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Slow Going: The Mortuary, Modernity and the Hometown Association in Bali-Nyonga, Cameroon

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 March 2011

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Abstract

The article describes a new mortuary in Cameroon, which has been constructed in a government hospital by the Bali-Nyonga Development and Cultural Association (BANDECA). The history and character of this hometown association is analysed and the article then argues that the mortuary has changed the temporality of death celebrations, and that this change is largely driven by the needs of national and international migrants. It claims that the association and the traditional authorities are attempting to steer recent changes within a longer historical process of ‘modernizing’ burial. The construction of the mortuary reveals some of the tensions within the community and the challenges these present to the association's leadership. In particular it illustrates the potential conflicts of interest between the hometown association and the national government that result from this form of self-help development project. Finally, the article shows that, despite the increased mobility of the Bali-Nyonga population, it is becoming more important, not less, to be buried at ‘home’, and that the mortuary and remittances are contributing to this process. Since the mortuary enables burials to take place at home, BANDECA is unwittingly reinscribing ethnic territoriality and thereby contributing to a political process of deepening the sense of ethnic belonging in Cameroon.

Résumé

L'article décrit une nouvelle morgue au Cameroun, construite dans un hôpital public par l'association BANDECA (Bali-Nyonga Development and Cultural Association). Après une analyse de l'histoire et du caractère de cette association, l'article soutient que la morgue a modifié la temporalité descélébrations de la mort et que ce changement est essentiellement déterminé par les besoins des migrants nationaux et internationaux. Il affirme que l'association et les autorités traditionnelles tentent d'orienter les changements récents dans le cadre d'un processus historique plus ancien de “modernisation” de l'enterrement. La construction de la morgue révèle certaines des tensions qui existent au sein de la communauté et les difficultés que celles-ci présentent aux dirigeants de l'association. En particulier, il illustre les conflits d'intérêts potentiels entre l'association et le gouvernement national qui résultent de cette forme de projet de développement d'entraide. Enfin, l'article montre qu'en dépit de la mobilité accrue de la population de Bali-Nyonga, il devient plus important, et non moins, d'être enterré dans sa ville natale et que la morgue et les sommes versées contribuent à ce processus. Puisque la morgue permet aux enterrements d'avoir lieu dans la ville natale, BANDECA réinscrit involontairement la territorialité ethnique et contribue par là-même à un processus politique de renforcement du sens d'appartenance ethnique au Cameroun.

Type
Research Article
Information
Africa , Volume 77 , Issue 3 , August 2007 , pp. 419 - 441
Copyright
Copyright © International African Institute 2007

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