Batoufam (Fianlly)

On my walk to school.

            I have been so busy lately that I haven’t really had time to sit down to write about my time in Bamenda and Batoufam. I’m actually currently back in Bamenda thus, I will save that portion of our trip for later.

            Batoufam is a agriculture, based village between Yaoundé and Bamenda. Our first night there, we all stayed in the “chefferie,” the compound where the chief of and his wives and family live. The chefferie’s main building, the palace where the chief himself lives, is a maze of rooms, courtyards, and doors each of which is decorated with traditional paintings and carvings. All of the students stayed in a room off the back of the throne room where we slept on a mattress covered floor. The next afternoon we met our host families and moved in with them.

Our driveway. I took this picture standing just to the right
of my house.

            My host family consisted of my dad, John-Pierre, three moms, my host dad’s brother, and between 30 and 40 kids. I had one mom that was “assigned to me.” I got to know my mom’s kids better than any of the others, they were the only ones whose names I learned. The families live in compounds, ours consisted of about nine buildings. I got my own house, which was interesting. I’m not sure what it is used for when i’m not there because there were very few things in the house. I mainly kept to my small bedroom because the house itself felt too big for me and my few possessions.

My bedroom.

            On a normal day, I woke up at 6:30, brushed my teeth, got dressed, and packed my bag. Breakfast consisted of the previous day’s dinner reheated, which sometimes I didn’t mind and other times was hard to finish. I also has given wine with breakfast and dinner everyday. I felt like I couldn’t refuse the wine, it would have been rude, so in the mornings I made sure to be served only a little. Around 7:20 I left for school, walking down the mountain to the chefferie. The walk was gorgeous with some stunning views. The weather was perfect, and in the morning it felt like an early fall day at home, just a hint of crispness in the air.

            We had classes at the chefferie, in a garden area (the kind that you can picture having grand garden parties in). In the middle of the day, we ate lunch prepared by the chefferie’s cook in an three-sided dinging area. One of the long sides of the building was open and faced a catfish pond. It was really nice spending meal times all together, something that we don’t get to do normally.

I took this standing just outside my mom's kitchen
and the living room where we did homework.
My house is the building on the left, the driveway is
between my house and the other to its right.

            In the afternoon I returned back home, this time climbing the mountain up to my house. Upon returning home, I bathed in a stall behind my mom’s house. There was a rock and dirt floor, three tin walls, and a curtain door. I got a bucket of cold water, so I never waited until too late to shower or else it would have been too cold. Even in the later afternoon, I could see steam coming off my body. In the evenings, I joined my siblings in the living room, next to the kitchen where my mom was preparing dinner, in doing homework. The older siblings all took time to help their younger siblings with their homework. I also helped with English homework whenever someone needed it. When dinner was ready, I joined my dad in the kitchen to eat. The others ate in the living room but as a guest, I ate in the kitchen with my dad. During meals we had all sort of conversations including the affects of colonization in Africa and Cameroon, how the West has and is harming Africa, famous African Americans, whether or not Obama has been a good president, who killed Kennedy, Nelson Mandela, education, etc. My host dad loved to talk, he’s very well read, and very opinionated. He is also quite a comedian. After dinner, I usually retired to my room to finish homework or go to bed.

The entrance to the chefferie.

            While in Batoufam, our program focused on the Bamiléké people that inhabit the village. The chefferie is the heart of Bamiléké culture, according to one of our professors, the chefferie drives everything they do. About 20% of Cameroon’s population is Bamiléké, and they are the most widespread ethnic group. Historically, they come from the Northwest region of Cameroon but today, Bamiléké people can be found living all across the country. The chieftaincy of a Bamiléké village is gained hereditarily, a chief has so many sons that there are plenty candidates to choose from, and one holds the position for life. The chief governs with the help of dignitaries or notables who sit on counsels, are traditional doctors, members of secret societies, or act as chiefs of their own neighborhood. My host dad was a notable, chief of our neighborhood, and a traditional doctor. We got a full tour of the chefferie, visited a traditional doctor in his home (actually we “visited” my host dad, so school came to me on that day), and attended a tontine meeting. Tontines are groups (usually of women) who come together to financially support each other. Kind of like a traditional version of micro-lending the women each contribute a set amount of money a week. The money can then be used for different projects, personal or community. There exist tontines all across Cameroon that deal with a whole variety of issues. The tontine we visited was one created by the chief and consisted of specific women from each of Batoufam’s neighborhoods that focused on development. There are tontines that act as health insurance, support education, pay to have a person’s body brought back it is village when they die, etc.

Some of the decorations and carvings at the chefferie. The spider, chameleon
and tortoise are all symbols of the chef and represent different qualities that a
good chef should have.

            While in Batoufam, we also took a day trip to visit a monastery and an museum a little ways away. We had a soccer match between host siblings and students. We tied, which surprised the Cameroonians. I played almost the entire match, other SIT students sat out, and Elias and Arsenne basically carried our team. We also took a day off from classes to attend the weekly market. Market day in Batoufam is very important, everyone goes. According to my host mom, people start arriving before daylight to set up and remain well after dark. Adults take the day off of work and kids go to the market after school (or they skip school). My mom and I walked to the market together. It was a good ways away and took even longer because we stopped to chat frequently. We also took a detour to visit my dad’s mom. Upon arriving, I followed my mom around the market and met what felt like the whole family. I got a lot of practice greeting people in the language Batoufam as I was introduced to friends and family. We also bought okra, smoked fish, beignets, spices, and other products.

Some of the rooms in the chefferie are set up like a museum,
 a project that is funded by the EU. This particular museum
poster pictured my dad playing a role in a coming of age
ceremony.

            The morning of Saturday the first, we left Batoufam. My dad left before I did in the morning to attend a funeral. It was sad to have to say good-bye. My time in Batoufam was definitely a highlight of my time in Cameroon.