Bamileke.

I've been learning trop much the past month that I feel I need to write a few things about everything. Wednesday, I visited a microfinance organization and talked about women and their role in the informal sector and how that relates to microlending. That afternoon we met with an employee of MUFFA - Mutuelle Financiere des Femmes Africaines - another microfinance that was founded by women to serve women and fund small projects. Ironically, the employee we spoke with was the only male employee, and he is the branch manager in Yaounde. Thursday (yesterday), we met with Dan of the World Bank. Dan was an SIT student himself in Botswana and later became SIT Academic Director of the Botswana and Uganda programs. I learned beaucoup la bas, mais mostly that the WB has many programs and PROBLEMS in Cameroon, and Dan was not afraid to mention that to us. Oh, did I mention he's American, one of the few americans we've spoken with in Cam. After WB was the Peace Corps where we heard from 3 agro/health volunteers who are leaving in a month after 2 years of projects in various parts of the country. Schedule for next week: Monday - Caisse Nationale de Prevoyance Sociale (CNPS)/Ministry of Environment; Tuesday - Center for Environment and Development (CED)/US Embassy; Wed - Ministry of Finance.......I am ever amazed that we have such opportunities to meet with head officials/important actors in Cameroon and I am getting sooo many different perspectives on development and social problems. In what other program would I be able to pose as many questions as I can think of and then later share a meal with the only/main opposition leader to one of the 2 presidents in Cameroon's history (more to come on John Fru Ndi).

What I really wanted to talk about was the Bamileke culture, since it has such a huge presence in this part of Cameroon, namely in the west of the country. So, it’s difficult to talk about Dschang without talking about Bamileke culture. Bamileke is an ethnicity, which actually comprises around 20% of the actual population of Cameroon and is a group that is pretty controversial. Bamilekes are viewed as a versatile group that inhabits all regions of the country but are concentrated in the West. The name Bamileke is a deformation of Mba Lekeo by a german colonist. The name Bamileke is a broad generalization of smaller cultures within the ethnicity; every group is classified by a langue locale and identifies with a specific village. For example, my famille in Dschang is Bafang, meaning they are from Bafang and speak Bafang but are still Bamileke. If that makes sense...

           There's so much that I want to say about Bamilekes. They are a culture very much still attached to their traditions. Each Bamileke that I have encountered, like my grandmother in Yaounde who has lived here for most of her life, identifies strongly with a village and has a strong sense of village pride. Social organization in villages in based on a strict hierarchy. At the top is the chief, his mother, and ministers. 

Bamilekes are somewhat negatively stereotyped, as they have a long history of economic power and political activism. In fact, a frenchman stated "Le Cameroun va a l'independence avec un caillou dans la chaussure. Le caillou c'est les Bamilekes." Other groups view Bamilekes as stingy, greedy, materialistic, and individualist. Interestingly, there is not a Bamileke in a real position of power in the political system.

So, we visited the chefferie of Batufoum, a village a few hours from Dschang. After waiting for several hours outside, we viewed the chef's house and then met him in a sacred place outside for a meal. Then, we walked through the compound with the chef. We met some of his wives and children (chefs have many wives and tens/100s of children - the chef himself is the 90th child out of maybe 200)