By Peter Musa
Culture makes the difference in peoples as one discovers the nations of our world. This is portrayed in way of life, language, dressing, food, customs or traditional practices, arts and crafts, music, drama etc and through their past, ancestral worship or heritage. Culture helps to identify people, and promotes national pride. Governments the world over are increasingly putting in a lot of attention to the cultural sector in their individual countries. Supra-national organisations are also paying greater attention to the sector. International networks such as the Culturelink Network, International Network for Cultural Policy (INCP), the International Network for Cultural Diversity (INCD), and initiatives by UNESCO are all examples that reflect consciousness to the world's cultural issues of today, the need to promote cultural diversity as we embrace globalisation and its challenges.
At our national cultural arenas we think about state institutions, government services and local structures such as public libraries, museums, centres for the arts and culture, departments responsible for heritage as well as institutions of learning which are devoted to the training of cultural workers. The enormous contribution made by private organisations and individuals all aimed at promoting the culture of the nation in different forms cannot be underestimated, these include some or all of the above as well as individual artists (painters, sculptors, craftsmen, creators, musicians, dancers, actors and dramatists etc) who produce the cultural services or products. Efforts put in daily by art administrators, exhibition or stage designers, art agents, film directors, musical and film promoters in a relentless effort at bringing the cultural service or product to the market place also greatly contribute in safeguarding national cultures at the local, national or international levels.
For instance in my home country Cameroon, there are many ancestral shrines which needs government's protection like the Mbum of the Adamawa province in the mountains of Nganda, the Nyem-Nyem of Galim-Tignere still in the Adamawa province in the Jim mountain, the Oku people of the North West province in Lake Oku, the Nso of the North West province in Kov-vifem and the Douala people of the Littoral province in their Ngondo River Shrine just to name a few. State run heritage institutions are practically absent at the local level in most of the country. At the provincial and national levels administrative services responsible for culture are to be found. The national museum, national archives, national linguistic services are found in the capital city Yaounde . Provincial and municipal libraries are found across the country but museums are generally absent except for provincial museums. Palace and private museums are to be found mainly in the North West and West provinces which constitute the western grassfields region of the country. This region is known internationally for having produced masterpieces of Cameroon 's art, sadly these precious objects disappeared or were seized during the colonial era and now are to be found mostly in European and American museum collections.
Difficulty in Sustaining Cultural Services and Products makes them turn into Commercial Services and Goods
Faced with a myriad of difficulties, sustaining cultural services and products for organisations and persons involved in the sector in Cameroon is usually very difficult especially in the semi-urban or rural areas of the country. Let us look at two typical cases: A museum operator who does not allow local residents to visit his collection. The collection is mainly reserved for tourists or foreigners - Europeans and Americans. The second is the case of a musician who is not known in his home town but sells his music through a well known label in a European country.
Yes, these are examples of what we experience in our country. According to the International Council of Museums (ICOM) a museum should first of all seek to serve her local community rather than the tourist industry. How can the local community look at museums to be of any importance when there is practically no National Museum which is fully functional in the country? How can the owner of a private museum survive when the government does nothing to support their little contributions in safeguarding the cultural heritage of their community, region or nation as a whole? How does the tourist industry flourish when a lot still needs to be done in the area of infrastructures and manpower? How do the locals
get into the museums when they do not have the means - due to poverty? This is the situation - how then do we blame our museum operator. It is the rare foreign visitor who can pay a visiting fee that our museum operator normally attends to. The locals are considered dangerous to his collection since they are poor, he looks at them with suspicion for he fears they can instead snatch away his objects. In this case, the museum is longer of any cultural value but is relegated into a commercial service.
The same applies to the musician cited above. Unknown to his local public or community, region and country our musician is known widely in Europe by lovers of World Music. The reason is that his music is being sold through a well established label in Europe . Once he works on a master recording, the material is sent immediately to Europe . He receives a lot of royalties on which to live so he is happy. Back home, he is unknown as a musician. At times he moves about with a CD of his music. At times, he gets into a bar, orders a drink and hand over the CD to the bar-man to play. He is very watchful to ensure that there is no dubbing of his music. When the CD is over he takes it and keeps securely. The reason for this musician's strange attitude is the fear of piracy of his music. It is the non-respect for copyright laws for musical productions that has led him to hide his talents from his fellow countrymen and women. Our musician is using his talents mainly to generate an income. His music is therefore a very scarce commercial good which is not even available in his own country or continent.
What could be done
Governments have a very crucial role to play inorder to effectively safeguard national cultures. Firstly, legislation be passed in all nations protecting cultural heritage and ensuring that its implementation is effected at the local, regional or provincial and national levels. Secondly, heritage institutions be set up at the three levels mentioned above. Thirdly, laws should be enacted by parliaments protecting works of arts. Fourthly, a method of recognition should be introduced maybe by way of education and training or by means of professional experience for the artists and all those involved in the cultural sector. Fiftly, financial allocations should be made to ensure the running of state cultural institutions and subsidies provided for private organisations and individuals managed by national arts councils or funding agencies.
22 May 2003
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