Challenge of “Serious” Scholarship 109
the coun try’s primary administrative divisions.) In my research, I followed the ethical
guidelines of the American Anthropological Association. All interviews were individ-
ual, private, and conducted in Cameroon Sign Language (CSL). Because I am deaf
and already had knowledge of American Sign Language (ASL), which has heavily
influenced CSL, I was able to gain fluency in CSL fairly quickly.
As previously stated, the study was limited to deaf communities in cities in the
Central, Littoral, Northwest, and Southwest regions; I am not aware of any other
research on the development of the Cameroonian deaf community in the country’s
other six regions. Because of financial constraints and other restrictions on travel
opportunities, CANAD and individual Cameroonian deaf adults also have limited
information on the other regions.^7
During my first stay, I noticed that the concept of research was new to the Camer-
oonian deaf community, as was the method of ethnographic interviewing. Research
on the emancipation topic was associated with the work of NGOs. Therefore, I tried
to find creative ways to communicate my research concept. Based on data col lected
during my first month of fieldwork, I asked Eyonga Beltus, a Cameroonian deaf
artist, to make drawings of key moments and experiences in deaf people’s lives,
such as becoming deaf, communication within the family, going to a deaf school,
learning sign language (instead of the gestural communication and home signs
that are used in villages and with families), helping parents at the farm, and getting
married (see Figures 5.1 and 5.2). Deaf community members could identify with the
drawings and recognize the topics. The drawings also helped to “break the ice” and
make people more comfortable and less shy when meeting a deaf scholar. Another
tool that I used in these meetings is Ruth Morgan’s 2008 book DEAF ME NORMAL,
a collection of life stories of deaf people in South Africa. The deaf participants in
the meetings were very enthusiastic about this work. For most of them, it was the
first time they had ever seen a book about deaf people. Some information, such as
the existence of deaf families, was received with surprise and wonder. The idea of a
book about the Cameroonian deaf community was received as a signal of hope: It- Within the limits and time frame of the study, I have not been able to do interviews yet in the
western regions of Cameroon, although I have interviewed some deaf people from this region. - Interviews (lasting a total of about 10 hours) with a key informant from the Extreme North
region in Cameroon revealed different dynamics of deaf community and sign language in the area and
shed light on the marginalization of deaf people in the central regions. These interviews indicate the
existence of an indigenous sign language, a strong collective sense of deaf community, a transmission
of deaf history by deaf elders, and a sense of inclusion of deaf people in all aspects of society (also see
footnote 8). The Extreme North thus seems to have of deaf awareness that has enabled the local deaf
community to develop critical responses and some resistance to pressures from globalization, dominant
sign languages, and normalizing ideologies (also see Chapter 8).
A strong tradition of informal learning both among deaf peers and in the broader community has
created room for deaf adults to acquire knowledge about the world and take up positions in society. A
deaf informant from Chad who had been living in Cameroon for a couple of years provided another
comparative view: he emphasized the value of a social and moral network and sense of collectivity to
prevent social marginalization and begging. He found that Chad differed from Cameroon in these
aspects. Inclusion of deaf people in the community, apprenticeship, formal and informal education,
and the epistemic authority and care of deaf elders and deaf leaders are factors that come to the fore-
front when discussing his experiences in Chad.