Les formules d’appels, de prises et de fin de paroles chez les Beti-Bulu-Fang : Cas des départements de la Lekie, du Mfoundi et de la Mefou et Akono

Abstract

Our Master's thesis in cultural anthropology is entitled: « The formulas of calls, taking and ending speeches among the Beti-Bulu-Fang: case of the departments of Lekie, Mfoundi and Mefou and Akono ». the problem that we propose to elucidate hereis that of the non-fixed character of the formulas of calls to take and end of speech among the Beti-Bulu-Fang, making them change and borrow according to languages, circumstances and other categories of reality. The problem formulated above leads to the following questioning: what is the cultural significance of the formulas of calls, taking and ending of speech among the Beti-Bulu-Fang? What are the modes of expression of the formulas of calls, taking and ending of speech among the Beti-Bulu-Fang? What are the different modes of classification of calling, speaking and ending formulas among the Beti-Bulu-Fang? What is the relationship between the formulas of calls, taking and ending speeches and Beti-Bulu-Fang culture? The following hypotheses correspond respectively to these questions: The Beti-Bulu-Fang call, take and end of speech formulas symbolize a cultural identity, a landmark; they are vectors of understanding of their stories. Culturally, they refer to different realities and functions; apart from being sacred, they can have historical, didactic, playful, lyrical and incantatory functions. With precise meanings. They are also expressed through circumstances, places and language. They can be used to call a person, to speak or to finish speaking during mourning, a wedding or a friendly meeting. These formulas also contain several categories of speech. These categories of discourse borrow from the different realities on which the Beti-Bulu-Fang rely to express themselves. The formulas for calling, taking and ending speeches have mimetic relationships with Beti-Bulu-Fang culture. They have an origin, they include several cultural elements and have several functions. These are also means of knowledge and transmission of the culture of this same community. The verification of these hypotheses subjected us to a double methodological procedure: documentary research and field research. The documentary research was carried out from 01/07/2023 to 03/20/2023 in Yaoundé in the following libraries: The library of the department of African languages and linguistics of Uy1; the central library of Uy1; The FALSH library of UY1; the Philo-Psycho-Socio-Anthropology circle of UY1; At the same time, we explored electronic sources on the web. This phase was introduced by the development of a bibliographic sheet listing all the references of works, scientific articles, dissertations, theses and any other useful document to consult relating to our research topic. As for the field research, it took place from 06/19/2023 to 07/23/2023 in the villages of the following districts: Ebebda, Sa'a, Monatélé, Obala, Yaoundé 3rd and Mbankomo. We used the following techniques: semi-structured interview, in-depth interview. For content analysis and interpretation, we have summoned the principles of cultural endosemia, the anthropization of the universe and the universalization of anthropos as a theoretical model. This double methodological procedure allowed us to achieve condensed results as follows: The Beti-Bulu-Fang call, take and end of speech formulas cannot be understood without highlighting the understanding and representation that the latter have of them. This endogenous view is dependent on the meaning that they bring to the formulas of calls, takes and endings of words. This meaning is based on language, ethnicity, ritual ceremonies, artifacts, places and people. They are manifested in their culture in the ethnographic sense of the term. These are sedimented in the language, in the physical, social and cultural environment. They are expressed through family ceremonies, friendly situations, mourning ceremonies, weddings, traditional rites, popular festivals. They are also expressed according to characters, circumstances and places. They are historical, didactic, playful or lyrical, incantatory. They also mimic culture and relate to human fact (etiology), include several elements (ethnography) and are invested with several sociocultural functions including those of conjuration, memory and conservation of culture. Finally, they are a means of recognition of the Beti-Bulu-Fang culture, because hence the appropriation and the projection that they make on the universe, they provide information on different realities of this community.