Cameroon’s sacred and royal animals: could literature and futures thinking help save them?

By Kenneth Nsah Mala

In the grasslands and highlands of western Cameroon, some animals are believed to be sacred.

Within the region’s indigenous kingdoms (fondoms), many of these animals are also considered to be royal.

They include wild cats (like cheetahs, leopards, lions, tigers), buffaloes, elephants, porcupines, cowries (sea snails), and a brightly coloured bird called the Bannerman’s turaco.

These species carry deep cultural and spiritual significance. They are, for example, often used to decorate royals (kings, queens and queen mothers) or to award royal distinctions to deserving individuals.

Their body parts can be used to make crowns, bedding, footstools, bangles or necklaces for royalty. Red feathers from the Bannerman’s turaco are used to distinguish warriors and hunters.

Here, indigenous cultural practices can both sustain and decimate biodiversity. The names of some of these animals, especially wild cats, are used as praise names for kings.

But custom dictates that