From Cameroon to Paris
Mousgoum Architecture In and Out of Africa
The kind of extraordinary domed house constructed by Chad and Cameroon’s Mousgoum peoples has long held sway over the Western imagination. In fact, as Steven Nelson shows here, this prototypical beehive-shaped structure known as the teleuk has been cast as everything from a sign of authenticity to a tourist destination to a perfect fusion of form and function in an unselfconscious culture. And in this multifaceted history of the teleuk, thought of by the Mousgoum themselves as a three-dimensional symbol of their culture, Nelson charts how a singular building’s meaning has the capacity to change over time and in different places.
Drawing on fieldwork in Cameroon and Japan as well as archival research in Africa, the United States, and Europe, Nelson explores how the teleuk has been understood by groups ranging from contemporary tourists to the Cameroonian government and—most importantly—today’s Mousgoum people. In doing so, he moves in and out of Africa to provide a window into a changing Mousgoum culture and to show how both African and Western peoples use the built environment to advance their own needs and desires. Highlighting the global impact of African architecture, From Cameroon to Paris will appeal to scholars and students of African art history and architectural history, as well as those interested in Western interactions with Africa.
Society of Architectural Historians: Alice Davis Hitchcock Book Award
Honorable Mention
“In this book, Steven Nelson considers—and conquers—one of the key monuments of African architecture: the Mousgoum teleuk in northern Cameroon. I applaud the handling of the argument, which is internationally minded and sophisticated, skillfully arranged, and, best of all, brilliantly explained.”<Robert Farris Thompson, author of Tango: The Art History of Love>
“An excellent contribution to the study of the built environment, From Cameroon to Paris takes a novel and very creative path. The iconic teleuk serves here as a perfect lens through which to explore meaning making over time.”<Christraud Geary, curator of African and Oceanic Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston>
“Steven Nelson’s From Cameroon to Paris is a tour-de-force voyage through the rich architectural landscape of colonial era (and later) engagements between Central Africa and France. With a keen eye to detail, an ear for language, and a sophisticated theoretical touch, Nelson brings this wonderful world of autochthonous Mousgoum, Islamic, and Western architectural and cultural views to life not only in their own terms, but also and especially through their intersection.”<Suzanne Preston Blier, author of The Royal Arts of Africa: The Majesty of Form>
Preface
Introduction
1. Performing Architecture
2. Parabolic Paradoxes
3. A Pineapple in Paris
4. Present Tense
Afterword - Destination Cameroon
Principal People Interviewed
Notes
Bibliography
Anthropology: Physical Anthropology
Architecture: Middle Eastern, African, and Asian Architecture
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