Melchisedek Chétima
Biographic Data
| ID | 95712 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Melchisedek Chétima |
| GIVEN NAMES | Melchisedek |
| FAMILY NAME | Chétima |
| SIGNATURE | CHÉTIMA M |
| AFFILIATIONS | Université du Québec à Montréal |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-4248-4838 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 17 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 44 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 17 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2015 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2024 |
| H-INDEX | 5 |
Reinserting ex-associates of Boko Haram in Cameroon
In November 2018, the State of Cameroon announced the creation of the National Committee for Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (NCDDR) to organise, supervise and manage the disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration of former Boko Haram fighters and armed groups in the English-speaking North-West and South-West regions. The need arose as communities had been hosting successive waves of former Boko Haram associates. This research fo…
Slavery in the Mandara Mountains and Lake Chad Basin
The demand for slaves in the Lake Chad Basin spanning a long period from at least the 16th century through the first half of the 20th century significantly shaped the physical and human landscapes. Throughout this long period, the Mandara Mountains were part of the practice of slavery as an area of predation first for Kanem-Borno between the 15th and 18th centuries and then for the kingdom of Wandala since the 18th century and the Sokoto Caliphat…
Traditional and new houses, old and new paths to social status in the Mandara highlands, Cameroon
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 gr…
Éloge de l'indocilité: Regard colonial et appropriation locale, Monts Mandara du Cameroun
This article examines the colonial discourse on populations living in the Mandara Mountains in Cameroon, and the way in which they practiced mimicry to appropriate symbols of the dominant culture, diverting them from their original significance and reinterpreting them to promote their own cultural experiences. It shows how the clichés of rebels and savages through which the colonial power strove to define them were reinvested to defend the image …
Boko Haram et Haman Yaji
Les monts Mandara à la frontière entre le Nigéria et le nord du Cameroun sont l’une des régions du bassin tchadien qui a le plus souffert des déprédations de Boko Haram. Cependant, pour les habitants, cette violence n’est pas nouvelle : ils reconnaissent instantanément en Aboubakar Shekau, leader présumé de Boko Haram, un autre ennemi redouté du passé en la personne d’Haman Yaji. Ce dernier était un chef peul qui, au tournant du xxe siècle, a par…
Patriarchal Obstruction and Female Responses to Wage Labor Recruitment in the Coastal Plantations of the Cameroon Development Corporation
In 1947, most of the former German plantations at the coast of Cameroon were brought under the umbrella of a statutory body, the Cameroon Development Corporation (CDC). Like the former German planters, the CDC management faced enormous difficulties in maintaining a stable labor force on its estates. As a result, it decided to recruit women on a permanent rather than casual basis as a strategy of keeping male workers and their families within the …
Conflits et violences dans le bassin du lac Tchad: Actes du XVIIe colloque Méga-Tchad
De Boko Haram à la guerre en Centrafrique, les insécurités constituent un facteur majeur de recomposition des sociétés dans le bassin du lac Tchad (Cameroun, Centrafrique, Niger, Nigeria, Tchad). Peu connus, difficiles d’accès, les espaces de conflits et de violences de cette région se prêtent difficilement aux analyses des chercheurs et des acteurs du développement. D’où l’intérêt des enquêtes de terrain longues et approfondies présentées dans c…
Comprendre Boko Haram à partir d’une perspective historique, locale et régionale
Ce numéro spécial s’intéresse à l’insurrection de Boko Haram dans les pays du bassin tchadien en se concentrant essentiellement sur les dynamiques locales, d’une part, en regardant au-delà de la perspective sensationnaliste et à court terme des médias, et d’autre part, en explorant des thèmes qui transcendent le temps et les frontières disciplinaires. Notre postulat de base est que la lecture des actions de Boko Haram à travers le prisme des term…
Slavery and Its Aftermath in the Mandara Mountains
Based on long-term oral historical research in the Mandara Mountains, this article traces the ways in which memories of slavery have been preserved in songs which are usually not part of the more formal oral historical narratives. It historicizes this process by focusing on the selective memories of different generations as well as on the influence of colonial and post-colonial politics, particularly post-1990 democratic politics in Cameroon. The…
Doléances ethno-régionales et (més)usages politiques des mémorandums au Cameroun: Chronique d’une mort annoncée
Cet article se veut une contribution à l’étude des mémorandums qui, dans le contexte camerounais, constituent un ensemble de doléances ethno-régionales soumises à l’appréciation du président de la République par les élites d’une région ou d’un groupe ethnique. Nous proposons d’éclairer le double rôle – à la fois vecteur d’aspirations ethno-régionales et de stratégies de positionnement politique – de cet objet politique original et encore peu étud…
Beyond Ethnic Boundaries: Architectural Practices and Social Identity in the Mandara Highlands, Cameroon
The relationship between material culture and ethnicity is an important topic of social science research, but review of the literature shows that archaeologists were more interested in ceramics and to a certain extent in metals and mortuary practices. Other material artefacts such as basketry or architecture attracted little attention, while elsewhere it has been shown that variations in techniques and architectural forms are used to emphasize or…
Modern Houses, Conspicuous Consumption, and Elite-Villager Interfaces in the Mandara Highlands
This paper argues that changes in architectural practices related to the emergence of modern elites in the Mandara Mountains blur the relationship between them and the village's permanent residents. Probably because they spend much of their time in urban cities, modern elites prefer building their main houses in those locations. Villagers interpret their behavior as a message of rejection. In turn, this interpretation significantly affects the re…
You are where you build: Hierarchy, Inequality, and Equalitarianism in Mandara Highland Architecture
Ethnic groups living in the Mandara Mountains are assumed to be segmentary in structure, which is why scholarly literature portrays them as egalitarian societies. The configuration of the architectural landscape reveals a different reality. This article shows how the architectural landscapes of the Mandara Highlands are ideologically constructed to represent and legitimize hierarchies between clans and individuals. Physical entities appear as par…
Vernacularising Modernity?' Rural-Urban Migration and Cultural Transformation in the Northern Mandara Mountains
This article explores the different ways in which new houses built by migrants from the Mandara Mountains to bigger cities in Cameroon function as an important site for studying their relations within the cities and within their communities of origin. I argue that these new houses constitute both a powerful resource for addressing migrants' stories about their migratory experiences and a constituent element of these experiences. In many circumsta…
On ne nait pas ethnique, on le devient
Anthropos , Seite 179 - 198
Une maison n'est pas seulement un abri ; une maison est aussi un humain
L'objectif de cet article est de connecter deux concepts qui ont été déterminants pour le développement des études de la culture matérielle, en particulier dans la déconstruction de l'idée selon laquelle les objets seraient statiques et passifs. Il s'agit de la sémiotique de l'espace et des biographies sociales de l'objet. Si le premier concept a été usité par plusieurs chercheurs africanistes (Griaule, Blier, Malaquais, etc.), le second n'a pas …
Mémoire refoulée, manipulée, instrumentalisée: Enjeux de la transmission de la mémoire servile dans les Monts Mandara du Cameroun
Cet article s’intéresse au travail de mémoire, notamment en ce qui a trait à la capacité des peuples des Monts Mandara de trier et de mettre sous silence certains aspects de leur passé servile, qui pourtant resurgissent lorsque change le contexte de leur mise en silence. Je m’intéresse particulièrement aux stratégies de refoulement de la mémoire servile à travers les mythes d’origine et aux modalités de son apprivoisement par le biais des chants …
Modern Houses, Conspicuous Consumption, and Elite-Villager Interfaces in the Mandara Highlands
This paper argues that changes in architectural practices related to the emergence of modern elites in the Mandara Mountains blur the relationship between them and the village's permanent residents. Probably because they spend much of their time in urban cities, modern elites prefer building their main houses in those locations. Villagers interpret their behavior as a message of rejection. In turn, this interpretation significantly affects the re…
Vernacularising Modernity?' Rural-Urban Migration and Cultural Transformation in the Northern Mandara Mountains
This article explores the different ways in which new houses built by migrants from the Mandara Mountains to bigger cities in Cameroon function as an important site for studying their relations within the cities and within their communities of origin. I argue that these new houses constitute both a powerful resource for addressing migrants' stories about their migratory experiences and a constituent element of these experiences. In many circumsta…
Beyond Ethnic Boundaries: Architectural Practices and Social Identity in the Mandara Highlands, Cameroon
The relationship between material culture and ethnicity is an important topic of social science research, but review of the literature shows that archaeologists were more interested in ceramics and to a certain extent in metals and mortuary practices. Other material artefacts such as basketry or architecture attracted little attention, while elsewhere it has been shown that variations in techniques and architectural forms are used to emphasize or…
On ne nait pas ethnique, on le devient
Anthropos , Seite 179 - 198
Une maison n'est pas seulement un abri ; une maison est aussi un humain
L'objectif de cet article est de connecter deux concepts qui ont été déterminants pour le développement des études de la culture matérielle, en particulier dans la déconstruction de l'idée selon laquelle les objets seraient statiques et passifs. Il s'agit de la sémiotique de l'espace et des biographies sociales de l'objet. Si le premier concept a été usité par plusieurs chercheurs africanistes (Griaule, Blier, Malaquais, etc.), le second n'a pas …
Mémoire refoulée, manipulée, instrumentalisée: Enjeux de la transmission de la mémoire servile dans les Monts Mandara du Cameroun
Cet article s’intéresse au travail de mémoire, notamment en ce qui a trait à la capacité des peuples des Monts Mandara de trier et de mettre sous silence certains aspects de leur passé servile, qui pourtant resurgissent lorsque change le contexte de leur mise en silence. Je m’intéresse particulièrement aux stratégies de refoulement de la mémoire servile à travers les mythes d’origine et aux modalités de son apprivoisement par le biais des chants …
Slavery and Its Aftermath in the Mandara Mountains
Based on long-term oral historical research in the Mandara Mountains, this article traces the ways in which memories of slavery have been preserved in songs which are usually not part of the more formal oral historical narratives. It historicizes this process by focusing on the selective memories of different generations as well as on the influence of colonial and post-colonial politics, particularly post-1990 democratic politics in Cameroon. The…
Doléances ethno-régionales et (més)usages politiques des mémorandums au Cameroun: Chronique d’une mort annoncée
Cet article se veut une contribution à l’étude des mémorandums qui, dans le contexte camerounais, constituent un ensemble de doléances ethno-régionales soumises à l’appréciation du président de la République par les élites d’une région ou d’un groupe ethnique. Nous proposons d’éclairer le double rôle – à la fois vecteur d’aspirations ethno-régionales et de stratégies de positionnement politique – de cet objet politique original et encore peu étud…
You are where you build: Hierarchy, Inequality, and Equalitarianism in Mandara Highland Architecture
Ethnic groups living in the Mandara Mountains are assumed to be segmentary in structure, which is why scholarly literature portrays them as egalitarian societies. The configuration of the architectural landscape reveals a different reality. This article shows how the architectural landscapes of the Mandara Highlands are ideologically constructed to represent and legitimize hierarchies between clans and individuals. Physical entities appear as par…
Slavery in the Mandara Mountains and Lake Chad Basin
The demand for slaves in the Lake Chad Basin spanning a long period from at least the 16th century through the first half of the 20th century significantly shaped the physical and human landscapes. Throughout this long period, the Mandara Mountains were part of the practice of slavery as an area of predation first for Kanem-Borno between the 15th and 18th centuries and then for the kingdom of Wandala since the 18th century and the Sokoto Caliphat…
Éloge de l'indocilité: Regard colonial et appropriation locale, Monts Mandara du Cameroun
This article examines the colonial discourse on populations living in the Mandara Mountains in Cameroon, and the way in which they practiced mimicry to appropriate symbols of the dominant culture, diverting them from their original significance and reinterpreting them to promote their own cultural experiences. It shows how the clichés of rebels and savages through which the colonial power strove to define them were reinvested to defend the image …
Mémoire refoulée, manipulée, instrumentalisée: Enjeux de la transmission de la mémoire servile dans les Monts Mandara du Cameroun
Cet article s’intéresse au travail de mémoire, notamment en ce qui a trait à la capacité des peuples des Monts Mandara de trier et de mettre sous silence certains aspects de leur passé servile, qui pourtant resurgissent lorsque change le contexte de leur mise en silence. Je m’intéresse particulièrement aux stratégies de refoulement de la mémoire servile à travers les mythes d’origine et aux modalités de son apprivoisement par le biais des chants …
Une maison n'est pas seulement un abri ; une maison est aussi un humain
L'objectif de cet article est de connecter deux concepts qui ont été déterminants pour le développement des études de la culture matérielle, en particulier dans la déconstruction de l'idée selon laquelle les objets seraient statiques et passifs. Il s'agit de la sémiotique de l'espace et des biographies sociales de l'objet. Si le premier concept a été usité par plusieurs chercheurs africanistes (Griaule, Blier, Malaquais, etc.), le second n'a pas …
On ne nait pas ethnique, on le devient
Anthropos , Seite 179 - 198
Vernacularising Modernity?' Rural-Urban Migration and Cultural Transformation in the Northern Mandara Mountains
This article explores the different ways in which new houses built by migrants from the Mandara Mountains to bigger cities in Cameroon function as an important site for studying their relations within the cities and within their communities of origin. I argue that these new houses constitute both a powerful resource for addressing migrants' stories about their migratory experiences and a constituent element of these experiences. In many circumsta…
Beyond Ethnic Boundaries: Architectural Practices and Social Identity in the Mandara Highlands, Cameroon
The relationship between material culture and ethnicity is an important topic of social science research, but review of the literature shows that archaeologists were more interested in ceramics and to a certain extent in metals and mortuary practices. Other material artefacts such as basketry or architecture attracted little attention, while elsewhere it has been shown that variations in techniques and architectural forms are used to emphasize or…
Modern Houses, Conspicuous Consumption, and Elite-Villager Interfaces in the Mandara Highlands
This paper argues that changes in architectural practices related to the emergence of modern elites in the Mandara Mountains blur the relationship between them and the village's permanent residents. Probably because they spend much of their time in urban cities, modern elites prefer building their main houses in those locations. Villagers interpret their behavior as a message of rejection. In turn, this interpretation significantly affects the re…
You are where you build: Hierarchy, Inequality, and Equalitarianism in Mandara Highland Architecture
Ethnic groups living in the Mandara Mountains are assumed to be segmentary in structure, which is why scholarly literature portrays them as egalitarian societies. The configuration of the architectural landscape reveals a different reality. This article shows how the architectural landscapes of the Mandara Highlands are ideologically constructed to represent and legitimize hierarchies between clans and individuals. Physical entities appear as par…
Conflits et violences dans le bassin du lac Tchad: Actes du XVIIe colloque Méga-Tchad
De Boko Haram à la guerre en Centrafrique, les insécurités constituent un facteur majeur de recomposition des sociétés dans le bassin du lac Tchad (Cameroun, Centrafrique, Niger, Nigeria, Tchad). Peu connus, difficiles d’accès, les espaces de conflits et de violences de cette région se prêtent difficilement aux analyses des chercheurs et des acteurs du développement. D’où l’intérêt des enquêtes de terrain longues et approfondies présentées dans c…
Comprendre Boko Haram à partir d’une perspective historique, locale et régionale
Ce numéro spécial s’intéresse à l’insurrection de Boko Haram dans les pays du bassin tchadien en se concentrant essentiellement sur les dynamiques locales, d’une part, en regardant au-delà de la perspective sensationnaliste et à court terme des médias, et d’autre part, en explorant des thèmes qui transcendent le temps et les frontières disciplinaires. Notre postulat de base est que la lecture des actions de Boko Haram à travers le prisme des term…
Slavery and Its Aftermath in the Mandara Mountains
Based on long-term oral historical research in the Mandara Mountains, this article traces the ways in which memories of slavery have been preserved in songs which are usually not part of the more formal oral historical narratives. It historicizes this process by focusing on the selective memories of different generations as well as on the influence of colonial and post-colonial politics, particularly post-1990 democratic politics in Cameroon. The…
Doléances ethno-régionales et (més)usages politiques des mémorandums au Cameroun: Chronique d’une mort annoncée
Cet article se veut une contribution à l’étude des mémorandums qui, dans le contexte camerounais, constituent un ensemble de doléances ethno-régionales soumises à l’appréciation du président de la République par les élites d’une région ou d’un groupe ethnique. Nous proposons d’éclairer le double rôle – à la fois vecteur d’aspirations ethno-régionales et de stratégies de positionnement politique – de cet objet politique original et encore peu étud…
Boko Haram et Haman Yaji
Les monts Mandara à la frontière entre le Nigéria et le nord du Cameroun sont l’une des régions du bassin tchadien qui a le plus souffert des déprédations de Boko Haram. Cependant, pour les habitants, cette violence n’est pas nouvelle : ils reconnaissent instantanément en Aboubakar Shekau, leader présumé de Boko Haram, un autre ennemi redouté du passé en la personne d’Haman Yaji. Ce dernier était un chef peul qui, au tournant du xxe siècle, a par…
Patriarchal Obstruction and Female Responses to Wage Labor Recruitment in the Coastal Plantations of the Cameroon Development Corporation
In 1947, most of the former German plantations at the coast of Cameroon were brought under the umbrella of a statutory body, the Cameroon Development Corporation (CDC). Like the former German planters, the CDC management faced enormous difficulties in maintaining a stable labor force on its estates. As a result, it decided to recruit women on a permanent rather than casual basis as a strategy of keeping male workers and their families within the …
Traditional and new houses, old and new paths to social status in the Mandara highlands, Cameroon
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 gr…
Éloge de l'indocilité: Regard colonial et appropriation locale, Monts Mandara du Cameroun
This article examines the colonial discourse on populations living in the Mandara Mountains in Cameroon, and the way in which they practiced mimicry to appropriate symbols of the dominant culture, diverting them from their original significance and reinterpreting them to promote their own cultural experiences. It shows how the clichés of rebels and savages through which the colonial power strove to define them were reinvested to defend the image …
Reinserting ex-associates of Boko Haram in Cameroon
In November 2018, the State of Cameroon announced the creation of the National Committee for Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (NCDDR) to organise, supervise and manage the disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration of former Boko Haram fighters and armed groups in the English-speaking North-West and South-West regions. The need arose as communities had been hosting successive waves of former Boko Haram associates. This research fo…
Slavery in the Mandara Mountains and Lake Chad Basin
The demand for slaves in the Lake Chad Basin spanning a long period from at least the 16th century through the first half of the 20th century significantly shaped the physical and human landscapes. Throughout this long period, the Mandara Mountains were part of the practice of slavery as an area of predation first for Kanem-Borno between the 15th and 18th centuries and then for the kingdom of Wandala since the 18th century and the Sokoto Caliphat…
Political science (11 works) · Sociology (8 works) · African Studies and Ethnography (6 works) · Archaeology (6 works) · Art (6 works) · Geography (6 works) · African Studies and Geopolitics (5 works) · Anthropological Studies and Insights (5 works) · Humanities (5 works) · Philosophy (5 works)