The Dress Codes Of My Country

Steem greetings @everyone and welcome to my blog as I share ideas on the contest “The Dress Code of my Country”. My write-up will be based on the guiding question below. I hope you find pleasure in reading through this masterpiece.

What are the traditional outfits commonly worn in your country?

Cameroon is made up of over 250 tribes and each of these tribes has a unique traditional outfit to which they attach so much value to it.

Amongst the several traditional outfits in Cameroon, the most commonly worn outfit is the “atugho” from the North West region of Cameroon.

^{My mom and dad in their native atugho dress.}

In the past, it was rare to see people wearing the atugho anyhow because it was a dress for royals and they attached so much royalty to the dress.

^{Myself in my native atugho dress.}

Though it is expensive most people like the fabric and the markings make the dress unique.

Are there any dress codes followed in schools, workplaces, or religious places? Tell us about them.

Schools in Cameroon have a cultural week, especially during the youth week celebrations. During the cultural week, everyone is expected to dress in their native attire. This is a way of promoting cultural values among youths.

In some workplaces in Cameroon, they also promote cultural values by dedicating a day for all staff to dress in their native attire. But it is not compulsory and also most workplaces do not follow this practice.

Some churches also have a dress code in my church Winners Chapel International, every 3rd Sunday of the month is dedicated to a cultural day where all members of the church are supposed to dress in the traditional dress.

Nonetheless, in all these institutions, the schools have a uniform that students and pupils wear daily except otherwise like in the conflict-affected regions presently where students and pupils put on assorted dresses due to the warnings and targets from separatist fighters.

In your country, what type of dresses do people wear at weddings including the dresses of bride and groom?

In Cameroon, three kinds of weddings are the traditional wedding, the civil wedding and the church wedding. Each of these weddings has its unique dresses based on the choice of the bride and groom.

During traditional weddings, the bride and the groom put on a matching outfit based on their traditional rites. For instance, if the bride is from the coastal region and the man is from the grassfield region of Caneroon, it is good for the groom to respect the tradition of the bride and they both put on the traditional outfit from the coastal region of Caneroon.

^{Bride and groom during traditional wedding.}

Notwithstanding, each couple has a right to decide which of the outfits best suits their wedding. For us the northwesterners, we often dress the bride and the groom in our native atugho during the traditional wedding.

During the civil wedding, the couples often go with the contemporary styles of their choice. This also goes with the church wedding.

^{Contemprorsry dress for church and civil wedding.}

What is your personal favourite traditional or modern outfit, and why?

I will always go for the traditional outfits because they are unique. The atugho is highly respected everywhere not because it is expensive but because of its uniqueness.

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That is why everywhere you find a Northwersterner from Cameroon, he or she must have the atugho in their wardrobe. That is why they have a slogan “…we are proud of who we are”. We portray that proudness with our unique traditional dress, the atugho.

I will invite @suboohi, @shiftitamanna and @wilmer1988 to share their perspective on the topic organise by @abdullahw2.