Juarke – boys made men in Mboun society

The Mboum people, who live in northern Cameroon (Adamaoua province) are practice male circumcision for decades. Until the middle of the last century, male circumcision was highly regarded as a period of initiation leading to a man’s status. Once a year, children from ten to fifteen years old were sent to the bush for the initiation. During this, cultural codes and knowledge of the community are taught to them. Nowadays, this mode of knowledge communication has phased, leading to a misunderstandings and conflicts between younger and older generations, especially those who were born and raised far from their community. By following a group of five children during their period of initiation, I show in this film how nowadays, how circumcision is practiced and regarded inside the community. In spite of social changes and external pressures (urbanization, modernity, HIV issues...), the effort and the will are there to make stable a social order resulting from this practice.


Mohamadou Saliou

I’m Mohamadou Saliou, Cameroonian, from Ngaoundere in the Adamawa province. I grew up and spent my childhood in the far north of Cameroon where my father worked as a civil servant. After 12 years spent in this part of Cameroon, I came back to Ngaoundere, my hometown, where I got my general certificate advance level. To learn more about the history and culture of my community I decided to study history when I reached the university in 1997. In 2000 I got a Bachelor and a Master degree in history. Since 2008 I am a master student in Visual Cultural Studies at the University of Tromsø. “Juarké – boys made men in Mboun society” is my first film.