Africa's Anthropological Dictionary on Love and Understanding

Ateh-Afac Fossungu

Description

This book deals with love, marriage/family, and witchcraft issues but its central question remains that of whether love without understanding is love. Tackling love from much broader and interdisciplinary angles than just the love-making that most love stories usually focus on, it advances the duo of love and understanding as the foundation of any successful marriage/family. Although Momany is blessed with often easily finding this rare duo, the tensions of belonging in Cameroon have been constant and persistent challenges. The book uniquely raises and brings new and ground-breaking perspectives on its subject-matters, obviously leaving many social scientists with much to do further research on.

Sujets

• Anthropology
• Social sciences
• Ethnography

Informations

• Publié par: Langaa RPCIG
• Date de parution: 07 décembre 2013
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9789956791422
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 4 Mo

Extrait

AFRICA’S ANTHROPOLOGICAL DICTIONARY ON LOVE AND UNDERSTANDING

M ARRIAGEANDTHE T ENSIONSOF B ELONGINGIN C AMEROON

Peter Ateh-Afac Fossungu

Africa’s Anthropological Dictionary on Love and Understanding: Marriage and the Tensions of Belonging in Cameroon

Peter Ateh-Afac Fossungu L a ng a a R esea rch & P u blishing CIG Mankon, Bamenda

Publisher: LangaaRPCIG Langaa Research & Publishing Common Initiative Group P.O. Box 902 Mankon Bamenda North West Region Cameroon [e-mail] www.langaa-rpcig.net Distributed in and outside N. America by African Books Collective [e-mail] www.africanbookcollective.com ISBN: 9956-791-05-9 ©Peter Ateh-Afac Fossungu 2014

DISCLAIMER All views expressed in this publication are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Langaa RPCIG.

Table of Contents Sypnosis.....................................................................................................v Introduction............................................................................................. vii Chapter 1: Loving, Understanding, Teaching, And Learning From Women: The First Four Women And The Farming Creed..............................................................................1 Conversationally getting into a Big-Hearted Man’s Mind and Ways........................................................................................ 1 Miss Mandengue and Presbyterian School Yoke.............................7 MTU Girl (and Mr. English and Mr. Big Heart)............................. 10 The Pivotal Roles of Annastasia and Rita.........................................15 The Ritaian Crisebacology...................................................................24 Susaglamouring in WWMSS-Mpundu: Africanscience Aiding?.... 32 Chapter 2: A Lot Of Love And Understanding But Spouse-To- Be Transformed Into Spouse-Never-To-Be By 99-Sensism?......................................................................................37 Is Anna the Beginning and End of Momany’s Ideal Spouse Journey?.....................................................................................................38 Firstolovism and Annaletterism: Reversing Africa in the West?......................................................................................................... 41 Annaspectiism and the Reciprocal Nature of Respect....................48 Lessons in Christickinology: Christine and Respectful Boldness................................................................................................. 51 Janodilism and the Saker Baptist College (SBC) Girls.................... 55 Lectures in Lovanglocardism: Elizabeth and the Anglophone Card..................................................................................60 Chapter 3: Children, Marriage, One-Sided Love And Understanding, And The 99-Sensical Reconceptualization Of ‘Family’ In Canada: Africanscience Involvement?.....................65 Is Schola Coming Across as the Perfect Wife for Momany?.........65 iii

The Numerous Communications on Children................................ 67 Scholaparentism and Onsilovundism (One-Sided Love and (Mis)Understanding)............................................................................... 68 Re-Conceptualizing the Meaning of Family 99-Sensically..............75 The Pregnancy Story............................................................................ 83 Sistelovism: Ignorance, Revealing Pregnancy, and Perilous One- Sided Love................................................................................................ 94 Chapter 4: Are Spouse (Quest) Gaffes From Manjo To Montréal The Handiwork Of Africanscience?...............................................101 What Happened to the ‘Many Roads to Happiness’ and ‘Bird in Hand’ Theses?..........................................................................................101 The Strange REC (Rita-Elizabeth-Christine) Connexion...............102 The Yaoundé City and Its Adelajonistic Spoilers............................ 106 Is Science Questioning Science Four-Eyesism?...............................116 Chrichantism and the Scholadela Assumption.................................120 Conclusion..............................................................................................137 References...............................................................................................143 iv

Synopsis This book deals with love, marriage, and family issues generally but its central question remains that of whether love without understanding is love. Love and understanding could indeed be just what the world needs to be a better place for all of us. The duo (love and understanding) would also be the foundation of any successful marriage and/or family. Difficult and infrequent as it is to stumble on the duo, the book demonstrates how Momany seems to have been extremely blessed with often having the rare duo constantly waiting at his doorsteps. But the 99-Sense Theory (with its two ugly arms) has obviously been a constant and persistent obstacle to the speedy realization of his objectives. The 99-Sense Theory (or 99-Sensism) deals with the Bangwa people’s popular epithet in Cameroon; the paradox in this whole affair being that Momany often suffers because of his 99-sensical appurtenance (outside arm) whereas behaviourally (by the inside arm) the man does not appear to be a 99-senser, but instead what the book calls ‘a globavillagist’. The outside arm of 99- Sensism refers to the perception of the Bangwa by the non-Bangwa while the inside arm squarely deals with the comportment of the Bangwa themselves that leads the others to fear having serious dealings (like marriage and family) with them. This book’s merit is not just limited to ethnic/cultural relations and (other) exclusion such as Momany’s. It is most importantly worthy because it deals with love from much broader and interdisciplinary angles than just the love- making (and associated pleasures) that most love stories would seem to solely focus on. This book appears to be unique as it crucially raises and brings new and sometimes wholly ground-breaking perspectives on the subject-matters of love and understanding, of marriage, and of family. It will most likely leave many experts (from across many disciplines, continents and societies) with much to ponder about and do further theoretical and applied (evaluation) research on.

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Introduction Some of my reflections have focused on conversations within the CAE [Council on Anthropology and Education]. I have heard many colleagues express the view, in one form or another, that our field needs revitalization. In these discussions, colleagues have expressed differing opinions concerning our relationships with cultural anthropology and with educational research and practice. Some CAE members urge us to strengthen our connections with theory and research in cultural anthropology; others contend that we should strengthen our connections with practitioners. Often, these are treated as competing goals.... Although a particular study often is orientedprimarily toward theory or practice for its source of questions and intended contributions, I do not see the focus on theory or practice as a dichotomy. To elaborate on the image presented above, I think it is useful to think of the “roads” intersecting in the CAE as two continua. One axis involves low to high theory orientation; the other involves low to high practice orientation. In this view, orientations to theory or practice are not oppositional, but are complementary dimensions, with the result that there can be varying combinations (for example, high theory to high practice orientation, high theory to low practice orientation, moderate theory to high practice orientation, and so on) [Jacob, 2001: 266- 67]. Love and Understanding and the 99-Sense Theory at a Glance An epithet is: (1) any word or phrase applied to a person or thing to describe an actual or attributed quality:“Richard the Lion-Hearted” is an epithet of Richard I; (2) a characterizing word or phrase firmly associated with a person or thing and often used in place of an actual name, title, or the like, as “man's best friend” for “dog”;(3) a word, phrase, or expression used invectively as a term of abuse or

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