Page 62 - Msingi Afrika Magazine Issue 14
P. 62

Leadership



                                                                                lu,  Fang, and Pygmies;  Muslims  of
                                                                                the  northern semi-arid regions and
                                                                                central highlands, who include the
                                                                                Fulani;  and the  Kirdi,  non-Muslim
                                                                                peoples of the northern desert and
                                                                                central highlands.

                                                                                Religion
                                                                                The constitution guarantees freedom
                                                                                of religion, but the statistics do vary
                                                                                from  different  sources  about what
                                                                                percentage of Camerooneans  fall
                                                                                into any particular religion. Most
                                                                                common is that, about 40% of the
                                                                                population  follows  some  form of
             A local Cameroonean chief with guests at his palace.               indigenous  belief,  40%  adhere  to  a
                                                                                form  of  Christianity,  and  20%  are
                                                                                Muslim. The various religious groups
          the  recent failed assassination plot   designate  the  river’s neighboring
          against the new transitional President   mountains. Until the late 19th centu-  get  along reasonably well,  although
          of Mali and the President of Mada-  ry, English usage confined the term   there have been some problems re-
          gascar.  What do most of them have   “the Cameroons” to the mountains,   ported by religious minorities in var-
          in common? You may ask. They all   while the estuary was called the Cam-  ious parts of the country. The north
          took a stand against the global push   eroons River or, locally, the Bay. In   of  the  country  is  primarily Muslim
          for vaccines, which they all knew was   1884  the Germans extended the   while the south tends to have more
          not a preventive  medicine  for  the   word  Kamerun to their entire  pro-  Christians, just like  it  is  with their
          issue  of Covid-19,  but  a poison to   tectorate, which largely correspond-  neighbour, Nigeria.
          further  weaken  the  human immune   ed to the present state.
          system,  in preparation  for a global                                 The Family
          depopulation agenda and a stronger   Cameroon is triangular in shape and   For the general Afrikan people, fam-
          hold on humanity.                  is bordered by Nigeria to the north-  ily and community are such a huge
                                             west, Chad to the northeast, the Cen-  aspect of life. In the case of Cam-
          So it’s quite a distressing and stressful   tral African Republic to the east, the   eroon, and largely  for Afrika as a
          season in  the history of the world.   Republic of the Congo to the south-  whole,  the  extended  family  is  the
          But it still remains that all things that   east, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea   focus of the social system. The ex-
          have fallen apart before, will come   to the south, and the Atlantic Ocean   tended family includes grandparents,
          together for good.                 to the southwest.                  cousins, aunts, uncles, etc. In Afrika,
                                                                                members of the extended family are

          About Cameroon                     Cameroonian Society and Culture    considered  as  close  as  the  nuclear
          Cameroon,  is a country  that is lo-                                  family is in the West.
          cated at the junction of western and   The People
          central Afrika. Its  ethnically  diverse   Cameroon has a diverse population,   Family obligations take precedence
          population is  among the  most  ur-  comprising approximately 250 ethnic   over pretty much everything else in
          ban in western Afrika. The capital is   groups that then form 5 regional/  life. Individuals  achieve  recognition
          Yaounde, located in the south-central   cultural  groups. These  are western   and social standing through their ex-
          part of the country.               highlanders  (also  called  grassfield-  tended family. The young are expect-
                                             ers),  who include  the  Bamileke,   ed to care for elderly members of the
          The  country’s name is  derived    Bamoun, and many smaller groups in   extended  family;  retirement  homes
          from  Rio  dos Camarões  (“River of   the northwest; coastal tropical forest   are an alien concept in Cameroon
          Prawns”)—the  name given  to  the   people, who include the Bassa, Dou-  and in Afrika as a whole. In fact, chil-
          Wouri River estuary  by  Portuguese   la,  and many  smaller groups in the   dren learn the pathways of cultural
          explorers of the 15th and 16th cen-  southwest;  southern tropical forest   wisdom not from school, such things
          turies. Camarões was also used  to   people, who include  the Beti, Beu-  are not taught there, but from grand-
                                                                                parents. Meaning that  instead of


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