Paper short abstract:

In West African societies, narratives of migration and their artistic expression seem rather well developed. This contribution seeks to introduce a comparative dimension by presenting narratives of migration from north-/western Cameroon.

Paper long abstract:

In West African societies, mobility has a long history and narratives of migration and their artistic expression seem rather well developed. This contribution seeks to introduce a comparative dimension by presenting narratives of migration from north-/western Cameroon, an area where mobility historically has been related to plantation labour and trans-border trade. The focus, however, will be on new forms and narratives of mobility among pastoral Fulbe (Mbororo) that have been inspired by entrepreneurial enthusiasm as well as the example of neighbouring population groups. In particular, I will analyse the narratives of mobility and success of migrants based in Gabon and South Africa and their relatives back home, and show how they go hand in hand with silences about hardship and failure. My presentation is based on fieldwork that involved visual anthropological methods, such as the exchange of video letters between migrants and relatives.