Bafia people

Bafia (beukpak) people inhabit the Mbam region in the centre province of Cameroon. Their origins are said to share many similarities with those of the Bamun and Tikar people. A division during migratory movements caused the two sets of groups to settle in different areas. Later, the islamisation of most of the Bamun territory further separated them. A yearly festival held in Fumban (Bamun territory) is considered by many to symbolize the recognition of their common heritage.

A Bafia father will give his child a personal name to which his own name (patronyme) is appended. For instance, a father named "Keman a Ndiomo" may call his son "Bitegni a Keman". The "a" in the middle stands for "son of".

The traditional dance of the Bafia is seen to convey a sense of heightened excitement and joy through posture and facial expressions. Dances are traditionally held after successful harvests, although they may also be performed during engagements, weddings, and other official events.

The earliest recorded religious tradition amongst the Bafia was that everything in the world developed from an egg. Both feminine sexual forces, represented by a cave or hollow tree, and masculine sexual forces, represented by a snake or vine, were involved. There was no afterlife, God, nor sin.

The turtle is respected as a traditional totem animal. There is an age-old belief that turtle shells are sacred and can be used to resolve disputes within the community. All those involved are required to lay their hands on the animal's shell as a way of eliciting the truth. The hands of the guilty party will then supposedly contract leprosy as punishment for evil deeds.

Today, the dominant religion is Protestant Christianity ("Mareucana" is the Bafia term), although a small section of the population has converted to Islam (for which the Bafia term is "Moussouloumi").

Traditional life amongst the Bafia, as recorded by Günther Tessmann in 1921, encouraged "conspicuous and significant, naïveté and freedom in sexual activity". Childbirth was joyfully explained to children as soon as they could speak, and sexual play was condoned by age five or six. Until puberty both boys and girls were given free rein to engage in sexual play, but this was not considered genuine sexuality, and children emerged at puberty still considered virgins.

At menstruation, young women were strictly segregated to avoid unplanned pregnancies; at this stage, they were known as "ngon", or sexually inactive virgins. Young men usually engaged solely in homosexuality during this stage and were known as "kiembe", youths who don't yet sexually associate with females. Many young men would develop a boyfriend type of relationship with a special lexan or "bosom buddy". A man who attempted sex with a woman of the "ngon" stage could face torture or even being sold into slavery. He was free to pursue a fully adult woman, but Tessmann stated that, "the youth at this stage is rarely successful, since there is much competition."

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