BRUSSELS AIRLINES’ AFRICAN PICTURE MAGAZINE | EDITION CAMEROON | ANTHONY DENDAUW
REPUBLIC OF CAMEROON MOTTO "Peace – Work – Fatherland"
ANTHEM O Cameroon, Cradle of our Forefathers
PRESIDENT Paul Biya (1982) | PRIME MINISTER Philemon Yang (2009)
TOTAL AREA 475,440 sq km (183,567 sq mi)
POPULATION (2014 est.) 23,130,708 (growth rate: 2.6%) BIRTH RATE 36/1000 | INFANT MORTALITY RATE 55/1000 | LIFE EXPECTANCY 57
CAPITAL Yaoundé, 2.43 million | LARGEST CITY Douala, 2.45 million
MONETARY UNIT CFA Franc
LANGUAGES French, English (both official) 24 major African language groups
ETHNICITY/RACE Cameroon Highlanders 31%, Equatorial Bantu 19%, Kirdi 11%, Fulani 10%, Northwest Bantu 8%, Eastern Nigritic 7%, other African 13%, non-African less than 1%
NATIONAL HOLIDAY Republic Day, May 20
RELIGIONS Indigenous beliefs 40%, Christian 40%, Islam 20%
LITERACY RATE 75.9%
TIME ZONE WAT (UTC+1) | ELECTRICITY 220V - 2 PINS DRIVING On the right | CALLING CODE +237
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Cameroon is Africa's throbbing heart, a crazed, sultry mosaic of active volcanoes, white sand beaches, thick rainforest and magnificent parched landscapes broken up by the bizarre rock formations of the Sahel. With both Francophone and Anglophone regions, not to mention some 230 local languages, the country is a vast ethnic and linguistic jigsaw, yet one that, in contrast to so many of its neighbours, enjoys a great deal of stability. With good infrastructure (think decent roads and functioning trains), travel is a lot here than in many parts of Africa. Makossa music sets the rhythm, the street smells like plantains and African bliss is just a piece of grilled fish and a sweating beer away.
erring to Cameroon as 'Africa in miniature' has become a bit of a clichĂŠ, this statement certainly e: everything you would expect from the African continent seems to be consolidated in this slice of land. The south boasts tropical rain-forests and deserted golden beaches; the thern parts are desert, lakes and savannah; volcanic mountains dominate the south-west and northwest, and game-viewing areas scattered throughout the
Waza National Park Maroua Rhumsiki Peak Mountains CHAD
NIGERIA
Ngaoundéré
Ring Road CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
Scenic Mountains Tribes
N
AI
TR
Douala
Limbé
Economic Capital
Vulcanic beach Mount Cameroon
Yaoundé Capital
Kribi
Lomië Gate to Dja Reserve
Tropical Beach
EQUAT. GUINEA
GABON
REPUBLIC OF CONGO
The Far North Region is fully justified in claiming the title of the most beautiful tourist area in Cameroon. Indeed, being located in the Sahelian zone, its landscape is dominated by the steppes and grassy savannah. The inhabitants of the Far North, people of the hinterland, have been able to preserve an authentic culture. Rhumsiki and the famous Waza National Park are a veritable Mecca for
LimbĂŠ is a charming place, blessed with a fabulous natural position between the rainforest-swathed foothills of Mt Cameroon and the dramatic Atlantic coastline. Kribi is home to Cameroon's best beaches: the sand is fine, the water crystal clear, fresh fish is on the menu and cold beer on tap; there are times when Africa hugs you.
The Baka forest people are hunter-gatherers from the central African rainforest. They mainly live in South-Eastern Cameroon, but a few also live in Congo and Gabon. Sometimes referred to as Pygmies, they are generally shorter than their Bantu neighbours, but are experts in forest life. They are reknowned throughout Africa for their hunting, musical and dancing skills.
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The Far North Region is the northernmost province of the Republic of Cameroon. It borders the North Region to the south, Chad to the east, and Nigeria to the west. The capital is Maroua. The Far North is hot and dry, the climate is tropical and Sahelian, and rainfall is a relatively small. Most people in the Far North are subsistence farmers. The major crops are millet, sorghum, rice, cotton and beans. The province sees a mixture of Islam, Christianity, and traditional religions.
e province is one of Cameroon's most culturally diverse. Over 50 different ethnic groups e the area, including the Shuwa Arabs, Fulani, and Kapsiki. Most educated inhabitants nch, and the Fulani language, Fulfulde, is a common lingua franca.
siki Valley, a mountainous field littered by the cores of extinct volcanoes, together with Waza ark are the main highlights in the North but this region has so much more to offer. Another of North's draws is the picturesque scenery. Dozens of small villages dot the province and the ndara Mountains offer hiking and striking views.
During the Kapsiki marriage the initiated young boys parade through the village, they lead the main dance on the village high ground. The whole ceremony takes five days .
Red and brown streets of sand run like dry riverbeds between rounded beige buildings while a cast of Fulani and Chadians in robes of sky blue, electric purple and blood red populate the chaos. This is Maroua, Cameroon's northernmost major town.
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8% of the population suffers from malaria, , the most prevalent disease in the area. Meningitis and cholera epidemics are frequent. With 20% of the total population, the Far North Region is home to 30% of all Cameroonians living in poverty.
The region is one of the worst in the country as far as education is concerned. only around 60% of children possess a birth certificate, which provides easier access to services such as health and education. Islam is providing free Koran schools.
The Fulani are a proud people who teach their young children to have tribal dignity. Fulani children are required to love their mothers and respect their elders. They are also taught to hold on to important values such as generosity, honesty, and modesty.
Miondo or Bobola are sticky sticks made of pounded cassava wrapped in plantain leaves and steamed. They are sold everywhere in Cameroon. The real staple food, being cheap and filling and usually eaten with fish or fish.
In the past the Mandara mountains provided a safe haven against slave raids but they also had higher rainfalls. The latter is still of great importance for the mountain farmers who cultivate their land under the harsh conditions of the Sudano-Sahelian zone.
No topic is discussed as much in Kapsiki life as marriage. People seemingly never stop thinking, talking or quarrelling about marriages. Men are continually seeking wives, paying brideprice, trying to extract large sums from their sons-in-law.
The wealth of the Kapsiki is measured by the number of women, children and cattle. To be the head of a great family is a sign of power, size and a place of choice in the society. Riding a horse at their son’s wedding ceremony is a place to show their power.
Women departing very early in the morning to go out and take care of the livestock and crops or to do some hunting, water collection or fuel wood collection for cooking. Wood is not easy to find and it takes many hours to collect deep down in the valley.
Waza National park looks different depending on the season, but for wildlife the best time to visit is during the dry season between December and March when all Waza’s residents gather around the few remaining waterholes to get shade and water.
Waza NP sits sandwiched between Nigeria and Chad and if the threat of Boko Haram wasn't enough, armed bandits smugglers and poachers seeking an easy buck by slaughtering some of the last remaining rhinos, elephants and lions in West Africa.
Cameroon has an extensive coastline and could boast for as many beaches as possible. However, it's worth nothing that the best beaches in the country are located in Limbe and Kribi. Everywhere you can eat fantastic seafood which you can buy from one of many good food stalls.
Kribi, town and port is located in southwestern Cameroon. It's famous for it's beau beaches and relaxing atmosphere. Be sure to visit the Lobé Waterfalls which waterfall that drops straight in the atlantic ocean. One of the main attractions Kribi are its white sandy beaches that contrast with the volcanic black beaches of Limb Limbe is located on a beautiful bay against the backdrop of a major mountain range, it’s a gre beach and port city, on the slopes of Mount Cameroon, where lava from the great mountain directly into the Atlantic Ocean.
The beaches in Limbe and Kribi are popular among Western tourists. Cameroon beaches are some best in Africa. They are not fully developed to meet their full potentials nevertheless it’s a plea place to relax before or after a journey into the jungles of Central Africa.
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Fishermen with the small and heavy dugout canoes, 4 to 6 m long, use hooks and lines to catch mainly catfish and threadfins. These small canoes carry 2 men. Because they are so heavy you have to sit at the end while the other turns it.
Kribi is considered a real Cameroon Riviera and lends itself to lounging on the beach. The wide, white sandy beaches extend as far as the eye can see, lined with splendid palm trees. The combination of ocean and equatorial forest is simply entrancing.
The people in Kribi look different, their faces are wider and their bodies are very muscular but with smaller stature. Here, as in any tropical place, the pace was very, very slow. But, you can also found more friendliness and a lot of happy faces.
Limbe's pristine chocolate colored beaches on the Atlantic ocean are attractive to watch while the warm breeze passes by. Beaches here really are uninhibited and empty – what a joy! On clear days you can look out across the bay to Equatorial Guinea.
Mount Cameroon or Fako (local name) is one of Africa's most active volcanoes measuring 4100 m. Towering within the coastal lowland region, Mount Cameroon is referred sometimes as “The Roof of Central and West Africa�.
The Batanga fishermen have a very self-sacrificing life. Each day, as dawn rises, they set out to see in search of prey, no matter the weather or how rough the sea. They fish about 3km (2mi) offshore and the tools that they use for fishing are very rudimentary.
Many people along the coastline in Kribi are fishermen. They have a canoe made of trunks and homemade sails made of bags to catch some wind. Sometimes they stay in sea for two to tree days, before they sell their catch at the local fish market near the port.
The nets that they use are made by hand, either by them or by their wives. Batanga fishermen are very hardworking and very friendly, hospitable people, many of them can speak Spanish because sometimes they go fishing to Guinea
When the fishermen arrive at the beach with the catch, the women are there, ready to greet their husband, curious for their load. They are responsible for cleaning each fish thoroughly and get it ready to sell at the local market or in the port of Kribi.
Mangroves are ecosystems found along the tropical coastline of Kribi. You can find many inlets, creeks and lagoons with mangrove-fringed shores south of Kribi. Local fisherman will be happy to take you up the river with their canoes when the tide is right.
Organize your own mangrove walks and boat trips to pristine natural spaces and wetlands behind the beaches around Kribi. This fragile eco-system brings beauty and silence together to make it a place of serenity, a great getaway.
The Baka is the only group culturally adapted to the Southeast forest of Cameroon. They are rightly referred to as the "people of the forest". Only 50 years ago, this territory was mainly virgin forest with countless elephants, gorrilas and other endangered species. Few others, beside these pygmies, knew an traveled so deep into forest. The Baka are so much at home in the forest that t were mere animals by many Bantu groups. They are thought to transform themse into various animals that could kill others.
The Baka are extremely agile in the forest and can walk long distances very rapid without making any noise. Their incredible skills and endurance in the forest make the successful hunters. They know every plant and recognize every animal track no matter how s even turtles. Using traps, dogs, spear and crossbow they hunt nearly all animals. When some sick, they make medicine from roots, leaves, plants, barks and trees which successfully cure sicknesses. Their knowledge and adaptation to the forest surpasses the villagers who hire the to hunt or to cure them. The intimacy this people has with the forest is so deep and so sa that at times, it seems wonderful and magic.
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Children up to about 10 years old play around the camp but also help with the work. The girls go fishing and fetch water, while the boys learn basic skills and are circumcised. At an age of 12 they begin to kill their first animals with borrowed weapens.
The old man and woman, retired from hunting and gathering, stay in the village camps year round. They look after children and are kept by the rest of the camp. They continue to participate in camp discussions and negotiations.
Young girls of 12 and 13 year old learn adult respon-sibilities such as caring for children, cooking, and gathering food. They may start having sexual relationships, and when they marry (usually around 14), they live together with their own family.
The Baka are excellent and fast weavers, and are known to be able to produce many baskets in just one day. After collecting the materials in the forest this albino Baka women is making a woven pannier with plant fibers derived from liana plants.
The parent-child relationship is extremely strong among the Baka. The child remains with his mother or father during the first three years. Children are born two to four year apart. This way, the parents can give themselves entirely to their child.
Hunting remains, to this day, an important part of Baka livelihood and tradition, and various rites of passage in Baka culture are hunting-related. Skilled Hunters are very respected, especially if they specialize in the Big Elephant Hunt.
Authority in the hunting group may depend on age but even more so on skills. Anyone can have "authority" in a field he or she has mastered, but no one can claim to be the leader of the group Altough the best hunter is usually more respected.
Jengi (the forest spirit) appears during the important initiation ceremony, where a young man goes from being a boy to a man. After this ceremony the young Baka boys have the right to live, walk and hunt freely within the sacred forest.
A married woman, usually with children, is an expert gatherer, fisher, and mongulu builder. She works in plantations and plays a major role in providing and preparing food for the men.
The Baka have extraordinary skills in healing with traditional medicine to cure a wide range of different illnesses. The Baka not only possess knowledge on medicinal plants and potions, they are also known for their powers and efficacy in healing.
BRUSSELS AIRLINES’ AFRICAN PICTURE MAGAZINE | EDITION CAMEROON | ANTHONY DENDAUW