Cameroon stuck in the Dark Ages when it comes to black cats

Cameroon's cultural attitude about black cats is over one thousand years out of date. It is time for change.

The term "Dark Ages" means the Middle Ages. As you can see, I am saying that the country of Cameroon on the African continent is stuck in the kind of cultural attitude with respect to black cats that existed in Europe during the Middle Ages which by the way lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries.

Black cat is vilified in Cameroon due to ancient superstitions. Image in public domain.

To put this another way, without being in any way disrespectful of the country; Cameroon, in general (there will be exceptions) has an attitude towards black cats which is about a thousand years out of date!

There are still senior, respected people in Cameroon who genuinely believe that if they see a black cat at night they should run in the opposite direction. And there are many people who think that if they eat a black cat, it'll make them agile and perhaps protect them from the evil spirits that imbue the body of a black cat.

How do I know this? I've just visited a website about African culture and an article written by an African man. So, this is not a white man (me) criticising an African culture - this comes from the words of an African living in Africa.

It seems that children in Africa are taught that black cats are bad omens. They are stuck in the era of witchcraft. I've seen this before in other countries in Africa. It is very much a firmly fixed cultural perspective and it is frankly depressing to see it.

The Andadolu Agency spoke to people in Cameroon about their understanding of domestic cats and black cats.

One person said that "When I was little, I was afraid to see a black cat, especially at night because of all the bad things that were said" (Jean Paul Mbarga).

Mbarga is plainly fearful of black cats. He said that, "Around me people continue to speak badly about it in witchcraft stories". 

People in Cameroon are still talking about the black cat as if 'it' is living with a witch in some dark forest. And they are passing this knowledge on to their children.

A Cameroon politician and traditionalist, Jean Marc Ngoss, perpetuates these thoughts. He says that their ancestors knew what they were talking about. He adds that there must've been some real reasons why black cats are still perceived as bringing bad luck. And therefore, he still believes it.

For example, he said, "Ancestors who gave rise to these beliefs around the black cat were not madmen. Rather, it is the new technologies that are contributing to the doubts." He blames new technology!

He also said, "Since our ancestors and parents began to stigmatize a black cat sighting, especially in the dark night, it is certainly after a good number of experiences. There have certainly been ancestors who experienced harmful events many times after meeting a black cat. They have come to the conclusion it is a bad omen."

So you can see that senior people in the community are passing on these long-standing cultural thoughts which are based on superstition. They are thoughts that are a thousand years old and more.

Not all Cameroon people think like this obviously. For example, a veterinarian was asked about black cats and he said that, "To my knowledge, the black cat is not particularly different from other cats. It is probably its color that creates stereotypes. Those are cultural. Currently there are fewer black cats that you see among people and even in the wild population. This can also be explained by selection. Of course, people don't prefer to have black cats and some riverine populations kill them."

The newspaper interviewed a lady, Ngalle Felicite, about black cats who said that she has changed her view about them as she grew older. She no longer discriminates between cats of different colour.

She admits that when she was a child, she was very afraid of cats. And black cats in particular. But when she grew up and her family adopted cats to keep the rats out, she learned to live with cats. She learned to love them. And she had a black cat when she grew up which became her favourite.

But she says that people who come to her home and who are afraid of black cats regard her as a bit strange. She still loves that particular black cat who followed her everywhere. Sadly, it appears that her favourite black cat was stolen from her, killed and then eaten.

The veterinarian said that it's about education which it is. Education can and will over time erode and eventually get rid of superstitions which are simply unsupported by science.

I find it very sad that in the 21st century, the culture of a country like Cameroon is stuck in the Dark Ages. It is to the detriment of domestic cats in general and black cats in particular. It costs them their lives in that country. It is terribly wrong.

Jane Goodall has called for an end to wildlife trafficking and bush meat

Jane Goodall is the world-famous primatologist and anthropologist who lived with apes and understands them. Her voice is a powerful one. Writing on the Slate.com website (APRIL 06, 2020) she said that Covid-19 should make us rethink our destructive relationship with the natural world. Humankind needs to chart another way forward. The pandemic which has stricken the world should make humanity rethink its relationship with the natural world.

Jane Goodall. Collage: PoC. Photos in public domain.

It is long overdue as far as I am concerned. You won't be able to make a change through voluntary action. It will have to be forced upon people and encouraged by offering alternatives to bush meat and to making money out of trafficking while animal parts.

ASSOCIATED: Statement of Jane Goodall about the killing of Cecil the lion

More than half the diseases that have emerged since 1960 were caused by disease spreading from wild animals. As I said, you would have thought that we would have learnt by now but apparently not. Jane Goodall says that the world is interconnected and that what happens in one part of the natural world affects the rest including humans. A weakness of humans is that they feel distanced from the natural world and they are almost invariably self-interested.

Most people hadn't heard of the pangolin until Covid-19 emerged. It is believed that the virus which causes Covid-19 originates in bats and was transferred to people via pangolins. Pangolins are the most persecuted and used animal on the planet because the scales and body parts are used in traditional Chinese medicine and in foods because it is believed they improve health.

Goodall says that people are now feeling the true cost of wildlife trafficking and the destruction of the natural world. I would add bush meat is another major influence in that process. Goodall said that her work informs her that thousands of great apes are stolen from the wild every year and hunted for their body parts and to eat. 

Bush meat in China and Africa is commonplace. That means humans eating apes and monkeys too. Out cousins. They are murdered and eaten. Horrible. I'm concerned about Africa with respect to the spread of Covid-19 because their hospitals are ill-equipped to deal with it. If it expands rapidly in the African continent and it has started in sub-Saharan Africa where there is one doctor of every 5,000 people compared to 300 in Europe it may be catastrophic. The average American hospital has more intensive care beds than most African countries.

Jane Goodall noted that the diseases Sars and Mers are former virus epidemics which had spread from animals.

Every country must do its part to create more comprehensive legislation to protect wildlife, and illegal trafficking and ban sales.

I agree, that China to name one important country, must legislate to dramatically improve animal welfare and wildlife. However, great legislation without enforcement is worse than useless. The truth of the matter is that we can't be too optimistic about the impact of legislation in places like China or Africa. There is far too much corruption. 

Corruption fatally undermines law enforcement. It needs a complete change in attitude and culture to remove corruption and I don't believe it can be done. I know that's incredibly pessimistic but corruption must be dealt with almost initially before enacting fresh legislation.

And there needs to be international enforcement. We have treaties and agreements in place already with CITES to control the movement of animal body parts and live animals across the globe. What happens? Almost nothing has changed. The industry is worth billions and agreements are just walked over and ignored. 

I'm afraid Goodall is too optimistic, almost naive in my opinion but it is also correct that there needs to be dramatic change. She mentions that China implemented a strict ban on wildlife trafficking after the emergence of Covid-19. But has it been enforced? China shut down 20,000 wild animal markets but there are reports that they have reopened as if nothing has happened. Corruption, as I said, undermines everything.

When you protect wildlife and nature you protect humans and their communities. Humans have to reconnect with nature and see the importance of protecting it. Fundamental changes are required which are so profound that they will take many decades to come about.