Culture et pratique du vol chez les Massa de Bougoudoum de l’Extrême-nord du Cameroun : contribution à l’anthropologie du développement

Abstract

This focused research on the “Culture and practice of theft among the Massa of Bougoudoum of the Far North of Cameroon: contribution to the anthropology of development”, is interested in the paradox of the perception of the practice of theft among the Massa. While the texts of the laws or the penal code prohibit or consider theft as a crime and consequently punishable by law, these people practice to assert themselves in society. From the problem posed, the following questions arise: what are the socio-cultural foundations of the practice of theft among the Massa of Bougoudoum of Far North Cameroon? How is theft practiced among the Massa of Bougoudoum in the Far North of Cameroon? Who are the actors engaged in the practice of theft in the locality of Bougoudoum ? What is the social role of the practice of theft in the locality of Bougoudoum ? The following hypotheses correspond to these questions: Beliefs in physical strength, methods of theft organization, gray-gray, and theft systems are the elements that inhabit theft in the Massa socio-culture of Bougoudoum. Charms and flight systems are the elements that domiciliate theft in the Massa socio-culture of Bougoudoum. In the Massa culture, theft is done by organized young men, by strategies developed individually, by the net word, by complicity, by group and the use of remedies must be introduced. The activity of theft in the Massa culture of Bougoudoum involves a specific category of practicing actors such as: normal breeders, foreigners, traditional authorities, the young group and adults. Theft contributes to an improvement in the human's life by giving him things, recognizing bravery, and raising them to the social scale. From these hypotheses, the resulting objectives are: to demonstrate the socio-cultural foundations of theft among the Massa in general and specifically of Bougoudoum in particular. Show the causes of the theft in the locality of Bougoudoum. Identify the actors who engage in this practice of theft in the locality of Bougoudoum. Based on a qualitative approach, this word was carried out through the exploitation of life story data, observation, and in-depth individual interviews. Data analysis has mobilized as a technique: content and thematic analysis. Therefore this research has mobilized theories of social representation and conflict to interpret the results. At the end of this investigation, we arrived at the following results: beliefs in physical force, the systems of organization of the theft, the gray-gray and the systems of the thief are the elements that domiciliate theft in the socio-culture Massa of Bougoudoum. The practice of this activity in the Massa socio-culture takes place in terms of network, by complicity, in group, by the set -up and also individually. The activity of theft in the Massa socio-culture of Bougoudoum involves a very specific category of practicing actors such as: normal breeders, foreigners, traditional authorities, the young group and adults. Theft contributed to improving the life of man by giving him things, recognizing bravery, and raising him to the social ladder. To these results, the following perspectives have been assigned: the internal and external elites must organize sensitization campaigns, strengthen education, and create employment opportunities and the administrative and traditional authorities must ensure that the laws are applied accordingly efficiently and impartially.