Kids and youths from different communities within the Mount Cameroon Area have gained an understanding of traditional belief systems and cultural practices that promoted the conservation of biodiversity species within the Mount Cameroon Area in those days. This was during a 1-day pro-conservation traditional belief systems information gathering session in different communities of the Mount Cameroon Area in April 2022,
Voice of Nature (VoNat), organized the pro-conservation traditional belief information gathering session as part of the project; Conserving Endangered Ape of Mount Cameroon with Community Kids, funded by New England Biolabs Foundation with additional support from Idea Wild. This activity was aimed at boosting the interest of community kids and youths in endangered ape and other wildlife species conservation while preserving pro-conservation traditional knowledge.
In the Bonakanda community, the traditional ruler, Chief Emmanuel Ndongo Molongo, first took the youngsters to a large tree at the center of the village known locally as Mowumba, and told them the story behind it conservation. “Some of our Bakweri villages have gone extinct. This tree makes us understand where a Bakweri village has ever existed because it grows only where people had lived. If you go to the forest and see this tree, know a Bakweri village once existed there,” the Chief said. The belief in this historical link between the Bakweri people and the Mowumba tree, according to Chief Ndongo, makes it difficult for them to cut down the tree.
The traditional ruler further thrilled the community kids and youths with stories about chimpanzees and elephant totems. He narrated how an elephant hunter, Pa Mbella, died after attempting to kill a totemic elephant. “When I was a child, my parents said the chimpanzees and elephants at the Mount Cameroon Forest, had human spirit, and killing them was forbidden because it could lead to the death of someone in the community,” he added. The traditional ruler took the community kids to some forest patches and shrines conserved because of traditional beliefs in the Bonakanda community and told stories behind their existence.
The storytelling sessions aided in transferring some vital traditional knowledge and belief about animals and tree species in the Mount Cameroon Area to the community kids and youths. “I learned about some trees and the traditional beliefs guiding their protection. I think we need to identify many of such trees and protect them,” Burinui from Bonakanda said.
Emmanuel of Bonakanda was particularly thrilled by the belief in totem. “I learned that some elephants and chimpanzees can be human totems and killing them may lead to the killing of the totem owner. This is interesting knowledge for me, I never knew before. I think these species should be left alive” Emmanuel said.
Traditional belief systems served as local conservation ethics in most African villages, especially during the pre-colonial era. Locating and documenting them is the best way to preserve and hand down these pro-conservation traditional values from generation to generation.