Beti-Pahuin Peoples - Lifestyle and Settlement Patterns

Lifestyle and Settlement Patterns

The Beti-Pahuin peoples organise themselves according to a series of patrilineal kinships. The family (a man, his wife or wives, and his children) forms the backbone of this system. Several families of a common lineage live together in a village, and in turn, several related villages form a clan. These clans come under the nominal rule of a chief, who is also traditionally regarded as a religious authority. Nevertheless, these individuals, though still highly regarded, hold very little actual power today, and in some of the southern Beti-Pahuin groups, the office of chief has disappeared altogether. Most decision-making at the village or clan level is done by consensus.

The majority of the Beti-Pahuin ethnic groups live in small, roadside villages of no more than a few hundred inhabitants. These villages are mostly linear, with houses paralleling the road and backed by forest. The typical dwelling unit is constructed of dried-mud bricks placed onto a bamboo frame and roofed with raffia-palm fronds. In recent times, metal roofing has become increasingly common, and wealthier individuals may construct their homes in concrete.

Beti-Pahuin territory also includes a number of sizable towns and cities, most of which were begun by the Germans or French. Here, settlements are more in the European pattern, with a network of streets, various neighbourhoods, and central administrative or commercial districts.