The official languages of the Republic of Cameroon are French and English. There are also 286 indigenous languages, one of which is Eton with an estimated 127,000 speakers. The Eton people live in the tropical rain forest of the Centre Region. They are subsistence farmers, using the slash and burn method to plant root crops (such as cassava, yam, and macabo), plantain, and groundnuts. Fishing and hunting supplement their diet. Cacao is a cash crop.
Although 74% of the Eton population is considered Christian, only 4% of that number is evangelical. The other 26% practice ethnic religions which are strongly tied to their cultural traditions. There are some local Cameroon tribes who claim a Jewish background. Serge Etele, the Eton man pictured on the right, recalls from his childhood that circumcision was practiced and that they did not eat the animals which are forbidden in the Bible.
Children are growing up speaking Eton, but no scripture has been translated for them. Will you ask God to raise up laborers for that endeavor? A grammar of Eton, published by linguist Mark L. O. Van de Velde in 2008, would be of enormous value to anyone willing to undertake this critical task.
Winter 2015-16