The Bamum, sometimes called Bamoum, Bamun, Bamoun, or Mum, are a Grassfields

ethnic group An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the ...

with around 215,000 members.

Religion

The Bamum traditional religion placed great emphasis on ancestral spirits which were embodied in the skulls of the deceased ancestors. The eldest males of each lineage had possession of the skulls of deceased males. When moving a diviner must find an appropriate place to hold the skull. Despite these efforts some men's skulls remained unclaimed and their spirits are deemed restless. Ceremonies are thus done to placate these spirits. There is also respect for female skulls, but the details are less documented. They also believed women made the soil fruitful, thus women did the planting and harvesting. Masks and representations of the head also had importance. In modern times, many Bamum are

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...

. King

Ibrahim Njoya King Ibrahim Mbouombouo Njoya ( Bamum: , ''Iparəim Nʃuɔiya'', formerly spelled in Bamum as , and Germanicized as ''Njoja'') in Yaoundé, was seventeenth in a long dynasty of kings that ruled over Bamum and its people in western Cameroon da ...

himself converted to

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...

then to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global popula ...

and then back to

after the

Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1 ...

. He is said to have disliked abstaining from

polygamy Crimes Polygamy (from Late Greek (') "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, sociologists call this polygyny. When a woman is marr ...

when Christian, and from

alcohol Alcohol most commonly refers to: * Alcohol (chemistry), an organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom * Alcohol (drug), an intoxicant found in alcoholic drinks Alcohol may also refer to: Chemicals * Ethanol, one of sev ...

when Muslim, so ultimately split the difference toward the end.

Writing system

Bamum language Bamum (Shü Pamom "language of the Bamum", or ''Shümom'' "Mum language"), also spelled Bamun or in its French spelling Bamoun, is an Eastern Grassfields language of Cameroon, with approximately 420,000 speakers. The language is well known fo ...

(''Shüpamom,'' pronounced , "language Bamum"; in the French tradition spelled ''Bamoun'') is one of the

Benue–Congo languages Benue–Congo (sometimes called East Benue–Congo) is a major branch of the Volta-Congo languages which covers most of Sub-Saharan Africa. Subdivisions Central Nigerian (or Platoid) contains the Plateau, Jukunoid and Kainji families, and Banto ...

, with approximately 215,000 speakers. The language is particularly well known for its original phonetic script, developed by Sultan Njoya and his palace circle around 1895. The development of the script spanned ideographic to syllabic systems, with the script's final and most prominent form known as "A-ka-u-ku." This is not to be confused with another of Njoya's inventions, an artificial spoken language known as Shümom, which was devised after the script. Outsider observers in recent years have tended to confuse the script with the invented language. The French colonials destroyed Njoya's schools and forbade the teaching of the script, which fell into rapid decline and today hovers on the brink of extinction (the

Bamum Scripts and Archives Project Bamum Scripts and Archives Project at the Bamum Palace is engaged in a variety of initiatives concerning the Bamum script The Bamum scripts are an evolutionary series of six scripts created for the Bamum language by Ibrahim Njoya, King of Ba ...

, in

Foumban Foumban or Fumban is a city in Cameroon, lying north east of Bafoussam. It has a population of 83,522 (at the 2005 Census). It is a major town for the Bamoun people and is home to a museum of traditional arts and culture. Foumban is known f ...

, is teaching the script to young people to spread literacy), but the Shümom language is spoken as a second language by many people and is taught on the radio throughout the Bamum kingdom. Cameroonian musicians

Claude Ndam Claude Ndam (27 May 1955 – 12 June 2020) was a Cameroonian singer-songwriter. Biography Ndam was born in Foumban in the west of the country. He became famous in the 1980s for his discography. Claude Ndam died in Yaoundé Yaoundé (; , ) i ...

and Gerryland are native speakers of Bamum and use it in their music.

Nguon

Nguon is a significant holiday for the Bamoun people. Recently, Ngoun has taken place every two years in late November-early December.

Art

Königsthron Bamum EthnM IIIC33341.jpg, Throne of King Nsangu, ca. 1880 Ethnological Museum of Berlin Afrikaabteilung in Ethnological Museum Berlin 23.JPG, Royal headdress (mpelet), ca. 1900 Ethnological Museum of Berlin Figur Kamerun Bamum Museum Rietberg.jpg, Figural sculpture, 19th century

Museum Rietberg The Rietberg Museum is a museum in Zürich, Switzerland, displaying Asian, African, American and Oceanian art. It is the only art museum focusing on non-European art and design in Switzerland, the third-largest museum in Zürich, and the largest t ...

Bamoum Masque Facial MHNT ETH AC AF 114 Labouret.jpg, Facial mask in bronze 1935 MHNT Art Bamoun - Marmite MHNT ETH AC 1206 Labouret.jpg, Wooden container 1935 MHNT Art Bamoun - Masque cimier MHNT ETH AC AF 55 Labouret.jpg, Crest mask - 1935 MHNT File:CEREMONIE DE FUNERAILLE EN PAYS BAMOUN 01.JPG File:CEREMONIE DE FUNERAILLE EN PAYS BAMOUN 08.JPG File:CEREMONIE DE FUNERAILLE EN PAYS BAMOUN 09.JPG File:CEREMONIE DE FUNERAILLE EN PAYS BAMOUN 12.JPG File:CEREMONIE DE FUNERAILLE EN PAYS BAMOUN 07.JPG File:CEREMONIE DE FUNERAILLE EN PAYS BAMOUN 05.JPG File:CEREMONIE DE FUNERAILLE EN PAYS BAMOUN 03.JPG File:Kdfvoilef.JPG File:Kdfvoile0.JPG File:Kdfvoile03.JPG File:Kdfvoile007.JPG File:Kdfvoile08.JPG File:Kdfvoile1.JPG File:Kdfportrait5.JPG File:Kdfamily7.JPG File:Kdfamily13.JPG File:Kdfportrait03.JPG File:Kdfportrait00.JPG File:Kdfamilychild.JPG File:Kdfportrait120.JPG File:Kdfdansetra.JPG File:Kdfiesta.JPG File:Kdfiesta0.JPG File:Kdffete8.JPG File:Kdffete21.JPG File:Kdfiesta11.JPG File:Kdfiesta14.JPG File:Kdfiesta3.JPG File:Kdfiesta101.JPG

External links

Bamum Scripts and Archives Project
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bamum People Ethnic groups in Cameroon Semi-Bantu

Religion

Writing system

Nguon

Art

See also

External links