Re-visiting ‘our’ Cultural Heritage for a Better Understanding of who ‘we are’ as Nso and Babungo people of the Anglophone Cameroon-Africa

Abstract

Before the Missionaries came to Cameroon in the 19th century, unlike any other tribe in the Anglophone Cameroon and beyond, the Nso and Babungo people had remarkable cultural practices which manifested in various aspects of life such as religion, marriage customs, naming rites, music/communication, festivals among others. These cultural values have since experienced tremendous changes which are connected first to the missionary activities and other factors. This historical comparative education study sought to identify some cultural practices and beliefs of the Nso and Babungo people of the North West Region of Cameroon, demonstrate the knowledge of some of those practices, relate them to Western conception or misconception and develop a model to educate the above people that their cultural practices and beliefs are not bad as conceived by the missionaries. The paper is qualitative in nature and has as design ethnography. Conclusions arrived at attest to the fact that the arrival of the missionaries in Africa in general; Cameroon in particular and Nso and Bambungo tribes was a blessing. However, care must be taken to preserve cultural practices and beliefs. This is because the arrival of the west has continued to impact negatively on indigenous African cultures to which Nso and Bambungo traditions and customs are not an exception. Thus, if this trend continues, some aspects of these cultures might likely disappear and posterity will hold ‘us’ responsible. Even though Nso and Bambungo traditional religion, performing of annual sacrifice and traditional marriage ceremonies still survive, their influence is no longer greatly felt by the young ones. The old ones who possess the talent and knowledge are fast passing away with nobody prepared to learn and take over from them.