TOPIC : SOME SUPERSTITIOUS
BELIEFS FROM MY VILLAGE
Presented by Luc Armel NGUE
Supervised by Mr. Rene MAIMO
American language Center-Class 5A
21/06/2013
Definition:
A notion or a belief is superstitious when it is not based on reason or knowledge.
It is a belief that one event leads to the cause of another without any natural
process linking the two events such as astrology or religion. It is a belief that
contradicts natural.
These kinds of notion or beliefs are found in African villages where they are
considered to be traditional practices. As Cameroun is called the “Africa in
miniature” many people live every day in the way recommended by these
beliefs in our country and particularly in my original village. I am from a small
village called SOMBADJECK. It is located in the Central province of Cameroon, in
the Nyong Ekelle division, between ESEKA and MAKAK stations when you follow
the railroad called the “transcameroonian”. The tribe which is found here and
from which I am is the BASSA tribe that is mainly known for its fierce struggle for
the independence and the end of the colonization in Cameroon. We have a lot of
superstitious beliefs in our customs and traditional practices.
Women and pregnancy:
The first remark that I did about the superstitious beliefs in my village was that
the most common of them concern women and especially pregnant women and
food. This is probably related to the status of the woman in the old society in
general and in our villages in particular. The man was considered as the king and
his family was his kingdom.
For example, in my village women are not
authorized to eat a certain kind of meat like snake, turtle, crocodile and marine
frog even if there are not pregnant. If they don’t’ respect these laws their current
of future baby would have some malformations. But it is important to notice that
all those meats are very rare and tasty.
Specifically for the pregnant women this belief is common in many others tribes in
Cameroon. In the Littoral tribes and others, people believe that by taking part to
certain rituals, a pregnant woman may transfer the pain of childbirth to the
father of the baby. We don’t have this land of belief in my tribe.
Death and funeral ceremonies:
Many other superstitious beliefs in my village are related to the death and
corpses manipulation before and after the burial. One of the most common is the
following : if someone dies through an accident or following a murder, his body
must not enter inside the family house and some traditional rituals must be made
to prevent others members of his family to die in the same way.
Here too, we find the difference between the status of men and women in our
society. In fact, in my village after the death of somebody, whatever is the cause,
women are not authorized to bury a corpse. The funerals take place four days
after the burial for women and five days after the burials for men. In addition, a
very important and respected belief in my village says that when a woman loses
her husband, she must participate in some traditional rituals to prevent her from
falling sick and to prevent her ears from being clogged. As examples of such
rituals, she should wear black clothes and she must cry every morning between
5AM and 6AM until the funeral takes place. This clearly shows that the equality
between men and women is still virtual in our context and is far to become a
reality.
Birth and Babies:
Another area which is also affected by superstitious beliefs in my village is birth
and babies. Many people believe the massage of babies knees with banana
leaves stimulates their ability to walk early. Another belief which is also common
is the massage of grandfather, grandmother knees with money before they carry
the baby for the first time. The belief says that it is to prevent them from having
a knees pain after carrying the baby. But sometimes we observe some confusion
because as the money is concerned and with our African context, all the uncles
and aunts of the parents want to be treated as the grandfather and the
grandmother.
In others tribes like EWONDO there are many superstitious beliefs that
concerned babies. There are mainly some rituals that prevent the baby from
certain illnesses. For example it is forbidden to carry a baby on the hip before
he reaches three months. When the baby reaches three months, the first person
who carries him at the hip have to run very fast with him. It is also forbidden to
have sexual relations with the mother during the three months following the birth.
If the parents refuse to observe this recommendation, the baby will fall ill.
Another one says that a baby must not sit on the feet of an adult, because it
reduces the life of the adult.
Ghosts and ominous:
There are other superstitious beliefs in my village that are related to
supernatural events like the one which says that: If you see many fireflies
gathered in one place, this indicates the presence of a ghost around this place.
Another one which is very common in my village says that some bird singings in
the forest indicate that a person in the village will die in the coming days.
Another belief which is common in many tribes says that: While coming back from
a trip, if you hit one of your foot against a stone, it means that there are some
bad news waiting for you at home.
Conclusion:
There are many superstitious beliefs in my village and in Cameroon in general.
There are already integrated in people’s lives and behaviors and they are
transmitted from one generation to another. No one can declare that there are
all false even if some of them clearly serve certain people interests.