Mourning Practices in Cameroon:

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Mourning Practices in Cameroon

• A Violation of Womens Rights
• Nji Veronica
• Honors Colloquium
• Professor Susan Kalt.
• December, 2007

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Brief Geography and demography

• http//www.uiowa.edu/africart/toc/Africa.gif

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Map of Cameroon showing the Northwest Province
http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northwest_Province
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More on geography of Cameroon
a)
b)
a) example of landscape of the highlands of the
Northwest Province of Cameroon
b) example of type of houses found in some
villages
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A glance at marriage and womens plight

• Marriage a union of two families, not just two
  individuals
  
• Process
• Most important component- the dowry
• man and his father decide on choice of woman
• father helps with necessary negotiations with
  the womans family
  
• woman has no control over her choice of a
  partner,
  
• Woman is bound to accept fathers choice
• Payment of dowry in a way, makes a woman a
  property to the husband
  
• Woman may experience discrimination and abuse in
  course of marriage
  

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Inhumane experiences of new widows

• The mourning rituals require the widow to
• Be almost naked
• Isolated
• Sleep on bare floor
• Restricted from conversing or interacting freely
• Eat and drink from dirty objects
• Not allowed to attend to daily hygienic needs
• Not allowed to shower until after a stated
  period
  
• Forced to marry late husbands brother or
  relative
  

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Drama of the crying ritual

• Performance art in crying during mourning
• Men not involved in this drama

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Before and after burial of the spouse

• Before burial
• Speeches by kinsmen of the deceased
• Swearing by the widow
• Lowering of the casket
• Filling of the grave- a last farewell
• After burial
• Gun firing at graveside
• Feasting eating, drinking, traditional dancing
  and more gun firing.
  

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• Generally what it looks like at a graveside
  before burial of a deceased

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Example after burial- celebration

• Insert youtube nso/kom juju festival

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Cleansing of the widow
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Mourning rituals and Human Rights

• Patriarchy no equality between men and women
• Disrespect of the UN declaration on abolition of
  all forms of discrimination and violence against
  women.
  
• Exposure of widows to health hazards
• Encroachment on liberty of the women
• Violation of widows privacy

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The plight of widows of the Northwest Province of
Cameroon a reflection of a global plight.

• Women and mourning, a global perspective
• Other areas of discrimination, violence and abuse
  women all over the world may experience other
  than mourning.

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Measures for change

• Education, a tool for empowerment!
• Through formal and informal education, and the
  Human Rights education
  
• By the creation of NGOs
• More international womens conferences

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Thank You for your attention.

• THE END

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