bakwerirama

Ndaw'a Ngonja or Traditional "Mat House"

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This is the traditional Bakweri "mat house" or ndaw'a ngonja. We propose working on a project to photograph and film the process of building such a house from scratch, including collection of building materials. These days, most whakpe new construction consists of modern buildings with cement blocks and corrugated aluminium roofs. Construction of ndaw'a ngonja is now a dying art.

Titi Ikoli: Sexual Insult and Female Militancy among the Bakweri

By Shirley Ardener

An excerpt from “Sexual Insult and Female Militancy.” In Shirley Ardener (ed.), 1975. Perceiving Women. London; Malaby Press, pp. 29-53

This article attempts to examine certain manifestations of female militancy in Africa, not only for their own interest, but also to see whether they can throw any light upon the completely independent modern women’s liberation movements with which we are now familiar in the West. The African ethnographical material, which is set out first, refers mainly to the Bakweri, the Balong and the Kom of West Cameroon. Besides oral reports collected from Cameroonians about traditional behaviour and on particular occurrences, for the Bakweri there is additional relevant documentation from Court records.

Stylistic Patterns in Oral Literature: The Form and Structure of Bakweri Dirges

BABILA J. MUTIA - University of Yaounde I, Cameroon

Nordic Journal of African Studies 12(3): 387–406 (2003)

ABSTRACT
This article examines and analyses the language of dirges among the Kpe (or Bakweri), a homogenous ethnic group of semi-Bantu stock in the Southwestern region of Cameroon. By so doing, it exposes the fascinating language variety of the Kpe dirge form as poetry. The article is of the view that the structure of the dirges, their chant and antiphonal form, the figurative language employed by the performers (that includes lyrical repetition, personification, symbolism, imagery, apt metaphors, and allusions) constitutes some of the essential components that are utilized in the realization of this funeral poetry.

The Mokpe (Bakweri) Woman and her Role in the Mokpe Traditional Society

By Catherine L. L. Musoko

In spite of being relegated to the background, the traditional Bakweri woman nonetheless wielded lots of power behind the scenes, and greatly influenced decisions related to the running of the clan.

Traditional Bakweri society was matrilineal in structure. This was seen in the Ewong’a Yowo and Ewong’a Mokossa (“medicine bench”) which was shared exclusively by the sons and daughters of the same mothers, and never of the same fathers. The patrilineal relationship was, however, strongly upheld as far as settlement of property, the burial of the deceased, the selection of a permanent abode for the family, or the taking of a wife were concerned.