Worldview and Society in Oku (Cameroon)
by Hans J Koloss
The religious world-view in Oku forms the basis for all social and political institutions and encompasses also the moral values and cultic activities. It is the ancestors who determine the fate the of the people and whose laws have only one purpose: to foster a community that lives in harmony. What is the significance of the famous Cameroon Grassland’s masks and how are they used? Regarding the cultural background, there has been, up to now, as good as no information. Hans-Joachim Koloss demonstrates that the masks in Oku are a central cultural element and have a close connection to the supernatural medicine which is a protection from witches and other destructive forces. In addition to a detailed portrayal of the political and social system, he discusses each of the subtle interdependent ties between society and world-view, which include ideas of the sense and purpose of life, the relationship to the environment as well as the values and standards which determine social and political actions. This study is based on research which was carried out in Oku (Cameroon Grasslands) between 1975 and 1981 and between 1996 and 1998.
- By (author) Hans J. Koloss
Other Titles in this Series
Similar Books
Writing of Women as Cultural Resistance
Deconstructing Memory Legacies in the Afro-Luso-Brazilian Atlantic
Volume 8
La Suisse, espace privilegie du neoliberalisme / Die Schweiz, ein idealer Nahrboden fur den Neoliberalismus
Beiträge zur Islamischen Kunst und Archäologie
The Arts and Archaeology of Funerary Cultures in Islam
Volume 10.0
Groundbreaking Technologies in the Middle Paleolithic of the Levant
8igh Resolution and Multi-scale Functional Analysis of Ground Stone Tools
Volume 3
Prosperity Gospel Redefined
The Impact of Charismatisation of the Mainline Churches in Tanzania
Volume 5
Viyano – A Passion for Kurds and Mountain Life
The Werner Finke Collection. With the assistance from Eszter Agota Hars and Marina Stoilova
Volume 2
La construction de la ritualite heretique dans le Panarion d’Epiphane de Salamine
Pratiques et polemiques dans l'Antiquite tardive
Quellenpublikationen der Gesellschaft fur Rheinische Geschichtskunde
Rahmenbedingungen, Genese und Rezeption im wissenschaftshistorischen Kontext
Volume 2
