BAMILEKE
The Bamileke people are located in the western
province of Cameroon. They share a boundary
with Anglophone Cameroon. Mount Bamboutous,
a well-known demarcation of the Bamileke in
Cameroon and abroad, extends to the Southwest
up to the Nkam region. The High Lands of
Dschang–Bana–Bangante, a relatively cold area
for this part of Africa, divide the land from the
North to the East.
The wordBamilekeis a colonial corruption of
the name of the Dschang people, who consider
themselves Baliku—that is, the people of the hole in
the Earth. Thus, the name Bamileke is not an orig-
inal term and carries a meaning never intended by
its people, although it has been embedded in the
culture. The word simply attempts to provide a
description of the location of the Bamileke people.
The Bamileke are found everywhere in the
country given their large population in Cameroon.
They live in small groups surrounded by farms. In
overpopulated areas, it is difficult, if not impossi-
ble, to find unused land. The women are solely
responsible for all farm work, whereas the men
are breeders of small livestock; they are also
merchants and craftsmen. In addition, the
Bamileke have made good use of land between
Nkongsamba and Douala toward the Bassa land
in the Mbang and equally toward Banen of
Ndikinimeki. They are owners of an important
percentage of businesses in Douala.
Many secret societies are in operation among
the 8 million Bamileke spread across more than
94 kingdoms. Given that they had a set of com-
mon customs, the people have built a common
cultural identity and cohesiveness across the coun-
try. They hold closed “family” meetings and dis-
cuss and make decisions on family matters
without involving external entities. Decisions usu-
ally address issues such as financial growth, rea-
sons for a death in the family, and adherence to
the process of becoming a successor. This custom,
also widely known asfumlah, is seen as the nexus
of Bamileke culture and religion; it is also widely
believed and feared as a religion, in which a
person, usually a man, donates to a close friend or
family member evil spirits in the form of human
beings in exchange for financial prosperity.
Like their neighbors, the Bamoun (Banoun),
Kom, and Babanki, the Bamileke believe that
human death is not a normal occurrence, but an act
shrouded in mystery and mysticism. No matter
what his or her age, when a person dies, his or her
relatives must consult a doctor or find the reason for
the death. Each person in the family is forced to
come forward and swear before a totem that he or
she has no hand in the death. If there is a murderer
among them, he or she is instantly “trapped” by the
totem. During the burial ceremony, the family mem-
ber must undergo a ceremony involving pouring
libations into the ground, and all material gathered
from the spot is seen as the skull of the deceased.
Masquerades possessed with ancestral spirits
and magical statues are common artifacts used
within the kingdoms. These artifacts, including skulls
of deceased ancestors and musical equipment—
xylophones, drums, and flutes—are kept in a
secret place in the home of the eldest living male
in each lineage. During the celebration of death of
personalities, like King Njoya’s mother (1913),
elephant masks were worn to demonstrate their
importance.
Women are expected to bear children.
Irrespective of her marital status, if a woman does
not have children, the Bamileke believe she has been
bewitched. Consequently, the doctors are consulted,
and remedies are provided that reverse the situation.
The Bamileke believe in the existence of the
supreme god, Si, but Si is remote, and therefore the
ancestor spirits as imbued in masquerades and
statues are more common throughout the king-
doms. When an elder is obliged to relocate to
inherit another compound and property, the previ-
ous home is first purified by a healer with divine
powers, and a dwelling is built to house the ances-
tral skulls in the new location because the spirits
have nowhere to reside, and leaving them with no
home may cause irreparable trouble for the family.Emmanuel Kombem NgwainmbiSee alsoAncestors; ChildrenFurther Readings
Asante, M., & Nwadiora, E. (2007).Spear Masters:
Introduction to African Religion. Lanham, MD:
Universities Press of America.102 Bamileke