Away from Africa

Examples of Duala and Bamileke Matriarchal Authority... and a note from Zimbabwe Nowadays, seen from afar, African women appear to be living in very patriarchal societies for the most part. That impression would often not be incorrect, sadly. An exception could be made for the powerful “Mami Benz,” the traders of West Africa. On the other hand, who knows how the men in their family might be behaving with them, no matter their wealth and power! African women had a recognized authority in the socio-political and economic spaces established by traditional cultures. Cameroon has examples of traditional roles played by women. Some of these roles are still relevant today.   Amongst the Duala, the eldest daughter in a family was known as the Mangon, literally “Mother woman.” Even when she marries into another village community, she continues to play a vital role in the important stages of family life, such as births, marriages, and widowhood. She is the last resort in family disputes...

The book  The African Dwelling - From Traditional to Western Style Homes (McFarland, 2019) is published, and available in many countries. It is the English-language version of the French-language book De la case à la villa (Riveneuve, 2014). However, it is not a replica: the book has been updated to reflect more current naming methodology, with some updated images, and includes an index. There are still about 200 images, in black and white. The foreword is by Jack Travis, FAIA. It is my hope that this book will be found in universities as well as personal libraries around the world, as a resource on the evolution of housing in Sub-Saharan Africa, as well as a repository for African terms that may not be easily found anymore. Below is a gallery of additional/color photographs. I'll continue posting color photographs as time goes on. Kain Tukuru home in Bonendalé, Cameroon, built 1953-1954 Entrance to a Bamiléké village, photo courtesy Amélie Essesse ...

Women dancing in celebration, wearing matching "kabas" The neighborhood chief speaking to the community In December, I was invited to a weekend of festivities in Bamendjou, West Cameroon. The occasion was the honoring of my friend, Jeanne Ntopa, to the title of Mafeu. This title appears to have been the title for the Queen Mother, but as I understood it, can now be given to women who have done much good to their community and thus are elevated to Queen Mother status. Among the Bamileke from the region called the Grasslands by the German colonialists, there are many (related) languages. Thus the language spoken in Bamendjou is only barely understood by our Mafeu's own spouse, who is from the Dschang area. I understood nothing at all on the first day; however, I could sense the joy and pride during the Mafeu's neighborhood community celebration. On the second day, the Bamendjou traditional chief, in this title since over 60 years, spoke in French as he ackno...

Koko in the Doual'Art garden In 1987, when I was living in Cameroon and practicing as an architect with my spouse, Epée Ellong, we were asked to rehabilitate the cafeteria of the University Center of Dschang in West Cameroon. It was a Soviet-style building, squat and chunky; the Soviets were not present in Cameroon any longer. Epée Ellong redesigned the exterior to reflect the region's artistic heritage by creating African masks using marble residue. I don't recall how we met Koko Komegne, but we heard that he was a talented painter. We commissioned him with painting frescoes in the cafeteria interior--which he did in record time. The eleven frescoes are based on a jazz theme--another of Koko's passions is music. University Center of Dschang cafeteria It had been years since I last saw Koko Komegne. Fortunately a few years ago I read about him online. He is still living in Douala, and I obtained his cell phone number. (In Cameroon, most people now...

Genita Ingram greeting a guest My friend Genita Ingram, PR professional extraordinaire, invited me to a fundraiser for Project Enterprise on Tuesday, May 17, at Casa Frela, an art gallery in New York City, at 47 West 119th Street. It was a very nice event to raise funds for a nonprofit that provides entrepreneurs in under-served areas with loans ranging from $1,000 to $5,000. The art at Casa Frela was a mix of pieces by contemporary African-American artists and traditional art and artifacts from the African continent, and the gallery is housed in a beautiful historical Harlem brownstone. I recognized several items from the Bamiléké area of Cameroon, as well as many Nigerian and Ethipian pieces. Soothing music was provided by a young Gambian Cora player, Malang Jobarteh. The gallery owner is Lawrence Rodriguez, himself the product of two cultures, Mexican and Native American. Contemporary art Amber beads in a wooden bowl Malang Jobarteh Playin...

W hen we were living in Cameroon, we often worked with people from the family circle and the neighborhood, but at other times, we also had the pleasure of collaborating with talented people we met by coincidence.  As architects, we worked on a variety of projects. One of them was the renovation of a university restaurant in West Cameroon, in the Grassland region.   The original building was from the Soviet-era, in a rather "squarish" architectural style. Epee Ellong, a Cameroonian architect, was able to "Africanize" it by adding mosaic panels on the exterior walls.  As for the inside, there were large empty walls, so we suggested that a modern artist come and decorate them with frescoes. We thought of  Koko Komegne , whom we had met a short time before; he assured us that large-scale frescoes would not pose a problem. As it turned out--we didn't know this before Koko won the bid--Koko is from the same area the building was located in, so he was espe...

In various parts of Africa, there are informal organizations, called "tontine," in French-speaking Cameroon. I looked up “tontine” in the English-language Wikipedia , and the definition is not the same; however, there is a link to the word “ likelamba ,” which describes the everyday African tontine. Two types of tontines The usual system is that all the members of a tontine—usually tontines are all-male or all-female—contribute a set amount of money every month to a common “pot,” and every month a different person takes the entire sum, usually to take care of a large expense they couldn't otherwise afford: tuition for a child, household equipment, etc. It is very difficult to save money in Sub-Saharan Africa for all but a fortunate few. Everyday needs are pressing, and there is never enough money; even if there is, a family member may have an urgent need, and there goes any money that was left over! In Cameroon, there is yet another tontine system, called the ...