Cameroon and the Baka People

Some Information on Cameroon:

Location:
Cameroon sits in the heart of Africa, just north of the equator and just below the familiar bulge of the west coast of the continent. Home to an estimated 18 million people, Cameroon is about the size of the US state of California.

Languages:
More than 270 indigenous languages are spoken in Cameroon. Literacy work and Bible translation are ongoing needs in Cameroon.

Economy:
Cameroon’s economy is struggling. The current economic environment fosters a cycle where the poor remain poor and the rich get richer.

Religion:
Most Cameroonians are very religious. In South Cameroon, the main religion is African Traditional Religion, a form of animism.

Some Information on the Baka people:

The Baka People:
The Baka people have lived in the dense rainforests of southeast Cameroon for centuries, surviving as semi-nomadic hunter gatherers. Considered backward and primitive by other Cameroonians, they have seldom been on equal footing with others. They are animists.

Music:
Music is central to their lives. As soon as a baby is able to clap it is encouraged to participate in all the communal music-making. There is music for ritualistic purposes, music for passing on knowledge, stories and the history of the Baka people, and music for pure enjoyment.

A unique way that Baka women and girls play music is to literally "play the river" (liquindi).
You can hear a clip at this link: http://www.baka.co.uk/baka/mp3_liquindi.html

Another unique instrument is the Earth Bow (Angbindi). This is a single-stringed instrument that literally uses the ground as a sound-box!
You can hear a clip at this link: http://www.baka.co.uk/baka/mp3_angbindi.html

World Team and the Baka:
World Team began work among the Baka in 1992. From the beginning the Baka team has emphasized a holistic approach, using medical care and development initiatives to build trust relationships. Chronological storytelling is being used to present the Gospel to this pre-literate group. There is no viable church currently in existence.

The Baka Team's Vision Statement:
To complete a presentation of the gospel using a storying method in the Baka heart language resulting in a group of discipled believers equipped to facilitate a church planting movement.