Ancestral Veneration in Traditional Cameroonian Society
The practice of acknowledging and venerating ancestors is a key aspect of ritual and ceremonial practices in most traditional Cameroonian societies. The understanding that the dead continue to interact with and influence the living in ways that can be beneficial or harmful is a commonly held belief. This is in the context of the world view that all existence is one coherent whole under the aegis of multiple lesser spirits or deities and a supreme being or deity which is the animating force of life. In many cases, ancestors take on the role of intercessor between this supreme being and their living relatives since their existence in the spirit realm gives them access to higher wisdom, perspective, and power. Invoking and propitiating these ancestors is, thus, considered necessary for family and village well being.[i],[ii],[iii] Ancestors are invoked, thanked or their assistance or blessing sought for important activities or events such as family, clan or village meetings, marriages, births, send offs and receptions, significant achievements as well as the start or end of work.
There are many ways in which ancestors of family, clan, people, or village are engaged. Some common practices include the pouring of libations, offerings of food, animal, and other kinds of sacrifices, as well as veneration of consecrated objects and places into which ancestors are believed to have materialized.
Libations
A libation is the ritual act of pouring out a drink or other ritual substance as an offering to a spirit, a deity or to ancestors. Pouring of libations is possibly the most universally recognized ritual of ancestral veneration in Cameroon, mainly because it has persisted into modern life. Libations are usually poured as part of the rituals that mark the start of important meetings and other ceremonial gatherings. [iii],[iv],[v] It is not uncommon to find that when people of a particular village or ethnic group gather in urban centers, libations are poured out to ancestors and then prayers are addressed to the Christian or Muslim God or vice versa. In villages or more rural parts of the country where traditional practices still underpin much of daily life, libation pouring is more common, sometimes even a reflexive action done before a jug of palm wine is shared among friends. In formal gatherings, there is symbolic meaning associated with the person who pours the libation, the container from which the libation is poured and even the type of drink offered as a libation. Among the Bamileke of the Western region, who maintain the practice of ancestral skull veneration, libations are poured by the keeper of ancestral skulls who is a specialist officiant and acts as the intermediary between the living and the dead.[iii] Like the Beti, who also preserve ancestral bones in reliquaries for veneration and propitiation, Bamileke ancestral veneration is an example of the close relationship between the living and the dead being more than just a notional practice. Among the Bamileke, it is believed that a person cannot pour libations if the dead person is not a direct ancestor or if during their lifetime they did not have a close relationship with the dead person.[vi] Among “grassfield” tribes of the Northwest and Western regions, libations to ancestors are often poured from ceremonial drinking horns by titled individuals such as lineage or clan heads. [i],[ii] These individuals often go on to become ancestors themselves.[vii] Water, palm wine or other alcoholic beverages are the common libatory offerings, although other valuable substances such as palm oil can be used, as is the case among the Bamum.[viii]
Food and Animal Sacrifices
Sacrifices in the form of food and animal offerings are another way in which ancestors are propitiated. Sharing of food is another way in which the belief in the reality of ancestral presence is affirmed. After all, what is a realer act of communion than the breaking of bread? Food sacrifices are sometimes placed at sacred sites. In other cases, they are shared among those present at the sacrifice. In many cases, a portion of the food is offered to ancestors and the rest is shared among those present. Among the Oroko of the Southwest region, a typical ancestral food offering consists of boiled plantains and meat cooked in palm oil, served in wooden dishes called eboki. These offerings are made to thank village ancestors and deities for blessings such as preventing famine. They are placed at a sacred site known as Luwa la Mboka (discussed below). Among the Bangwa, also of the Southwest region and another tribe which practices ancestral skull veneration, a sacrificial offering might consist of grilled goat meat chopped into small pieces and fried ground pumpkin seeds, both of which are mixed in palm oil. [ix] In one example, this food offering, as well as drops of blood from the leg of a rooster are sprinkled on ancestral skulls to thank them for a successful doctoral thesis defense. [ix] Among the Batoufam and Bansoua of the Western region, goats and chickens are common sacrificial animals.[x] They are slaughtered, and their hair or feathers are burned off. They are then eviscerated and prepared with palm oil and salt. Part of the resulting meal is poured on the sacred site which sometimes features ancestral skulls. The rest is shared and consumed by those present. When the animal sacrificed is a goat, the meat is prepared with plantains and is called kondrè. Kondrè is eaten during most traditional ceremonies.
The Special Role of Blood
The inclusion of blood as part of the sacrifice holds deep symbolic meaning. In cultures across the world, blood is believed to contain the essence of life and is considered “privileged nourishment of the gods” in numerous spiritual traditions. [vii],[xi]. When an animal is slaughtered, the identity of the person performing the act is important as shedding of blood has great symbolic meaning. In some traditional societies of Northern Cameroon, sacrifices are performed by specific individuals such as the compound head’s nephew (specifically a sister’s son) or some other designated assistant if the person making the sacrifice is a religious chief since they are prohibited from slaughtering animals themselves or handling their meat.[xi] The blood of sacrificed animals is “fed” to ancestors, ritual objects, sprinkled on property, sacred sites, buildings, or people. [vii],[x],[xii],[xiii],[xiv]
Sacred Sites and Objects
Sacred sites and objects are another means by which ancestors are recognized and venerated in traditional Cameroonian society. This involves the creation and maintenance of shrines, forest groves, and objects of different levels of importance. The Oroko people of the Southwest region, maintain sacred sites known as Luwa la Mboka at the entrances of their villages.[xv] A typical Luwa la Mboka, when it exists, consists of different parts, each of which serves a different purpose. A particular section of the Luwa la Mboka is reserved for placing food offerings to tribal ancestors. Oroko villages also have Bole bwa Ngomo, ancestral stones which are located at the center of the village. These stones serve as a site for oath taking in the presence of ancestors who are believed to play a role in community processes of adjudication. The Oku people of the Northwest region maintain a sacred forest grove known as Lumeto believed to the abode of Mkong Moteh, the “Father of Oku”.[xvi] Lumeto encompasses all the surrounding natural forest which is considered a shrine which connects the Oku people to their ancestors. Among the Baka of the Eastern region, the whole forest is a sacred site, endowed with its own spirit, Jengi.[xvii],[xviii],[xix] Sacred sites such as these are known to be critical biodiversity sites and the only sites supporting several indigenous tropical plant species.[xx] Among the Fang of the Center and Southern regions, ancestors are venerated with sacred objects known as byeri. A typical byeri consists of a package containing the relics of the dead, other ritual materials, and a statue which sits on top of this package to serve as a guardian of the relics.[xxi] Among people of the grassfield tribes of the Northwest region, objects such as drinking horns and ancestral stools are believed to be symbolic containers of ancestral presence, endowing the possessor of such items with the ability to communicate with and thus embody the wisdom, authority and other positive qualities of the associated ancestors. [i]
Conclusion
Ancestral veneration is often characterized as a kind of mindless “ancestor worship” by people who either do not understand or who disagree with aspects of the practice. These practices, however, reflect an understanding of life which situates the people in given a community as part of a continuous expression of the life-affirming possibilities and potentials the community carries. Commenting on the importance of these practices to the formation and maintenance of a coherent sense of self and community, African American anthropologist, Katrina Donald-Hazzard frames such practices as a means by which Africans “honor and commune with their progenitors…framing their own existence and substantiating who they are while both focusing ancestral energies and directing them toward a positive end.”[xxii]
References
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