ABSTRACT
THE women of Bamenda practise shifting cultivation but the length of time for which an area is worked and the rest period depend on the type of crops, the fertility of the soil, and the availability and accessibility of other land. In the village of Laikom in Kom many women leave ground to fallow after two years; in Kimbaw, where population is denser, large farms near the compounds may be utilized for five or six years, and kitchen gardens for even longer. While a certain amount of planting occurs in most seasons, it is towards the end of November and the beginning of December that a start is made with the clearing of extensive plots which will in March be sown with maize and which will inaugurate the new agricultural year. At this time the rulers or village heads in many tribes perform sacrifices to the gods of the earth and to the ancestors for the fertility of land and women, and for the general welfare of the people. In addition to these rites there are others associated with particular crops—maize, finger millet, and guinea corn—which may be carried out by lineage heads or individual farmers prior to planting and again at harvest.
