“Born House” Phenomenon in Cameroon From Mechanical Solidarity to Survival Solidarity

While bereaved mothers mourn the death of the children they did not bear, others hold ceremonies to welcome their newborns into the world. The birth of a child reaffirms the beliefs and norms that organize human relationships. It gives the event a festive character and seems to conceal the cultural practices that underpin it. The cultural care practices that accompany the birth of a child bear witness to the importance of the magico-religious bond that characterizes each individual and underpins their true personality. This article, based on research techniques and methods specific to the social sciences, shows that the child, through the solidarity that its birth engenders between individuals, is a means of socialization in human societies. It is at the origin of a social institution known as ‘born house’, which structures social relations. Documentary research and social science data collection techniques were used to gather the information that led to this research. This article analyses the changes that have taken place in birth celebrations and in practices of mothering and caring for newborns in the face of the transformation that contemporary societies are undergoing today. It attempts to show that the child is no longer the property of a family, but the product of society as a whole. The child is now at the centre of a network of gifts and debts that organize and bring together individuals.