Traditional and new houses, old and new paths to social status in the Mandara highlands, Cameroon

Bibliographic Data

ID18978676
AuthorsMelchisedek Chétima (0000-0002-4248-4838, Université du Québec à Montréal, corresponding author)
Year2023
Volume57
Issue3
Pages625-643
Publication date2023-09-02
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueCanadian Journal of African Studies / Revue canadienne des études africaines (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0008-3968 • E-ISSN: 1923-3051
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/00083968.2023.2210697
OpenAlexW4382937406
LanguageEN
References cited43

This article suggests that in the Mandara Mountains, houses, whether traditional or modern, are means by which social relations are continuously created, reproduced, justified and transformed. This approach has relevance for the literature insofar as authors have mainly focused on the role of elite and public buildings in the generation and maintenance of power and hierarchies, while domestic architecture has been studied mainly as a symbol of group values. Building materials and architectural shapes of houses are continually morphing in the Mandara Mountains, but the social practices related to the use of the inhabited space remain unchanged. The study is original because the existing literature on the Mandara Mountains focuses more on traditional architecture. While this area has surfaced in the news as a hinterland of Boko Haram in neighbouring Nigeria, recent cultural and, in particular, architectural transformations have not received much attention

Archaeology · Elite · Geography · Political science · Politics · Symbol (formal) · African studies and sociopolitical issues · Architecture · Computer Science · Global Maritime and Colonial Histories · Urban and Rural Development Challenges