nguti council monographic study - Impact monitoring of Forest ...

Monographic Study Nguti Council2.5.5.4 Historical and Cultural Sitesa) ‘Mboh’ is located in the up hills of Nguti town.b) ‘Njip’ is found in all Bakossi villages within the Municipalityc) Bambe Escarpmentd) Ayong Sacred Forest Site (Yearly Traditional Fishing)2.5.5.5 Food TypesStaple dishes for the inhabitants of the council area include Koki corn, pounded cocoyam andnzab (black soup), Koki beans with plantains or banana, water fufu, sweet yams, red yams (mbu)and vegetables such as huckleberry, green, garden eggs, waterleaf, okogobong and bitter leaf.Most villagers don’t have access to rice and garri because these are not produced locallyconsequently they are expensive.2.5.6 Situation of the Woman2.5.6.1 MarriageThe situation of the woman in marriage has greatly evolved compared to what used to be in thepast. Today, when a boy and a girl agree to get married, their parents are informed and bothfamily members are invited on an arranged date to pay the bride price. The parents of the girldecide on how much has to be paid as bride price for their daughter and this usually depends onher level of education. The girl’s family members are also given palm wine, beer, kola nuts andtobacco. A later date is when the bride price is paid and the boy and the girl are free to live ashusband and wife. Before her departure she receives gifts such as kitchen utensils and loinclothto enable her start her home. However, increasingly the phenomenon of “come we stay’(co-habitat without formal approval) prevails in the municipality especially in the hinterlands.2.5.6.2 DivorceTraditionally, husbands do not divorce their wives unless an action is taken to return the brideprice or the dowry. If this does not happen the woman remains his wife for life. Even when thewoman finally dies her remains must be buried in the husband’s compound.2.5.6.3 Analytical Tools - Situation of Women.A number of tools were used to further analyse the situation of women in Nguti municipalitywhich include the access and control profile over available resources, the daily activity profile ofmen, women, boys and girls, the seasonal calendar and socio – political conditions of women inrelation to men. The tables are presented below:-20