This article questions the place of food in certain events of the life cycle among the Nkam peoples, namely childbirth, traditional marriage and death. A substantial observation has been made. The different stages of the family cycle are punctuated by events marked by rites. These are always associated with a food component which, at each phase, presents particular specificities. It is this observation that motivated the present research, the main objective of which is to highlight the symbolic charge which accompanies the rites which punctuate said events. It is therefore an invitation to explore an identity heritage which constitutes a cultural reference for these groups. The results obtained are based on qualitative surveys carried out in the Nkam department, Littoral-Cameroon region. These investigations, carried out through interviews and participant observation which were held during the course of the events but also during the scheduled meetings. These interviews were combined with the exploitation of literature. This therefore made it possible to organize the present work which revolves around food as an inseparable component of socio-cultural life. In addition, the act of eating appears to be ritualized and carries identity, giving it meaning and imposing itself at each stage of the fabric of human existence.
| Published in | Humanities and Social Sciences (Volume 12, Issue 6) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.hss.20241206.12 |
| Page(s) | 193-201 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Food, Rites, Identity Heritage, Childbirth, Traditional Marriage, Death
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APA Style
Gervain, H. M. R., Baptiste, B. M. J. (2024). Place of Food in the Lives of Peoples of Nkam Division-Cameroon: Symbolic Reading of the Act of Food During Certain Events of the Life Cycle. Humanities and Social Sciences, 12(6), 193-201. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20241206.12
ACS Style
Gervain, H. M. R.; Baptiste, B. M. J. Place of Food in the Lives of Peoples of Nkam Division-Cameroon: Symbolic Reading of the Act of Food During Certain Events of the Life Cycle. Humanit. Soc. Sci. 2024, 12(6), 193-201. doi: 10.11648/j.hss.20241206.12
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Download@article{10.11648/j.hss.20241206.12,
author = {Hen Mbah Roméo Gervain and Bike Mbah Jean Baptiste},
title = {Place of Food in the Lives of Peoples of Nkam Division-Cameroon: Symbolic Reading of the Act of Food During Certain Events of the Life Cycle
},
journal = {Humanities and Social Sciences},
volume = {12},
number = {6},
pages = {193-201},
doi = {10.11648/j.hss.20241206.12},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20241206.12},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.hss.20241206.12},
abstract = {This article questions the place of food in certain events of the life cycle among the Nkam peoples, namely childbirth, traditional marriage and death. A substantial observation has been made. The different stages of the family cycle are punctuated by events marked by rites. These are always associated with a food component which, at each phase, presents particular specificities. It is this observation that motivated the present research, the main objective of which is to highlight the symbolic charge which accompanies the rites which punctuate said events. It is therefore an invitation to explore an identity heritage which constitutes a cultural reference for these groups. The results obtained are based on qualitative surveys carried out in the Nkam department, Littoral-Cameroon region. These investigations, carried out through interviews and participant observation which were held during the course of the events but also during the scheduled meetings. These interviews were combined with the exploitation of literature. This therefore made it possible to organize the present work which revolves around food as an inseparable component of socio-cultural life. In addition, the act of eating appears to be ritualized and carries identity, giving it meaning and imposing itself at each stage of the fabric of human existence.
},
year = {2024}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - Place of Food in the Lives of Peoples of Nkam Division-Cameroon: Symbolic Reading of the Act of Food During Certain Events of the Life Cycle AU - Hen Mbah Roméo Gervain AU - Bike Mbah Jean Baptiste Y1 - 2024/11/18 PY - 2024 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20241206.12 DO - 10.11648/j.hss.20241206.12 T2 - Humanities and Social Sciences JF - Humanities and Social Sciences JO - Humanities and Social Sciences SP - 193 EP - 201 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2330-8184 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.hss.20241206.12 AB - This article questions the place of food in certain events of the life cycle among the Nkam peoples, namely childbirth, traditional marriage and death. A substantial observation has been made. The different stages of the family cycle are punctuated by events marked by rites. These are always associated with a food component which, at each phase, presents particular specificities. It is this observation that motivated the present research, the main objective of which is to highlight the symbolic charge which accompanies the rites which punctuate said events. It is therefore an invitation to explore an identity heritage which constitutes a cultural reference for these groups. The results obtained are based on qualitative surveys carried out in the Nkam department, Littoral-Cameroon region. These investigations, carried out through interviews and participant observation which were held during the course of the events but also during the scheduled meetings. These interviews were combined with the exploitation of literature. This therefore made it possible to organize the present work which revolves around food as an inseparable component of socio-cultural life. In addition, the act of eating appears to be ritualized and carries identity, giving it meaning and imposing itself at each stage of the fabric of human existence. VL - 12 IS - 6 ER -
Faculty of Arts, Letters and Human Sciences, University of Ngaoundere, Ngaoundere, Cameroon
National School of Agro-Industrial Sciences, University of Ngaoundere, Ngaoundere, Cameroon
