René Jam Afane (born around 1910 – ) was a Cameroonian teacher. He is known for writing the lyrics of the ''

Chant de Ralliement "" ("The Rallying Song"), also known as "" ("O Cameroon, Cradle of our Forefathers"), is the national anthem of Cameroon and former national anthem of French Cameroon. History The song was composed in 1928 by René Jam Afane who also wrote the ...

'', the national anthem of Cameroon, in 1928 at the École Normale de Foulassi, with Samuel Minkyo Bamba, from the same class, who composed the music.

Biography

Early life and education

Of modest background, René Jam Afane studied at Foulassi from 1922 to 1924, and from 1925 to 1928, before teaching there in 1929. He transitioned from private to public teaching in 1933, first at the regional school in

Dschang Dschang is a city located in the West (Ouest) Province of Cameroon, with an estimated population of 87,000 (est) in 2001, growing dramatically from 21,705 recorded in 1981. The 2006 Population is estimated to be 200,000 inhabitants. Dschang is th ...

, then in 1937 at Sangmélima, before being posted to

Ambam Ambam is a town and commune in the Vallée-du-Ntem department, South Province, Cameroon on the border with Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. This frontier town is located approximately 220 km from Yaoundé and as of 2005 had a population of 41 ...

, then

Ebolowa Ebolowa is a city in Cameroon. It is the capital of the South Region (Cameroon), South Region and the Mvila department. Its economy is primarily agricultural, with cocoa bean being its main crop. Economy Agriculture Agriculture is the primar ...

in 1943, where he met

Ferdinand Oyono Ferdinand Léopold Oyono (14 September 1929 – 10 June 2010
''Jeun ...

Career

He was a candidate in the 1952 elections for the Territorial Assembly of Cameroon, representing the

Dja-et-Lobo Dja-et-Lobo is a department of South Province in Cameroon. The department covers an area of 19,911 km and as of 2005 had a total population of 196,951. Its capital is Sangmélima. Subdivisions The department is divided administratively in ...

constituency. In 1953, he participated in a four-month training course at the teacher training school in Saint-Cloud,

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...

Personal life

His son,

André Ze Jam Afane André — sometimes transliterated as Andre — is the French and Portuguese language, Portuguese form of the name Andrew and is now also used in the English-speaking world. It used in France, Quebec, Canada and other French language, French-spe ...

, also known by the pseudonym Bulu Fulassi, is a musician and storyteller.

Works

He is known for writing the lyrics of the ''

'', the national anthem of Cameroon, in 1928, based on suggestions from his fellow students at the École Normale de Foulassi. He was particularly taught by Camille Chazeaud. Samuel Minkyo Bamba, from the same class, composed the music for this anthem. René Jam Afane was awarded the First Class Cameroonian Merit.

Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jam Afane, Rene Cameroonian educators National anthem writers 1910 births 1981 deaths Cameroonian writers Cameroonian politicians 20th-century educators 20th-century Cameroonian writers Cameroonian male writers 20th-century Cameroonian politicians