Processes of the Sedentarisation of the Mbororo in North West Region-Cameroon

Abstract

<jats:p>Objective: It is to analyse the processes of the pastoral Mbororos’ transition from nomadism to sedentarisation in the North-West Region of Cameroon. Methods: From observations, all the cultural core surrounding the pastoral Mbororo have had a tendency which has faced changes and has “obliged” the Mbororo to transit from their mobile (nomadic) way of life a sedentarised one, including their principal activity, cattle rearing. The study was carried out in a period of four years including twenty seven (27) months of data collection in the field. Succinctly put, this study covered the wide and extensive culture of the Mbororo in the North-West Region of Cameroon with particular focus on the transition process from nomadism to sedentarisation. Results: The major findings can be summarized as follows: Sedentarization is usually accompanied by larger cultural change. Despite ties with the pastoral communities, the settled pastoral Mbororos are undergoing dramatic changes in customs and relationships. This includes a departure from communal and kin-based relations in the nomadic period to a more individualized identity in the sedentarised system. Sedentarization represents an alternative economic strategy as part of a larger set of diversification strategies. A mechanism connecting the ‘government’ of the Steppe Empire and pastoral tribes was the institution of the Gift Economy. By manipulating gifts and distributing them among comrades-in-arms and tribal chiefs, the ruler of the Steppe Empire strengthened his potential influence and prestige as the ‘generous khan’. Simultaneously, he bound the persons receiving gifts by the ‘liability’ of the ‘return gift’. Concerning the plight of the pastoral Mbororo, the government of Cameroon has ventured into several policy areas on nomadic pastoralism. These include plans aimed at improving the well-being of the Mbororo and those of their animals. The successes or failures of this model and its assumptions are debatable.</jats:p>