by According to Wikipedia, “The Bamileke…are the largest ethnic group in Cameroon and inhabit the country’s West and Northwest Regions.”
Furthermore, “Polygamy (more specifically, polygyny) is practiced, and some important individuals may have literally hundreds of wives.”
I can attest to this, we taught one guy in Douala who was polygamous.
Our Elder’s Quorum President, Fr. Daniel came from a polygamous family of 35 brothers and sisters. Another member came from a family of 25 and 5 mothers.
This Bamileke fabric is really expensive and hard to find. It’s best to go shopping with the members so that they will show you where to go and so that they can haggle the prices down for you.
The Bamileke also ardently believe in witchcraft as a way of making money and becoming wealthy.
There are these people called Marabout, or witch doctors, who can curse you or bless you by accepting an offering of blood. The Cameroonians and Nigerians actually believe all of this stuff and they talk about it all the time.
In other parts of Africa, like Congo, they actively try to seek out and kill witch doctors because they are seen as working for the devil. In Congo, being deemed a witch doctor is a death sentence. However in Cameroon, they embrace the witch doctors.
When people are going through hard times, they will approach the witch doctor and he will grant them whatever they want.
Whenever someone will tell you that they come from the “West” or “L’ouest” that is another way of saying that they are Bamileke.
Bamilike are really hard to convert. They are too attached to their traditions and social pressures to join the church.
For this reason, in Yaoundé, a lot of the best members who convert don’t come from the West, or from Cameroon, but come from other countries like Chad or Central African Republic. They have less to lose from joining the church than the Bamileke who will lose their honor and respect of their family.
Cameroonians love music. Here are some songs that I heard a lot in Cameroon.
Cameroonians also love cuisine. Here are some Cameroonian recipes that I enjoyed.
The Cameroonians have their own slang which is really important to learn and to use to gain their trust.
This article will help you learn the cultural challenges that the church faces in Africa:
