Résumés
Abstract
Water rituals are part of daily life in Cameroon’s Western Grassfields in general and Laimbweland in particular. Women are connected with these rituals, which play an important role in fecundity and procreation, pacification of the living-dead, dissipation of malevolent spirits, witches and wizards, and treatment of ailments. In this article, I claim that water rituals of Ehzele Laimbwe (women) in North West Cameroon serve vital socio-cultural and cosmological purposes by preserving culture, forestalling looming disaster, and cleansing the community of subverting evil spirits. Regrettably, the advent of Christianity and Western education, among other external influences, diminished participation, with only a portion of the population continuing to subscribe to these rituals cultural practices of old. Rituals are performed during crab and tadpole fishing, for birth and death, at the start of the dry season, during masquerade performances at funerals, and when there is imminent calamity. Employing the methodology of critical observation, discussion, oral interviews and analyzing available documents, I surmise that Ehzele Laimbwe rituals in Baisso, Bu, and Mbengkas (Laimbwe villages) aptly serve these socio-cultural and cosmological purposes. The socio-cultural challenges that Laimbwe face today are due, in part, to their non-respect for and lack of participation in these rituals.
Keywords:
- Cameroon,
- Laimbwe,
- performance,
- ritual,
- culture
Résumé
Les rituels de l’eau font partie de la vie quotidienne dans les prairies occidentales du Cameroun en général et dans les terres de Laimbwe en particulier. Les femmes sont liées à ces rituels qui jouent un rôle important dans la fécondité et la procréation, la pacification des morts-vivants, la dissipation des esprits malveillants, des sorcières et sorciers et le traitement des maladies. Içi, nous affirmons que les rituels de l'eau des Ehzele Laimbwe (les femmes) dans le nord-ouest du Cameroun ont servi des objectifs socioculturels et cosmologiques vitaux en préservant leur culture, en prévenant les catastrophes éventuelles et en nettoyant la communauté des mauvais esprits. Malheureusement, l’avènement du christianisme et de l’éducation occidentale, entre autres influences extérieures, ont rendu ces rituels superflus, seule une partie de la population adhérant à cette pratique culturelle ancienne. En employant la méthodologie de l'observation critique, de la discussion, des entretiens oraux et de l'analyse des documents disponibles, nous supposons que les rituels Ehzele Laimbwe à Baisoo, Bu et Mbengkas (villages Laimbwe) ont bien servi ces objectifs socioculturels et cosmologiques. Les défis socioculturels auxquels les gens sont confrontés aujourd'hui sont dus en partie au fait qu'ils ne respectent plus ces rituels et n'y participent plus.
Mots-clés :
- Cameroun,
- Laimbwe,
- rituel,
- performance,
- culture
Parties annexes
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