L’« ekob-zë », la peau de panthère/léopard » : symbole du pouvoir chez les Mvog Atemengue : contribution à l’anthropologie culturelle.

Abstract

The practice of funeral rites is a universal social phenomenon, but each culture sets up its own funeral rites according to its psychological and social needs. This explains the symbolic dimension of the material elements that the Beti people use during funeral rites. Our research is about:The “Ekob-Zë”, panther / leopard skin: Symbol of power among the Mvog Atemengue: contribution to the cultural anthropology. Knowing that the funeral rite of Ekob-Zë was once done with the use of the authentic skin of this feline after the death of the chief (household, clan), and that today the same rite is done with the green leaf banana-plantain, there is a problem; that of the symbolism of the ritual wearing of the Ekob-Zë, or the panther / leopard skin in the exercise of power among the Mvog Atemengue. This phenomenon is best questioned by our main question as follows: What is the symbolism of the Ekob-Zë or the panther / leopard skin in the exercise of power among the Mvog Atemengue? The main hypothesis put forward is as follows: The rite of Ekob-Zë is the symbol of the power, power and courage that the heir-successor would take with a view to the restoration of peace, justice and harmony within the family or the clan following the death of its leader. The objective we are pursuing is as follows: Describe the rite of the Ekob-Zë, panther / leopard skin among Mvog Atemengue today.The methodology adopted consisted in opting for an observation guide and an interview guide. After analyzing and interpreting the data collected in the field of the investigation, we were forced to find confirmation of our hypotheses. The construction of our theoretical framework was based on the following theories: The Ethno-perspective of Mbonji Edjenguèlè, the African Epistemology as well as the functionalism of Bronislaw Malinowski. This theoretical framework allowed us to understand that the rite of wearing the Ekob-Zë only makes sense in the group that produced it. This wearing of Ekob-Zë, the panther / leopard skin, is still practiced, despite its symbolic adaptation, among the Mvog Atemengue. In addition, the rite of wearing the Ekob-Zë remains in this context a particular way of ensuring that life takes precedence over death through the person of the heir-successor who, in reality, embodies the dead and ancestors by absence-presence or by the principle of as if; that; by the symbol "skin" of Zë the panther / leopard, then king of the forest.