1. PresentedByBoyd B., Marcella G., Truc-Linh H., Erica H

2. THE CAMEROONIANS CULTUREIS PRESENTED IN THE FOLLOWING ORDERhttp://www.bing.com/search?q=cameroon Traditions and Rituals.(By BoydBrathwaite) Gender Roles. (By Erica Howell) Formal Clothing. (By Truc-Linh P.Ho) Informal Clothing ...(By Marcella Green)The goal of this presentation is how tocommunicate with the Cameroonians byunderstanding their culture through traditions andrituals, clothing and what role men and womenplays in Cameroon. 3. Rituals (Formal and informal)http://www.bing.com/search?q=cameroonKummer 56ByBoyd Brathwaite 4. on http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=cameroCameroon is situated by the Gulf of Guineaon the west coast of Africa. Its area is179,527 square miles (465,000 squarekilometers). Nigeria lies to the west, Chadand the Central African Republic to theeast, and the Peoples Republic of Congo,Equatorial Guinea, and Gabon to thesouth. The climate is hot and humid in theforested south and west, cooler in thehighland Grassfields region of the Westand Northwest provinces, and hotter anddrier in the savanna and sahel of the north.The capital Yaound is in the Centerprovince.Kummer 62 5. The beginning of traditions and rituals: (Informal)Cameroon has distinct regionalcultural, religious, and politicaltraditions as well as ethnicvariety. The country is dividedinto British- and French-ruledLeague of Nations mandatesafter World War I createdAnglophone and Francophoneregions. The English-speakingregion is divided into two culturalregions. The Grass fields peopleof the Northwest Provinceconsist of nearly one hundred Kummer 66chiefdoms, each ruled by adivine king (fon) .http://www.everyculture.com/Bo-Co/Cameroon.htm 6. Kummer 125Peoples of theSouthwestprovince had lesshierarchicalsystems ofgovernance andsocialorganization, wholived along theslopes of MountCameroon. TheBakweri practicerituals of healingand initiation inassociations ofspirit mediums thatdistinguishbetween male andfemale roles andbetween village Kummer 98and bush.http://www.everyculture.com/Bo-Co/Cameroon.htm 7. http://www.bing.com/search?q=cameroonKummer 94In the French-speaking area, the largely the northern region hasMuslim north is culturally distinct from the been culturally dominatedlargely Christian and animist south. The by the Fulani. Urbannorthern area includes three provinces:Fulani are renowned asAdamoua, North, and Extreme North. clerics in the SunniSince the jihad led by an Islamic cleric inbranch of Islam,1804,Kummer 99http://www.everyculture.com/Bo-Co/Cameroon.htm 8. and most of the southern peoples areChristian or engage in traditional, animistreligious practices; but ritual communicationextends beyond collective religiousexpression. It is an intrinsic part of everydayinteractions, ceremonies, theatricalperformances, shamanic chants, politicaldemonstrations which involves music anddance. Almost all occasions and events arehttp://www.bing.com/search?q=cameroonaccompanied by music. Generallytransmitted orally, the general For forest hunter groups likeaccompaniments are claps or stompingBaka, Medzan and Kola, death is thefeet. In traditional performances, there is a most important ceremony and theychorus baking up a soloist, accompanied bybelieve that forest spirits participatetraditional instruments like bells, drums,in death ceremonies by dancingtalking drums, flutes, horns, rattles,under a ruffia mask.scrapers, whistles, xylophones and stringedinstruments all of which varies from onegroup to another. In certain casesperformers sing by themselves only with aharp-like instrument.http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=cameroon http://www.everyculture.com/Bo-Co/Cameroon.htm 9. Masked dancers and some on stilts, whirlabout at village festivals. Wooden fluteshttp://www.bing.com/search?q=cameroonand xylophones made from gourds fill theair with music. As a story recites ancienttale, small audience gathers around.A man sharing a story with his sonPeople from all of Cameroons ethnicKummer 110groups take part in these activities.Pygmies still hunt and grow crops in thesouthern rain forest. Fulani herd cattlein the north, and many Cameroonianswork in oil and shipping industries.These are just a few examples of thevariety of life in Cameroon. Cameroon isAfrica in Miniature (qtd. in Kummer 9).http://www.bing.com/search?q=cameroonhttp://www.bing.com/search?q=cameroon 10. * As a sign of respect men often lower their head and avert their eyes whengreeting someone superior to them in age or position.* Some Muslims will not shake hands across genders.* Since this is a hierarchical society, elders are greeted first.* Women tend not to look the other person in the eye, even if it is anotherwoman.* Greetings should never be rushed. It is important to take time to inquire aboutthe persons family and other matters of general interest during the greetingprocess.Gift Giving Etiquette* If you are invited to a Cameroonians home, bring fruit, whiskey, or wine to thehost.* Do not bring alcohol if the host is Muslim.* A small gift for the children is always a nice touch. School materials or sweetsare standard.* Gifts are not always opened when received.* Gifts are given with two hands or the right hand only; never the left hand. Kummer 106 http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=cameroon+&view=detail 11. Kummer 118 Initiation dance ceremonyKummer 87Eating with right handhttp://www.bing.com/images/search?q=came Kummer 84Kummer 119roonIn traditional homes, men eat first, then the women, and finally the children. In eachof these groups, the oldest are serve first. Hand washing is an important ritualbefore the meal because food is eat with their fingers. Most food is served from acommon bowl.This is a practice that is found in many cultures around the world (Kummer 119).Meeting and Greeting* Cameroonian greetings vary between the Francophone and Anglophone areas.* In both areas, men shake hands with each other.* In the Francophone south, close friends may embrace while brushing cheeks andkissing the air along with a handshake.* In the Anglophone north, close friends have a unique handshake, which they pulltheir hands back, they snap the other middle finger with their thumb. 12. Cameroons wide variety of ethnic groups,languages, religions, climates, andvegetation zones has resulted in manyways of life. Cameroonians eat a greatnumber of different foods, live in manytypes of homes, and wear distinctive,colorful clothing. Although they celebratenumerous traditional festivals, theirnational independence has addedhttp://www.bing.com/search?q=cameroonimportant new holidays (Kummer 119). Traditions and Rituals: (Formal) Ethnic groups and villages throughout Cameroon have special celebrations. Each November, a famous horse racing festival takes place in Kumbo, a grasslands town of the Banso people. Canoe racing takes place in Limbes costal waters between December and March. During the racing season, people from nearby villages perform traditional music and dances onshore. Wrestling tournament are part of the traditional Bakweri culture. They take place in Fako in the dry season in village, division, and subdivision levels. Two national holidays are celebrated with parades, speeches, and other festivities throughout Cameroon (Kummer 126-127). 13. On February 11, the nation celebrates Youth Day. Cameroonian youth weartheir schools uniforms and parade down the nations cities streets. One yearthe parade in Yaounde lasted five hours.On May 20, the nation celebrates National Day. The parades and speeches areheld to promote the feeling of national unity (kummer 126-127). Kummer 58Kummer 58Another formal event in Cameroon is thepresidential election. The president is thehead of the executive branch, as well asthe head of state. The president must beborn in Cameroon and be at least thirtyfive years old. The president is directly Kummer 60elected by all voters in the entire nation(Kummer 59). 14. According to the new constitution, the term of office is seven years, and thepresident can be reelected only once. The president holds most of the politicaland governmental power in Cameroon. He appoints the prime minister and hasapproval of all the ministers in the Council of Ministers. There are almost thirtyministries that take care of everything in the country from agriculture to youthand sports. The president decides what the ministers do and how long theymay do it (Kummer 59-60). Culture is a learned system of knowledge, behavior, attitudes, belief, values, and norms that is shared by group of people from one generation to the next. Identifying what a given group of people values or appreciates can give us insight into the behavior of an Kummer 106individual raised within that culture. Although there are considerable differences among the worlds cultural values. Some researchers believe that the values of individualism and collectivism are the most important values of any culturethey determine the essential nature of every other facet of how people behave (Beebe 150-154). It is this that we see in Cameroon. 15. GENDER ROLESByErica Howell 16. GENDER ROLES Overview- Cameroon is a very diverse place. Lonely Planets Book Africa: 30thAnniversary Edition (2007) notes that Cameroon is one of the mostculturally diverse countries on the continent, its people include ancienttribal kingdoms, Muslim pastoralists and forest-dwelling pygmies (p.276)- That being said the gender roles described are a general impression ofthe culture. Some parts of Cameroon may have more or less genderinequalities. Communication will vary depending on the ethnic group. 17. MEN & WOMENMenWomen Responsible for money/assets Responsible for home/children- land ownership (agricultural) -cooking- main job holder -cleaning-care-giving/child raising Owner of all assets May have part-time job along with household duties More dominant than women Likely doesnt own assets Controlling Less dominant than men Strong ideas on womens role in society Controlled 18. INTERCULTURALCOMMUNICATION COMPETENCE What is intercultural communication competence? - According to the book The Blue Book of Communication Studies it is the ability to adapt ones behavior toward another person in ways that are appropriate to the other persons culture ( Beebe, et al., 2011). How can we adapt to Cameroons culture in relation to gender roles? - An American may have trouble understanding the gender inequality and roles of men and women in Cameroon.- When immersed in Cameroonian culture an individual may have to change the way they communicate and realize that women wont be as highly regarded as men. For example, according to the site Canadian site Centre for Intercultural Learning (2009), in a work environment men in managerial positions are likely be respected more than women( Gender section, para. 2). 19. INTERCULTURALCOMMUNICATION COMPETENCE- CONTINUED- If an American woman moved to Cameroon she may have a hard timeadapting to their gender roles and integrating herself into their society. Tosuccessfully adapt she must realize that most men in Cameroon perceivewomen in a certain way and be considerate of this when communicating.- Knowing the gender roles of men and women also allows an outsider toknow who its best to communicate with on certain subjects. For example,women are the main caregivers in Cameroon society, and so questions oncare-giving would be best answered by a Cameroon women. In some partsof Cameroon a woman is totally submissive to the mans authority( LocalPerspective section, 2009, para. 1), which means the husband is more highlyregarded in conversation than the wife; what he says goes.- People must use intercultural communication competence to betterunderstand, communicate, and interact with different cultures, such asCameroon. 20. SOMETIMES YOUR CLOTHING SAYS MORE THAN YOU DO Formal ClothingIn Cameroon . By Truc-Linh Ho 21. Have you ever judged a person on how they dress?Lets imagine when you enter a room for the first time, it takes a few seconds for people you havenever met to form perceptions about you and your abilities ratify your clothing. * In Business:Your formal clothing speaks volume about who you are as person and as a business communicator.It is the same in Cameroon; however, according to Peace Corps web side, there are difference between abusiness man and woman.Women : Long, nice skirt/shirt combo or dress (not pants). At least two nice skirts with shirts(button down or other office-wear type shirt). Appropriate outfits can later be made easily in-country, andmany Volunteers choose to wear locally-made clothing which Cameroonians appreciate.Man: Nice pants and button down shirt. Have at least two outfits of business casual quality. Inexpensivesecond-hand suits can also be found in the market.http://www.cameroontoday.com/cameroonclothing.html#ixzz1df 22. * In General :Cameroons varied climate and differing religious and social customs have created a diversity in traditionalclothing.Types of formal clothes in Cameroon:Pagnes: A long swath of fabric, the pagne is a wrapper-style garment worn by women in Cameroon. Thetype of cloth used varies from simple cotton batik prints to heavily embroidered satin fabrics for formaloccasions. Pagnes are beautiful and functional, and may be used in several ways: as a protective headcovering, a skirt, a sling-style baby carrier, or to provide warmth and dryness during the rainy season.Quartre Pouches: This two-piece mens outfit is found in southern and tribal Cameroon. It consists of a pairof loose-fitting pants and a shirt, often with square pockets on the front. The pieces are made of cotton inmatching designs, resembling the geometric mud cloth patterns created in Mali, West Africa. The outfitsometimes is worn with a round, close-fitting hat made from matching fabric.http://cameroon.peacecorps.gov/invitees-dress.php 23. Boubou: Popular in northern Cameroon and common in other areas during special occasions such as :wedding, the name of a child, a coming of age ceremony, or visit a important person, the "un boubouavec pantaloon" is a traditional four-piece outfit for men. The ensemble consists of an undershirt, flowingouter shirt that falls to the hips or longer, loose-fitting pants and a matching hat. Each piece is made ofcotton. The outer shirt is made with multicolored patterns and usually is embroidered at the neckline,hem or sleeves. The hat matches the pattern of the outer shirt, and the pants are either solid colored or acomplementary print.http://www.cameroon-today.com/cameroon-clothing.html 24. Do you know that our dress is one type of nonverbal communication signal? Actually, Itcan make a communication with out any conversation. Clothing express peoples personality, taste,standard of choice, and few more basic norms. Individually, a well formal dressed person expresseshis/her confidence, credibility, and competency. Cameroonians usually choose clothes that fit withthe situations that they attend to give a right message to other people. http://cameroon.peacecorps.gov/invitees-dress.php. 25. INFORMAL CLOTHINGByMarcella Green http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=cameroon 26. WHAT TO WEAR OR WHATNOT TO WEAR. THAT IS THE QUESTION?When traveling to another county, weneed to think about that countrysclimate, culture, cloth washing, &recreation activates.Its hard to figure out what to pack &how much of it to pack.Research on the country & or talking toothers that have visited Cameroon willhelp with these questions.http://cvai.org/about/ 27. Brief History of Cameroon Cameroons people were divided by therulings of the British & the French. The country was divided by North & South,Muslim & Christianity, English language & French language.Cameroons clothing reflexs their religion& the nation in which once ruled them aswell as the climate of the northern region & southern region that they live in. The northern region was ruled by theFrench & predominantly Muslim with a climate being dry & humid.The southern region was ruled by theBritish is predominantly Christian with aclimate of lots of rain & humid.http://www.everyculture.com/Bo-Co/Cameroon.htm http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=camer oon 28. Causal Dress by CameroonsIn the northern region where Muslim is the culture & religion, the rule of thumb forcasual dress for women is that as long astheir clothing covers their body except theirhands & face, is not tight fitting or of sheermaterial, bold in color & should notresemble the mans clothing. This is so that women dont attract men purely for the sexual nature, but for the beauty within. For men a similar attire applies. Men should always be covered in loose, unrevealing clothes. No shorts of any kindthat is above the knee. Think simple, modest, & dignity for dress. http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=cameroonhttp://www.ehow.com/way_5591277_type-clothing-do-wear-cameroon_.html 29. CASUAL DRESS BY CAMEROONS In the southern part of Cameroon because the people arepredominantly Christians and were ruled by the British, their casual clothing is based on theEnglish type of dress. Because of their climate which is lots of rain & very humid they tend towear earth tone, light weightclothing. Adults are expected towear professional clothing for work, & not too revealing clothing after work. http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=cameroonhttp://www.ehow.com/way_5591277_type-clothing-do-wear-cameroon_.html 30. PACKING FOR CAMEROONWhen packing for your trip to Cameroon, you want to consider the culture & the climate. You may want to consider having your shirts or dresses custom made for only $10.00 there. This will cut down on how many piece of clothing you will bring. For the most part Cameroon temperature is hot & dry, unless you plan on traveling up into the higher elevations of the region a light jacket will be fine. It would be wise to bring clothing that is of earth tone clothes, such as: browns, beige, whites, greens, yellows etc. This is because of how dry it is, dust & sediments will get your clothes dirty very quickly & the water that you wash your clothes in may discolor bright & delicate materials. Shorts & tang tops are only acceptable for sports & vacation time. http://www.peacecorpswiki.com/Packing_list_for_Cameroon 31. Now after you are pack for Cameroon, and understand that Cameroon hasdistinct regional cultural, religious, and political traditions as well as ethnicvariety., you can feel comfortable going into the English speaking regions ofthe southwest and northwest province or into the remaining Frenchspeaking regions.We should pay attention to what a nation or a culture value in order torespond in communication so that you can form relationships withoutembarrassing encounters when we interact with other cultures. We knowthe Cameroonians favor rituals, clothing and how each gender plays a partin the nation.This presentation was presented by: Boyd Brathwaite ontraditions and rituals, by Erica Howell on gender roles, byTruc-Linh P. Ho on formal clothing, and by Marcella Green oninformal clothing.The goal of this presentation was to reveal the boundaries that wouldhinder others in communicating with the Cameroonians, and made it easyfor one to have effective communication in Cameroon. 32. Thank You for viewing.http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=cameroon 33. QUESTIONS1.If you were to travel to Cameroon, what type of clothing would you wearand why? Have you ever judge a person on how they dress?2.What two national holidays with dates that are celebrate in Cameroonwhich deal with the people, and give the reason behind these holidays?3.What is common among a father and son during bonding time inCameroon, and who is more highly reguarded communication-wise, menor women?4.What do the Cameroonians uesd for entertainment instead of popularmusic on CDs and abstract art? 34. ReferencesAdly. Imam., (2010). Masjid al-Muslimiin Retrieved fromhttp://www.almasjid.com/content/islamic_dress_codeAmela. P., Eldman. F., & Avelsberg. S., (2011). Countries & Their Cultures Cameroon. Retrieved fromhttp://www.everyculture.com/Bo-Co/Cameroon.htmlBeebe, S., Beebe, S.J, Ivy, D., Lane, S., Redmond, M. (2011). The Blue Book of Communication Studies.Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon."Cameroon - Bing Images." Bing. Web. (2011). ."Cameroon." Bing. Web. (2011). .Cameroon Clothing Traditional Attire and Dress Fashion of Cameroon.web.http://www.cameroontoday.com/cameroonclothing.html#ixzz1df N6b9WuCameroon-Today. (2010). Welcome to Cameroon Africa. Cameroon Africa http://www.cameroon-today.com/cameroon-clothing.htmlCameroon. Web. (2011). . 35. ReferencesCentre for Intercultural Learning. (2009). Cultural Information. Religion, Class, Ethnicity, & Gender.Retrieved from http://www.intercultures.Countries and Their Cultures. Cameroon. (2011). .ca/cil-cai/ci-ic-eng.asp?iso=cm#cn-7Fitzpatrick. L., (2009). What Type of Clothing Do You Wear to Cameroon? Retrieved fromhttp://www.ehow.com/way_5591277_type-clothing-do-wear-cameroon_.htmlGoogle. Web. (2011). .Invitees: What to wear. Peace Corps. Web. (2011). http://cameroon.peacecorps.gov/invitees-dress.phpJacqui & Lars. (web design). (2001). Nake Campsite 1895. [photo] Retrieved fromhttp://www.soulfulpresence.org/programs-initiatives.phpKummer Patricia K. (2004). Cameroon Enchantment of the World. Boston, MA: Herman Adler Design.McManus, M (site designer). (2005). Meeting with Belo Staff Members in 2005. [photo]. Retrieved fromhttp://cvai.org/about/ 36. ReferencesPeace Corps. (2011). Peace Corps Wiki http://www.peacecorpswiki.com/Packing_list_for_CameroonPitcher, G., Andrew, D., Armstrong, K., Bainbridge, J., Bewer, T. Carillet, J.,Wruble, V. (2007). Africa :30th Anniversary Edition. Hong Kong, China: Lonely Planet . Publications Pty Ltd.Soulful Presence. (non-profit org.). (2011). [photo]. Retrieved fromhttp://www.soulfulpresence.org/programs-initiatives.php