for development (GTZ) in Cameroon and the Center for Human Rights and Peace Advocacy (CHRAPA) with assistance from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Bamenda, Cameroon advocate that breast ironing is a social injustice and should be punishable under the Cameroon law. But those who carry out this cultural practice say they do not intend to inflict pain on their victims.
Today on our program, two experts (Host 1) A representative from the ministry of women’s empowerment and the family in Cameroon. (Host 2) Mr Jamils Richards a humans Rights activist. Both experts sitting as host will examine (breast ironing) as a cultural and traditional practice in Cameroon and how it affects young girls, our sisters, mothers and Aunties.
That's right. We know that some cultural practices involve violence against women. As rural areas become more integrated with urban centers, many of these practices are now being highlighted. A group called the Association of Aunties works for the empowerment of single mothers in Cameroon. Recently, they stated their opinion that, although breast ironing is a widespread cultural practice in the country, it leaves young girls with psychological stress and physical pain.
First, let's explain what breast ironing is. Breast ironing is the massaging and pounding of the developing breasts of young girls to prevent them from growing. Many elderly women in the villages see breast ironing as the best way to prevent their daughters from prostitution and early marriages. These women argue that breasts which develop quickly are a sign of juvenile delinquency and must be checked. Hot objects like sticks, warmed bananas, kitchen knives and pestles are used.
One in four girls in Cameroon has experienced breast ironing. It is practiced in all 10 regions of Cameroon, and is most prevalent in the Littoral province, where a survey found that more than half of girls had undergone the practice. More than half of the cases of breast ironing were performed by mothers. Most of the victims are left with physical pain and emotional stress. They are also left with black spots and wrinkles on their breasts. In many communities, there are women who are experienced at breast ironing and are paid to carry out the act. The payment is often salt, wood and palm oil. It is painful that though these girls are exposed to Ironing, the high rate of prostitution which their perpetrators want to reduce is still very visibly rampant. Most of these victims still get pregnant at teenage ages; even from old men who are suppose to protect them and to send them to school.
A girl by the name of Manka’a Sirri Ngum , from the Bafut community of northwest tribes in the grass field of Cameroon has bad memories of breast ironing. The experience left her with marks on her breast. She later developed breast cancer. She remembers the flattening of her breast with a hot steel kitchen knife. She hardly can with hold her tears. The operation left her in great pain. Her frustrations were intensified when she later lost a breast through surgery to remove the cancer. Manka’a remembers that her mother later mistook the growing cancer in her breast for an evil spell which could only be eliminated through more ironing. Now Manka’a is ready to speak out against all odds in the village.
Host 2: Changing this cultural norm will take time and education. In the regions of Cameroon where breast ironing is practiced, those who defend it as a cultural practice say they have no intention of inflicting pain and psychological stress on the girls. But resistance by girls to breast ironing is often seen as rebellion against established village traditions and rules. As a result, most of these young innocent girls suffer in silence
Host 1: The Association of Aunties has said that any act which is against social justice, whether it is a cultural, traditional practice or not, is against Cameroon law. They are working with the victims to mitigate the practice.
Host 2: According to Dr. Nick Ngwayam, a surgeon at the St. Louis Clinic in Bamenda the Northwest Region of Cameroon, very often the developing tissues in the breast are expanded and destroyed by the heat applied in breast ironing, first, because it is done in a harsh manner. This according to Dr Louis, attract lots of problems during child bearing that may result to poor breast feeding habits or the none flow of breast milk after delivery at all. This medical doctor says can lead to serious consequences in child bearing and upbringing.
Labels: Cameroon, Cameroon Culture, Society
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 1:33 PM,
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Cameroon - Language, Culture, Customs and Etiquette
Thursday, March 3, 2011
- Location: Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Biafra, between Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria
- Capital: Yaounde
- Climate: varies with terrain, from tropical along coast to semiarid and hot in north
- Population: 18,467,692 (est 2008)
- Ethnic Make-up: Cameroon Highlanders 31%, Equatorial Bantu 19%, Kirdi 11%, Fulani 10%, Northwestern Bantu 8%, Eastern Nigritic 7%, other African 13%, non-African less than 1%
- Religions: indigenous beliefs 40%, Christian 40%, Muslim 20%
- Government: republic; multiparty presidential regime
Read more here
Labels: Cameroon Culture
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 8:30 PM,
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Bafaws Showcase Their Culture
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
It was during a grand cultural festival organized in Yaounde last Saturday. he Bafaws from the national and international spheres converged on Yaounde, August 20-21st, to display their rich culture. The event, massively attended, was their grand cultural festival. It was a time of stock taking, with much from the Bafaws on the spotlight. Exhibitions on some prominent Bafaws were on the limelight. Visitors were also thrilled to typical Bafaw tradition through sketches, displays of some classical Bafaw dishes. Also notable during the event was the display of traditional, modern and theatrical pieces by the famous dramatist, Victor Elame Musinga of the Musinga Drama Group International. It was veritable display of the microcosm of what Cameroon has in terms of culture.
Speaking at the grand cultural evening, the Coordinator of the Organising Committee, Mrs Lydia Efimba, said the cultural jamboree, dubbed "The Bafaw in National Unity and Development", was to celebrate the Bafaw culture and also reassert their commitment to national unity and integration. "This commitment started decades ago when many Cameroonians and foreigners fleeing from areas of conflict, crossed hostile zones to find haven in Bafaw land. They found a peaceful people that not only welcomed 'strangers' but also encouraged them to settle down with their families and prosper. This gesture of friendliness and good neighbourliness has contributed in no small way in ensuring peace in our country", she said.
Minister Ama Tutu Muna of Culture hailed the Bafaws for their rich cultural heritage and their move in fostering national peace. She said culture is one's identity that needs not only to be promoted, but also to be preserved.
Nfon Victor Eseminsongo Muteke, Paramount Chief of the Bafaws, representing the ten chiefs of the tribe was treated to a wonderful display of the Njoma dance, reserved for chiefs. He couldn't hide his happiness by joining the dance group, an act that is rare in the Bafaw land.
It is worthy to note that the Mbum m'Bafaw cultural festival has always held in the various ten villages that make up the Bafaw clan. It was the first time the jamboree went national. According to the organisers, this move was to revive their culture and draw people to subsequent editions of the Mbum in Kumba or any of the Bafaw villages. It is hoped that the upcoming event, will promote cultural tourism and boost economic activities.
The Bafaws, are a Bantu people, covering a total area of 247.8 square kilometres, found in the 10 villages of North Kumba, Meme Division, in the South West Region of Cameroon.
Labels: Bafaws, Cameroon Culture
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 2:39 PM,
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The Bafaws
Friday, August 20, 2010
The Bafaw community has for the past years organised cultural jamborees in the ten villages that make up the clan to uphold their cultural heritage. This year, the cultural group has decided to hold this great event in the nation's capital to better sell their image to the national and international communities. The Grand Bafaw Cultural Festival to hold at the Younde Conference Centre from August 20-21 aims at showcasing the rich cultural diversity and dynamism of the people of Bafaw.
Speaking at a press conference to announce the event, the General Coordinator, Mrs Lydia B.Efimba, said it is a custom, period of stock taking, feasting and above all an occasion to attract and promote cultural tourism as well as boost economic exchanges. The festival will hold under the theme, "The Bafaw in Unity and Development". To Dr. Col. Ashu Balimba, adviser to the Bafaw Cultural and Development Association, BAFCUDA, unity is engrained in the fabric of the Bafaw people. Before independence, one of the shining stars of Cameroon's Independence and Reunification who fought with logic and steadmanship was a paramount chief of Bafaw, he said.
To further justify the theme, he said the community is blessed with fertile land and is the first to get involved in large scale cocoa farming. They further moved from cocoa to rubber and to coffee and timber exploitation, he continued. By so doing, the Bafaws have and are still contributing enormously to the development of Cameroon, Col. Ashu concluded. At a time of strife in Cameroon, the Bafaw people played the role of "trouble shooters", the General Coordinator corroborated. However, the plight of the Bafaw people like others in the different corners of the country is to see the area better developed. "As Oliver twist who asked for more, our wish is to see more roads constructed in this part of the country", she underlined.
For two days, a lot on Bafaw cultural heritage will be on the spot light. They include; an exhibition of the Bafaw artefacts, their past in music in all its forms; traditional, choral and modern. Theatrical display by the Dramatist, Victor Elame Musinga, of the famous Musinga Drama Group International, and a display of traditional dishes.
The Bafaws, a Bantu people, covering a total area of 247.8 square kilometres, found in the 10 villages of North Kumba, Meme Division, in the South West Region of Cameroon, have a rich culture that is fast being windswept, and need urgent revival, reason for a grand cultural jamboree.
Labels: Bafaws, Cameroon Culture
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 3:10 PM,
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