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Lela in Bali tells the story of an annual festival of eighteenth-century kingdoms in Northern Cameroon that was swept up in the migrations of marauding slave-raiders during the nineteenth century and carried south towards the coast. Lela was transformed first into a mounted durbar, like those of the Muslim states, before evolving in tandem with the German colonial project into a festival of arms. Reinterpreted by missionaries and post-colonial Cameroonians, Lela has become one of the most important of Cameroonian festivals and a crucial marker of identity within the state. Richard Fardon’s recuperation of two hundred years of history is an essential contribution not only to Cameroonian studies but also to the broader understanding of the evolution of African cultures.
“…this specialist-oriented volume is a rich contribution to the literature on this region. Notably it seems directed as much toward the ongoing historiographical conversation in Bali itself as it is toward external scholars.” ” · JASO Online
“…constitutes an outstanding contribution in the study of history outside the traditional perspective of recourse to narrative sources (whether these be oral or written).” · African Affairs
“This amazing book…represents a model for scholars seeking to blend the tools of history writing and political/ cultural anthropology; its value is applicable not only in Cameroon, but elsewhere.” · International Journal for African Historical Studies
“With the suspense of a detective novel, [this slim, richly detailed volume] proceeds in a series of comparisons…This charming book is an exacting exercise in comparison and historical reconstruction.” · Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies
“…an important contribution – not only to the local history of the Grasslands of Cameroon. It offers a better understanding of processes of transformation of rituals and asks important methodological questions, which should be of interest to anybody dealing with the history of early photography in Africa and visual anthropology. As to be expected from the “Cameroon Studies” series the volume is rounded up by a comprehensive bibliography and a very useful index." · Anthropos
“As in his previous works, Fardon does not make it easy for his readers to labour through his dense writing. However, it is absolutely worthwhile. This unconventional book contains a wealth of insights with far-reaching methodological consequences. It demonstrates how to recover history without even for a moment losing sight of the constructivity of the knowledge produced.” · Journal of African History
Map and Figures
Preface
Acknowledgements
Chapter 1. Lela: Past Present, Present Past
- Lela in the Early Post-Colony Bali
- Nyonga: A Thumbnail History
Chapter 2. Lela in 1908: The Photographic Record
- Lela and Voma in Bali
- The Ethnologist and the Missionaries
- Ankermann and the Missionaries
- Photographed: The Second Photographer
- The Texts and the Photographs
- An Inventory of the Photographic Record of the 1908 Lela
- Conclusion
Chapter 3. Lela: The Texts, 1890s to 1960s
- The Missionaries’ Version 1903 to 1913
- The Ethnologist’s Version 1907 to 1908
- The Soldier’s and Trader’s Versions 1889 to 1906
- Interlude: The Bali Axis Unravels
- The Anthropologist and the Historian: A 1960s Version
Chapter 4. Lela: Incorporation, Ascendancy and the Means of Violence
- The Ba’ni before the Germans T
- he Apogee of Germano–Bali Majesty: The 1905 Paramountcy
Chapter 5. Lela in the Grassfields and the ‘Graffi’ in Lela: Or, More is More
- The Importance of Origins
- More is More
- Lela Adopted in the Grassfields
- Lela and Voma in the Bali kingdoms
Chapter 6. Lela Precedents: Beyond and Before the Grassfields
- ‘Spear Washing’ in the Benue Chamba
- Chiefdoms: Flags, Gowns and Horses
- Adamawan Elements in Lela: Death, Killing and Commemoration
Chapter 7. Fast forward: From Adamawa to Late Post-Colonial Cameroon
References
- Published References
- Unpublished References