Man and land

Marriage is a sacred union between two families brought together by a man and a woman. All societies have a way of regulating marriage and when a man gets married in a family he is referred to as an in-law. Therefore in-law is a relationship which is established through marriage. To the Beti of Cameroon in particular to be considered as an in-law, a man has certain responsibilities to fulfil among which are the provision of an envelope and food to the family of the woman he wants to marry. Once these are done, he becomes an in-law. The purchase of land among most in not all cultures is very important but the peculiarity among the Beti is that when a man buys land in a Beti locality, he is regarded and treated as an in-law. This article seeks to answer one major question: what is the relationship between a woman and land among the Beti of Cameroon? To establish a relationship between these two (a woman and land), the objectives of this article are to; understand how the Beti people perceive a woman and land; the importance they attach to them and their symbolism. Data for this paper was collected using the qualitative method and the analysis and interpretations are based on the theories of symbolic anthropology of Geertz and functionalism of Malinowski and Brown. Major findings reveal that a woman like land serve as riches, means of production, an element which unites families and many more

Ancient history · Geography · Sociology · Aging, Elder Care, and Social Issues · Gender Studies · History · Migration, Identity, and Health · Multiculturalism, Politics, Migration, Gender

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