Cameroon

Cultural and Ethnic Ties

Most Cameroonians live in rural villages, but there is a growing urban population in cities like Douala. Many Cameroonian cultures have a high degree of social inequality based upon different factors such as caste, age, gender, and access to education or political power. Social status is a key component in the formation of traditional Cameroonian social networks. Although traditional political structures have eroded, largely patrilineal kin networks still determine village organization and land usage among many ethnic groups. Wealthy urban elites mark their social status through housing, dress styles, and language. Religious beliefs are another important element of social identity, networking, and control. Dominant religions include Christianity, Islam, and indigenous belief systems.

Cameroon has a communal society, with much of daily life taking place in open social spaces such as residential courtyards and open-air markets. Members of particular villages often refer to themselves as sons and daughters of that community who share a common bond of social identification. Social control is maintained through informal networks such as gossip, ostracism, and a shared fear of witchcraft or angering ancestors. Social networks of kin and friends are emphasized through shared meals, entertainment, and gifts between rural and urban networks.

[Page 104]Cameroonians create ethnic associations based on these social networks, cemented through common ethnicity or background. Ethnic associations help develop village infrastructures, help maintain the connection between urban migrants and their rural roots, and organize ethnic festivals to help urban residents maintain their traditional cultures. Ethnic associations also include burial societies and rotating-credit organizations designed to provide social and financial assistance to others within the social network. Other nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) include organizations dedicated to social problems such as human immunodeficiency virus and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) and urban street children.

Economy, Traditions, Sports, and Online

Occupations are an important determinant of social status, and there is some occupational specialization among ethnic groups, such as Fulani herders and Hausa and Kanuri traders. Social networks based on extended family and friendships carry over into the business world, with nepotism a common practice due to the desire to work with known and trusted individuals. Trading networks and markets are an important feature of many local economies. Markets are sites of social as well as economic interactions. Smuggling networks are another feature of Cameroon's informal economy. The African west coast has seen a rise in the trafficking of cocaine and other drugs that arrive from Latin America and are smuggled into Europe for sale. Cameroon is also a base for the smuggling of African elephant ivory into the United States and other countries.

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