The 40th day funeral rite practice in Africa: A demonstration of protection, progress and cultural preservation. The case of the Bamoun Kingdom Western Region of Cameroon

Funeral rite in the Bamoun cultural universe is perceived as dole or charity on behalf of the departed member, which is an ancestral heritage emanating from traditional and religious acts, which aims at bringing a number of peoples to share, and contribute in the peaceful rest of the departed member. This article focuses on one of the most important funeral rite known as the “KPAGOUMLIEJEU” (‘40th day).The kpagoumliejeu is a traditional memorial service, family gathering, ceremonies and rituals in memory of the departed member. The 40th day concludes the memorial period and has a major significance in tradition, which is believed that the soul of the departed remains wandering on earth during the period, coming back home, and visiting places. Despite all the significances this rite has in the Bamoun tradition, others still thought is a means or source of abuse to certain category of people? Others bring Furth questions if it is an innovation copied from other cultures or not? The objectives of this work are to identify, show, and analyze the different traditional processes related to protection, progress and preservation of the 40th day funeral rite. The problem is how is the 40th day perceived and valued within the Bamoun community in the Western region of Cameroon. Data was collected using documentary research, participant observation, which was done by participating in one of the most important aspect of the funeral rite (by distributing gifts after prayers), interviews and photography which help in the production of important images on the different stages and aspects of the rite and information’s about the rite. The following results were obtained: the 40th day is perceived as a source of abuse to average and poor categories of people. 40th