Image, langue et rites : cas du Tso’o chez les Eton

Abstract

Image, Language and Rites: the case of Tso’o among the Eton

Image, language and rites: the case of Tso’o among the Eton will allow us to question andanalyze the image and language in the context of the Tso’o rite among the Eton people (Cameroon). André Haquin (2005) conceives rites as symbolic practices, carrying plural meanings and whose interpretation is first to be sought in their implementation, in the action itself, accompanied by words and in their ritual environment. Calling on the ethnography of Hymes (1962, 1972), the rules of speech and communication skills will be analyzed in a culturally significant context, that of Tso’o. Let us specify here with Hymes (1967) that the choice of linguistic means, of the morphosyntactic realizations with which the speaker will perform his speech acts, depends on the circumstances surrounding the act of communication: here, the context of Tso’o. It is a rite that plays a cathartic role of removing a curse rooted in a community that arose after the tragic death of a member of that community. Thus, this rite will be understood through the language techniques used, the various sacred objects and codes used. Based on documentary research and field surveys, this study will show that the celebration of the Tso’o rite obeys its own rules and specific canons to achieve a specific objective: to remove the curse.