Location: |
Northwestern Cameroon,
eastern Nigeria |
Population: |
25,000 |
Language: |
Mambila (Macro-Bantu) |
Neighboring Peoples: |
Kaka, Tikong, Bafum |
Types of Art: |
Wooden statues are carved to represent the ancestors, and masks that
are worn on the top of the head are carved for use in initiation. Most of
these are characterized by red ocher paint that is applied with white
chalk on a soot blackened background. |
History: |
Linguistic evidence indicates that Mambila ancestors were members of
the original Bantu linguistic split that occurred approximately 2,000
years ago. It is also probable, given the close similarities between
languages spoken in the immediate area of northern Cameroon and adjacent
Nigeria, that the split occurred in this very region. Descendants of the
Bantu have expanded across Africa to the eastern coast and south to the
Cape in the years since that split occurred. The Mambila themselves moved
slightly southwards as a result of Fulani pressure from the North in the
17th and 18th centuries. |
Economy: |
The central location of the Mambila has allowed them to incorporate
food stuffs from all over the world into their agricultural products. The
primary cereal crops include sorghum, rice, and millet. They also grow
bananas, yams, maize, manioc, peppers, peanuts, sweet potatoes, and
tobacco. They acquired the practice of milking cattle from the Fulani and
also use manure from the cattle as fertilizer. Goats, chickens, dogs, and
sheep are raised for meat. Some hunting and fishing is done, but neither
contribute significantly to the daily economy. Both men and women are
involved in farming. |
Political Systems: |
Political authority within individual communities is invested in a
hereditary headman, who is assisted in his duties by a council of elders.
The Bamilike are matrilineal to a higher degree than most of their
neighbors. Children become the property of the woman's family and are
often cared for and adopted by the mother's brother. There are also secret
masking societies, which contribute to community social order through
initiation and public education. |
Religion: |
Most of the people in this region have been influenced to some degree
by the Moslem Fulani, and the Mambila are no exception. They have not
forgotten their practice of commemorating and remembering the ancestors
through sculpture and prayer. Both Moslem and Mambila religions exist side
by side, each one serving its own purpose. |