Cameroon

THE CULTURE OF CAMEROON

Presented

By

Boyd B., Marcella G., Truc-Linh H., Erica H

THE CAMEROONIANS

The goal of this presentation is how to communication with the Cameroonians by understanding their traditions in clothing and what role men and women plays in Cameroon.

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Rituals (Formal and informal)

ByBoyd

Brathwaite

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Cameroon is situated by the Gulf of Guinea on the west coast of Africa. Its area is 179,527 square miles (465,000 square kilometers). Nigeria lies to the west, Chad and the Central African Republic to the east, and the People's Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, and Gabon to the south. The climate is hot and humid in the forested south and west, cooler in the highland Grassfields region of the West and Northwest provinces, and hotter and drier in the savanna and sahel of the north. The capital, Yaoundé, is in the Center province,

The beginning of traditions and rituals: (Informal)

but Cameroon has distinct regional cultural, religious, and political traditions as well as ethnic variety. The division of the country into British- and French-ruled League of Nations mandates after World War I created Anglophone and Francophone regions. The English-speaking region is divided into two cultural regions. The Grass fields peoples of the Northwest Province consist of nearly one hundred chiefdoms each ruled by a divine king (fon) .

http://www.everyculture.com/Bo-Co/Cameroon.htm

Now the peoples of the Southwest province had less hierarchical systems of governance and social organization. who live along the slopes of Mount Cameroon. The Bakweri practice rites of healing and initiation in associations of spirit mediums that distinguish between male and female roles and between village and bush.


In the French-speaking area, the largely Muslim north is culturally distinct from the largely Christian and animist south. The northern area includes three provinces: Adamoua, North, and Extreme North. Since the jihad led by an Islamic cleric in 1804,

the northern region has been culturally dominated by the Fulani. Urban Fulani are renowned as clerics in the Sunni branch of Islam,


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and most of the southern peoples are Christian or engage in traditional, animist religious practices; but ritual communication extends beyond collective religious expression. It is an intrinsic part of everyday interactions, ceremonies, theatrical performances, shamanic chants, political demonstrations which involves music and dance. Almost all occasions and events are accompanied by music. Generally transmitted orally, the general accompaniments are claps or stomping feet. In traditional performances, there is a chorus baking up a soloist, accompanied by traditional instruments like bells, drums, talking drums, flutes, horns, rattles, scrapers, whistles, xylophones and stringed instruments all of which varies from one group to another. In certain cases performers sing by themselves only with a harp-like instrument.

For forest hunter groups like Baka, Medzan and Kola, death is the most important ceremony and they believe that forest spirits participate in death ceremonies by dancing under a ruffia mask.


http://www.bing.com/search?q=cameroon

Masked dancers, some on stilts, whirl about at village festivals. Wooden flutes and xylophones made from gourds fill the air with music. As a story recites ancient tale, small audience gathers around. People from all of Cameroon’s ethnic groups take part in these activities.

A man sharing a story with his son

Pygmies still hunt and grow crops in the southern rain forest. Fulani herd cattle in the north, and many Cameroonians work in oil and shipping industries. These are just a few examples of the variety of life in Cameroon. Cameroon is “Africa in Miniature” (qtd. in Kummer 9).

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* As a sign of respect men often lower their head and avert their eyes when greeting someone superior to them in age or position.* Some Muslims will not shake hands across genders.* Since this is a hierarchical society, elders are greeted first.* Women tend not to look the other person in the eye even if it is another woman.* Greetings should never be rushed. It is important to take time to inquire about the person’s family and other matters of general interest during the greeting process.Gift Giving Etiquette

* If you are invited to a Cameroonian’s home, bring fruit, whiskey, or wine to the host.* Do not bring alcohol if the host is Muslim.* A small gift for the children is always a nice touch. School materials or sweets are standard.* Gifts are not always opened when received.* Gifts are given with two hands or the right hand only; never the left hand.

http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=cameroon+&view=detail

In traditional homes, men eat first, then the women, and finally the children. In each of these groups, the oldest are serve first. Hand washing is an important ritual before the meal because food is eat with their fingers. Most food is served from a common bowl. This is a practice that is found in many cultures around the world (Kummer 119).

Initiation dance ceremony Eating with right hand

Meeting and Greeting

* Cameroonian greetings vary between the Francophone and Anglophone areas.* In both areas, men shake hands with each other.* In the Francophone south, close friends may embrace while brushing cheeks and kissing the air along with a handshake.* In the Anglophone north, close friends have a unique handshake in which, as they pull their hands back they snap the other person’s middle finger with their thumb.

Cameroon’s wide variety of ethnic groups, languages, religions, climates, and vegetation zones has resulted in many ways of life. Cameroonians eat a great number of different foods, live in many types of homes, and wear distinctive, colorful clothing. Although they celebrate numerous traditional festivals, their national independence has added important new holidays (Kummer 119). Traditions and Rituals: (Formal)

Ethnic groups and villages throughout Cameroon have special celebrations. Each November, a famous horse racing festival takes place in Kumbo, a grasslands town of the Banso people. Canoe racing takes place in Limbe’s costal waters between December and March. During the racing season, people from nearby villages perform traditional music and dances onshore. Wrestling tournament are part of the traditional Bakweri culture. They take place in Fako in the dry season in village, division, and subdivision levels. Two national holidays are celebrated with parades, speeches, and other festivities throughout Cameroon (Kummer 126-127).


On February 11, the nation celebrates Youth Day. Cameroonian youth in their schools uniforms parade down the nation’s cities streets. One year the parade in Yaounde lasted five hours.On May 20, the nation now celebrates National Day. The paredes and speeches are held to promote the feeling of national unity (kummer 126-127).

Another formal event in Cameroon is the presidential election. The president is the head of the executive branch, as well as the head of state. The president must be born in Cameroon and be at least thirty five years old. The president is directly elected by all voters in the entire nation (Kummer 59).

According to the new constitution, the term of office is seven years, and the president can be reelected only once. The president holds most of the political and governmental power in Cameroon. He appoints the prime minister and has approval of all the ministers in the Council of Ministers. There are almost thirty ministries that take care of everything in the country from agriculture to youth and sports. The president decides what the ministers do and how long they may do it (Kummer 59-60).Culture is a learned system of

knowledge, behavior, attitudes, belief, values, and norms that is shared by group of people from one generation to the next. Identifying what a given group of people values or appreciates can give us insight into the behavior of an individual raised within that culture. Although there are considerable differences among the world’s cultural values. Some researchers believe that the values of individualism and collectivism are the most important values of any culture—they determine the essential nature of every other facet of how people behave (Beebe 150-154). It is this that we see in Cameroon.

GENDER ROLES

Overview Cameroon is a very diverse place. Lonely Planet’s Book Africa: 30th

Anniversary Edition (2007) notes that Cameroon is “one of the most culturally diverse countries on the continent, its people include ancient tribal kingdoms, Muslim pastoralists and forest-dwelling pygmies” (p. 276)

That being said the gender roles described are a general impression of the culture. Some parts of Cameroon may have more or less gender inequalities. Communication will vary depending on the ethnic group.

MEN & WOMEN

Men Responsible for money/assets

- land ownership (agricultural)

- main job holder

Owner of all assets

More dominant than women

Controlling

Strong ideas on women’s role in society

Women Responsible for home/children

-cooking

-cleaning

-care-giving/child raising

May have part-time job along with household duties

Likely doesn’t own assets

Less dominant than men

Controlled

INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION COMPETENCE

What is intercultural communication competence?

- According to the book The Blue Book of Communication Studies it is “the ability to adapt one’s behavior toward another person in ways that are appropriate to the other person’s culture” ( Beebe, et al., 2011).

How can we adapt to Cameroon’s culture in relation to gender roles?

- An American may have trouble understanding the gender inequality and roles of men and women in Cameroon.

When immersed in Cameroonian culture an individual may have to change the way they communicate and realize that women won’t be as highly regarded as men. For example, according to the site Canadian site Centre for Intercultural Learning (2009), in a work environment “men in managerial positions are likely be respected more than women”( Gender section, para. 2).

INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION COMPETENCE-CONTINUED

- If an American woman moved to Cameroon she may have a hard time adapting to their gender roles and integrating herself into their society. To successfully adapt she must realize that most men in Cameroon perceive women in a certain way and be considerate of this when communicating.

- Knowing the gender roles of men and women also allows an outsider to know who it’s best to communicate with on certain subjects. For example, women are the main caregivers in Cameroon society, and so questions on care-giving would be best answered by a Cameroon women. In some parts of Cameroon a “woman is totally submissive to the man’s authority”( Local Perspective section, 2009, para. 1), which means the husband is more highly regarded in conversation than the wife; what he says goes.

- People must use intercultural communication competence to better understand, communicate, and interact with different cultures, such as Cameroon.

SOMETIMES YOUR CLOTHING SAYS MORE THAN YOU DO

Formal Clothing In Cameroon

Have you ever judged a person on how they dress?

Let’s imagine when you enter a room for the first time, it takes a few seconds for people you have

never met to form perceptions about you and your abilities ratify your clothing.

* In Business:

Your formal clothing speaks volume about who you are as person and as a business

communicator. It is the same in Cameroon; however, according to Peace Corps webside, there are difference

between a business man and woman.

Women : Long, nice skirt/shirt combo or dress (not pants).

At least two nice skirts with shirts (button down or other office-wear type shirt).

Appropriate outfits can later be made easily in-country, and many Volunteers choose to wear locally-made

clothing which Cameroonians appreciate.

Man: Nice pants and button down shirt. Have at least two outfits of business casual quality.

Inexpensive second-hand suits can also be found in the market.

* In General :

Cameroon’s varied climate and differing religious and social customs have created a diversity in traditional

clothing.

Types of formal clothes in Cameroon:

Pagnes: A long swath of fabric, the pagne is a wrapper-style garment worn by women in Cameroon. The

type of cloth used varies from simple cotton batik prints to heavily embroidered satin fabrics for formal

occasions. Pagnes are beautiful and functional, and may be used in several ways: as a protective head

covering, a skirt, a sling-style baby carrier, or to provide warmth and dryness during the rainy season.

Quartre Pouches: This two-piece men's outfit is found in southern and tribal Cameroon. It consists of a pair

of loose-fitting pants and a shirt, often with square pockets on the front. The pieces are made of cotton in

matching designs, resembling the geometric mud cloth patterns created in Mali, West Africa. The outfit

sometimes is worn with a round, close-fitting hat made from matching fabric.

Boubou: Popular in northern Cameroon and common in other areas during special occasions such

as : wedding, the name of a child, a coming of age ceremony, or visit a important person, the "un

boubou avec pantaloon" is a traditional four-piece outfit for men. The ensemble consists of an

undershirt, flowing outer shirt that falls to the hips or longer, loose-fitting pants and a matching hat.

Each piece is made of cotton. The outer shirt is made with multicolored patterns and usually is

embroidered at the neckline, hem or sleeves. The hat matches the pattern of the outer shirt, and the

pants are either solid colored or a complementary print.

Do you know that our dress is one type of nonverbal communication signal? Actually, It

can make a communication with out any conversation. Clothing express people’s personality, taste,

standard of choice, and few more basic norms. Individually, a well formal dressed person expresses

his/her confidence, credibility, and competency. Cameroonians usually choose clothes that fit with

the situations that they attend to give a right message to other people.

When traveling to another county, we need to think about that country’s climate, culture, cloth washing, & recreation activates.

It’s hard to figure out what to pack & how much of it to pack.

Research on the country & or talking to others that have visited Cameroon will help with these questions.

WHAT TO WEAR OR WHAT NOT TO WEAR. THAT IS THE

QUESTION?

Brief History of Cameroon

Cameroon’s people were divided by the rulings of the British & the French.

The country was divided by North & South, Muslim & Christianity, English

language & French language.

Cameroon’s clothing reflex's their religion & the nation in which once ruled them as well as the climate of

the northern region & southern region that they live in.

The northern region was ruled by the French & predominantly Muslim with a

climate being dry & humid.

The southern region was ruled by the British is predominantly Christian with

a climate of lots of rain & humid.

Causal Dress by Cameroon’s

In the northern region where Muslim is the culture & religion, the rule of thumb

for casual dress for women is that as long as their clothing covers their body except their hands & face, is not tight

fitting or of sheer material, bold in color & should not resemble the man’s

clothing. This is so that women don’t attract men purely for the sexual

nature, but for the beauty with in. For men a similar attire applies. Men

should always be covered in loose, unrevealing clothes. No shorts of any

kind that is above the knee.

Think simple, modest, & dignity for dress.

CASUAL DRESS BY CAMEROON’S

In the southern part of Cameroon because the

people are predominantly Christians and were ruled by

the British, their casual clothing is based on the English type of dress.

Because of their climate which is lots of rain & very humid they tend to wear earth tone, light weight

clothing. Adults are expected to wear

professional clothing for work, & not too revealing

clothing after work.

When packing for your trip to Cameroon, you want to consider the culture & the climate.

You may want to consider having your shirts or dresses custom made for only $10.00 there. This will cut down on how many piece of clothing you will bring.

For the most part Cameroon temperature is hot & dry, unless you plan on traveling up into the higher elevations of the region a light jacket will be fine.

It would be wise to bring clothing that is of earth tone clothes, such as: browns, beige, whites, greens, yellows etc. This is because of how dry it is, dust & sediments will get your clothes dirty very quickly & the water that you wash your clothes in may discolor bright & delicate materials.

Shorts & tang tops are only acceptable for sports & vacation time.

PACKING FOR CAMEROON

Adly. Imam., (2010). Masjid al-Muslimiin Retrieved from

http://www.almasjid.com/content/islamic_dress_code

Amela. P., Eldman. F., & Avelsberg. S., (2011). Countries & Their Cultures Cameroon. Retrieved from

http://www.everyculture.com/Bo-Co/Cameroon.html

Beebe, S., Beebe, S.J, Ivy, D., Lane, S., Redmond, M. (2011). The Blue Book of Communication Studies.

Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

"Cameroon - Bing Images." Bing. Web. 15 Nov. 2011.

<http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=cameroon>.

"Cameroon." Bing. Web. 12 Nov. 2011. <http://www.bing.com/search?q=cameroon>.

Cameroon Clothing Traditional Attire and Dress Fashion of Cameroon.web.

http://www.cameroontoday.com/cameroonclothing.html#ixzz1df N6b9Wu

Cameroon-Today. (2010). Welcome to Cameroon Africa. Cameroon Africa

http://www.cameroon-today.com/cameroon-clothing.html

“Cameroon.” Web. 11 Nov. 2011. <http://www.oikoumene.org/en/member-

churches/regions/africa/cameroon.html>.

References

Centre for Intercultural Learning. (2009). Cultural Information. Religion, Class, Ethnicity, & Gender.

Retrieved from http://www.intercultures.

Countries and Their Cultures. “Cameroon.” Web. 11 Nov. 2011. <http://www.everyculture.com>.

ca/cil-cai/ci-ic-eng.asp?iso=cm#cn-7

Fitzpatrick. L., (2009). What Type of Clothing Do You Wear to Cameroon? Retrieved from

http://www.ehow.com/way_5591277_type-clothing-do-wear-cameroon_.html

Invitees: What to wear. Peace Corps. Web. http://cameroon.peacecorps.gov/invitees-dress.php

Jacqui & Lars. (web design). (2001). Nake Campsite 1895. [photo] Retrieved from

http://www.soulfulpresence.org/programs-initiatives.php

Kummer Patricia K. (2004). Cameroon Enchantment of the World. Boston, MA: Herman Adler Design.

McManus, M (site designer). (2005). Meeting with Belo Staff Members in 2005. [photo]. Retrieved from

http://cvai.org/about/

References

Peace Corps. Retrieved March 18, 2011 from Peace Corps Wiki

http://www.peacecorpswiki.com/Packing_list_for_Cameroon

Pitcher, G., Andrew, D., Armstrong, K., Bainbridge, J., Bewer, T. Carillet, J.,…Wruble, V. (2007). Africa :

30th Anniversary Edition. Hong Kong, China: Lonely Planet . Publications Pty Ltd.

Soulful Presence. (non-profit org.). (2011). [photo]. Retrieved from

http://www.soulfulpresence.org/programs-initiatives.php

References

Cameroon

Travel

Transcript of Cameroon