Le rite / mbón/ « esprit-génie » et le bien être « mbohki » chez les Eton de la lekié, région du centre Cameroun.

Abstract

The master's thesis in Anthropology which was the subject of this research is entitled: LE RITE / MBÓN/ « Esprit-Génie » ET LE BIEN ÊTRE « mbohki » CHEZ LES ETON DE LA LEKIE, REGION DU CENTRE CAMEROUN. Despite its inclusion in what is now a thing of the past and which would almost sink into oblivion, continues to influence their habits through its values and its conception of well-being among the Eton. However, several educational systems and mass-media offering themselves as substitutes plunder daily life while conveying new values. From this problem arises a set of questions: What is the eton conception of well-being as sought in the practice of mbón? What are the cultural representations of well-being among the Eton? What are the modalities that the mbón summons? What is the purpose of the mbón among the Etons? These research questions were backed by the following hypotheses: The Eton conception of well-being in a life anchored in the strengthening of socio-cosmic ties and harmony with oneself, Cultural representations of well-being would be summed up in the virility, intrepidity, mutual aid, solidarity, respect for sacred thing, the harmonization of socio-cosmic relations, The /mbón/ takes into account the endogenous methods of restoring order, The /mbón/ would be the finalizing element of well-being among the Eton. The objectives that accompany this research are as follows: to present the eton conception of well-being, to explain the cultural representations of mbón and well-being, to examine the modalities taken into account in the practice of mbón, to highlight the purpose of mbón. The verification of these hypotheses was subject to a dual methodical approach, namely documentary research and field research. The collection and analysis of data was made effective by qualitative methods and techniques, the interpretation as for it was based on the theoretical framework built from the ethno perspective, the Dynamic Anthropology and the African epistemology. The main results we have reached are as follows: the /mbón/ is an initiation ritual for boys that helps restore community balance by revitalizing social relationships between the individual and the group, the sacred and with one’s-even. It takes into account the group considerations that legitimize the ritual following an approach interlocking with endogenous knowledge.