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Remembering ‘The Troubles’: Reproductive Insecurity and the Management of Memory in Cameroon

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 March 2011

Pamela Feldman-Savelsberg ,
Flavien T. Ndonko  and
Song Yang
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Abstract

The ‘time of troubles’, a period of a radical nationalist movement (the UPC) and state reprisals sometimes called the Bamileke Rebellion, rocked Cameroon during the years surrounding its Independence in 1960. At the time, Bamileke women related their political and economic tribulations to numerous reproductive difficulties. They continue to do so today, linking perceived threats to their ethnic distinctiveness and survival to a sense of reproductive vulnerability. In this paper we explore the management of collective memories of the troubles as part of the social and cultural context of reproduction in a high-fertility society. Building upon extensive fieldwork among the Bamileke since the 1980s, we use data from participant observation, intensive interviews, and a two-round social network survey in six Bamileke women's associations in Yaoundé. Envisioned as a complement to a meaning-centred ethnographic approach, we are interested in several interrelated aspects of how urban Bamileke women manage their repertoire of memory. First, we explore how the ‘time of troubles’ and its memories are referenced in women's images of reproductive threat in three periods of Cameroonian history (the troubles themselves, the aftermath of a regime change, and the ‘crisis’ at the turn to the new millennium). Second, we seek to understand the social structuring of memory in network terms. Who are the carriers of memories of ‘the troubles’? And through which social ties are these memories transmitted and negotiated? Finally, drawing upon Mannheim's insights regarding generations and collective memory, we analyse cohort effects on the content of memories.

Résumé

La «période de troubles» marquée par un mouvement nationaliste radical (l'UPC) et des représailles de l'État, parfois appelée rébellion Bamiléké, a secoué le Cameroun dans les années qui ont précédé et suivi son indépendance en 1960. À l'époque, les femmes bamiléké liaient leurs tribulations politiques et économiques aux nombreuses difficultés de reproduction. Elles continuent de le faire aujourd'hui, en établissant un lien entre les menaces perçues pour leur spécificité ethnique et leur survie, et un sentiment de vulnérabilité reproductive. Cet article examine la gestion des mémoires collectives des troubles dans le contexte social et culturel de la reproduction dans une société dont le taux de fécondité est élevé. S'appuyant sur les abondants travaux menés chez les Bamiléké depuis les années 1980, l'article se sert de données d'observation, d'entretiens approfondis et d'une étude de réseau social en deux phases portant sur six associations de femmes bamiléké à Yaoundé. Envisagé comme un complément d'approche ethnographique centrée sur le sens, l'article s'intéresse aux aspects interdépendants de la question de savoir comment les femmes urbaines bamiléké gèrent leur répertoire de mémoire. Il commence par étudier le mode de référencement de la «période de troubles» et de ses souvenirs dans l'image qu'ont les femmes de la menace pour la reproduction au cours de trois périodes de l'histoire camerounaise (les troubles eux-mêmes, les retombées du changement de régime et la «crise» à l'aube de ce nouveau millénaire). Il cherche ensuite à comprendre la structuration sociale de la mémoire en termes de réseau. Qui sont les porteurs de mémoires des «troubles»? Quels sont les liens sociaux à travers lesquels ces mémoires sont transmises et négociées? Enfin, s'inspirant des idées de Mannheim sur les générations et la mémoire collective, l'article analyse les effets de cohorte sur le contenu des mémoires.

Type
Research Article
Information
Africa , Volume 75 , Issue 1: Collective Memory, Reproduction and Generation in Africa , February 2005 , pp. 10 - 29
Copyright
Copyright © International African Institute 2005

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