Horses in Cameroon
Traditional equestrian practices in Cameroon, such as horse parades and horse dances (linked to customary ceremonies in the north), have more recently been joined by equestrian activities, under the influence of Western expatriates and investors (supported by the creation of urban riding halls), notably in Yaoundé since the 1990s.
Cameroon bred around 16,000 to 18,000 horses at the beginning of the 21st century, belonging to the Logone, Dongola, Barb, Arabian and Thoroughbred breeds, or more frequently to out-crosses between them.
Northern Cameroonian culture (particularly that of the Fulani and Kotoko people) gives great importance to horses, a prestigious animal with a reputation for protection.
[1] Horses were present in the Lake Chad region around the year 800, as attested by the settlement of the Sayfawa Saharan nomads in Kanem.
[2] Nonetheless, horse-breeding probably remained rare, due to the presence of the tsetse fly, which led to high horse mortality.
[4] According to ethnologist Christian Seignobos, the use of a pony resistant to African trypanosomiasis may have declined as early as the 15th century, in favor of the larger Barb and Dongola breeds, in parallel with the Islamization of these royal dynasties.
[7] Their breeding traditions, based on a hunting and raiding economy,[8] remained intact until the 1980s,[6] although the rituals surrounding the birth and socialization of a pony gradually disintegrated from the late 19th century onwards.
[9] The Cambas, also horse riders, took the Tikar plain, Bamum country and the Grassfields at the end of the 18th century, before giving way to the Fulani conquest, which stopped further north.
[12] The Yillaga Fulani probably adopted riding on local ponies in North Cameroon in the 18th century to guard their cattle herds, before creating full-fledged military cavalries.
[9] The establishment of Muslim Fulani lamidats was accompanied by the purchase of Barb and Dongola stallions from outside the region, and the creation of small stud farms.
[5] At the beginning of the 19th century, the chiefs of Bornou and Mandara, aware of the superiority of the horse over Fulani people, attempted to prohibit their sale and possession shortly after the launch of the jihad, under capital punishment.
[16] In the 1930s, Captain Charles Vallin proposed distributing mounts to mountain Kirdis to encourage traditional chiefs to meet him.
[19] From then on, there was a major cultural difference between the north of Cameroon, which remained traditional and very close to the African customs of Chad and Nigeria, and the very westernized south.
[22] The Ministry of Livestock, Fisheries and Animal Industries (MINEPIA by its acronym in French) and the PMUC set up a "Racing and Horse Breeding Fund".
[23] In 1991 the "red cotton disease" (MCR by its acronym in French) in the Bénoué region led to the impoverishment of farmers who, were no longer able to pay for Vaccinations for their draft oxen, gradually replaced them by trypano-resistant ponies, less expensive to buy,[24] or donkeys.
[29] In July 2017, the first edition of the Festi Ramadan in Gashiga featured a parade of four groups of warriors on their horses, and a fantasia, with the aim of pacifying the region.
[27] In three-quarters of cases, the horse tack is purchased locally or handcrafted by its owner, often using recycled materials (tires, plastic, inner tubes, etc.).
[45] These lamidats are controlled by the lamibé, Muslim customary chiefs, who demonstrate their power by organizing fantasias,[44] on the occasion of festivals or to welcome an important guest.
[46] Horse races are held quarterly in Maroua, Garoua, Koumbo and Kousséri, with competitions on the occasion of Cameroon's national day in the country's northern regions.
[21] French management of the company has revived controversies linked to the presence of former colonizers and the exploitation of Cameroonian workers by France: during riots in February 2008, 800 PMUC stands were damaged throughout Cameroon.
[50] There are a number of riding halls in southern Cameroon run by urban Europeans,[50] including two in Yaoundé in 2006, and one in Bamenda in the same year.
[61] In these rural areas, mares are left to roam freely around villages, and presented to local stallions, tethered near their owner's tent or hunt, when they come into heat.
[63] Modern stables are found mainly in the Yaoundé and Douala regions, and generally keep more fragile horses of out-crossed breeds.
[16] The colonial administration also cites horses "of very large size and very beautiful forms [...] of high price, [and which] come from the Manga", in Chad.
[73] French writer and editor Jean-Louis Gouraud discovered their presence in November 1988,[74] but was unable to track them down on a second trip in late 2001.
[77] The most common diseases affecting livestock are botulism, tetanus, brucellosis, ulcerative lymphangitis, anthrax and various forms of salmonellosis.
[45] The fight against African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness) has been an area of investment since the beginning of the 20th century, with certain pastures in the Vina, Faro-et-Déo and Bénoué rivers having been cleared of tsetse fly and tabanidae to help livestock breeders in their activities.
[82] Musgum of Pouss and Guirvidig people call the pony ‘atongo’ (from Tonggoy, meaning pre-Massa driven south).
[83] In 1999 ethnologist Christian Seignobos published an investigation into the relationship between the Moussey of Gobo and their ponies, whom they consider equal to human beings (asiya ko su wurnn), notably banning hippophagy.
[85] The most famous ponies are called Kuluma, and are the exclusive property of the head of the family: they are given a name, a lot of attention, and are the focus of rituals,[85] the most important of which is the first cutting of their mane.
