Memoirs of a Mbororo

Henri Bocquené served as a Catholic missionary in Cameroon for many years and was renowned for his sympathetic understanding of the Fulani.

• List of IllustrationsPreface to the English TranslationPhilip Burnham  Letter from Claude Lévi-Strauss  Preface to French EditionChristiane SeydouIntroductionHenri BocquenéPreliminary NoteMapChapter 1. My First Memories of ChildhoodChapter 2. From Day to DayChapter 3. And the Seasons PassChapter 4. Passing the EveningsChapter 5. Our Grandmothers’ StoriesChapter 6. IllnessChapter 7. Seasonal Migration and the Wet Season CampChapter 8. Family FestivalsChapter 9. A Village InterludeChapter 10. A Return to the Nomadic LifeChapter 11. Memories of Seasonal MigrationsChapter 12. A Stay in GireChapter 13. The Soro of the AdolescentsChapter 14. From Village to VillageChapter 15. Memorable EventsChapter 16. The Dance and the WodabeChapter 17. The Spectacle at the Market PlaceChapter 18. Marriage and WeddingsChapter 19. Mbororo MarriageChapter 20. Divorce and WidowhoodChapter 21. ReligionChapter 22. PulakuChapter 23. Magic and SorceryChapter 24. New HorizonsChapter 25. My Uncle and His HerdsChapter 26. Settled at DjohongChapter 27. Family VisitsEnd NotesGlossary

"This books has the advantage of being an enumeration of rich detail about a Fulani nomad society and a skillfully told personal narrative, a rearity in the literature of disappearing societies."  · International Journal of African History"Dear Father Bocquené, Your Mbororo are certainly very different from mine (except perhaps in their taste for self-ornamentation). But that hasn't prevented me from reading your book with enchantment: this is life, this is the reality. Without belonging to the profession, you have produced one of the masterworks of ethnographic literature. Rich and precise information, accompanied by penetrating insights, emerge from each page - not in the form of arid data but integrated with the unfolding of an individual existence. One feels a little bit Mbororo after having read your book."  · Claude Lévi-StraussPraise for the French edition:"A document of an exceptional richness and originality. It returns to the ethnological experience a renewed reality and authenticity."  · Christiane Seydou, C.N.R.S. (Centre nationale de recherche scientifique), Paris"This work has certainly considerably advanced our knowledge of African culture."   · Radio Vatican"This is a document of rare human density; an account like this one, one does not read but devours it."   · La Croix - L'Evènement"This book is an extraordinary history, unlike any other ethnological work."   · Ouest-France"This is the most African book I have ever read. It has fascinated me from the first page."   · Hubert von Lindener, Professor at Münster University"This is an extraordinary book. I have read it with enormous pleasure. It is one of the best books I have ever read."   · Karen Bennike, Professor of French, University of Copenhagen>