Éloge de l’indocilité: regard colonial et appropriation locale, Monts Mandara du Cameroun

Abstract

This article examines the colonial discourse on populations living in the Mandara Mountains in Cameroon, and the way in which they practiced mimicry to appropriate symbols of the dominant culture, diverting them from their original significance and reinterpreting them to promote their own cultural experiences. It shows how the clichés of rebels and savages through which the colonial power strove to define them were reinvested to defend the image of the mountain dwellers as strong, hard-working people. This process of reappropriation continued during the big tourist boom that began in the 1950s and continued until the mid-2010s, which saw the first forays of Boko Haram in the region. During this period, people staged the supposed cultural authenticity of the Mandara Mountains to fuel the tourism industry. The article is based on archival data collected in various archives in Cameroon, notably in the National Archives in Yaoundé, as well as on data from oral interviews conducted with thirty-nine participants.