Par JOSEPH DANIEL BOAYÉHOK Sch.

INTRODUCTION

Culture is defined as the essential thing or element to know about people if one would truly like

to understand and make prediction about their behavior. 1 Generally, conflicts arise from the fact

that, due to the diversity of the people, they become ambiguous to understand; in their inter-

personal relations, coming from various horizons, each and every one holds his origins at heart,

and is most at times not opened enough to embrace the newness introduced by the other. This

other is a person, that John Locke defines as a thinking and intelligible being, who possesses

reason, and reflection, and thus, can consider himself as himself, a thinking thing in different

times and places.2 In this way, it is understood that, getting to grasp a self-knowledge about

himself and his origins, the human individual, conscious and reasonable, responsible of his acts

enters in an enriching affinity with the other person. It is in this view that Antoine de Saint-

Exupery then says: "If you differ from me my brother, far than hurting me, you enrich me".

Furthermore, it could be implied that, the conception of the human person, in our various

cultures is imbedded in what constitutes their religion; since all religion is the product of a

particular culture. In this religion we name rituals, ceremonies, festivals, music dances, myths

and legends and most especially names given to the people.

We aim at defining the conception of the human person in the Beti culture; to do so; we shall

briefly introduce and present these people, present their origin through a myth, their conception

of the human person through their political and social organization, and finally, the moral and

metaphysical Beti person.

1
Cf. Tatah Mbuy. The Faith of our Ancestors. Sala diStampa: Roma 2012. 54
2
Cf. Patrick Juignet. www.philosciences.com

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 I- THE BETI PEOPLE

Cameroon has most often been considered as “Africa in miniature” because of its cultural

diversity and richness. Our focus here is the Beti classified among the Bantu people inhabiting

Cameroon.

They are a people of Central Africa present in primordially in Cameroon, then, Equatorial

Guinea, Gabon and Central-African Republic. They are constituted of the Eton, the Kóló or

Ewondo, the Bulu, the Manguissa, the Etenga and the Mvele; they are all generally called the

Fang while the Fang is also a particular dialect for the Fang people residing in the South of

Cameroon and boundaries of Equatorial Guinea. Their language is the Beti, sub-classified as

Bulu, Eton, Ewondo and Fang languages; though there are some differences, the languages are

similar therefore, the differences negligible.3

They constitute about 77.8% of the population in Cameroon, and, are mostly found in the Centre,

in the South and a part in the East regions.

The word Beti stands as the plural of the word Nti; that which means “noble”, “lord” and gives a

perception of a dominant ethnical group. They are an animist people.4

3
Cf. Joseph Daniel Moungang Boayehok. Death and the Esáni Rite in the Beti Culture. Course on
Scientific Methodology. November 2020.
4
Cf. Theodore Tsala. Dictionnaire Ewondo-Français. Emm. VITTE. Lyon. 91

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 II- ORIGINS OF THE BETI: MYTH OF THE CROSSING OF THE SANAGA

RIVER

A myth could be defined as a legendary story, imagined or invented whose author is unknown

and whose truth is not obvious. Tatah Mbuy defines a myth as “a story often of unknown

authorship but has its origin in the far distant past history and purporting to explain the origin of

the world, culture and rituals”. 5 He emphasizes that “experts usually define a myth as a story

that has compelling drama and deals with basic elements and assumptions of a culture”. 6 We get

to understand that a myth explains the beginning of the world, of human beings and animals, of a

people and his customs.7

The Myth of the Crossing of the Sanaga River is one of the most known among them and seeks

to give an origin to this people. Briefly, it is considered that the Beti have a common ancestor i.e.

“Nanga”. In the XVIIIth century, Ousman Dan Fodio, a muslim chief decides to convert all the

animist people to Islam. When he reached on their lands, realizing the great number they had to

confront, the Beti immediately surrendered and in fear, fled away from the Foulbe. They took the

direction of the Sanaga River to escape; and there they realized, there was no way to flee. God

then took pity on them and sent them “Nganmedza”, a very big serpent to help them go across

the river.

Happening at night, no one knew what he was walking on. But then, the ancestor of the Yanda,

who was the last person to get to the snake was carrying fire and curious to know what he was

5
Cf. Tatah Mbuy. The Faith of our Ancestors. Sala diStampa: Roma 2012. 122-124
6
Ibid
7
Ibid

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walking on, threw some embers of the fire on the back of “Nganmedza”; and it turned upside

down throwing away all those he carried. Another version says that, as a warrior, this ancestor

climbed the snake’s back with a spear and he stumbled. In order not to fall and thinking that it

was a tree he used his spear. “Nganmedza” got wounded and then turned upside down and threw

them away. As for the Yanda descendants, they were punished and cursed by the ancestors. But

it is said today that the curse does no longer exist, and it was extended only to the fourth

generation.

We may ask ourselves how possible could it be; and furthermore, question the relevance of this

myth for the Beti nowadays. It can be considered a utopia, in order to justify their presence

across the Sanaga too and their common lineage.

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 III- THE CONCEPTION OF THE HUMAN PERSON ACCORDING TO THE

BETI

1- IDENTITY AND INFLUENCE OF NAMES

Previously defined as noble or lords or free men; Henri Ngoa defined the Beti as “free men able

to defend themselves by their own means”.8 Thus they admit the diversity of the human gender:

“Bod bene biyet biyet, one eyet dzoe, mene eyet dzam, bi wa bisiki eyet dzia”; i.e. all men are

not identical and therefore, the specificity of everyone must be considered. 9 The name denotes a

magical superiority that goes together with physical superiority and courage. So, the names for

them have a great impact on the people; for example, these names of people: Betebe, Epkele,

Mebina (Abina) have a negative connotation i.e. what we refuse, mockery and testis respectively.

In the other hand, there are names that positively affect their bearers i.e. Akouma: riches, wealth;

Envoutou: juicy; Awoumou: the person who produces; Akaba: the person who shares; Eding:

love and Ngono: the moon.

2- FROM THE PREGNANT WOMAN, TO BIRTH TILL DEATH

The Beti honour the young lady or the woman who is pregnant, in that she carries a treasure of

inestimable value. A child is precious and multiplies the offspring. Therefore while pregnant, the

woman is catered for with so much delicacy; to a certain extent, she is treated like an egg.

8
Philippe Laburthe-Tolra. Les Seigneurs de la Forêt. Publications de la Sorbonne. Paris, Edkarthala 1981.
97
9
Cf. Joseph Mvogo Nganoma. L’identité Historique et Anthropologique des Ekang-Beti une Composante
Bantou. Edition Saint-Paul. Yaoundé 2008. 75

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However, they make a differenciation when they talk of pregnancy i.e. “Man mininga ane abum”

and “Mininga ane abum”. Respectively, they mean “The young girl is pregnant and The woman

is pregnant”. The young girl refers then to the lady who as a result of her youthful age got

pregnant and gave birth in her parents’ house. This child belongs to her family, to the village and

her parents choose to either give the child to the family of the young boy or remain until he will

make himself known. And automatically, the child is named after the girl’s family. Meanwhile

the woman is recognized to have been married and at each birth she knows, it is an agreement at

the couple’s discretion to name the child.

Birth “Abyali” for the Beti is the beginning of life outside of the maternal organism. It is

generally said that a woman gave birth and precising the sex at the same time. This is done in a

coded message. When it is a boy, they cry or shout out three times; and for a girl twice. This cry

out is referred to as “Oyenga”. For the Beti, the birth of a boy is equivalent to a land title that

guarantees the stability of the wife and gladdens the paternal family that welcomes an heir.

The birth of a child procures joy not only to the biological parents, but also to the entire familial

collectivity that is enriched in number. All children belong to their community and are educated

as such.10

As for death, the Beti, being lords, noble people, they believe in the triumph of life over death.

They neither die nor perish; they transcend to the invisible world whose communion and

harmony, they have been safeguarding while powerless face with the human condition. In this

way, the Beti celebrate death, especially when the diseased, lived a life worth it. He is therefore a

hero or a conqueror whose life everybody celebrates.

Cf. Joseph Mvogo Nganoma. L’identité Historique et Anthropologique des Ekang-Beti une Composante
10

Bantou. Edition Saint-Paul. Yaoundé 2008. 102

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They see man like an infinite being. When he dies, he goes to “Nya Nama” meaning the Village

that does not finish. The Beti does not have a clear idea of God but, he believed in God;

“Zamba” meaning who has planted, “Za anga bé”; and “Ntondobe” meaning who makes grow:

“Zamba Ntondobe”. The Beti is considered a library, full of stories, souvenirs, wisdom. It is the

man who transmits and shares his knowledge. He was marked by his honesty, courage and

bravery. Transmission was done from generations to generations.

3- POLITICAL AND SOCIAL ORGANISATION

Like Aristotle who defines man as a “political animal” i.e. called to live with others and involved

in public affairs, so also, the Beti do consider each other in their society. Morals and ethics

embody the bases, references and norms that regulated the behaviours and social interactions of

the individuals. The respect of one’s given speech, of taken engagements, of parents and elders,

of life as a sacred gift of Ntondo’obe, of the good of the other and the collectivity; the culture of

concertation, dialogue and consultation in meetings was a means to find a consensus, maintain or

reestablish authority, cohesion, peace; stimuli of “Avuman”, “Abyali”, “Anyan”, “Amvoe”, and

“Edzoe” that strengthen equilibrium, stability, solidarity, agreement, respect and progress in the

community.11

Dissensions and other misunderstandings born from conflictual relations were solved under the

palaver tree, aiming at appeasing the hearts, establishing or maintaining peace and concord,

cohesion, facilitating reconciliation, removing or limiting polyphony, cacophony, disharmony,

discord, sources of disorder, hatred, bitterness, jealousy, true brakes to evolution, development,

blossoming and growth in solidarity.12

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 IV- THE MORAL AND METAPHYSICAL BETI PERSON

The Beti, conceiving man as an infinite being, who once dead, goes to the village that does not

end too, the Beti conceive that, earth is an illusionary country, as such, they tend towards faith,

which is enlightened by christianism. It is therefore in this way that a “person” is defined as

moral and metaphysical, with the influence of christianism. And among the Beti, it spread so

easily and quickly while in the Middle Age, the Renaissance and even Descartes consider only in

the soul, the faculty to think.13

The Beti considers the other person as an equal being who is not identical to him, but who

deserves respect, and sense of belonging in the entire collectivity. This starts from his early

childhood where he is gradually initiated and taught to mingle among others accordingly. It starts

from the various little communities before reaching the bigger one in whose life every other

person is fully implicated even to problems solving among members. It is clearly seen that the

Beti defines the person as a brother.

13
Cf. Gérard D. & André R. Dictionnaire de Philosophie. 291

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 CONCLUSION

To define the meaning of the human person among the Beti, it was necessary for us to

understand him first as a living being gifted with reason and made not to be and live in

interaction with others. These others, the Beti, consider them brothers, even though not being

identical, but each, having his specificities that are imbedded and taught from his childhood, the

name given to him that runs throughout his existence. The Beti never had a clear idea about God

but believed in a supreme power ruling the world, and living in the Nya Nama: the village that

does not end, to which, they all tend to as infinite beings having lived a life worth it, noble.

Quickly influenced by Christianism, they turned to God as the source of all but already, He is not

the main origin of their specific way of living in the collectivity. Like Aristotle, we can conclude

that the Beti defines a person too as a political animal that which transcends no longer to interact

only with those he calls his brothers, but also with the source of all, God, from who spring their

lives; but then, Christianity could not be considered as the starting point of their definition of the

human person.

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Durozol G. & Roussel A. Dictionnaire de Philosophie, NATHAN, Paris 1997.

Laburthe-Tolra P. Les Seigneurs de la Forêt, Publications de la Sorbonne, Paris,

Edkarthala 1981.

MBUY TATAH, The Faith of our Ancestors, Sala diStampa: Roma 2012.

MVOGO N. JOSEPH, L’identité Historique et Anthropologique des Ekang-Beti une

Composante Bantou, Edition Saint-Paul, Yaoundé 2008.

TSALA THEODORE, Dictionnaire Ewondo-Français, Emm. VITTE, Lyon.

MOUNGANG B. J. DANIEL, Death and the Esáni Rite in the Beti Culture, Course on
Scientific Methodology, Bamenda 2020(Unpublished).

JUIGNET PATRICK, Personne (Définition) www.philosciences.com

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