page_title: Anlu (Cameroon)
section_title: Practice
hierarchical_section_title: Anlu (Cameroon) / Traditional anlu / Practice
caption_attribution_description: Map of the divisions of Northwest province in Cameroon. Created by Rarelibra 19:55, 1 September 2006 (UTC) for public domain use, using MapInfo Professional v8.5 and various mapping resources.
context_page_description: Anlu is a traditional practice in the Kom communities of the Northwest Region of Cameroon. The practice revolves around groups of women gathering together and engaging in extreme behavior to shame and ostracize individuals who break community morals, such as physical abuse of a pregnant woman or incest. The origin of the practice is said to come from a time the women of Kom communities were the only people left to defend the towns from an invading force and so dressed as men and caused the opposition army to flee. The traditional practice became relevant with large-scale, political mobilizations by women from 1958 until 1961. This political anlu paralyzed both traditional and colonial administration in the Kom region and disrupted courts, schools, markets, and travel through the region.
context_section_description: Traditional anlu, similar to fombuen or keluh in Kedjom Keku communities and ndofoumbgui in the Aghem tribe, involves groups of women organizing and shaming individuals who violate certain moral rules. The ostracizing could develop as a result of any set of offenses that violated community morality and were believed to threaten the life of the community (by damaging fertility, food, or prosperity). These offenses could include insulting one's mother, physically abusing a pregnant or nursing woman, committing incest, or other offenses. The women would respond with actions considered outside of the communities moral order (vulgar speech, display of genitals, dress in men's clothing, defecation on the offender's property, etc.) in order to highlight the egregiousness of the offense and pressure for repayment. The women themselves are organized under the leadership of the oldest woman of the community, named the na-anlu.
  Other men of the community would not intervene or interfere in the anlu, and could become a target of anlu if they did interfere, and husbands of women involved would take over household tasks. Anthropologist Paul Nkwi makes clear that while men typically retain power in traditional Kom communities, during anlu "the men are virtually powerless" and the traditional chiefs and councils are weakened.
  The ostracism and punishment of offending individuals would only end when they beg and declare their renunciation of the actions. After this is accepted and a fee is paid, the individual is taken to a stream and immersed in water and the anlu ends.
caption: Divisions of Northwest Cameroon. The Kom communities are primarily in the Boyo and Menchum divisions.
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