My understanding and expectations of Cameroon and central Africa were both rocked and solidified in the weeks of preparation for our fieldwork expedition. I was introduced to the many locals, who had an incredible knowledge of the latest happenings in British and European politics. I knew very little of Cameroonian politics and recognised a remnant of a colonial mindset that I didn’t know was within me. Why should European politics be followed by countries so far away from Europe? I guess because, until recently, they were ruled by the same governments.

‘Africans love power’ is a phrase I heard a lot from my guides. As I was given the run-through of how Cameroon came to be and the stories of neighbouring central and West African countries, I was able to frame Europe and its politics from the African perspective. Again, this is something that I thought I understood, but now I had a new perspective that changed my ideas on the lasting impacts of colonialism and how its forms had shifted. The phrase ‘Africans love power’ stuck with me for a reason I still don’t quite know. Although I am sure that it is not only Africans who love power, humans all over the world love power; it is what we do with it that matters. It was described to me how the policies of powerful men in Africa, such as Paul Biya were used to give rise to war, dissatisfaction and corruption in the country. I found myself automatically relating a lot of issues found in Africa to the ones in the UK and Europe, realising that there are many common problems and causal factors between the two continents. I was taken to a sacred waterfall one day to be ‘baptised in Africa’. We sought permission from the local chief that governed the waterfall. I was warned not to look him in the eyes, to be extremely polite and to adhere to various other customs of respect. I knew of African chiefs, clans and tribes of course, but I didn’t know how common, ingrained and important their presence is within modern societies. Later, my guide and I met with a very stern police chief to inform him of our presence in the field. He seemed very distant and suspicious of us, but everything changed when my guide and the police chief discovered that they were from the same tribe. I thought back to the phrase ‘Africans love power’ and the reverence that people obviously held for their seniors. Undoubtedly, these topics have been covered in the literature of social anthropologists, but these ideas and findings were all forming in my head from my own experience. I could feel new neurons form in my brain, a feeling I cannot forget and am eager to experience once again. En route to the waterfall, I observed many small brick shelters containing food remnants. I was told these were structures in which food was placed as offerings to various gods. I witnessed this food being eaten away by ants and wildlife and thought about ideas of reciprocity in indigenous belief systems and what locals perceived as being ‘god(s)’. I could see here a clear similarity between other religions and beliefs I had studied, as well as my own, and felt wholly connected to the world at that very moment. Later in the trip, I spent a whole evening discussing witchcraft in Africa. My guide told me about how young people may suddenly appear to be very wealthy one day and afford large houses for their families despite having no income; these gifts often take a great toll on the beneficiary. Apparently, this is common in Africa, and witchcraft is still widely practised, even for the gain of material possessions. I had studied a bit about African witchcraft and witch doctors, a subject that piqued my interest within my studies of indigenous cosmologies and spiritual practices. However, hearing stories of it occurring this way made me think about the differences between Europe and Africa: the way witchcraft in Europe was annihilated and replaced with a new technological theology, how people in the global north can seemingly become rich overnight through the use of ‘YouTube’ or ‘influencing’, and the impact this culture has on the mental health of the youth. In Africa, people can go to ‘witches’ to make a trade for whatever they desire, but with grave consequences being the price. I found these thoughts and realisations uncomfortable but extremely interesting, I intend to go deeper into this subject one day when I feel more prepared.