Signification of Plants in Traditional Peace Building in the Bamenda Grassfields of Cameroon: The Case of Fig Tree and Dracaena amongst the Bali Chamba Polities

Abstract

Gifts of nature such as streams, hills and vegetation constitute the centre of activities in African cultural practices. Communities across the continent in the face of conflicts seek peace using one of several gifts of nature just like the the Balis make use of fig tree and dracaena in their socio-cultural economic and political life. From Fondom creation to contemporary times, these trees have occupied a preponderant place in the Bali peace culture as they are used in the domain of traditional governance, conflict resolution, and peace building. Further, these plants are used to pass various messages namely; the birth of twins, the end of wars, and also to indicate the entrances or exits from a community or farmland. This chapter argue that, the fig tree and dracaena locally called ghim and nkeng respectively, amongst the people of Bali Chamba polities of North West Cameroon played fundamental roles in the preservation of peace in the life of the people. These plants having dark green beautifully designed leaves, have cultural, moral, spiritual, economic and political implications. Planted around shrines, graves, boundaries and used in performing rituals, the ghim and nkeung are also symbols of traditional authority, source of economic growth, traditional medicine health and peace. The introduction of foreign cultures amongst these people during the wave of migration, settlement and colonial rule, greatly diminished the symbolic values assigned to these plants. Although the deep cultural and moral implications of these plants are fading away as a result of religious influences and western secular culture, their significance have not been completely eroded especially as the plants are still used in Bali and most communities in the region for different reasons.