Jengu

Jengu
Jengu
Affiliation	Sawabantu, or Coastal Bantu peoples
Symbol	Water
Ethnic group	Duala • Bakweri • Limba • Bakoko • Oroko

Last updated October 30, 2024

A jengu (pl. miengu) is a water spirit in the traditional beliefs of the Sawabantu groups of Cameroon, like the Duala, Bakweri, Malimba, Subu, Bakoko, Oroko people. Among the Bakweri, the term used is liengu (plural: maengu).^[1] Miengu are similar to bisimbi (singular: simbi) in the Bakongo spirituality and Mami Wata. The Bakoko people use the term Bisima.

Described as mermaid-like spirits, they live in rivers and the sea, bringing good fortune to those who worship them. They can also cure disease and act as intermediaries between worshippers and the world of spirits. For this reason, a jengu cult has long enjoyed popularity among the Duala peoples. Among the Bakweri, this cult is also an important part of a young girl's rite of passage into womanhood.^[1]

The water spirit

Appearance

The description of miengu varies by ethnic group, but they are typically said to be beautiful, mermaid-like beings with long hair and beautiful gap-teeth.^[1]

Beliefs

In the traditional spirituality of Sawabantu-speaking peoples along the coast of Cameroon, a jengu (pl. miengu) is a water spirit that acts as an intermediary between the physical world of the living and the spiritual world of the ancestors.^[2] They are said to inhabit both the ocean, rivers and lakes of Cameroon.^[3] Similar to a simbi in Kongo religion, a jengu is seen as a guardian of the natural world ^[3] that acts as a spiritual guide and controls the fates of both human beings, or muntu, and animals in the waterways of Central Africa.^[1]^[4]

Because Miengu are associated with fate, they are also believed to bring good fortune to those who venerate them. As a results, Sawabantu peoples offer sacrifices to miengu spirits and hold extravagant festivals in their honor.^[3] These festivals are determined by the ruling families, who are members of a political body called the Ngondo. Once the Ngondo declare that a jengu festival will commence, an offering is then collected from the villages by jengu spiritualists. Referred to as the banganga in Kongo culture, Sawabantu peoples also have jengu specialists, or "Earth priests," who go through extensive training to learn precise rituals to understand and communicate with miengu.^[3] The night before the festivals, these specialists hold a sacred ceremony on Jebalé Islands in the Wouri River. The following day, they display the tribute to the Duala chiefs, who head the Ngondo, at a public ceremony on the beach. After the Ngondo see the tribute, a jengu specialist then swims the offering deep underwater, where they present it to the miengu on behalf of the chiefs.^[3] The specialist later returns with a prophetic message from the miengu about the upcoming year.^[2]^[3]

Jengu cult

The Duala and related groups hold the jengu cult in high importance. The cult may have originated with peoples further west, possibly the Ijo, and then passed from people to people, reaching the Batanga at its most eastward extent. In the earliest days, jengu-worship centred on the water spirits as the source of four boons: crayfish, the end of the rainy season in one of the world's wettest regions, victory in the pirogue races, and protection from epidemics of disease. Among the Duala proper, membership was originally reserved to "free" (pure-blooded) Duala, a stipulation that even excluded members of the prestigious Akwa clan due to one of their ancestors being a Longasse woman (a Cameroonian ethnic group in the Sanaga-Maritime District in the Littoral Region). Observations by European traders and explorers prove that jengu-worship was well established by the early 19th century. Early missionaries largely failed in their attempts to suppress it.^[2]

The cult is still active in Cameroon's Littoral and Southwest Provinces. Both males and females are eligible to join, though this openness may be a fairly recent development. Jengu-worship is primarily male among the Duala , Malimba proper, but among the Bakweri, on the other hand, the cult is primarily for women.^[2]

Ceremonies and rituals

Jengu worship centres on a secret society led by an individual known as the ekale. This person traditionally wears a mask at all meetings, though this practice all but died out by the mid-20th century. Anyone can supplicate the miengu, however, and the simplest rituals involve nothing more than prayers or sacrifices to the deities before fishing or traveling by water.^[2]

Early jengu worshippers performed rituals in pirogues on the Wouri River, its tributaries and estuary, and on nearby islands. The person would first dress in ceremonial garb, a cape, skirt, and headdress of raffia fronds, and carry palm fronds and wooden paddles. He would then summon the miengu and offer them oblations of food and drink. He might also visit a jengu shrine further up the Wouri.^[2]

Much jengu worship is related to healing and medicine, and the miengu are called upon when mainstream healing fails. For example, a jengu doctor can treat a patient by first sacrificing a cock and goat. He then administers a vomit-inducing medicine and waves a small stool over the patient's head. The one treated must then follow a series of taboos. Among the Bakweri, this rite is known as Liengu la Vafea.^[2]

The highest-profile miengu ceremony today is the annual Ngondo celebration in Douala, first held in 1949. The night before the fête's culmination, members of the jengu cult hold a private ceremony at Jebale Island on the Wouri. There they sacrifice to the water spirits and prepare a package of gifts. The next day, this offering is presented to the miengu during a public ceremony on a beach near Douala. One cult member dives into the sea with the gift and stays down as long as possible. Afterward, he returns with a message from the miengu about the year to come.^[2]

The climax of the ngondo festival is the jengu cult. Wherein the traditional diver goes into the river under supervision of the traditional rulers. This undisclosed custodian of tradition, accompanied by a woman and two men, embarks on a ritual boat. He will then submerge himself in the middle of the river and stay underneath the water for three to ten minutes. It is believed that he visits the kingdom of their ancestors (spirits) beneath the waters. He returns with news of the successor of the ngondo presidency and a coded message from the gods of the land in a calabash. One mystery of this ritual is that the calabash, which the diver holds as he re-emerges from underneath the river, is dry.^[2]

Induction

The rites observed by the Bakweri people of Mount Cameroon serve as an example of similar rituals among other coastal groups.^[2]

Toward the coast, the Bakweri practice two major induction rituals. In the Liengu la Ndiva, cult members take a seizure or collapse as a sign that a young girl is ready for induction. A cult member then speaks to her in a secret liengu language, and if she seems to understand any of it, a traditional healer begins the initiation rites. The girl must live in seclusion for several months, during which she must follow a strict set of taboos and may see visions of spirits. She also receives a secret name and teaching in the secret liengu language. Eventually, the healer releases her into the custody of a group of strong men and a number of women singing in the liengu language. The men take turns carrying her until she reaches the middle of a stream. There, the healer plunges her in, inducting her into the cult. Meanwhile, other cult members attempt to capture a crab from the waters, as this animal represents the liengu spirit. The new member's taboos remain, however, and she must live in seclusion for several more months. Finally, the cult holds a feast in her honour, and the initiation comes to an end. The entire process takes the better part of a year.^[2]

An alternate Bakweri initiation ritual is the Liengu la Mongbango. If a young girl disappears into the bush, her female relatives try to track her down by singing to her in the liengu language and carrying cult insignia made of wicker. When they find her, they hide her away for several months (outsiders may visit, however). Afterward, the cult prepares a feast for the girl. She and her sponsor then go alone into the forest. The initiate dresses in traditional regalia of fern fronds and rubs her body with red camwood. She is then led back to the village tied to the middle of a long rope. Two groups play a tug of war over her until the rope breaks, and she collapses. The cult members call to her nine times in the liengu language, which causes her to stand back up. After a few more weeks of taboos, a traditional healer bathes her in a stream, and her initiation ends. This process also takes most of a year.^[2]

Related Research Articles

Mystery religions, mystery cults, sacred mysteries or simply mysteries, were religious schools of the Greco-Roman world for which participation was reserved to initiates (mystai). The main characteristic of these religious schools was the secrecy associated with the particulars of the initiation and the ritual practice, which may not be revealed to outsiders. The most famous mysteries of Greco-Roman antiquity were the Eleusinian Mysteries, which predated the Greek Dark Ages. The mystery schools flourished in Late Antiquity; Emperor Julian, of the mid-4th century, is believed by some scholars to have been associated with various mystery cults—most notably the mithraists. Due to the secret nature of the schools, and because the mystery religions of Late Antiquity were persecuted by the Christian Roman Empire from the 4th century, the details of these religious practices are derived from descriptions, imagery and cross-cultural studies.

The Bakweri are a Bantu ethnic group of the Republic of Cameroon. They are closely related to Cameroon's coastal peoples, particularly the Duala and Isubu.

Bwiti is a spiritual discipline of the forest-dwelling Punu people and Mitsogo peoples of Gabon and by the Fang people of Gabon. Modern Bwiti incorporates animism, ancestor worship, and in some cases, Christianity, into a syncretistic belief system.

The Duala are a Bantu ethnic group of Cameroon. They primarily inhabit the littoral and southwest region of Cameroon and form a portion of the Sawabantu or "coastal people" of Cameroon. The Dualas readily welcomed German and French colonial policies. The number of German-speaking Africans increased in central African German colonies prior to 1914. The Duala leadership in 1884 placed the tribe under German rule. Most converted to Protestantism and were schooled along German lines. Colonial officials and businessmen preferred them as inexpensive clerks to German government offices and firms in Africa. They have historically played a highly influential role in Cameroon due to their long contact with Europeans, high rate of education, and wealth gained over centuries as slave traders and landowners.

The Subu are a Bantu ethnic group who inhabit part of the coast of Cameroon. Along with other coastal peoples, they belong to Cameroon's Sawa ethnic groups. They were one of the earliest Cameroonian peoples to make contact with Europeans, and over two centuries, they became influential traders and middlemen. Under the kings William I of Bimbia and Young King William, the Isubu formed a state called Bimbia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mami Wata</span> African water spirit

Mami Wata is a water spirit venerated in West, Central, and Southern Africa and in the Afro-American diaspora. Mami Wata spirits are usually female but are sometimes male.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ngondo</span> Annual festival in Douala, Cameroon

The Ngondo is an annual water-centered festival held by the Sawa in Douala, Cameroon. The highlight of the festival is a ceremony of the jengu. The ceremony is held at a beach on Wouri Bay, during which a devotee enters the water to visit the underwater kingdom of the miengu. The miengu are believed to be similar to mermaids, and will grant good luck to their worshippers. According to tradition, the devotee can remain underwater for hours, and emerge with his clothing appearing completely dry. Children are not allowed to attend the ceremony. Ngondo was banned by the government of Cameroon in 1981, but reinstated in 1991. The ceremony is held during the first two weeks of December every year.

The Bassa are a Bantu ethnic group in Cameroon. They number approximately 800,000 individuals. The Bassa speak the Basaa language.

A manbo is a priestess in the Haitian Vodou religion. Haitian Vodou's conceptions of priesthood stem from the religious traditions of enslaved people from Dahomey, in what is today Benin. For instance, the term manbo derives from the Fon word nanbo. Like their West African counterparts, Haitian manbos are female leaders in Vodou temples who perform healing work and guide others during complex rituals. This form of female leadership is prevalent in urban centers such as Port-au-Prince. Typically, there is no hierarchy among manbos and oungans. These priestesses and priests serve as the heads of autonomous religious groups and exert their authority over the devotees or spiritual servants in their hounfo (temples).

The Mulimba are an ethnic group of the Republic of Cameroon. They belong to the Sawa peoples, those of the Cameroonian coast.

Ewale a Mbedi was the eponymous ancestor of the Duala people of Cameroon. According to the oral histories of the Duala and related Sawa peoples of the Cameroon coast, Ewale hailed from a place called Piti. He and his followers migrated southwest to the coast and settled at the present-day location of Douala. The area was inhabited by the Bassa and/or Bakoko, who were driven inland by the new arrivals. Meanwhile, Ewale and his followers set up trade with European merchant ships.

Monneba, also spelled Moneba and other ways, was a local Duala leader on the Cameroon coast in the 1630s. Dutch sources from the 1660s say that Monneba ran a trading post on the Cameroons River at the present location of Douala. His people dealt primarily in ivory, with some slaves. Modern scholars equate Monneba with a Duala ruler named Mulobe a Ewale or Mulabe a Ewale. Assuming this is true, he is the earliest Duala leader of whom we have corroboration in written sources. It is quite possible that Monneba/Mulobe was the ruler who set into motion the transformation of the Duala into a trading people and the most influential ethnic group in early Cameroonian history.

In the cultures of the Horn of Africa and adjacent regions of the Middle East, Zār is the term for a demon or spirit assumed to possess individuals, mostly women, and to cause discomfort or illness. The so-called zār ritual or zār cult is the practice of reconciling the possessing spirit and the possessed individual. Zār possession is often considered lifelong and the rituals associated with it are a form of adorcism, though some have falsely attributed it as an exorcism rite because it involves possession. It is similar to the Maghreb's Hamadsha, Hausa Animism, and various African Traditional religions, such as Voodou.

Sports in Cameroon is practiced widely by the population and advocated by the national government. Cameroonians take pride in victories at international competitions, making sport an important source of national unity. Traditional sports in Cameroon include canoe racing, swimming, tug of war, and wrestling. Wrestling has featured in the initiation rites and other ceremonies of ethnic groups such as the Bakweri and the Duala.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tai folk religion</span>

The Tai folk religion, Satsana Phi or Ban Phi is the ancient native ethnic religion of Tai people still practiced by various Tai groups. Tai folk religion was dominant among Tai people in Asia until the arrival of Buddhism and Hinduism. It is primarily based on worshipping deities called Phi, Khwan and Ancestors.

The Sacred Way, in ancient Greece, was the road from Athens to Eleusis. It was so called because it was the route taken by a procession celebrating the Eleusinian Mysteries. The procession to Eleusis began at the Sacred Gate in the Kerameikos on the 19th Boedromion.

The Chamba are a significant ethnic group in the north eastern Nigeria. The Chamba are located between present day Nigeria and Cameroon. The closest Chamba neighbours are the Mumuye, the Jukun and Kutep people. In Cameroon, the successors of Leko and chamba speakers are divided into several states: Bali Nyonga, Bali Kumbat, Bali-Gham, Bali-Gangsin, and Bali-Gashu. They are two ethnic groups in Ghana and Togo also called Chamba, but they are ethnically distinct. The Chamba are identified through their own language, beliefs, culture, and art.

A water spirit is a kind of supernatural being found in the folklore of many cultures:

Bantu religion is the system of beliefs and legends of the Bantu people of Africa. Although Bantu peoples account for several hundred different ethnic groups, there is a high degree of homogeneity in Bantu cultures and customs, just as in Bantu languages. Many Bantu cultures traditionally believed in a supreme god whose name is a variation of Nyambe/Nzambe.

Jantzen & Thormählen was a German firm based in Hamburg that was established to exploit the resources of Cameroon. The firm's commercial and political influence was a major factor in the establishment of the colony of Kamerun in 1884.

References

1 2 3 4 Ardener, Edwin (1975). "Belief and the Problem of Women". In Ardener, Shirley (ed.). Perceiving Women. London: Malaby Press. pp. 6–11. ISBN 9780460140065.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Tande, Dibussi (2005-11-14). "The Jengu Cult". www.peuplesawa.com. Retrieved 2023-09-12.
1 2 3 4 5 6 Austen, Ralph (1992). "Tradition, Invention and History: The Case of the Ngondo, (Cameroon) (Tradition, invention et histoire: le cas du Ngondo (Cameroun))". Cahiers d'Études Africaines. 32 (126): 302–304. doi:10.3406/cea.1992.1557. ISSN 0008-0055. JSTOR 4392382.
↑ Austen, Ralph A.; Derrick, Jonathan (1999-01-21). Middlemen of the Cameroons Rivers: The Duala and Their Hinterland, C.1600-c.1960. Cambridge University Press. p. 21. ISBN 978-0-521-56664-3.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[:0-1] 1 2 3 4 Ardener, Edwin (1975). "Belief and the Problem of Women". In Ardener, Shirley (ed.). Perceiving Women. London: Malaby Press. pp. 6–11. ISBN 9780460140065.

[:3-2] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Tande, Dibussi (2005-11-14). "The Jengu Cult". www.peuplesawa.com. Retrieved 2023-09-12.

[:2-3] 1 2 3 4 5 6 Austen, Ralph (1992). "Tradition, Invention and History: The Case of the Ngondo, (Cameroon) (Tradition, invention et histoire: le cas du Ngondo (Cameroun))". Cahiers d'Études Africaines. 32 (126): 302–304. doi:10.3406/cea.1992.1557. ISSN 0008-0055. JSTOR 4392382.

[4] Austen, Ralph A.; Derrick, Jonathan (1999-01-21). Middlemen of the Cameroons Rivers: The Duala and Their Hinterland, C.1600-c.1960. Cambridge University Press. p. 21. ISBN 978-0-521-56664-3.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]