Will Epasamoto always be there? By Ivo Arrey Mbongaya

Will Epasamoto always be there?

Author: Arrey Mbongaya Ivo

African Centre for Community and Development

P O Box 181, Limbe, Cameroon

Date 10/09/2008

Published here: https://www.mtnforum.org/sites/default/files/publication/files/epasamoto_beliefsrisk-management_cameroun.pdf

Email: [email protected] [email protected]

The Mount Fako region is not only home to extensive biodiversity. It is a splendid arena of cultural believes. Some of these believes are also not ordinary but powerful ingredients of the Cosmic logic of the Bakweri peoples and their sister tribes inhabiting the slopes of Mount Fako right down to the Atlantic Coast line. This paper however cannot delve into the broad cultural dimensions of these peoples but on a key element; their belief in the strength and protective powers of the Mountain nymph of half man and stone called Epasamoto. They believe the following issues about Epasamoto:

? That the Deity is very powerful and should be continuously appeased to prevent disasters like volcanic eruptions which can bring deaths to Bakweri communities on the slopes of the Mountain right down to the Atlantic Coast line. Actually oral traditions hold that until recently albinos where sacrificed to Epasamoto for one of the numerical sacrifices directed to the Deity. This was because albinos where historically considered a curse in this society.

? They believe that Epasamoto causes the mountain to erupt when he is angry with the ways Bakweri people have violated cultural and ancestral believes.

? They also consider the fact that Epasamoto protects Bakwerians when they are up in the mountain. These arguments where even stronger especially in the time of the Guinness Mount Cameroon race where it was held that Bakwerians were protected up in the mountain and given extra powers to run. This culminated in the belief that Bakwerians will also be top runners or winners of the race. Until a certain Reverend Father from Europe won the race more than once in the 70s and recently, the splendid participation of runners from the North West and West provinces and also the world (for example Mike Scott) did this belief start to deflate. But deflation has indeed been slow and may never be complete.

? The Bakweri people also belief that Epasamoto will divert the path of burning lava so that no Bakweri village can be destroyed during an eruption. This may pose an irony for why does the god get angry with his people and always refrains from destroying them? This reveals probably a somewhat unfettered metaphysical devotion of Epasamoto towards his people which one can only extrapolate necessitates an even blind and unfettered devotion of his subjects, the Bakweri to him.

As a result of these believes in Epasamoto, risk management or exposure to risks during eruptions has been difficult to manage even though financial concerns too have not failed to be present. To understand the extent to which the belief in this Deity has on these issues cited above we must consider the following points:

? Bakweri people despite their exposure or interactions with other peoples including Europeans are still deeply traditional. They are thus still keeping their traditions especially now that their sons have been appointed successively to key political positions in Cameroon. There must thus be an umbrella institution which goes beyond modern religions or happenings that can make them belong hence the rejuvenation of a culture many had written as eroded by Westernism. It has led to the strengthening of their Chief Conferences and traditional institutions like Nganya and awoken the elephant dance which in a way reinforces Epasamoto for don’t elephants stay in Mount Fako where he resides?

? More so traditional rulers and other elders who conduct rites of appeasement (for example the chiefs of Great Soppo and Bamboko and even the paramount chief of Buea) are still very powerful men in this society. During eruptions they must show their transcendent powers with Bakweri ancestors and Epasamoto. They are thus waited to conduct these rituals even when the lava seems to be raging violent.

? The legends too of Epasamoto have also been given weight in oral traditions which in many ways must exaggerate to be authoritative. This point is made worst by the fact that there seems to be a natural long time lapse between eruptions that seems to reinforce the arguments of orality time and again.

? More over the latest eruptions noted in 1999 and 2000 despite extensive destruction did not lead to loss of human lives at least directly. It may have caused hardship to poor farmers and families who lost their farms in the eruption hence where left without livelihood options thereby more poverty and possible deaths in Bakweri villages. The fact that aid for volcanic victims was some times diverted has also been argued to enhance poverty immediately after the above eruptions.

? The overwhelming attachment to ancestral land also makes it impossible for Bakweri people to leave their lands during eruptions and not to return when it subsides. This point is justified by fact that after the eruptions of 1999 most villagers of Bakingili who were housed as eruption victims in Tiko have returned to their village (Based on radio interviews of victims by this author in 2003).

? Besides putting Epasamoto as the main vital force of Mount Fako gives a somewhat cultural title deed or ownership to the Bakweri. These myths or believes arguable are tools that sometimes have not been tempered with even by rulership in some communities (Burnham, 2000). The following salient factors have thus blended with cultural believes to lead to difficulties in risk management during eruptions and to exposure to risks before eruptions. They have led to the following points:

? Difficulties in moving elderly people and young men out of disaster zones because of a some what cultural recalcitrance. They feel if they readily move out during eruptions is a kind of cowardice and a lack of knowledge in the customs that Epasamoto is always there to shield them.

? This has also made it difficult for women and children to move as women might not want to betray their men by abandoning them. Even if many will eventually move as danger increases, they are sometimes slow movements and unconscious of time. This situation is enhanced by the fact that despite certain feminine symbols in the cosmic logic of Bakweri people, they are like many tribes of subSaharan Africa under the influence of strong patrimonial elements (Arrey, 2008).

? It may also be causing a disregard of seismic readings from institutions established to monitor mountain activities in Fako.

? Multiple libations to appease Epasamoto take time and can even further expose the people to more risks. It has also been politicised as many chiefdoms with rites to perform consider eruptions as an opportunity to show case their cultural superiority to other villages.

? More over, it has led to people resettling in areas that might still be subject to future seismic activities. As population is increasing in the region it may also mean too many more people and more funds may have to be used to fight disasters or to curb risks in the area.

Therefore it is right to say that management of risks in and around Mount Fako must include:

? A thorough understanding of the cultural lineages of the people. Better understanding of the cultural lineages will helps in designing interventions that are people centred and very reactive (Toner and Franks, 2006). They must therefore take into account subjective well being (Arrey, 2008) in the region as a means of getting a holistic risk management framework for potential victims.

? Education on the risks issues involved in volcanic eruptions to various stakeholders including women, traditional rulers and children. They must be learning tools and seek to make a bridge between sciences and traditional believes. This involves policies that connect positive thinking with the sociocultural and historical spaces of people (Johnson et al, 2006) This is possible by accepting the strength of Epasamoto and at the same time enhancing the natural weakness of man in face of natural disasters. This could be done via multi-media workshops with videos of eruptions. Learning tools like livelihoods studies have been thought to better classical projects (chambers and Conway, 1992, Shepherd, 1998).

? They must be crafted as holistic participatory tools and pre-empt the dependencies to culture in the region. They must be holistically independent and involve Bakweri people in order to convince their people that despite the love of Epasamoto danger may also be equally cunning especially against human lives. Education is thus a weapon but logic too might be something to engrave in the people that their lives matters to them. They live once and Epasamoto lives forever. He is arguably always there. But will he be always there?

Eruptions vary in magnitude and Fako is still an active volcano. It may be foolhardy to imagine even science can determine in absolute terms the true potential of some massive seismic activities. Cultural believes among the Bakweri might thus be a slap against risk management and exposure to risks among the Bakweri that is if Epasamoto fails to be benevolent as legends hold. Can he? 

References and Bibliography

Burnham, P. 2000. 'Whose forest? Whose myth? - conceptualisations of community forests in Cameroon'. In: A. Abramson & D. Theodossopoulos eds. 'Land, Law and Environment: Mythical Land, Legal Boundaries'. London: Pluto Press.

Chambers R, Conway G. (1992). Sustainable Rural Livelihoods: Practical Concepts for the 21st Century, Discussion Paper 296, Institute of Development Studies: Brighton.

I.M.Arrey (2008) “Can Patrons, Sub-Patrons and Mini-Patrons be the reason for Slow Market Entries in Sub-Saharan Africa?” Published online in https://www.community.eldis.org/falcazo

I.M.Arrey(2008) “Subjective Wellbeing a lucrative Contemporary Jargon for Development Management?” Published online in https://www.africancentreforcommunity.com

Johnson H, Wilson G. (2006) Connecting People and Places: Spaces for Thinking, Learning, Knowledge and Action. Journal of International Development 18, 747-755 Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com) DOI:10.1002/jid.1311

Shepherd A. 1998. Sustainable Rural Development. Macmillan: Basingstoke.

Toner A, Franks T. 2006. Putting Livelihoods Thinking Into Practice: Implications For Development Management Public Admin, Dev. 26, 81-92 Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com) DOI: 10.1002/pad.395 

Please click on media below to get interviews of victims during the Mount Fako Volcanic Eruption by this author Ivo Arrey Mbongaya. They were also voice over for radio productions/programs and presentations by the author.