Youth and sociocultural change in the western Grassfields, Cameroon

Abstract

In June 2022, a group of Bambui youth resident in Europe, North America and Cameroon presented a Toyota SUV car as a gift to the fon or king of the Bambui Kingdom on his 25th anniversary on the throne. This, however, was not the first time for Bambui people to present a gift to the fon, but it was the very first time for a group of young people to conceive, contribute, and buy such an expensive gift. While the decision to present a gift to the fon was negotiated privately by the concerned youth, the gift was presented in public, thereby prompting other Bambui youth to question the rationale behind the secret arrangement at the initial phase. However, whether, the decision to plan everything in secret before presenting in public was correct, is only one of our concerns in this chapter. The chapter is concerned about the whole concept of gift exchange in the Bambui Kingdom and Grassfields, and the direction it is taking in present day. While the practice used to be something reserved largely for traditional elites and elders, it is now increasingly led by young people, and there is competition among them to out-smart others. This chapter examines the concept of gift exchange as it applies to Bambui and young people to show how it has and continue to change as well as some of the motivations.