Sacred and Royal Animals of Cameroon: Can Literature and Foresight Save Them?

Source: French to English Tester   Published on: 2026-05-19

Source: The Conversation – in French– By Kenneth Nsah Mala, Expert in Environmental Humanities, Sustainability Science, Foresight and Futures Studies, University of Cologne

In the prairies and highlands of western Cameroon, some animals are considered sacred. Within the indigenous kingdoms (fondoms, chiefdoms) of the region, many of these animals are also regarded as royal. These notably include wild felines (such as cheetahs, leopards, and lions), buffalos, elephants, porcupines, cowries (marine shells used as symbolic and monetary objects), and a brightly colored bird called“Bannerman’s turaco”.
These species hold a central place in symbolic, cultural, and spiritual systems. They serve, for example, to adorn members of the royal family (kings, queens, and queen mothers) or to award royal distinctions to deserving individuals. Certain parts of their bodies can be used to make crowns, bedding, ceremonial footrests, bracelets, or necklaces for royalty. The red feathers of Bannerman’s turaco are used to distinguish warriors and hunters.

Here, Indigenous cultural practices can both preserve and threaten biodiversity. The names of some of these animals, particularly wild cats, are used as honorary names for kings. But custom demands that when these animals are spotted, they must be killed and taken to the palace as tribute.
Most are either locally extinct or critically endangered. Except for cowries and porcupines, all these animals are listed on theRed Listspecies threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
The loss of biodiversity caused by human activity is accelerating worldwide. This particularly affects areas of high biodiversity such as theCongo BasinIn Central Africa, which includes Cameroon. Thousands of species have been identified in this basin, of which 30% are endemic (native).
I am oneresearcherinterdisciplinary and my work covers the following disciplines: arts, literature and cultural studies, environmental humanities, sustainability sciences, anticipatory governance and future generations, strategic foresight, and future studies.
In arecent study, I explored how literary creativity, combined with foresight workshops, could help transform the way these animals are viewed. Could they offer a more promising future to these unique species?
The role of literature
Literary texts such as plays, poems, and novels offerperspectiveson how to meet the climate and ecological challenges in the Congo Basin. (Even in the case ofspeciesless popular but very important, like insects.)
This is the case in many texts by Anglophone Cameroonian authors, such asAthanasius Nsahlai,Kenjo Jumbam,J.K. BannavtiandJohn Nkengasong.
Their stories have the power to warn against the destruction of royal and sacred animals. They can also help shape new visions for the future of biodiversity conservation.
In my study, I rely onpostcolonial ecocriticism(the relationship between literature, culture, the environment, and history) andnarrative foresight(what stories can reveal about the future). I analyze how these texts address royal and sacred animals by questioning cultural practices harmful to the environment, and how they propose new forms of relationships between humans and other animals.
The news from Jumbam,Lukong and the leopard, for example, tells the story of a young man named Lukong. The son of a pariah from the kingdom of Nso, he helps capture a leopard. To everyone’s surprise, the king demands that it be brought alive to his palace. As Lukong is about to be decorated by the king, his father sneaks into the courtyard. Fearing for his son’s life, he frees the leopard.
In a way, this story calls into question the old cultural practice of killing royal animals. It invites readers to change their way of seeing these animals and interacting with them in order to better protect them.
Workshops
Stories like this can then be integrated into workshop sessions ofprospective. Narrative foresight, combined with collective participation, gives rise to what is calledparticipatory prospectiveParticipants and stakeholders from diverse backgrounds are gathered to explore future scenarios, the challenges shaping them, and the dynamics of change.
As part of my research, I organized a day offoresight workshopsparticipatory on#CongoBasinFuturesand#RoyalAnimalsFuturesIn Yaoundé, Cameroon.
More than 30 participants of all ages, genders, and diverse backgrounds gathered. Among them were teachers, researchers, ecologists, farmers, nurses, writers, filmmakers, musicians, journalists, students, civil society actors, policymakers, and indigenous kings (fons).

With the help offoresight tools, the participants were invited to discuss their motivations as well as historical obstacles while imagining a more promising future for the royal and sacred animals. These workshops incorporate literary narratives about the situation of these animals.
They relied on current trends and signals of change, such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and Indigenous cultural practices. They imagined new futures, then collectively proposed several policy interventions likely to provide concrete solutions.
Develop better policies
Cameroon certainly has environmental laws aimed at protecting biodiversity, but their implementation remains insufficient. My study—as well as our workshop—aims to complement these laws and contribute to their effective application on the ground. Among the ideas arising from the workshop, one can mention:

Creative arts and education should be used to raise awareness about the protection of royal animals and biodiversity. This could include programs such as our workshop, creative contests, and updating school curricula.

Instead of rewarding those who kill, local hunters should be rewarded when they spot and report the presence of royal animals for monitoring and preservation purposes. The use of artificial substitutes for animal parts in traditional ceremonies should be encouraged.

Policies should encourage research on the controlled breeding of royal and sacred animals threatened with extinction, as well as the promotion of ecotourism around these animals. Special parks and reserves could combine the arts and royal animals to attract tourists. The revenues could improve livelihoods, preserve cultures, and promote environmental protection.

Environmental regulations should be strengthened through collaboration with all stakeholders, including Indigenous authorities and local communities. The hunting of certain animals could be regulated. Hunting seasons and quotas for certain species could be established. Indigenous leaders and communities could be involved to adapt and modernize cultural practices in the era of environmental collapse.

But we must move from recommendations to action. Otherwise, the ideas from studies like this one will remain dead letters, like most environmental laws in Cameroon. And the royal animals, like other species, will continue to be threatened with extinction.

Kenneth Nsah Mala receives funding from the University of Cologne (Germany), the British Council, and the School of International Futures (SOIF).

–ref. Sacred and royal animals of Cameroon: can literature and foresight save them? –https://theconversation.com/sacred-and-royal-animals-of-cameroon-can-literature-and-foresight-save-them-282796