Bamileke

Bamileke: dancers

Bamileke, any of about 90 West African peoples in the Bamileke region of Cameroon. They speak a language of the Benue-Congo branch of the Niger-Congo family. They do not refer to themselves as Bamileke but instead use the names of the individual kingdoms to which they belong or else refer to themselves as “grasslanders.” Their origin is uncertain, but it appears that under pressure from Fulani invasions in the 17th century they moved southward in a series of migrations from the region that is now occupied by the Tikar people.

Each of their kingdoms was ruled by a king (fon) whose position was hereditary within a localized patrilineal lineage. Some of these kings were assisted by a queen mother (mafo). Descent, succession, and inheritance are patrilineal among the Bamileke. Polygyny is practiced, marriage often involving a substantial bride-price. The Bamileke practice sedentary farming. Their staple crops include corn (maize), taro, and groundnuts (peanuts). Men clear the fields, build houses, and engage in crafts, while women do most of the cultivating. They have little livestock.

Settlement patterns typically take the form of neighbourhoods of scattered family homesteads. Their square houses have conical thatched roofs surmounting latticework walls, made of raffia poles with mud-filled interstices. Chiefs’ houses are decorated with carved doorframes and house posts; a wide variety of articles was at one time skillfully carved by the Bamileke from wood, ivory, and horn. The Bamileke are an enterprising people who have eagerly adapted to a cash economy. They have played an important role in the economic development of Cameroon as professionals, traders, artisans, and labourers. In the late 20th century, they numbered about 2,120,000.

Ancestor worship is the dominant form of religion; the lineage head preserves the ancestral skulls and offers sacrifices to them. Charms and medicines are prepared by doctors, who also practice divination by interpreting an earth spider’s manipulation of marked blades of grass. Some Bamileke have adopted Islām, especially in the north; and others have been converted to Christianity.