Society and Change in Bali Nyonga
Critical Perspectives
1st Edition
Published on 7. February 2011
197 pages
978-9956-579-31-0 (ISBN)
Description
Contemporary Bali Nyonga is a rapidly growing town of over 80,000 in habitants, sixteen kilometres southwest of Bamenda, the capital of the North West region, Cameroon. If Cameroon has been aptly referred to in many circles as Africa in miniature, then Bali Nyonga, since its founding in the mid 19th century is emblematic of this so-called imulticulturali region. This book is about change in Bali Nyonga, but it is also about change in a typical postcolonial African setting grappling with a challenging new world reality. It aims to provide cutting-edge analyses of cultural change in Bali as well as inspire a new kind of scholarship in the Cameroon Grasslands n championed by indigenous intellectuals. The contributors to this volume come from diverse academic backgrounds and as will be evident in the various chapters, their disciplinary perspectives have largely shaped their approaches to the topics under study. Hence, this book draws on anthropological, theological, literary and media studies perspective.
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Content
- Cover
- Title page
- Coyright page
- Contents
- Tabe of Figures
- Preface
- Chapter One - Introduction: Society and Culture in Early 21st Century Bali
- From Raiders to City-state
- The Politics of Place and Culture
- Organisation of Book
- Conclusion
- Section One: Rites & Rituals
- Chapter Two - Old Wine in New Wineskin? Social Change and Traditional Religion in Bali Nyonga
- Introduction
- A Definition of Religion
- Traditional Religion in Bali Nyonga
- The Locus of traditional religion in Contemporary Bali Birth, Marriage and Death
- The Lela Festival and Voma
- The future of Traditional Religion amidst Missionary Religions
- Conclusion
- Chapter Three - Performance Aesthetics, Structure and Language of Bali Nyonga Divination Systems
- Introduction
- Beliefs and Cosmology
- Methodology
- Performance Aesthetics
- Ndong-ngab
- Malam
- To'
- Mbum ngob
- Form and Language
- Structure
- Diction
- Imagery
- Metaphor
- Proverbs
- Greeting Patterns
- Exclamations
- Repetition
- Questions
- Personification
- Dialogue
- Digression
- Supra-Segmental Features
- Conclusion
- Chapter Four - Marriage and Widowhood Rites in Bali Nyonga
- Introduction & Background
- Background & Historical Context
- Stages in Marriage Rites
- Investigation and Background
- Pre-Engagement (Cho Mungwi)
- Engagement (Nu Ndu Mungwi)
- Escorting of the Bride
- Bridal Seclusion
- Widowhood in Bali Nyonga
- A postscript on marriage and widowhood rites in Bali Nyonga
- Conclusion
- Section Two: Bali Online
- Chapter Five - Imagining Bali Nyonga Online: Online discussions of the Bali-Bawock Crisis on a Bali Electronic Forum
- Mbonbani@yahoogroups.com
- Brief History of the Bali and Bawock
- Background to the Crisis of 2007
- News and Information
- Defending the homeland: Asserting Bali Nyonga authority
- Bali Warriors
- Traditional Institutions and Cultural Practices
- Conclusion
- Chapter Six - Language Use in a Multicultural Online Community
- Research Questions and Methodology
- The Sociolinguistic Situation in Cameroon, Home Country of Mbonbani Indigenes
- Language Policy during the Colonial Era
- Language Policy in Post-colonial Cameroon
- The Current Place of Indigenous Languages
- The History of Mungaka
- The Rise of Mungaka Diasporic Populations
- Mbonbani Egroup
- Is Mungaka an endangered language?
- Language Use on Mbonbani
- Conclusion
- Section Three: Oral Discourse & Politics
- Chapter Seven - Social Criticism through Oral Discourse in Bali Nyonga
- Introduction
- Background Information/Literature Review
- Analysis
- Conclusion
- Chapter Eight - Chieftaincy at the Crossroads: Politics, Society and Customary Reform in Bali Nyonga
- Contested Terrain: Chiefs in Politics
- Slippery Slopes: Ganyonga III in Local Politics in Bali
- Customary Reform
- Conclusion
- Chapter Nine - Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Notes on Contributors
- Back cover
