Loading

Current Research in Psychology and Behavioral Science
[ ISSN : 2833-0986 ]


Experiences of Cultural Mysticism in War Psychotrauma in Traditional Africa

Research Article
Volume 3 - Issue 8 | Article DOI : 10.54026/CRPBS/1070


 Guy-Bertrand Ovambe Mbarga1,2*

1Department of Philosophy and Psychology, University of Maroua, Cameroon
2Center for Psychological Research RAPHA-Psy, RAPHA-Psy Psychology Foundation, Cameroon

Corresponding Authors

Guy-Bertrand Ovambe Mbarga, Department of Philosophy and Psychology, University of Maroua, Center for Psychological Research RAPHA-Psy, Cameroon

Keywords

Experiences; Cultural mysticism; Psychotrauma; War; Africa

Received : October 19, 2022
Published : November 09, 2022

Abstract

The article addresses the issue of experiences of cultural mysticism in war psychotrauma in an African cultural context. It starts from the clinical observations of a fear of the mysticism among certain soldiers engaged in the war against the separatist groups “Amba Boys” in North-West and South-West Cameroon. The objective of the study was to understand the experiential experience of Cameroonian soldiers psychotraumatized by war in their cultural signifiers. The study was conducted using a phenomenological approach. The data was collected at the RAPHA-Psy Psychology Foundation, from four psychotraumatized soldiers, through semi-structured interviews. The results reveal that these soldiers experienced the psychotrauma as resulting from a complex of mysterious conflicts. Also, the psychotraumatic symptomatology was for them a set of manifestations of supernatural attacks. According to them, there are two worlds in the battlefield, one visible and the other invisible.