Traditional Institutions in Kembong (Cameroon)

The foundations of the egalitarian system, to which all hierarchical tendencies were suspect, were maintained by the Ejagham throughout the long colonial era. In addition, the women enjoyed more possibilities for development than in many other parts of Africa. Important decisions are made in the village assembly and, despite Christianization, the power of the ancestors as well as that of the feared witches have been kept largely intact. The secret societies have held their significance and, with the use of their spectacular masks, are responsible for the tasks of social and political control, for the repelling and persecution of dangerous and hostile powers, and for the organization and carrying out of the great feasts for the dead, which are always celebrated according to tradition. Hans-Joachim Koloss succeeded in studying, in Kembong, the capital of the region, the essential aspects of the society and world-view of this small and, until now, little-known race of people and in portraying them in an extensive series of photographs.