Beyond Ethnic Boundaries: Architectural Practices and Social Identity in the Mandara Highlands, Cameroon

Abstract

The relationship between material culture and ethnicity is an important topic of social science research, but review of the literature shows that archaeologists were more interested in ceramics and to a certain extent in metals and mortuary practices. Other material artefacts such as basketry or architecture attracted little attention, while elsewhere it has been shown that variations in techniques and architectural forms are used to emphasize or to disrupt ethnic distinctions. The Mandara data presented here and collected among three different ethnic groups (Podokwo, Muktele, Mura) show that houses are considered as more important compared to other material artefacts when one comes to speak about ethnicity. People used material practices related to houses to establish specific social parameters so as to differentiate themselves from others (e.g. the Podokwo), as a way to regulate marital relationships (e.g. the Muktele), and as a means to articulate cultural practices that determine interrelationships among rival clans (e.g. the Mura).

Domed or flat? The case study of Building 21 at Kiçik Tepe (Middle Kura Valley, Azerbaijan) and a reconsideration of the Neolithic roofing architecture in the South Caucasus

“…According to R. Besenval (1984: 168), socio-cultural factors can be decisive in constructing houses and shaping roofs, provided that all other requirements linked to the environment (ecological, economic) are met 6 . In the same vein, recent works highlight the social value placed on roofing in the Mandara Highlands in Cameroon (Chétima 2019) and the fact that it is possible to correlate roof construction techniques with cultural identities in eastern Senegal (Pelmoine and Mayor 2020). In the latter case, the roof represents a marker of identity, where each ethnic group is identified based on the materials used, the frame's structure, and the roof's shape.…”

Neotoponymy, Appropriation of Space and Youth Political Expression in Tokombéré, Northern Cameroon (1970–2011)

“…Moreover, the structure of the building, made of cement blocks, reinforced by walled-in irons and a wooden framework that shelters a corrugated iron roof, embodies solidity. The latter reminds us that mountain imagery is attached to stone, a reflection of eternity, power and authority, unlike clay, which refers to submission, docility and servitude (Chétima, 2019a: 49).…”

Modern Houses, Conspicuous Consumption, and Elite–Villager Interfaces in the Mandara Highlands

“…Based on these observations, this paper first aims at showing how elite houses are material agents that constitute the transition from village life to modern/urban life and how this transition created stresses and ambiguities in human relationships that are directly involved in these changes. This approach has relevance for the literature first because the existing literature in the Mandara Mountains (Chétima, 2017, 2018b; Gavua, 1990; Lebeuf, 1961; Lyons, 1992; MacEachern and David, 2013; van Beek, 1986; Vincent, 1991; Seignobos, 1982) and generally in Africa (Blier, 1987; Lane, 2006; Lyons, 2007; Mercer, 2014; Nelson, 2007, Apotsos, 2016) has mainly focused on traditional architecture. Although this zone surfaced in the news as a hinterland of Boko Haram in neighboring Nigeria, the recent cultural and in particular architectural transformations have not received much attention (MacEachern, 2018; Seignobos, 2014).…”