Secrets of the Forest People: Learning the Bantu Culture in Cameroon

BONUS VIDEOS HERE

On October 29, 2022, I visited the Museum of the Forest People as a guest of the African Roots and Heritage Foundation. I learned many things. Here are some of the lessons.

THE WRITING SYSTEM ORIGINATED AS A MUSICAL NOTATION SYSTEM AND COLORS WERE DESCRIBED USING ELEMENTS OF NATURE

. The forest people drew pictures of the various drum rhythms which then became their writng system.

MEASURING TIME

Spirit prepares the material. What is needed for the day is prepared in the night. That is why, for the forest people, the night is more important than the day because spirit does its work in the night.

MORE TEACHING ABOUT TIME

YOU MUST BE ATHLETIC

Any “lord” of the forest must appear to be so. Your physical appearance is an indication of your vital life force energy and wisdom.

PALM WINE TECHNOLOGY

Siphiwe Baleka with Dr. Therese Fouda

Dr. Fouda is the founder of the Museum and reknown personality in Yaounde, Cameroon. Her knowledge of plants and Bantu culture informs her highly coveted garmets that she makes for visiting dignitaries. I was honored to receive one of her designs that carries a Bantu message in symbols

Bantu Beauty

Tradition forest woman will be “curvy”. Forest people diagnose the health and prospects of a person based on the body. For example, they can tell if a woman can carry a child easily or not. Wearing clothes is “backwards” to them because you prevent essential communication by covering the body.

Forest women do not carry the child on the back.

They carry the child on their side using a sling.

Ritual clothing

By wearing outfits made of and mimicking various animals, one can channel the essence of that animal.

The Forge

Burial marker

The statue in the middle was used to mark burial locations.

Burial marker

Snake symbol of fortune

The forest people say that when they migrated from the east, they summoned a great snake that would appear on whose back they would cross over bodies of water.

Lion's essence

This is depicting a ritual where the essence of a lion is being transmitted to the person.

Melissa Kwenkeu with the Bantu Calendar

LEARNING ABOUT THE LORD AND HIS WIVES

The forest people are polygamous. According to a man’s vital essence, he can satisfy a woman, both materially, emotionally, and sexually. Because children, the continuation of the life force energy, are the purpose of the community.

For this video and the other “secret” videos, go to

SECRETS OF THE FOREST PEOPLE VIDEOS