Perceptions de la Fécondité chez les Balengou de l’Ouest-Cameroun : contribution à l’Anthropologie médicale

Abstract

The present work entitled "Perceptions of fertility among the Balengou of West Cameroon" analyzes perceptions of fertility in the Balengou culture. It is known in African cultures in general and Cameroonian in particular, that the child is a sign of wealth, blessing, and security in the old days of parents. By relying on a situation of lineage continuity, men and women feel the desire to give birth too many children to expand the lineage and ensure the continuity of this said lineage. However, for several decades, the rapid growth of the population in developing countries like Cameroon has prompted the WHO and the governments of these countries to develop strategies including population programs including family planning to improve the well-being and living conditions of the populations. But, notwithstanding this stated desire, the fertility of Cameroonians in general and Balengou in particular still remains high, despite the difficult living conditions. This concern raises the following questions: Why is fertility still valued by the Balengou community despite difficult living conditions? What are the socio-cultural factors that influence fertility among the fertility Balengou? How is fertility perceived in the Balengou community? What is the impact of fertility on the Balengou population? Our provisional answers to these questions were formulated as follows: Fertility is always by the Balengou because for the latter, it is a means of asserting oneself within society and a guarantee to accede to the rank of ancestors since it is important for them to have descendants who will make sacrifices for them after death. Fertility is seen by the Balengou as something wonderful that must be preserved in order to ensure future security as well as to ensure the continuity of the lineage. Family, marriage, sexuality, mortality, labor for the plantations, non-use of modern contraceptive methods are among the factors that influence fertility. The impact of fertility on the Balengou population can be visible on several levels: social, economic, political and cultural. For the materialization of this work, we mobilized the usual methods and techniques of data collection in anthropology, namely: documentary and field research based on the qualitative method and techniques such as direct observation, semi-structured interviews, informal interviews and life stories. The processing of the information collected was carried out using the technique of content analysis, namely deductive analysis and thematic analysis. The interpretation of these data was made from the theories of social representations, ethnomethodology and functionalism which allowed us to arrive at the results according to which, the Balengou have common perceptions of fertility, because according to them the fertility is a wealth incomparable to money, a precious good received from God, not to be neglected. Therefore, anyone of childbearing age must preserve their fertility so as not to lose it. To achieve this, strategies different from that set up by the Ministry of Public Health to improve reproductive health and regulate fertility are developed by the Balengou culture. Keywords :