The Mafa also called Mafahay, is an ethnic group localized in northern

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

, Northern

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

and also scattered in other countries like Mali, Chad, Sudan, Burkina Faso and Sierra Leone.

History

The Mafahay, a Mafa tribe, migrated from

Roua In Tahiti and Society Islands mythology, Roua (or Rahoua or Tubua), is the creator god of the Tuamotus. He is the father of Fati, the god of the Moon, and all the stars by Taonoui In Tahiti and Society Islands mythology, Taonoui is the mother by ...

and Sulede (which is west of Durum (

Mofu Mofu is a designation for various ethnic groups and languages they speak in northern Cameroon, near the border with Nigeria. The Mofu groups live in the Mandara Mountains of Cameroon's Far North Province The Far North Region, also known as th ...

proper)), towards the northwest. The Bulahay tribe, meanwhile, migrated to the west, alongside the southern borders of the present Mafa territory. Eventually they also migrated northwards where they mixed with the Mafahay, becoming the present Mafa.Mafa - The Mandara Mountains Homepage
Retrieved June 03, 2013, to 16: 31 pm.

Demography

Total population estimates vary between 82,100[Boulet, J., ‘Les groupes humains’, Le nord du Cameroun, des hommes, une region, Collection Memoires 102, (ed) Jean Boutrais, ORSTOM, Paris 1984:119 and 150,000.Muller-Kosack, G.
Cry for Death
Mandaras Publishing (www.mandaras.info). London, 1999 (4p) A 2010 source placed the total population of the Mafa at approximately 300,000. Hallaire indicates that population density in the area is between 99 and 140 inhabitants per square kilometer.
/ref> According to Lavergne, the Mafa are split into two tribal sections, being the ‘Mafa proper’ (referred to as Maf-Mafa or ‘Mafahay), and the ‘Bulahai’. The Mafas live in the central part of the Northern Mandaras, which is a region formed by the North area of the Far North Region (Cameroon), Mokolo Plateau and the mountains of northern Mokolo. The Mafa society is divided into several cantons: Moskota; Koza; Gaboua (Koza district); ( Mokolo arrondissement). There are also about 1m Mafa in Kughum (

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

). The Mafa belong to the

Chadic The Chadic languages form a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. They are spoken in parts of the Sahel. They include 150 languages spoken across northern Nigeria, southern Niger, southern Chad, the Central African Republic, and northern Cam ...

language grouping. They speak the

Mafa language Mafa is an Afro-Asiatic language spoken in northern Cameroon and Northern Nigeria by the Mafa people. The term ''Matakam'' is traditionally seen as pejorative. Dialects Mafa is widely spoken in the department of Mayo-Tsanaga from Mokolo to the ...

, The Joshua project
Retrieved June 03, 2013, to 16: 56 pm. with three different dialects: Mafa-west, Mafa-centre and Mafa-east. Together with many other languages of other African peoples (such as Wuzlam ( Uldeme), Muyang and Ɗugwor ( Dugur)), they form part of the Mafa-south sub-group. The population is 83%

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

, 7%

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

and 10% are practitioners of

African Traditional religion The traditional beliefs and practices of African people are highly diverse beliefs that include various ethnic religions.Encyclopedia of African Religion (Sage, 2009) Molefi Kete Asante Generally, these traditions are oral tradition, oral rather ...

. The Christian population is composed of

Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

(60%) and

Protestants Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

(30%), Other Christian (7%), and Independent Christian (3%).

Agriculture

Traditional Mafa agriculture depends on a wide assortment of

soil management Soil management is the application of operations, practices, and treatments to protect soil and enhance its performance (such as soil fertility or soil mechanics). It includes soil conservation, soil amendment, and optimal soil health. In agricult ...

techniques. The hillsides are secured with constructed terraces, that according to an author, "have reached a state of exceptional perfection". Other ethno-engineering procedures include : * small-scale irrigation * canalization * drainage system Likewise, agriculturists in the mountains practice an extensive variety of

soil fertility Soil fertility refers to the ability of soil to sustain agricultural plant growth, i.e. to provide plant habitat and result in sustained and consistent yields of high quality.

management procedures, including : * crop rotation and mixed cropping * agro-forestry * biomass * nutrient management They also use an intensive livestock-raising system in the management of the fertility of their soil. Livestock includes smallstock and a limited amount of cattle. In the dry season between December and May, livestock is allowed to roam free, so he can consume crop residues and leaves of wild bushes. During the farming season, livestock is put in a pen and fed. The manure that accumulates in the stables is collected, preserved and finally spread out in the fields at the end of the dry season. The intensity and ingenuity of Mafa nutrient management is illustrated by the fact that termites are used to digest harvest residues and then fed to the Chickens.

Mining

Alluvial methods of mining were used by Mafa people to search for iron sand and utilize it for magnetite ore in

Jesus Mafa

In the 1970s, the

French Catholic , native_name_lang = fr , image = 060806-France-Paris-Notre Dame.jpg , imagewidth = 200px , alt = , caption = Cathedral Notre-Dame de Paris , abbreviation = , type ...

priest François Vidil collaborated with the Mafa community to create a series of artwork known as ''

Vie de Jesus Mafa Vie (IPA: /'vi.e/), is a district (or ''quarter''), of Oradea, a city in Bihor, Romania. The name means ''vineyard'' in Romanian. Geography Vie is situated in the hills overlooking Oradea, in the northern part of the town. It spans quite a lar ...

'' (Life of Jesus Mafa, or simply Jesus Mafa), which depicts various events in the life of Jesus using

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

depictions rather than

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

. These images were actually depictions of real-world recreations of biblical scenes by Mafa people, and have since become popular worldwide, and perhaps especially among

African Americans African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, as an inculturated form of Catholic

iconography Iconography, as a branch of art history, studies the identification, description and interpretation of the content of images: the subjects depicted, the particular compositions and details used to do so, and other elements that are distinct fro ...

. The works were soon after acquired by the Josephites, a religious society of priests serving

African-Americans African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...

. A collection remains at their seminary in

Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...

, where their pastoral center continues to sell prints. The Jesus Mafa collection has also been added to the US

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

References

External links

Mandara Mountains Homepage
{{Authority control Ethnic groups in Cameroon Ethnic groups in Nigeria