An introduction to Kom tradition and family structure

There are over 200 different tribes in Cameroon each speaking their own language, each with their own Chief, some with 500 people some with 500,000.

The land of Kom where the Kom people live is in the rural highlands of the North West province. The people make a living from small subsistence farms and still live under the rule of the Fon (tribe chief) his quarter heads and the elders. The Government and police control national matters and the Fon controls tribal matters.

According to Kom tradition the Man is the head of the Family or the Master. He can marry as many wives as he pleases providing he can afford the bride price and a house in his compound for her. The bride price is the price he has to pay to the father of the bride to marry her. This price is negotiable depending on how good a bride she is!! For each wife he has to build a separate house inside his compound for her to live in and bring up her children. He will live in his own house by himself and call which ever wife he fancies to spend time with him.

Since the introduction of Christianity it is becoming more popular to just have one wife however the majority of men will have more if they can afford it.

Each man will also own a small piece of land for subsistence farming. In Kom tradition it is the wife who does the labour on the farm whilst it is the man’s responsibility to earn cash to support the family. The farm will produce enough food to sustain the family and there will be a little extra left over to sell at market and buy other things not grown on their farm. If there is more than one wife each one will have a separate farm or area to farm and will be responsible for feeding herself and her children plus the Master when it is her turn.

When a man dies, Kom tradition says that the younger brother of the master has to marry his dead brother’s wives and therefore support them and their children. He will also be passed possession of the land and compound. If he is already married then the wives will move into his compound and he will build them new houses whilst he sells the other. Or if his deceased brother has the bigger compound he will sell his own and move with his wives into it, again building new houses for his existing wives and children. This system theoretically leaves no woman unmarried or without support once becoming widowed, however this is not always the case.

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