Foumban Fault Zone
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Foumban or Fumban is a city in
Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...
, lying north east of
Bafoussam Bafoussam is the capital and largest city of the West Region (Cameroon), West Region of Cameroon, in the Bamboutos Mountains. It is the 3rd most important (financially) city in Cameroon, after Yaoundé and Douala. The ''communauté urbaine'' (Urba ...
. 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 A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...
of traditional arts and
culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...
. Foumban is known for its political significance in the formation of Cameroon's history and its cultural, tourism and economic potential. There is also a
market Market is a term used to describe concepts such as: *Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand *Market economy *Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market *Marketing, the act of sat ...
and a craft centre, while
Foumban Royal Palace The Foumban Royal Palace is a historical building in the city of Foumban, capital of Noun. It is the seat of the Kingdom of Bamum, where the Chief-Superior of the peoples of the valley of the East bank of the Noun resides. The royal palace of F ...
contains a museum with information on
Ibrahim Njoya Sultan Ibrahim Njoya (Bamum language, Bamum: , ''Iparəim Nʃuɔiya'', formerly spelled in Bamum language, Bamum as , and Germanisation, Germanicized as ''Njoja'') in Yaoundé, was seventeenth in a long dynasty of kings that ruled over Bamum kingd ...
who invented a new language script,
Bamum script The Bamum scripts are an evolutionary series of six scripts created for the Bamum language by Ibrahim Njoya, King of Bamum (now western Cameroon). They are notable for evolving from a pictographic system to a semi-syllabary in the space of f ...
, and the artificial language Shümom.


History

Foumban is the headquarters of the Noun Division of the Western province. It was the seat of the Bamoun Dynasty. The Bamoun Dynasty was founded in the 1394 by Mfon Nshare Yen. Mfon Nshare became the first Mfon (what is today called Sultan) and was the founding father of Foumban, which became the capital city of the Bamoun Dynasty. This was as a result of the many wars against neighbouring kingdoms between 1394 and 1418. Since then, Founban has politically, culturally and economic grown into a tourist city of great renown in Cameroon. Its rich history and development has seen it surpass other cities and towns in the region, and it continues to attract hundreds of visitors. Bamoun became a part of German Kamerun on July 14, 1884. The sultan was beheaded in a conflict with the Nso people from the North West Province of Cameroon, and his head carried off in 1889. Foumban is one of Cameroon's major attractions and an important centre of traditional African art. Its jewel is the Palais Royal, seat of power for the Bamoun people. The ruler of the Bamoun is known as the sultan, and the Bamoun can trace the lineage of their sultan back to 1394. The palace, completed in 1917, resembles a medieval chateau. It houses the Sultan's Museum, which contains a multitude of royal gowns, arms, musical instruments, statues, jewellery, masks and colourful bead-covered thrones carved in the shapes of the men who sat on them. A few hundred metres south of the palace is the Musée des Arts et des Traditions Bamoun. This extensive collection has exhibits on Bamoun history and art, including cooking implements, musical instruments, pipes, statues, masks, gongs and an ornately carved xylophone. The road that connects the two museums is the Rue des Artisans, home to sculptors, basket makers, weavers and embroiderers, and one of the best places in Central Africa to buy wood carvings. Views of the Palais du Roi des Bamouns" class="center"> Sultanat Bamoun.JPG Monument de guerrier au sultanat de Foumban.JPG La porte principale du sultanat de Foumban.jpg Sultanat Foumban.JPG The gate to the sultan's home.jpg File:Famille à moto à Foumban.jpg, Public transport File:Kdfiestaauto1.JPG, Family on motorbike File:Kdfprayer2.JPG, Adult, day of celebration File:Kdffete23.JPG, Woman, feast day File:Kdfprayer6.JPG, Man, feast day


Economy

The economy was largely agricultural, and slave owning was practiced on a small scale. The Bamum kingdom also traded with neighboring populations. They imported
salt In common usage, salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl). When used in food, especially in granulated form, it is more formally called table salt. In the form of a natural crystalline mineral, salt is also known as r ...
, iron, beads,
cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...
goods and copper objects. The main economic activity in Foumban as of today is tourism and agriculture which is largely
subsistence A subsistence economy is an economy directed to basic subsistence (the provision of food, clothing and shelter) rather than to the market. Definition "Subsistence" is understood as supporting oneself and family at a minimum level. Basic subsiste ...
. Thousands of tourist visit this ancient city to take a look at the remains of arts and cultural display of the kings of this historic town. The streets are decorated with artistic designed but much more is the palace which protrudes and imposes at the center of the city. Its centrality symbolizes an era where the kings represents the nerve center of the entire community. Artwork is the major source of income. There is an art market, a tourist center and a museum called Musée des Arts et des Traditions Bamoun. Agriculture is also carried out in small-scale subsistence farming. However, due to its very rich and fertile soil, the
government of Cameroon The Republic of Cameroon is a decentralized unitary state. State power In the Republic of Cameroon, the President of the Republic and the Parliament exercise 'State power' as per Article 4 of the constitution of Cameroon. Executive power ' Execut ...
has established a research centre to develop local hybrid of seeds to expand on the agricultural sector. The Institute for Agronomic Research (IRAD) has engage the community in partnership with the government in developing large-scale
fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...
in this landlocked community. Other economic activities include cattle rearing and
palm oil Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the mesocarp (reddish pulp) of the fruit of oil palms. The oil is used in food manufacturing, in beauty products, and as biofuel. Palm oil accounted for about 36% of global oils produced from o ...
production.
Coffee Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially a ...
is the main cash crop that is produced and sold in the world market.


Culture

The Bamoun people trace their origin from
Tikar The Tikar (formally known as Tikari, Tigar, Tigari, and Tigre throughout their history) are a Central African ethnic group in Cameroon. They are known to be great artists, artisans and storytellers. Once a nomadic people, some oral traditions t ...
in Cameroon. Thus it no surprise that the language of the Bamum kingdom was related to the Tikars in the western highlands of Cameroon. This apparently did not last long, and the language of the conquered, Mben, was adopted. The Bamun developed an extensive artistic culture at their capital of Foumban at the beginning of the 20th century. During Njoya's reign six
dye Juan de Guillebon, better known by his stage name DyE, is a French musician. He is known for the music video of the single "Fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical ele ...
pits containing various colours were maintained. The Mbum also imported
indigo InterGlobe Aviation Limited (d/b/a IndiGo), is an India, Indian airline headquartered in Gurgaon, Haryana, India. It is the largest List of airlines of India, airline in India by passengers carried and fleet size, with a 64.1% domestic market ...
-dyed
raffia Raffia palms are members of the genus ''Raphia''. The Malagasy language, Malagasy name is derived from ' "to squeeze #Raffia wine, juice". The genus contains about twenty species of Arecaceae, palms native to tropical regions of Africa, and esp ...
-sewn cloth from the Hausa as royal cloth. This royal cloth was called Ntieya, and Hausa craftsmen were kept at palace workshops to supply nobles and teach the art of dyeing. File:KdfDanseTradi.JPG, Njiyit village, traditional dance File:Assembly of tribal leaders for Foumban, Cameroon festival.jpg, Assembly of tribal chiefs for Foumban, Cameroon festival File:Foumban Chiefs Rollcall.jpg, Call of Foumban chefs File:Kdfdanse02.JPG, Traditional dance File:Case d etamtam.JPG, Tam-tam case File:Kdfdansetra.JPG File:Kdfdansetra00.JPG File:Kdfiesta.JPG File:Kdfiesta11.JPG File:Kdfiesta14.JPG File:Kdfiesta0.JPG File:Kdfiesta101.JPG File:Kdfiesta13.JPG File:Kdfiesta3.JPG File:Kdffete8.JPG File:Kdffete21.JPG File:Kdfprayer6.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: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


Notable people

*
Arouna N'Joya Arouna N'Joya (born 1908 in Foumban, Cameroon, and died November 1971) was a politician from Cameroon who served in the French Senate from 1947-1958. He was the Minister of Finance of French Cameroon from 1957 to 1958. He received a Resistance Meda ...
(1908−1971), politician *
Simon Ngapandouetnbu Simon Brady Ngapandouetnbu (born 12 April 2003) is a Cameroonian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club Nîmes on loan from Marseille. Club career Ngapandouetnbu is a product of the youth academies of ASPTT Marseille, ASMJ ...
(2003-), professional footballer who currently plays as a
goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...
for
Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...


See also

*
List of rulers of the Bamum List of the rulers of the Bamum people, an ethnic group located in Cameroon. Their capital Fumban is also spelled Foumban in some sources. (Dates in ''italics'' indicate ''de facto ''continuation of office.) Mfon = ''Ruler'' See also *Ca ...
*
History of Cameroon At the crossroads of West Africa and Central Africa, the territory of what is now Cameroon has seen human habitation since some time in the Middle Paleolithic, likely no later than 130,000 years ago. The earliest discovered archaeological evidence ...
* Bamum *
Kingdom of Bamum The Kingdom of Bamoun (also spelled Bamoum, Bamun, Bamoun, or Mum) was a state in central Africa, part of what is now northwest Cameroon. It was founded by the Bamum people, Bamun, an ethnic group from northeast Cameroon. Its capital was the ancie ...


References

{{Authority control Populated places in West Region (Cameroon)