Causales generales de improcedencia

Although neither in the Far North nor in Central Province is there a specific name for myth, I think it is important to mention it as a separate category. To define a myth we have to refer back to the authors mentioned in section 2.4. The stories that will be discussed in the present

section, however, are called mythological stories by simply using the definition that they are neither fictional tales nor non-fiction stories. With the exception of the stories about the end of the world, they all deal with events in the past that are explained in a story but that can never be proven to have actually happened. Actually, they do not need to be proven. There is simply no discussion about it since it belongs to the realm of beliefs and symbolism. In contrast to historical stories, these stories do not mention concrete persons or concrete time indications in the past. On the contrary, it does not regard the level of an individual person and it deals with a fictional point in the past from where it started and before which there is no information. Myths often contain shared knowledge and many versions of the same story can be found back. Like many myths do, most of the stories that I want to discuss here deal with the origin of something. They have religious or sacred elements in them, and are sometimes related to rituals.

The fact that myths are not a clear separate category has already been stated in the example of an aetiological story explaining why the sky is far away from the earth (Box 5.7). It deals with an action in the undefined past, and it is not clear whether it is just an invented humourous explanation or whether it is considered to be mythical. A strong indication for the latter is that the story appears to link up with the notion that is typical for West Africa that the original world is without separation (Luning, 1991). Luning (p.20-21) reports on several myths about the separation of the sky from the earth told by the Bambara, the Dogon and the Mossi in Mali. An interesting difference between these stories and the story in Box 5.7 is that in the versions mentioned by Luning the conflict of mankind with God (as a result of disobedience to his rules) is always the central reason for the separation, whereas in the story in Box 5.7 there is no God, and vengeance comes directly from the sky.

Another reason why this apparently ‘light’ story proved to have more impact became clear when talking further with the storyteller. The fact that the sky took away the fish explains the common belief shared by many people from the Far North that fish fall from the sky when it rains. This belief is often supported by the observation that in the beginning of the rainy season, many fish suddenly show up in new pools formed by the rain13. The aetiological story about the retreating sky may thus play the role of a myth, explaining an aspect of life by referring to a general event in an undefined past. It should be remarked that whether a myth or not, the phenomenon of falling fish is part of a general belief that might have consequences for environmental actions. I will return to this in the chapter 6.

In the next sections I will present some examples of myths found in Cameroon. I will first discuss the case of the crossing of the Sanaga since this story appears at first sight to be a good example of a specific historical story that has adopted many mythological elements.

Secondly, I will focus on stories that deal with the origin of the world. Here I will also touch upon the tradition of the Mvet. Although it is not typical for any of the groups among

13 _{Here it concerns species that bury themselves in the ground during the dry season, in particular the silurid}

whom I did my research, it is a very widespread and old initiation in the southern provinces of Cameroon and it may thus have had its influences on many other stories. Whilst looking at stories about the origin of the world we should also consider stories about the end of the world, so-called eschatologies. Both category of story may provide insight into the way time and future are perceived.

Finally I want to discuss mythological stories related to space, i.e. the symbolic meaning

that is given to environmental features such as landmarks in stories. 5.6.2 The crossing of the Sanaga

In section 4.3 it has been explained that a number of ethnic groups have migrated to the south. While doing so, they had to cross the Sanaga river. Although this crossing has taken place at a time that could potentially be identified, it is not at all sure what actually happened at that moment. Moreover, in many versions of the story the name of the Sanaga is not even mentioned. Instead, the name ‘Yom’ is often used which refers, according to the people, to a symbolic river one has to cross. As I will try to show, this story which is widely taught in primary schools all over Cameroon, may be more likened to a myth than to a simple historical story.

The main character of this story is the snake. Upon arriving at the border of the river, a chief of one of the clans called the snake. He came out and unrolled himself, forming a bridge that supported thousands of people that walked on it from one side to the other. According to the story one of the chiefs accidentally stung the snake with his spear or staff. The snake immediately rolled up and disappeared. Some people fell into the water and drowned. The people that still had to cross were forced to stay on the north side of the river.

The story explains the origin of two groups of people: the people from the north who are Muslim. They are the ones that could not cross and were finally converted to Islam. The people from the south escaped from Islam but were later converted to Christianity. There is, however, a lot of confusion about the ethnic groups that actually crossed. Especially because after the Germans built their bridges migration still continued. The largest of ethnic groups that has crossed is the Beti. All Beti consider the snake to be a totem for them.

The most prominent disagreement in the different versions concerns the chief who called the snake and the one who in the end chased the snake away. There are many different names used. Not surprisingly, many storytellers claim the hero originally to be from his own ethnic group, whereas the anti-hero that stung the snake is supposed to belong to another (probably less preferred) group. In this way the story is connected to the origin of power relationships between certain ethnic groups.

The many versions of this story could be one indication of the mythical character of the story. After all, if it were merely a description of the history of the area it would have been easier to trace the facts. And if it were only a fiction story, there would not be so many competing variants. Another indication is the presence of the snake. Apart from the fact that

it is very unlikely that a snake physically acted as a bridge for people, it should be taken into consideration that the snake plays a metaphorical role in many myths and initiation stories. Interestingly, there are other stories in which a snake forms a bridge over a river. I refer, for example, to Goethe’s fairy tale: “The green snake and the beautiful lily”. Moreover, the story

also appears in the initiation tradition from South Cameroon, the Mvet. In this story, the

snake also forms the bridge between north and south. It should be noted, however, that here, north and south symbolize the land of mortality and immortality, respectively. Crossing the river could be compared to the process of attaining the state of enlightenment.

Finally, another indication that this story should be understood symbolically rather than historically is found in the fact that there are many other stories from the south deal with the crossing of the river. One example is a story about the crossing of the Yom by birds (see Box 5.10). These birds should, of course, normally be able to fly to the other side. The crossing that is mentioned here is thus more likely to be symbolic.

The crossing of the Sanaga could thus be considered to be a myth. The river symbolises a boundary between two opposite worlds: Islam/Christianity, theirs/ours, bad/good, or mortal/immortal.