Nchare YenPronounced , also referred to simply as Nchare, or by the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

styling of the name as Nshare Yen, or just NshareThe different spelling in the name revolves around the transcription of the sound / ʃ/, which is written in French as ⟨ch⟩ and in English as ⟨sh⟩ ( - 1418), was the founder of the

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 ...

, and one of the four kings who are mainly worshiped in the traditional Bamum religion due to their achievements in the Bamum society and culture. Nchare Yen is the brother of Ngon Nso, the founder of the Kingdom of Nso. Nchare Yen was the son of an unknown

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 ...

chief, who he and his sister broke away from to establish their own kingdoms. According to the book Rock of God, which discusses Nso's history,

Nso and Bamoun had been constantly quibbling, and to many, this seemed to be mostly sibling rivalry than any unavoidable conflict. Since Nso was founded by the sister (Ngon Nso), the brother (Nchare-Yen, founder of Bamoum) always saw himself as the successor to the throne of Nso, according to the
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 ...
tradition that they both knew and respected.

According to one of the former leaders of the Bamum,

Seidou Njimoluh Njoya Seidou Njimoluh Njoya ( Bamum: ''Sɛt-tu Nʒemɔleʔ Nʒeɔya'' , 1902 – 28 July 1992)DeLancey and DeLancey 206. ruled the Bamum people of Cameroon from 1933 to 1992 as the Sultan of Foumban and Mfon of the Bamun. Njimoluh was the son of Ibrah ...

, in a 1977 interview, described Nchare Yen as being a "short man with a protuberant stomach", who was "dark in complexion, had short limbs, but was very courageous", and also "loved dancing and drinking palm wine ut wassaid to have been very charitable." Most of what is known about Nchare Yen has been passed down from both historical, religious, and cultural sources in Bamum society, and due to the obscurity of the subject matter, there is very little in the way of evidence to verify the claims given about the events of Nchare Yen's life.

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{{s-end 1370s births 1418 deaths Cameroonian traditional rulers