Distorted, Relegated and Colonised: Reconceptualising Ogun as the God of Justice in Sunnie Ododo’s Hard Choice
- Enongene Mirabeau Sone, Olutoba Gboyega Oluwasuji
- Authors: Enongene Mirabeau Sone , Olutoba Gboyega Oluwasuji
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Ogun; coloniality; decolonial turn; Yoruba mythology; Nigeria
- Language: English
- Type: Journal Article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/11260/2648 , vital:42308
- Description: The effort to name and ascribe duties to African gods using Eurocentric knowledge can lead to violence, hence causing them to be tagged negatively. Due to the imperial distortion of African history, the people were made to believe that they need civilisation, salvation, and reconstruction. The colonisers had to convince Africans that all that emanated from the continent was filled with ‘darkness’ and therefore needed to be civilised, reconstructed and humanised by Europe. African myths and religions suffer from this deceptive move by the Europeans and the gods are often relegated to being wicked and unjust. In this paper, which attempts to correct such erroneous beliefs, the focus is on Ogun, the Yoruba god of war, who has been subjected to mistaken identity by scholars, researchers and critics. It is against this backdrop and misrepresentation of Ogun that the authors delink from the notion that the god is a vengeful and obstinate god. They conclude that Ogun is not a god who engages in reckless devastation of life, as is commonly argued in literature criticisms of the Ogun figure, but a god who seeks justice when wronged. Decolonial thought and its view on ‘unthinking’ Eurocentric epistemologies on Africa are used to unpack Ogun’s characteristics as a god of justice in Ododo’s Hard Choice.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Enongene Mirabeau Sone , Olutoba Gboyega Oluwasuji
- Date: 2019
- Subjects: Ogun; coloniality; decolonial turn; Yoruba mythology; Nigeria
- Language: English
- Type: Journal Article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/11260/2648 , vital:42308
- Description: The effort to name and ascribe duties to African gods using Eurocentric knowledge can lead to violence, hence causing them to be tagged negatively. Due to the imperial distortion of African history, the people were made to believe that they need civilisation, salvation, and reconstruction. The colonisers had to convince Africans that all that emanated from the continent was filled with ‘darkness’ and therefore needed to be civilised, reconstructed and humanised by Europe. African myths and religions suffer from this deceptive move by the Europeans and the gods are often relegated to being wicked and unjust. In this paper, which attempts to correct such erroneous beliefs, the focus is on Ogun, the Yoruba god of war, who has been subjected to mistaken identity by scholars, researchers and critics. It is against this backdrop and misrepresentation of Ogun that the authors delink from the notion that the god is a vengeful and obstinate god. They conclude that Ogun is not a god who engages in reckless devastation of life, as is commonly argued in literature criticisms of the Ogun figure, but a god who seeks justice when wronged. Decolonial thought and its view on ‘unthinking’ Eurocentric epistemologies on Africa are used to unpack Ogun’s characteristics as a god of justice in Ododo’s Hard Choice.
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African Oral Literature and the Humanities: Challenges and Prospects
- Authors: Enongene Mirabeau Sone
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: folklore; oral literature; humanities; Africa; education; place; education; universities; curriculum
- Language: English
- Type: Journal Article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/11260/2664 , vital:42311
- Description: This paper examines the origin, evolution and emergence of folklore (oral literature) as an academic discipline in Africa and its place in the humanities. It draws attention to the richness of indigenous knowledge contained in oral literature and demonstrates how the ethical and moral gap in the existing educational system can be filled by the moral precepts embedded in oral literature. The paper argues that African oral literature has not received the attention it deserves among other disciplines of the humanities in institutions of higher learning in Africa. It concludes that any discussion on African literature will be incomplete, and indeed irrelevant, if it does not equally give adequate attention to the oral literature of the African people. As a result, a new curriculum and pedagogy must be designed to give pride of place to folklore and oral literature as the best repository of our cultural norms and values especially in African tertiary institutions.
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- Authors: Enongene Mirabeau Sone
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: folklore; oral literature; humanities; Africa; education; place; education; universities; curriculum
- Language: English
- Type: Journal Article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/11260/2664 , vital:42311
- Description: This paper examines the origin, evolution and emergence of folklore (oral literature) as an academic discipline in Africa and its place in the humanities. It draws attention to the richness of indigenous knowledge contained in oral literature and demonstrates how the ethical and moral gap in the existing educational system can be filled by the moral precepts embedded in oral literature. The paper argues that African oral literature has not received the attention it deserves among other disciplines of the humanities in institutions of higher learning in Africa. It concludes that any discussion on African literature will be incomplete, and indeed irrelevant, if it does not equally give adequate attention to the oral literature of the African people. As a result, a new curriculum and pedagogy must be designed to give pride of place to folklore and oral literature as the best repository of our cultural norms and values especially in African tertiary institutions.
- Full Text:
African Oral Literature and the Humanities: Challenges and Prospects
- Authors: Enongene Mirabeau Sone
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: folklore; oral literature; humanities; Africa; education; place; education; universities; curriculum
- Language: English
- Type: Journal Article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/11260/2656 , vital:42310
- Description: This paper examines the origin, evolution and emergence of folklore (oral literature) as an academic discipline in Africa and its place in the humanities. It draws attention to the richness of indigenous knowledge contained in oral literature and demonstrates how the ethical and moral gap in the existing educational system can be filled by the moral precepts embedded in oral literature. The paper argues that African oral literature has not received the attention it deserves among other disciplines of the humanities in institutions of higher learning in Africa. It concludes that any discussion on African literature will be incomplete, and indeed irrelevant, if it does not equally give adequate attention to the oral literature of the African people. As a result, a new curriculum and pedagogy must be designed to give pride of place to folklore and oral literature as the best repository of our cultural norms and values especially in African tertiary institutions.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Enongene Mirabeau Sone
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: folklore; oral literature; humanities; Africa; education; place; education; universities; curriculum
- Language: English
- Type: Journal Article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/11260/2656 , vital:42310
- Description: This paper examines the origin, evolution and emergence of folklore (oral literature) as an academic discipline in Africa and its place in the humanities. It draws attention to the richness of indigenous knowledge contained in oral literature and demonstrates how the ethical and moral gap in the existing educational system can be filled by the moral precepts embedded in oral literature. The paper argues that African oral literature has not received the attention it deserves among other disciplines of the humanities in institutions of higher learning in Africa. It concludes that any discussion on African literature will be incomplete, and indeed irrelevant, if it does not equally give adequate attention to the oral literature of the African people. As a result, a new curriculum and pedagogy must be designed to give pride of place to folklore and oral literature as the best repository of our cultural norms and values especially in African tertiary institutions.
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The Folktale and Social Values in Traditional Africa
- Authors: Enongene Mirabeau Sone
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: folktales; social values; Africa; positive change; ethical behaviour
- Language: English
- Type: Journal Article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/11260/2704 , vital:42325
- Description: Africans, like people elsewhere in the world, have a set of values which they consider worthwhile and necessary for the preservation and wellbeing of their culture. In this way, it may be said that societal values are embodied in and communicated by its system of education and that the education that a society offers its youth reflects the sum total of what is held dear in that society. In many African societies, an important aspect of traditional education is concerned with teaching oral literature using folktales, riddles and proverbs which aim at moulding character and providing children with moral values like honesty, integrity, courage and solidarity. This paper examines the relevance of folktales to the promotion of social values in Africa by demonstrating how folktales can open a window of understanding to a community’s social norms, values, thoughts, concepts and ideas with a view to drawing implications for positive change. It is predicated on the assumption that African folktales, with a particular focus on Cameroon, promote social and ethical values, provide human understanding, facilitate the elimination of anti-social behaviour and help with social identity construction. The point is that folktales, as a form of oral literature, draw their material from the realities of society and hence reflect people’s values and worldview. As a result, folktales are often used as a vehicle for transmitting and preserving shared values and collective experience. The paper concludes by observing that despite the preponderance of modern means of entertainment in Africa, storytelling persists. Contemporary African folktales are imaginatively refined for the purpose of injecting new meanings, ideas and values, based on society’s contemporary experiences and relations.
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- Authors: Enongene Mirabeau Sone
- Date: 2018
- Subjects: folktales; social values; Africa; positive change; ethical behaviour
- Language: English
- Type: Journal Article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/11260/2704 , vital:42325
- Description: Africans, like people elsewhere in the world, have a set of values which they consider worthwhile and necessary for the preservation and wellbeing of their culture. In this way, it may be said that societal values are embodied in and communicated by its system of education and that the education that a society offers its youth reflects the sum total of what is held dear in that society. In many African societies, an important aspect of traditional education is concerned with teaching oral literature using folktales, riddles and proverbs which aim at moulding character and providing children with moral values like honesty, integrity, courage and solidarity. This paper examines the relevance of folktales to the promotion of social values in Africa by demonstrating how folktales can open a window of understanding to a community’s social norms, values, thoughts, concepts and ideas with a view to drawing implications for positive change. It is predicated on the assumption that African folktales, with a particular focus on Cameroon, promote social and ethical values, provide human understanding, facilitate the elimination of anti-social behaviour and help with social identity construction. The point is that folktales, as a form of oral literature, draw their material from the realities of society and hence reflect people’s values and worldview. As a result, folktales are often used as a vehicle for transmitting and preserving shared values and collective experience. The paper concludes by observing that despite the preponderance of modern means of entertainment in Africa, storytelling persists. Contemporary African folktales are imaginatively refined for the purpose of injecting new meanings, ideas and values, based on society’s contemporary experiences and relations.
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Re-engaging cultural perspectives on disability discourse : An analysis of the Bakossi and Isixhosa Oral Traditions
- Enongene Mirabeau Sone, Mfusi Hoza
- Authors: Enongene Mirabeau Sone , Mfusi Hoza
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: amaXhosa; Bakossi; disability; oral literature; paradigms; perceptions
- Language: English
- Type: Journal Article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/11260/2680 , vital:42322
- Description: A healthy society is one where members make efforts to work together as people from diverse backgrounds towards achieving society’s goals. Although this seems to be a difficult task, some societies have made, and continue to make conscious efforts to achieve this purpose by enacting laws that prohibit discrimination based on disability, race, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity and colour. This article examines the perceptions and conceptualisations of disabilities as portrayed in the Bakossi and isiXhosa oral traditions of Cameroon and South Africa respectively. The article argues that the oral traditions of these communities are heavily loaded with images that highlight stereotypical notions that these societies hold towards disabled persons. The images reveal that these categories of people are the most stigmatised, prejudiced and marginalised. In other words, people with disabilities have been pushed to the margins of society, and face socially-constructed barriers that prevent them from fully participating in many domains of society’s mainstream activities. Undertaken against the background of the sociological and psychoanalytic theories, the study concludes by recommending that inasmuch as disabled people are recognised as existing among the Bakossi and amaXhosa, they should be wholly integrated into their respective societies and treated like other members of the society; as some of them have hidden potentials that can be exploited to salvage society from various trials and tribulations.
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- Authors: Enongene Mirabeau Sone , Mfusi Hoza
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: amaXhosa; Bakossi; disability; oral literature; paradigms; perceptions
- Language: English
- Type: Journal Article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/11260/2680 , vital:42322
- Description: A healthy society is one where members make efforts to work together as people from diverse backgrounds towards achieving society’s goals. Although this seems to be a difficult task, some societies have made, and continue to make conscious efforts to achieve this purpose by enacting laws that prohibit discrimination based on disability, race, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity and colour. This article examines the perceptions and conceptualisations of disabilities as portrayed in the Bakossi and isiXhosa oral traditions of Cameroon and South Africa respectively. The article argues that the oral traditions of these communities are heavily loaded with images that highlight stereotypical notions that these societies hold towards disabled persons. The images reveal that these categories of people are the most stigmatised, prejudiced and marginalised. In other words, people with disabilities have been pushed to the margins of society, and face socially-constructed barriers that prevent them from fully participating in many domains of society’s mainstream activities. Undertaken against the background of the sociological and psychoanalytic theories, the study concludes by recommending that inasmuch as disabled people are recognised as existing among the Bakossi and amaXhosa, they should be wholly integrated into their respective societies and treated like other members of the society; as some of them have hidden potentials that can be exploited to salvage society from various trials and tribulations.
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Symbolism of place and cultural identity in Cameroon
- Authors: Enongene Mirabeau Sone
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Cameroon; symbolism; identity; place; literature; culture
- Type: Journal Article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/11260/2640 , vital:42306
- Description: Each society on earth uses essential symbols which resemble the key ideas, attitudes and values that unite its members. Places are key symbols of many cultures around the world that shape the social, economic, religious, political and psychological aspects of a people’s world view. Its study, therefore, is of primary significance in the systematic reconstruction of a people’s cultural and spiritual experience and provides us with a reliable means of information about different subcultural zones of many a tradition. Oceans, mountains, forests, grasslands, deserts, lakes and rivers form the word’s generalized natural areas. Cameroon is one of the few countries in Africa that has been blessed with all the five broad symbolic places. It is this ecological endowment that must have influenced the authorities to refer to Cameroon as ‘Africa in miniature’. In other words, Cameroon is a microcosm of Africa. Since the life and spirit of Cameroonians are invariably affected by the contrasts in the ecosystems, we intend in this article to demonstrate how a place like mountains can provide an indispensable resonance of symbolization in the cultural evolution of Cameroonians and how the influence of a particular ecosystem like the mountain can be used to establish, consolidate and propagate cultural identity in Cameroon. We shall examine the symbology of each of the major ecosystems briefly before concentrating on that of the mountain.
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- Authors: Enongene Mirabeau Sone
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: Cameroon; symbolism; identity; place; literature; culture
- Type: Journal Article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/11260/2640 , vital:42306
- Description: Each society on earth uses essential symbols which resemble the key ideas, attitudes and values that unite its members. Places are key symbols of many cultures around the world that shape the social, economic, religious, political and psychological aspects of a people’s world view. Its study, therefore, is of primary significance in the systematic reconstruction of a people’s cultural and spiritual experience and provides us with a reliable means of information about different subcultural zones of many a tradition. Oceans, mountains, forests, grasslands, deserts, lakes and rivers form the word’s generalized natural areas. Cameroon is one of the few countries in Africa that has been blessed with all the five broad symbolic places. It is this ecological endowment that must have influenced the authorities to refer to Cameroon as ‘Africa in miniature’. In other words, Cameroon is a microcosm of Africa. Since the life and spirit of Cameroonians are invariably affected by the contrasts in the ecosystems, we intend in this article to demonstrate how a place like mountains can provide an indispensable resonance of symbolization in the cultural evolution of Cameroonians and how the influence of a particular ecosystem like the mountain can be used to establish, consolidate and propagate cultural identity in Cameroon. We shall examine the symbology of each of the major ecosystems briefly before concentrating on that of the mountain.
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Tangomas’ language: Orality and ritual discourse in Bakossi traditional medical practice
- Authors: Enongene Mirabeau Sone
- Date: 2017
- Language: English
- Type: Journal article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/11260/2712 , vital:42326
- Description: The practice of traditional medicine or herbal cures among the Bakossi people of Cameroon, as in any other African society, has been viewed with mixed feelings and sometimes with outright disdain; yet, it has its own type of achievements, particularly in the area of therapeutic cures or exorcism. That notwithstanding, in contemporary Cameroon society one notices how the advent of modern technological developments and Western education has greatly impacted the practice of traditional medicine and the way tangomas (medicine men) practise their art. This study investigates people’s possession of a sacred but rare ability to use language in a way peculiar to orthodox linguistic norms. It demonstrates the fact that oral literature has significant roles to play in African herbal medical practice. Furthermore, the paper examines disease taxonomy and how it affects language use among Bakossi tangomas. It is based on the premise that tangomas place high priority on the magical power of the word, as evidenced in their incantations, invocations and chants. The paper concludes that tangomas possess the best stock of poetical expressions and dramatic dialogue, which they employ to establish a rapport between people and the supernatural forces in the process of healing
- Full Text:
- Authors: Enongene Mirabeau Sone
- Date: 2017
- Language: English
- Type: Journal article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/11260/2712 , vital:42326
- Description: The practice of traditional medicine or herbal cures among the Bakossi people of Cameroon, as in any other African society, has been viewed with mixed feelings and sometimes with outright disdain; yet, it has its own type of achievements, particularly in the area of therapeutic cures or exorcism. That notwithstanding, in contemporary Cameroon society one notices how the advent of modern technological developments and Western education has greatly impacted the practice of traditional medicine and the way tangomas (medicine men) practise their art. This study investigates people’s possession of a sacred but rare ability to use language in a way peculiar to orthodox linguistic norms. It demonstrates the fact that oral literature has significant roles to play in African herbal medical practice. Furthermore, the paper examines disease taxonomy and how it affects language use among Bakossi tangomas. It is based on the premise that tangomas place high priority on the magical power of the word, as evidenced in their incantations, invocations and chants. The paper concludes that tangomas possess the best stock of poetical expressions and dramatic dialogue, which they employ to establish a rapport between people and the supernatural forces in the process of healing
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Language And Gender Interaction In Bakossi Proverbial Discourse
- Authors: Enongene Mirabeau Sone
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Language use, gender, sexist, sexism, Bakossi, proverbs, discourse
- Language: English
- Type: Journal Article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/11260/2616 , vital:42294
- Description: Language can be seen as a systematic means which human beings use in the communication of thoughts, ideas, values, norms and feelings. As a pervasive aspect of our lives, it is a verbal means with which we communicate and conduct social interaction. This paper examines specific aspects of proverbial language of the Bakossi people of the South West Region of Cameroon and determines through a feminist analysis how this language use illustrates in-built sexist connotation in the sense that it generally indicates positive things for males while negative connotations are assumed for women. Proverbs, pronominal forms and idiomatic expressions are collected and analysed to ascertain the above argument. The evidence in this paper serves as a reference point for women of sexism that is built into language use in these old pithy sayings which are meant to encapsulate pearls of wisdom
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- Authors: Enongene Mirabeau Sone
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Language use, gender, sexist, sexism, Bakossi, proverbs, discourse
- Language: English
- Type: Journal Article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/11260/2616 , vital:42294
- Description: Language can be seen as a systematic means which human beings use in the communication of thoughts, ideas, values, norms and feelings. As a pervasive aspect of our lives, it is a verbal means with which we communicate and conduct social interaction. This paper examines specific aspects of proverbial language of the Bakossi people of the South West Region of Cameroon and determines through a feminist analysis how this language use illustrates in-built sexist connotation in the sense that it generally indicates positive things for males while negative connotations are assumed for women. Proverbs, pronominal forms and idiomatic expressions are collected and analysed to ascertain the above argument. The evidence in this paper serves as a reference point for women of sexism that is built into language use in these old pithy sayings which are meant to encapsulate pearls of wisdom
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Swazi oral literature, eco-culture and environmental apocalypse
- Authors: Enongene Mirabeau Sone
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Swazi oral literature; eco-culture; eco-literature; eco-criticism; environmental sustainability
- Language: English
- Type: Journal Article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/11260/2632 , vital:42302
- Description: The main objective of this paper is to show how oral literature is engaged by Swazis with regards to environmental sustainability. It demonstrates the relationship between nature and culture as reflected in Swazi oral literature and how indigenous knowledge embedded in this literature can be used to expand the concepts of eco-literature and eco-criticism. The paper argues that the indigenous environmental expertise among the Swazi people, encapsulated in their oral literature, can serve as a critical resource base for the process of developing a healthy environment. Furthermore, the paper contends that eco-criticism, which is essentially a Western concept, can benefit by drawing inspiration from the indigenous knowledge contained in Swazi culture and expressed in their oral literature. The paper concludes by recommending the need to strengthen traditional and customary knowledge and practices by protecting and recognizing the values of such systems in the conservation of biodiversity for sustainable development
- Full Text:
- Authors: Enongene Mirabeau Sone
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: Swazi oral literature; eco-culture; eco-literature; eco-criticism; environmental sustainability
- Language: English
- Type: Journal Article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/11260/2632 , vital:42302
- Description: The main objective of this paper is to show how oral literature is engaged by Swazis with regards to environmental sustainability. It demonstrates the relationship between nature and culture as reflected in Swazi oral literature and how indigenous knowledge embedded in this literature can be used to expand the concepts of eco-literature and eco-criticism. The paper argues that the indigenous environmental expertise among the Swazi people, encapsulated in their oral literature, can serve as a critical resource base for the process of developing a healthy environment. Furthermore, the paper contends that eco-criticism, which is essentially a Western concept, can benefit by drawing inspiration from the indigenous knowledge contained in Swazi culture and expressed in their oral literature. The paper concludes by recommending the need to strengthen traditional and customary knowledge and practices by protecting and recognizing the values of such systems in the conservation of biodiversity for sustainable development
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The Interrelationship between oral literature and museum studies
- Authors: Enongene Mirabeau Sone
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: folklore; interrelationship; museum studies; oral literature
- Language: English
- Type: Journal Article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/11260/2696 , vital:42324
- Description: Oral literature and museums are intimately related to each other. While the former is an academic discipline, the latter is an institution. This article examines the historical background of the study of oral literature and the historical development of the museum so that the relationship between the two can be easily appreciated. The article argues that oral literature, as a form of folklore, can help to create good museums and that the museum, on the other hand, can contribute to the study of oral literature. This interrelationship, once appreciated by both oral literature scholars (folklorists) and museologists (museum scholars), will be of tremendous benefit to the study of oral literature as an academic discipline and to the development of more thematic museums, especially in Africa where oral literature is a dynamic aspect of societal life.
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- Authors: Enongene Mirabeau Sone
- Date: 2016
- Subjects: folklore; interrelationship; museum studies; oral literature
- Language: English
- Type: Journal Article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/11260/2696 , vital:42324
- Description: Oral literature and museums are intimately related to each other. While the former is an academic discipline, the latter is an institution. This article examines the historical background of the study of oral literature and the historical development of the museum so that the relationship between the two can be easily appreciated. The article argues that oral literature, as a form of folklore, can help to create good museums and that the museum, on the other hand, can contribute to the study of oral literature. This interrelationship, once appreciated by both oral literature scholars (folklorists) and museologists (museum scholars), will be of tremendous benefit to the study of oral literature as an academic discipline and to the development of more thematic museums, especially in Africa where oral literature is a dynamic aspect of societal life.
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Moralising female identity in Cameroon in the 1990s: female prostitution and the song “you gu cry”
- Authors: Enongene Mirabeau Sone
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Misse Ngoh; females; identity; prostitution; Cameroon; modernity; music
- Language: English
- Type: Journal Article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/11260/2672 , vital:42313
- Description: Between the 1970s and early 1980s, when Cameroon was still at the juncture of promising social plenitude, popular music genres like Makossa were a mere auditory art instead of a profit-making activity as we have in Cameroon today. Popular music at that time was simply “music for the ears”, meant to produce emotional sounds, pleasant to listen to. Bars, night clubs and streets were common environs where dancing took place as the physical expression of pleasure from music. The explosion of early music such as Makossa did not match the precarious marketable opportunities at that time. As a result, music appeared as a hobby, and not because singers derived income from its production. The themes focused on varying social experiences and problems, from love and emotional pathos to (im)morality. As such, one is tempted to assert that singers hardly expressed demur or outright lampoonery against public transgressions such as corruption, prostitution or swindling, as is the case nowadays. The themes were far less what we find in contemporary Cameroonian literate culture, namely cinema, media and popular music. This paper focuses on Misse Ngoh’s popular song titled “you gu cry” as a medium of social reform through the beguiling fantasies of a female archetype, Mary, in Cameroon in the nineties. The paper contends that though this song produces laughter, rendering it a humorous piece with potential enough to entertain, the same humour turns out serious, handling prostitution and women involved in this activity in a very negative way. This is achieved when Misse Ngoh, using his female archetype Mary, constructs a problematic image of females in the Cameroon urban sphere. Taking these into consideration, Cameroon popular music as seen from Misse Ngoh’s “you gu cry” takes on a different significance. Finally, in the iconography of Mary, this paper sets out to explore the agency of females who were baffled within the intricacies of urban life and modernity in the nineties. It examines the challenges of the new urban spaces (as notorious corners of prostitution) that such women chose.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Enongene Mirabeau Sone
- Date: 2014
- Subjects: Misse Ngoh; females; identity; prostitution; Cameroon; modernity; music
- Language: English
- Type: Journal Article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/11260/2672 , vital:42313
- Description: Between the 1970s and early 1980s, when Cameroon was still at the juncture of promising social plenitude, popular music genres like Makossa were a mere auditory art instead of a profit-making activity as we have in Cameroon today. Popular music at that time was simply “music for the ears”, meant to produce emotional sounds, pleasant to listen to. Bars, night clubs and streets were common environs where dancing took place as the physical expression of pleasure from music. The explosion of early music such as Makossa did not match the precarious marketable opportunities at that time. As a result, music appeared as a hobby, and not because singers derived income from its production. The themes focused on varying social experiences and problems, from love and emotional pathos to (im)morality. As such, one is tempted to assert that singers hardly expressed demur or outright lampoonery against public transgressions such as corruption, prostitution or swindling, as is the case nowadays. The themes were far less what we find in contemporary Cameroonian literate culture, namely cinema, media and popular music. This paper focuses on Misse Ngoh’s popular song titled “you gu cry” as a medium of social reform through the beguiling fantasies of a female archetype, Mary, in Cameroon in the nineties. The paper contends that though this song produces laughter, rendering it a humorous piece with potential enough to entertain, the same humour turns out serious, handling prostitution and women involved in this activity in a very negative way. This is achieved when Misse Ngoh, using his female archetype Mary, constructs a problematic image of females in the Cameroon urban sphere. Taking these into consideration, Cameroon popular music as seen from Misse Ngoh’s “you gu cry” takes on a different significance. Finally, in the iconography of Mary, this paper sets out to explore the agency of females who were baffled within the intricacies of urban life and modernity in the nineties. It examines the challenges of the new urban spaces (as notorious corners of prostitution) that such women chose.
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Religious Poetry as a Vehicle for Social Control in Africa: The Case of Bakossi Incantatory Poetry
- Authors: Enongene Mirabeau Sone
- Date: 2011
- Language: English
- Type: Journal Article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/11260/2624 , vital:42301
- Description: Religious poetry is generally considered the fruit of a people’s long reflection on their relationship with their gods, with the ancestors, and with the partly seen and unseen universe. It is used to celebrate events in the life of the individual and the community, to express fellowship, and as a powerful means of communication. Thus, religious poetry is an integral element of a people’s heritage. In this paper, I intend to present some forms of religious poetry, which are found among the Bakossi people of Cameroon, in order to show how magically-oriented formulaic expressions are used in order to maintain adherence to the normative order of society. The point I intend to make is that the incantatory form of religious poetry, was, and still is, used among the Bakossi people of Cameroon, as well as in other parts of rural Africa in terms of individual and communal education.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Enongene Mirabeau Sone
- Date: 2011
- Language: English
- Type: Journal Article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/11260/2624 , vital:42301
- Description: Religious poetry is generally considered the fruit of a people’s long reflection on their relationship with their gods, with the ancestors, and with the partly seen and unseen universe. It is used to celebrate events in the life of the individual and the community, to express fellowship, and as a powerful means of communication. Thus, religious poetry is an integral element of a people’s heritage. In this paper, I intend to present some forms of religious poetry, which are found among the Bakossi people of Cameroon, in order to show how magically-oriented formulaic expressions are used in order to maintain adherence to the normative order of society. The point I intend to make is that the incantatory form of religious poetry, was, and still is, used among the Bakossi people of Cameroon, as well as in other parts of rural Africa in terms of individual and communal education.
- Full Text:
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