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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Between mosque and palace: defining identity through ritual practice in Ngaoundéré, Cameroon
Author:DeLancey, Mark Dike
Year:2012
Periodical:Cahiers d'études africaines (ISSN 0008-0055)
Volume:52
Issue:208
Pages:975-998
Language:French
Geographic term:Cameroon
Subjects:Fulani
Mbum (Cameroon, Central African Republic)
rituals
Islam
mosques
palaces
identity
architecture
External link:https://doi.org/10.4000/etudesafricaines.17216
Abstract:This article examines the relationship of architecture and ritual practice during Friday Prayer in the northern Cameroonian city of Ngaoundéré. Every Friday, the ruler of Ngaoundéré, a sub-emirate of the Sokoto Caliphate in contemporary Cameroon, makes his way at the appointed hour across the public square that lies before his palace to lead prayer in the central mosque. Following the prayer, the ruler returns to the palace surrounded by great fanfare and pageantry after which he receives the assembled nobility for a council meeting. The mosque and the palace which physically bracket these weekly ceremonies represent the principal populations of Ngaoundéré - the formerly nomadic, pastoral, Muslim Fulbé and the sedentary, agricultural, non-Muslim Mboum. The connection of mosque to palace through ritual reflects the role of the ruler as unifier of the populations represented by these monuments, and as the fulcrum for the construction of a unique local identity. Bibliogr., note, ref., sum. in English and French. [Journal abstract]
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