Bamileke glossary

Takunga

Spiritual gift transmitted in the Bamileke lineage of Zeu Cheu Pieco. Power of influence without borders, bound to truth, justice and service to the good.

Ta'a Nkounga Nsi

Title of the spiritual king of the astral world, direct servant of God. A dignity distinct from traditional political thrones.

Zeu Cheu Pieco

Founding Ancestor of the Takunga lineage, found as a child in the forest between the Bamileke land and the Diboum people, in the ancient era of the Bandoumkassa chiefdom.

Ancestor

Term used for Zeu Cheu Pieco and, more broadly, the founding ancestors of the lineage present in the astral world.

Bamileke

A group of peoples of the western highlands of Cameroon. A society organised around traditional chiefdoms, with a rich ancestral spirituality.

Bandoumkassa

Bamileke chiefdom of origin of the Ancestor Zeu Cheu Pieco, in the Haut-Nkam department of Cameroon.

Bakotcha

Bamileke chiefdom sister to Bandoumkassa, also part of the Takunga lineage land.

Haut-Nkam

Department of the West Region of Cameroon, land of the Bamileke people and place of origin of the lineage.

Kolla

Bamileke sacred place where the founding scene of the book took place — public designation by So'o Kandeu Tumta Jean of his successor in the lineage.

Jujube

Fruit used in Bamileke ritual gestures. Poured on the ground, it symbolically opens the door of the Ancestors for sacred speech.

Mami

An affectionate and respectful title borne by Mama Mafeu Tchaleu Marie, the author's grandmother and final guardian of the silence broken at the sacred place.