Far North Province
Encyclopedia
The Far North Region also known as the Extreme North Region (from French
Région de l'Extrême-Nord), is the northernmost constituent 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 province is one of Cameroon's most culturally diverse. Over 50 different ethnic groups populate the area, including the Shuwa Arabs
, Fulani, and Kapsiki
. Most educated inhabitants speak French
, and the Fulani language, Fulfulde
, is a common lingua franca
.
signed decrees abolishing "Provinces" and replacing them with "Regions". Hence, all of the country's ten provinces are now known as Regions.
, clay
, limestone
, and sandstone
forms the greatest share of the Far North's geology. These deposits follow the province's rivers, such as the Logone and Mayo Tsanaga, as they empty into Lake Chad
to the north. At the province's south, a band of granite
separates the sedimentary area from a zone of metamorphic rock
to the southwest. This latter region includes deposits of gneiss
, mica
, and schist
s. The Rhumsiki Valley, a mountainous field littered by the cores of extinct volcanoes, constitutes a small area of volcanic rock, such as trachyte
and rhyolite
.
The Far North's soils are a bit more complex. Much of the province is composed of young soils rich in raw minerals. This is true of much of the land south of Lake Chad, and of the Mandara Mountains
on the western border with Nigeria. Soil here is black clay (alluvial soil). The seasonal flooding of the Logone River gives rise to a north-south band of hydromorphic soils at the border with Chad
. The remainder of the territory, the Diamaré Plain and the El Beïd River valley, is made up of ferruginous soils. The province's dry/wet seasonal variations create relatively shallow, ferrous or lateritic
soils.
basin. The Louti rises in the Mandaras, passing and swelling the Kébi in the North Province. The Kébi rises south of Yagoua
and flows into western Chad.
The province's other rivers are part of the Chad Basin
. The El Beid River flows northwest from the Kalamalou National Park and forms the northernmost stretch of the border between Cameroon and Nigeria
. The Mayo Tsanaga rises south and west of the El Béïd's source and moves eastward at the north of the Diamaré Depression. The Logone rises west of the territory and flows north to form most of the border between the Far North and Chad. It eventually meets the Chari
, which also rises in Chad. The Chari forms the remainder of the Chad-Cameroon border beginning at Kousséri
before emptying into Lake Chad.
These rivers all follow a tropical regime, fluctuating between high water in the wet season (May to September) and low water in the dry season (October to April). At the height of the dry season, many of the waterways disappear completely or else diminish to a mere trickle. The Logone all but disappears during the wet season. The low elevation of the Chad basin (200–500 metres) causes flooding during the wet season; the Logone is especially prone to this, and much of its basin is marshlike conditions along its length during the wet season. Even during the dry season, some of these remain, called Yaéré in Fulfulde. The El Beïd and Serbewel Rivers drain these marshy areas into Lake Chad. The Diamaré Plain, part of the Chad plain, occupies the southeastern third of the province. It is not as prone to flooding due to a number of inselbergs through the area.
The province is also home to a number of lakes. The most prominent of these is Lake Chad. The lake was formed by a tectonic depression that has since been filled in by the area's rivers. However, over time, these rivers have deposited sediment as well, making Lake Chad nearly disappear in the past. This is a cause of concern, since when the Logone and Mayo Kébi flood, they meet. This diverts water from the Logone to the Kébi, and ultimately the Bénoué. This has caused some scientists to predict that in the future, river capture
will occur, depriving Lake Chad of one of its major sources. Much of Lake Chad evaporates each year and must be replaced by rains from the wet season.
Other lakes include Lake Fianga
, which exists only during the seasonal flooding of the Logone; during the dry season, it is at best a
swamp. Maga Lake, south of the town of the same name at the eastern border, is an artificial body of 6,000 square metres. It is known for its fishing.
The Mandara Mountains at the southwestern border with Nigeria form the highest point, lying between 500 and 1000 metres, with an average of about 900 metres. Mount Tourou is the highest point, at 1,442 metres. These mountains likely arose as a result of the same tectonic activity that gave rise to the Bénoué Depression in the North Province. The area was once volcanically active, as a number of freestanding necks of trachyte and rhyolite of extinct volcanoes attest. The most spectacular of these lie in the valley by the tourist village of Rhumsiki
. The part of the range that lies within the Far North is on a middle plateau at about 800–900 metres. Isolated mountains continue into the Diamaré Plain. The mountains' northern extent is hilly, dissected by a number of rivers.
and Sahel
ian, and rainfall is a relatively small 400 to 900 mm per year, with rains falling a bit more frequently in the Mandara region. South of 10°, the region west of the Mayo Kébi and south to the border with Chad, in the Cameroonian beak. Here, climate is tropical of the Sudan type, with higher rainfalls of 900 to 1500 mm per year. Temperatures average 26°, except for the Chad Basin, where they climb to 28°. Actual temperatures of course fluctuate with the seasons, however. At Kousséri, for example, there is a 9.2° difference between January (23.5°) and August (32.4°).
The Far North has two seasons: one dry, and one wet. These are further broken down based on average temperatures, yielding four distinct periods in the Sudan area: dry and relatively cool from November to January as the province experiences a shade of winter from climes further north, dry and hot from January to April, torrentially rainy from April to June, and cool and sporadically wet from June to November. In the Sahel zone, the wet periods are shorter, lasting only five to seven months in the south but shortening toward Lake Chad. Temperatures reach their highest levels from January to May. Beginning at about 11° N, the province only experiences about 25 to 30 rainy days each year.
, chacals, cheetah
s, crocodile
s, elephant
s, giraffe
s, heron
, hippopotami
, hyena
s, jaguar
s, lion
s, monkey
s, warthog
s, and others. Centuries of human habitation have today forced these species back to a few protected areas and national parks. Foremost among these is Waza National Park
(Parc National du Waza), which occupies 1700 km². The park was created in 1968, and has since grown to be one of Cameroon's largest tourist attractions. Kalamaloué National Park (Parc National de Kalamaloué) is a smaller protected area, which protects 45 km² in the narrow neck of land separating Nigeria and Chad at the province's northernmost reaches. This park protects those species that routinely traverse Cameroon in their yearly migrations. Mozogo Gokoro National Park houses a diverse number of monkey and reptile species within 14 km².
The status of the province's wildlife remains uncertain, as corruption has allowed even these protected areas to be used by poachers. Some villages have embraced the animals, however. The town of Logone-Birni
, for example, is called "the village of the crocodiles".
Savanna
makes up the province's primary vegetation. Most of the area is thus covered in thin grasses punctuated by thorny shrubs such as baobab
, Faidherbia
, and Karita. Those areas that have higher rainfall—south of 10&729 N and the Mandara Mountains—have thicker grasses and more and larger trees. Here the shrubs have thick barks to withstand the fires that sometimes ravage the area during the dry season. The frequently flooded Logone Valley and the perimeter of Lake Chad also support thicker and taller fields of grasses.
Human activities such as burning of fields, chopping down trees, and overgrazing of cattle have exacerbated the problem of desertification
in the Far North. In response, the Cameroonian government, with aid from various non-governmental organisations, has begun Operation Green Sahel. The project aims to reverse the effects of desertification by reintroducing trees to the region.
, houses tend to follow the modern model of concrete walls and metal roof. Though house construction differs from people to people, the most common type is a small building with a small entryway under a conical roof covered in palm leaves or thatching. Builders make walls from locally available materials, so the Matakam use stone, the Fulani use clay, and the Guizigi weave walls of straw. The head of a particular household or lineage often builds several small houses within a single, walled compound called a saré. These compounds tend to be built with the compound of the chief
at their centre, and all houses have a granary
nearby, as the long dry season prevents year-round food cultivation. Concentric farms surround the settlement, these surrounded by hedges to keep livestock away. Bororo
Fulani are primarily nomadic, though they do establish some semi-permanent settlements for the old or infirm.
The province is Cameroon's fourth most densely populated, with 1,855,695 people and an average of 54 inhabitants per km². Most of this population lives in the corridor between Maroua, which has 214,000 inhabitants, and Mokolo
. Another area of high density is the Mandara Mountains, a legacy of the Fulani conquest of the past, in the Diamaré plain, and at the Logone-Chari confluence and up to Lake Chad. The remainder of the province is moderately populated, and the Logone valley and the Chari division are sparsely populated until about the level of Kousséri. Since independence, much of the Far North's population has been migrating to large population centres, particularly Maroua and Garoua
.
The Fulani (Fulbe) make up a large portion of the Far North's population. The heart of the province is primarily Fulani territory, and Maroua is mostly a Fulani settlement. They also occupy smaller pieces of land south of there, one along the border with Chad, and one to the southeast. The Bororo Fulani, tall, thin nomads with lighter complexions than their sedentary kin, drive herds of cattle through this region, though they also move through most of the northern strip of land between Nigeria and Chad, as well. The Fulani speak Fulfulde, a Senegambian language.
Adamawa-language
speakers make up a smaller group, with about 169,700 members in the country in 1982. These are broken into the Mundang and the Tupuri
, whose territories lie adjacent to one another on the southern border with Chad. The Kanuri, on the western border between Nigeria and Waza Park, are the sole speakers of a Nilo-Saharan language
. They numbered about 56,500 individuals in 1982. Some 63,000 semi-nomadic Shuwa
Arab
s live in the north of the province up to Lake Chad.
More than 974,408 people in the province speak one of the various Chadic languages
and thus comprise the plurality of the population. Many of these are Kirdi
, (pagan in Fulfulde) peoples who refused to convert to Islam
during the Fulani conquest of the 19th century. Many of these Kirdi today live in the province's mountainous western border, as this areas was more easily defensible against the Fulani invaders. The various Mandara peoples lie primarily in the Mandara Mountains along the border with Nigeria. The Mandarawa are furthest north with their base at Mora
, and the Parkwa lie directly south of them. The Glavda and Gvoko lie southwest in smaller territories. Although not part of the Mandara group, the Turu, Mabas, and Matakam live along the border with their capital at Mokolo. The Kapsiki
, Hya
, Bana
, Zizilivikan, Jimi
, and Gude
occupy the remainder of the border from north to south. The Bulahai, Buwal, Gawar, Besleri, Sharwa, Tsuvan, and Mazagway lie just east of this border grouping. The southern border of the province is home to the Daba
and Muturwa.
The territory between Maroua, Mokolo, and Tokombére
is a major population centre, and over a dozen ethnic groups live in small areas there. These are the Matal, Wuzlum, Vame, Muyang, Moloko
, Dugwor, Marva
, North Mofu, Mofu
, Cuvok, Merey
, Zulgo-Gemzek, Mada
, and Mbuko.
The Buduma live on islands in Lake Chad north of Kotokoland. The various Kotoko peoples live in the strip between Nigeria and Chad. This group includes the Afade, Logone, Makari, and the Kotoko proper, and the Kuseri and Maltam. The Jina
and Majera live south of Kotokoland, between Waza National Park and Chad. More distantly related groups include the Kera, with a small territory on the southern border with Chad, the Zumaya, with small territory south of Maroua, the Massa, who occupy the tip of the province's beak, including Yagoua, and the Musaya, on the Chad border at Dom village.
With the exception of the Fulani herders, most people in the Far North are subsistence farmers
. The province sees a mixture of Islam, Christianity
, and traditional religions. The Kirdi peoples resisted Islam in the 19th century, though today many of these have been Christianised at least partially. Other groups have converted more fully to Christianity or Islam. The Fulani are dominant politically in the province.
is found in the strip between Chad and Nigeria. Groundnuts
are in Maroua and northwest and in the Mandara Mountains. The seasonal flooding of the Logone River and Mayo Tsanaga supports large fields of rice
. Millet
and sorghum
grow all over, though millet tends to grow better than sorghum in arid conditions. Cotton
is common, especially in the Diamaré Plain, though it grows poorly in the swampy Logone valley. Bean
s are also common.
Village farmers typically sow in concentric circles around the farm. Hedges surround the farm to keep away animals. Farming tools are typically simple hoes, sickles, knives, and machetes. Farmland is burnt during the dry season, then crops are planted at the first rains. These farms can be quite extensive, as in the Mandara Mountains area. Here, farms climb up the mountain slopes in terraces held in place by stones.
Rice is the primary moneymaker for farmers in the Logone valley. This is largely due to the Rice Expansion and Modernisation Company of Yagoua (SEMRY), which operates some 129 km² of rice fields. Elsewhere, cotton is the most lucrative cash crop. Both textile
s and oil come from the cotton.. Société du Développement du Coton (SODECOTON) is the main government body working to improve cotton yields in the region.
The Bororo Fulani and Shuwa Arabs both live principally as cattle
raisers. Bororo herds roam much of the Far North and often wind up far south for sale in Yaoundé
or Douala
. Other ethnic groups are today becoming more involved in cattle raising. Horse
s and donkey
s are common in the province, although these are usually employed as beasts of burden. Farmers also raise sheep and goat
s. Animal husbandry is less prevalent in the Far North than in the North and Adamawa Province
s, however, as the arid conditions make watering large animals difficult and large population centres make fields scarce. Maroua has emerged as an important centre for animal raisers, with both a cattle market and a veterinary centre.
Fishing is an important way of life for the peoples who live along Lake Chad. The Kofia Islands are home to the Budumu and to fishermen from Cameroon, Chad, and Nigeria, most of whom earn their living in this fashion. The Logone is also heavily fished.
What little industry
the north has mostly falls into the realm of handicrafts. Much of this revolves around cattle and related products, particularly in Maroua. This city is home to many tanneries
, leatherworking, and embroidery
and metalworking
. Maroua even has a beef cannery. Maroua also has a large artisanat, which sells handicrafts such as pottery
, bead
s. SODECOTON Cotton gin
s operate in Guider, Mora, Mokolo, Maroua, Yagoua, and Kaélé. SODECOTON also operates cottonseed oil
mills in Kaélé and Maroua. Rhumsiki and other communities are home to spinners
and weavers
, who work primarily with cotton. Rice processing forms the final prong of the province's industry. Much of this hulling is done through SEMRY in Yagoua. Limestone mining
operates at Figuil
, and CIMENCAM produces cement
there.
Three major roads service the Far North. National Road 1 enters the province from the south via Yaoundé and Maltam. It continues north and east through Mora and on toward Kousséri and then veers northwest into Nigeria. This road is tarred as far north as Kousséri. National Road 12 handles traffic between Maroua and Yagoua, and National Road 14 goes between Mora west to Nigeria via Kerawa. The stretches between Maroua and Kousséri, Maroua and Mokolo, and Maroua south to Garoua are tarred. Away from these more travelled thoroughfares, roads in the Far North are unpaved and can be quite rough. This is particularly true in the Mandara Mountains, where large stones litter the roadway. Motorcycles are often one of the few options for travel to more remote destinations. These vehicles also serve as the primary taxi service in town. Access to petrol is another problem, as supplies often run out during the rainy season. Merchants often hike or bicycle into Nigeria to obtain cheaper fuel there for resale in Cameroon. A major obstacle to road travel in recent years is increased road banditry.
Buses service the more traveled destinations, especially the road south from Maroua to Garoua. Smaller destinations are reachable by bush taxi
or privately hired motorcycle drivers. Motorcycle taxis are the primary means of travelling about in the large towns. Travel on the open road has in recent years been curtailed by increases in road banditry. These outlaws often ambush buses or bush taxis and rob all passengers. Air travel is another possibility within the Far North, and airstrips operate in Koza
, Méri
, Waza, Yagoua, and Kaélé
. Maroua has a regional airport. Riverain transport is possible along the Logone and Chari Rivers during rainy season.
The Far North is home to many of Cameroon's most popular tourist
destinations. Waza National Park is the pre-eminent wildlife park in Cameroon, and it is well managed with knowledgeable guides and rentable rooms on the premises. The wildlife there is relatively easy to see, and, of Cameroon's wildlife parks, Lonely Planet
names it "the best for viewing wildlife", and Rough Guides
calls it the "probably the best site for savannah game viewing in West Africa".
Another of the Far North's draws is the picturesque scenery. Dozens of small villages dot the province, and each of these provides its own unique draws for the tourist. Oudjilla has a picturesque chief's compound, and Tourou
is renowned for the fact that the women there wear hats made from calabash
es, which convey details such as marital status. The Mandara Mountains are another major draw, as they offer hiking and striking views. This is most evident at Rhumsiki, where the "much photographed" Rhumsiki Peak is located. The village of Rhumsiki is today something of a tourist trap
, because, as Hudgens and Trillo put it, "[w]herever you look, the scenery is breathtaking."
organisations cite Fulani lamibe
(traditional rulers) as enjoying great leeway from the government, which allows them to keep private prisons and administer justice as they see fit. Government prisons are no better, especially those given over to holding suspected road bandits. Shuwa Arabs practice female genital mutilation
in the region.
The province is divided into six departments
(departements):
These are in turn broken down into subdivisions. Presidentially appointed senior divisional officers (prefets) and subdivisional officers (sous-prefets) govern each respectively.
Traditional leaders, usually referred to as chiefs in English, often preside over particular ethnic groups or villages; nevertheless, many of these wield very little power today, the chiefs' compounds serving as little more than tourist attractions. In contrast, traditional Fulani leaders, known as lamibe, retain much of their influence.
In the 1990s, politics in the region was dominated by the National Union for Democracy and Progress
(Union nationale pour la démocratie et le progress, UNDP) with its large base of Fulani supporters. The UNDP is largely Fulani-based today, but the ruling Cameroon People's Democratic Movement
(CPDM) party is careful to address Fulani interests.
The Far North has even fewer hospitals. These are located in Mokolo, Maroua, Logone-Birni, Bini, Kousséri, and Waza. Furthermore, many of the inhabitants cannot afford Western medicines.
Each ethnic group in the province celebrates its own traditional festivals and holidays. Among the Fulani, the chief among these are Ramadan
and the Feast of the Ram. Other notable festivals include the Cock Festival of the Tupuri. During the ritual, the nephew of the head of a family kills a cock and throws its head into the fire. The head is said to always land on its right side. The Dance of the Cock is another Tupuri affair. A museum of local art is in Maroua, which houses Sao, Tupuri, Musgum, and Fulani artefacts.
deported from the Fatimid Caliphate in Egypt
, arrived from the northeast and settled around Lake Chad in the 15th century.
Archaeological finds attest to the existence of the Sao culture in the Logone valley and around Lake Chad as early as the 5th century. Little is known about the Sao, except that they were copper and ironworkers and, legend says, fearsome giants. Legends of later peoples claimed that the Sao were descendants of the Hyksos
who arrived in the area in several waves. Another theory makes them the original inhabitants of the Chad basin, traditionally an oasis to the north of the basin. They may have been of Nilotic
origin. Even the span of their civilisation is in dispute, with various estimates putting their rise at some point between the 5th and 8th century and their fall between the 8th and 15th century. The prevailing opinion among scholars, however, dates them to no later than the 10th century. At this time, eastern invaders entered the Chad Basin and conquered them. The Sao likely disappeared through intermarriage with this and other groups. Many of the current ethnic groups in the Far North claim descent from the Sao.
The Kanem Empire
, originated in the 9th century AD to the northeast of Lake Chad
, and from there expanded in the region. Islam reached Kanem early, and the rulers converted in the 11th century. Kanem-Bornu strengthened as an Islamic stronghold, and the population converted as well. Embassies were traded with North African states, and trade increased. The rulers launched a series of conquests, culminating in Dunama Dabbalemi
's (r. 1221–1259) expansion south as far south as the Adamawa Plateau
. At this point, Kanem and its successor Bornu
were active participants in trans-Saharan trade
. Slaves
in particular were frequently traded in exchange for horses and salt. The Kanem-Bornu Empire lasted until 1893, when the Sudan
ese warlord Rabih az-Zubayr
overthrew it.
Other groups in the territory also formed kingdoms, such as that of the Kotoko
. They were eventually split, as the northern Kotoko became a vassal state of the Kanem Empire, while the southerners paid tribute but remained mostly independent with their capital at Logone-Birni. This part of the kingdom would eventually be Islamicised as well.
The Mandarawa settled the Mandara Mountains in the 15th century. They coalesced into state, called Mandara
. Over the next hundred years, they fought wars of expansion against their neighbours, eventually capturing Dulo
, which would become their capital. Civil war erupted after this conquest, and an appeal was made to the ruler of Bornu in 1614 to settle it. The resulting settlement established Bornu as an important influence over Mandara. In 1715, King Boukar received three Muslim missionaries and converted to their faith. The Mandara would largely convert to Islam over the next 200 years. Boukar also ended Bornu influence in Mandara when he defeated a Bornu expedition sometime in the late 18th or early 19th century. He launched further conquests on neighbouring groups.
declared a jihad
in what is now northern Nigeria and Cameroon, and Modibo Adama
led the charge into the land of Fumbina, which included areas of the Far North.
Adama focused first on areas south. Then he turned his attentions toward the Mandara kingdom. Many soldiers who had fought Mandara in previous engagements in 1808 joined his ranks. Adama first attacked from the south and took Guider
by 1810. He then took the Dulo, the Mandara capital, but the Mandarawa counterattacked and recaptured it. Bornu and Mandara allied against the Fulani invaders; meanwhile, several of Mandara's pagan vassal states rebelled. Bornu took advantage of Mandara's weakness and burnt Dulo. The Fulani took Bornu in 1845, and the weakened Mandarawa eventually fell to Fulani aggression in 1893. Adama took Maroua in battles from 1808 to 1813.
The Fulani eventually came to rule the territory, with the exceptions of Mandara, Kotoko, and various Kirdi ethnic groups that had fled to the mountains and swamps. The region had been depopulated by war, slavery, and disease. Adama set up government over this new Adamawa Emirate
in Yola
(present-day Nigeria), answering only to the sultan of the Sokoto Empire. The Mandara Mountains and the swampy confluence of the Logone and Chari rivers supported the highest population density, as many peoples had fled the Neo-Sudanese and Fulani invasions by taking refuge on higher ground. The region was part of a lamidat ruled from Maroua.
, Dixon Denham
, and Dr. Walter Oudney
, who were exploring the Niger River. They crossed the Sahara Desert overland and reached Lake Chad in 1822. Denham then explored the lake while Clapperton and Oudney followed the Chari River. Denham accompanied the Bornu and Mandara army in its attack on Fulani in Mosfei, north of Maroua in April 1823. He was captured, but managed to escape as his Fulani captors argued over his clothing. Oudney died in 1823. Clapperton and Denham regrouped near the Mandara Mountains and returned to England in 1825. They published their adventures in 1826 as Narrative of Travels and Discoveries in Northern and Central Africa, 1822, 1823, 1824.
James Richardson
led a British expedition to the Chad Basin in 1851. He was accompanied by Germans Heinrich Barth
and Herman Overweg. Their goal was to explore the land south of Lake Chad. Richardson died at Lake Chad in 1851. The others arrived at the Mandara Mountains and then explored Uba, the northernmost Fulani settlement in the Adamawa Emirate then continued on to Yola. Overweg died in 1852, but by 1855, Barth was back in England, where he published Travels and Discoveries in North and Central Africa.
In 1865 to 1867, two German expeditions under Gerhard Rolfs and Gustav Nachtigal
explored the Chad Basin and the Mandara Mountains. They noted the potential commercial benefits of the area to Germany. In 1868, Nachtigal returned, reaching Lake Chad basin in June 1870. He stayed three years as a guest of the Sultan of Bornu, noting the groups around and their relations to one another. He returned to Europe in 1875 and published a three-volume Sahara and Sudan in 1879.
in 1899 under Captain Von Kaptz and Lieutenant Hans Dominik
, the area was subdued. The region became part of the administrative units ruled from Garoua and Mora. Much of the local administration was left in the hands of the lamidos. The Germans placed the Wandala and the Kirdi under the jurisdiction of these Fulani rulers. In 1903, the German Resident at Maroua, Graff Fugger, was assassinated by Yerima Mustafa. The Germans invaded Maroua and set up another administrative unit there. The area was otherwise largely ignored, as the crops available were not as lucrative as the rubber and ivory found in the jungles to the south. The only real way to get in or out was along the Benue River, which travelled through British-controlled Nigeria.
In World War I
, the French under General Aymerich attacked the German outpost at Kousséri. On 25 August 1914, Colonel C. H. P. Carter attacked Germans at Mora, but was repulsed after a two-day fight. Captain Von Reuben continued the resistance, but he succumbed to the Anglo-French allies eventually.
In February 1916, France became the colonial head of the area. The territory was placed in the Mora-Garoua administrative unit, headed at Garoua. France allowed the lamidos to keep their power, but it also overthrew any who refused to comply with French mandates. They set up independent Kirdi chiefdoms to discourage animosity between the Islamic and non-Islamic peoples in the territory. Missionaries
began to arrive, setting up a Bible school at Yagoua and a printing press for religious literature in Kaélé. The French improved the roads and built an airstrip at Maroua. In 1931, they introduced a higher-yielding form of cotton. They also began SEMRY, a rice-growing project in the Logone-Chari swamplands.
The first Cameroonian premier of Cameroon, André-Marie Mbida
, startled the Fulani of the area when he announced his Abong-Mbang Resolutions in 1957. One of these stated that northern French Cameroon was to be "democratised", which the lamidos read to mean that their power would be curtailed. The northern territories threatened to secede
and join with Chad. Northerner Amadou Ahidjo and his Union Camerounaise party rejected the resolutions, and Ahidjo used the issue to gain leverage and replace Mbida as prime minister.
accession to the presidency, Moussa Yaya was accused of stirring up the lamidos against him. The UNDP is a Fulani-based party, but the CPDM is careful to support their interests. In 1983, the Grand North was split into three provinces.
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
Région de l'Extrême-Nord), is the northernmost constituent province of the Republic of Cameroon
Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...
. It borders the North Region to the south, Chad
Chad
Chad , officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west...
to the east, and Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
to the west. The capital is Maroua
Maroua
Maroua is the capital of the Far North Region of Cameroon, on the Ferngo and Kaliao Rivers. The city had 201,371 inhabitants at the 2005 Census,and is a centre of cotton industry. The city also has an airport located near the town of Salak, an agricultural school and ethnographic museum. To the...
.
The province is one of Cameroon's most culturally diverse. Over 50 different ethnic groups populate the area, including the Shuwa Arabs
Baggara
The Baggāra Arabs are a set of communities inhabiting the portion of Africa's Sahel between Lake Chad and southern Kordofan, numbering over one million. They have a common language which is one of the regional colloquial Arabic languages...
, Fulani, and Kapsiki
Kapsiki
The Kapsiki are an ethnic group of Cameroon. They live in the Far North Province in the Mandara Mountains. The Kapsiki are considered one of Cameroon's Kirdi ethnic groups due to their resistance to Islamisation during the Fulani jihad of Modibo Adama.-References:* DeLancey, Mark W., and Mark Dike...
. Most educated inhabitants speak French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, and the Fulani language, Fulfulde
Fula language
The Fula or Fulani language is a language of West Africa. It is spoken as a first language by the and related groups from Senegambia and Guinea to Cameroon and Sudan...
, is a common lingua franca
Lingua franca
A lingua franca is a language systematically used to make communication possible between people not sharing a mother tongue, in particular when it is a third language, distinct from both mother tongues.-Characteristics:"Lingua franca" is a functionally defined term, independent of the linguistic...
.
2008 Presidential Decree Abolishes Provinces
In 2008, the President of the Republic of Cameroon, President Paul BiyaPaul Biya
Paul Biya is a Cameroonian politician who has been the President of Cameroon since 6 November 1982. A native of Cameroon's south, Biya rose rapidly as a bureaucrat under President Ahmadou Ahidjo in the 1960s, serving as Secretary-General of the Presidency from 1968 to 1975 and then as Prime...
signed decrees abolishing "Provinces" and replacing them with "Regions". Hence, all of the country's ten provinces are now known as Regions.
Land
Sedimentary rock such as alluviumAlluvium
Alluvium is loose, unconsolidated soil or sediments, eroded, deposited, and reshaped by water in some form in a non-marine setting. Alluvium is typically made up of a variety of materials, including fine particles of silt and clay and larger particles of sand and gravel...
, clay
Clay
Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...
, limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
, and sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
forms the greatest share of the Far North's geology. These deposits follow the province's rivers, such as the Logone and Mayo Tsanaga, as they empty into Lake Chad
Lake Chad
Lake Chad is a historically large, shallow, endorheic lake in Africa, whose size has varied over the centuries. According to the Global Resource Information Database of the United Nations Environment Programme, it shrank as much as 95% from about 1963 to 1998; yet it also states that "the 2007 ...
to the north. At the province's south, a band of granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
separates the sedimentary area from a zone of metamorphic rock
Metamorphic rock
Metamorphic rock is the transformation of an existing rock type, the protolith, in a process called metamorphism, which means "change in form". The protolith is subjected to heat and pressure causing profound physical and/or chemical change...
to the southwest. This latter region includes deposits of gneiss
Gneiss
Gneiss is a common and widely distributed type of rock formed by high-grade regional metamorphic processes from pre-existing formations that were originally either igneous or sedimentary rocks.-Etymology:...
, mica
Mica
The mica group of sheet silicate minerals includes several closely related materials having highly perfect basal cleavage. All are monoclinic, with a tendency towards pseudohexagonal crystals, and are similar in chemical composition...
, and schist
Schist
The schists constitute a group of medium-grade metamorphic rocks, chiefly notable for the preponderance of lamellar minerals such as micas, chlorite, talc, hornblende, graphite, and others. Quartz often occurs in drawn-out grains to such an extent that a particular form called quartz schist is...
s. The Rhumsiki Valley, a mountainous field littered by the cores of extinct volcanoes, constitutes a small area of volcanic rock, such as trachyte
Trachyte
Trachyte is an igneous volcanic rock with an aphanitic to porphyritic texture. The mineral assemblage consists of essential alkali feldspar; relatively minor plagioclase and quartz or a feldspathoid such as nepheline may also be present....
and rhyolite
Rhyolite
This page is about a volcanic rock. For the ghost town see Rhyolite, Nevada, and for the satellite system, see Rhyolite/Aquacade.Rhyolite is an igneous, volcanic rock, of felsic composition . It may have any texture from glassy to aphanitic to porphyritic...
.
The Far North's soils are a bit more complex. Much of the province is composed of young soils rich in raw minerals. This is true of much of the land south of Lake Chad, and of the Mandara Mountains
Mandara Mountains
The Mandara Mountains are a volcanic range extending about 200km along the northern part of the Cameroon-Nigeria border, from the Benue River in the south to the north-west of Maroua in the north . The highest elevation is 1,494 m , the summit of Mount Oupay .The region is densely populated,...
on the western border with Nigeria. Soil here is black clay (alluvial soil). The seasonal flooding of the Logone River gives rise to a north-south band of hydromorphic soils at the border with Chad
Chad
Chad , officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west...
. The remainder of the territory, the Diamaré Plain and the El Beïd River valley, is made up of ferruginous soils. The province's dry/wet seasonal variations create relatively shallow, ferrous or lateritic
Laterite
Laterites are soil types rich in iron and aluminium, formed in hot and wet tropical areas. Nearly all laterites are rusty-red because of iron oxides. They develop by intensive and long-lasting weathering of the underlying parent rock...
soils.
Drainage
A number of rivers criss-cross the territory, many of them rising in the Mandara Mountains. The Mayo Kébi, Mayo Louti, and their tributaries form part of the Niger RiverNiger River
The Niger River is the principal river of western Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in southeastern Guinea...
basin. The Louti rises in the Mandaras, passing and swelling the Kébi in the North Province. The Kébi rises south of Yagoua
Yagoua
Yagoua is a town and commune in the Far North Province of Cameroon. It is the capital of the department of Mayo-Danay....
and flows into western Chad.
The province's other rivers are part of the Chad Basin
Chad Basin
The Chad Basin, also known as the Lake Chad Basin, is a large lowland area in north-central Africa. In all directions from the center of this area the elevation changes are gentle. The Chad Basin is an endorheic basin - its water does not flow into any ocean...
. The El Beid River flows northwest from the Kalamalou National Park and forms the northernmost stretch of the border between Cameroon and Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
. The Mayo Tsanaga rises south and west of the El Béïd's source and moves eastward at the north of the Diamaré Depression. The Logone rises west of the territory and flows north to form most of the border between the Far North and Chad. It eventually meets the Chari
Chari River
The Chari or Shari River is a 949-kilometer-long river of central Africa. It flows from the Central African Republic through Chad into Lake Chad, following the Cameroon border from N'Djamena, where it joins the Logone River waters....
, which also rises in Chad. The Chari forms the remainder of the Chad-Cameroon border beginning at Kousséri
Kousséri
Kousséri is a city in Far North Province, Cameroon, lying on the border with Chad, across the Chari River from N'Djamena. It is the capital of the Logone-et-Chari department. It is a market town, and its population has recently been swollen by refugees from Chad. It had a population of 89,123 at...
before emptying into Lake Chad.
These rivers all follow a tropical regime, fluctuating between high water in the wet season (May to September) and low water in the dry season (October to April). At the height of the dry season, many of the waterways disappear completely or else diminish to a mere trickle. The Logone all but disappears during the wet season. The low elevation of the Chad basin (200–500 metres) causes flooding during the wet season; the Logone is especially prone to this, and much of its basin is marshlike conditions along its length during the wet season. Even during the dry season, some of these remain, called Yaéré in Fulfulde. The El Beïd and Serbewel Rivers drain these marshy areas into Lake Chad. The Diamaré Plain, part of the Chad plain, occupies the southeastern third of the province. It is not as prone to flooding due to a number of inselbergs through the area.
The province is also home to a number of lakes. The most prominent of these is Lake Chad. The lake was formed by a tectonic depression that has since been filled in by the area's rivers. However, over time, these rivers have deposited sediment as well, making Lake Chad nearly disappear in the past. This is a cause of concern, since when the Logone and Mayo Kébi flood, they meet. This diverts water from the Logone to the Kébi, and ultimately the Bénoué. This has caused some scientists to predict that in the future, river capture
River capture
Stream capture, river capture, or stream piracy is a geomorphological phenomenon occurring when a stream or river drainage system or watershed is diverted from its own bed, and flows instead down the bed of a neighbouring stream...
will occur, depriving Lake Chad of one of its major sources. Much of Lake Chad evaporates each year and must be replaced by rains from the wet season.
Other lakes include Lake Fianga
Lake Fianga
Lake Fianga is a lake in Chad and Cameroon. It does not have clearly delineated borders, as it forms the western border of an area of permanent swampland. The lake forms with the seasonal flooding of the Logone River....
, which exists only during the seasonal flooding of the Logone; during the dry season, it is at best a
swamp. Maga Lake, south of the town of the same name at the eastern border, is an artificial body of 6,000 square metres. It is known for its fishing.
Relief
Most of the Far North lies at a relatively low elevation. This lower-lying portion makes up part of the Chad Plain and slopes gently from about 500 metres in the southwest to 200 metres at the Logone River. The average elevation of this basin is 280 metres. The Diamaré Plain occupies the lower third of the Chad plain and is characterised by a number of isolated inselbergs.The Mandara Mountains at the southwestern border with Nigeria form the highest point, lying between 500 and 1000 metres, with an average of about 900 metres. Mount Tourou is the highest point, at 1,442 metres. These mountains likely arose as a result of the same tectonic activity that gave rise to the Bénoué Depression in the North Province. The area was once volcanically active, as a number of freestanding necks of trachyte and rhyolite of extinct volcanoes attest. The most spectacular of these lie in the valley by the tourist village of Rhumsiki
Rhumsiki
Rhumsiki, also spelt Rumsiki and Roumsiki, is a village in the Far North Province of Cameroon. Rhumsiki is located in the Mandara Mountains 55 km from Mokolo and 3 km from the border with Nigeria. The village is similar to many others in northern Cameroon...
. The part of the range that lies within the Far North is on a middle plateau at about 800–900 metres. Isolated mountains continue into the Diamaré Plain. The mountains' northern extent is hilly, dissected by a number of rivers.
Climate
The Far North is hot and dry. Beginning at 10° N, the climate is tropicalTropical climate
A tropical climate is a climate of the tropics. In the Köppen climate classification it is a non-arid climate in which all twelve months have mean temperatures above...
and Sahel
Sahel
The Sahel is the ecoclimatic and biogeographic zone of transition between the Sahara desert in the North and the Sudanian Savannas in the south.It stretches across the North African continent between the Atlantic Ocean and the Red Sea....
ian, and rainfall is a relatively small 400 to 900 mm per year, with rains falling a bit more frequently in the Mandara region. South of 10°, the region west of the Mayo Kébi and south to the border with Chad, in the Cameroonian beak. Here, climate is tropical of the Sudan type, with higher rainfalls of 900 to 1500 mm per year. Temperatures average 26°, except for the Chad Basin, where they climb to 28°. Actual temperatures of course fluctuate with the seasons, however. At Kousséri, for example, there is a 9.2° difference between January (23.5°) and August (32.4°).
The Far North has two seasons: one dry, and one wet. These are further broken down based on average temperatures, yielding four distinct periods in the Sudan area: dry and relatively cool from November to January as the province experiences a shade of winter from climes further north, dry and hot from January to April, torrentially rainy from April to June, and cool and sporadically wet from June to November. In the Sahel zone, the wet periods are shorter, lasting only five to seven months in the south but shortening toward Lake Chad. Temperatures reach their highest levels from January to May. Beginning at about 11° N, the province only experiences about 25 to 30 rainy days each year.
Plant and animal life
The whole territory of the Far North Province was once home to most of Africa's iconic species: antelopeAntelope
Antelope is a term referring to many even-toed ungulate species indigenous to various regions in Africa and Eurasia. Antelopes comprise a miscellaneous group within the family Bovidae, encompassing those old-world species that are neither cattle, sheep, buffalo, bison, nor goats...
, chacals, cheetah
Cheetah
The cheetah is a large-sized feline inhabiting most of Africa and parts of the Middle East. The cheetah is the only extant member of the genus Acinonyx, most notable for modifications in the species' paws...
s, crocodile
Crocodile
A crocodile is any species belonging to the family Crocodylidae . The term can also be used more loosely to include all extant members of the order Crocodilia: i.e...
s, elephant
Elephant
Elephants are large land mammals in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta, with the third genus Mammuthus extinct...
s, giraffe
Giraffe
The giraffe is an African even-toed ungulate mammal, the tallest of all extant land-living animal species, and the largest ruminant...
s, heron
Heron
The herons are long-legged freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae. There are 64 recognised species in this family. Some are called "egrets" or "bitterns" instead of "heron"....
, hippopotami
Hippopotamus
The hippopotamus , or hippo, from the ancient Greek for "river horse" , is a large, mostly herbivorous mammal in sub-Saharan Africa, and one of only two extant species in the family Hippopotamidae After the elephant and rhinoceros, the hippopotamus is the third largest land mammal and the heaviest...
, hyena
Hyena
Hyenas or Hyaenas are the animals of the family Hyaenidae of suborder feliforms of the Carnivora. It is the fourth smallest biological family in the Carnivora , and one of the smallest in the mammalia...
s, jaguar
Jaguar
The jaguar is a big cat, a feline in the Panthera genus, and is the only Panthera species found in the Americas. The jaguar is the third-largest feline after the tiger and the lion, and the largest in the Western Hemisphere. The jaguar's present range extends from Southern United States and Mexico...
s, lion
Lion
The lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...
s, monkey
Monkey
A monkey is a primate, either an Old World monkey or a New World monkey. There are about 260 known living species of monkey. Many are arboreal, although there are species that live primarily on the ground, such as baboons. Monkeys are generally considered to be intelligent. Unlike apes, monkeys...
s, warthog
Warthog
The Warthog or Common Warthog is a wild member of the pig family that lives in grassland, savanna, and woodland in Sub-Saharan Africa. In the past it was commonly treated as a subspecies of P...
s, and others. Centuries of human habitation have today forced these species back to a few protected areas and national parks. Foremost among these is Waza National Park
Waza National Park
Waza National Park is a national park in Far North Province, Cameroon. It was founded in 1934, albeit as a hunting reserve, and covers a total of 1,700 km²...
(Parc National du Waza), which occupies 1700 km². The park was created in 1968, and has since grown to be one of Cameroon's largest tourist attractions. Kalamaloué National Park (Parc National de Kalamaloué) is a smaller protected area, which protects 45 km² in the narrow neck of land separating Nigeria and Chad at the province's northernmost reaches. This park protects those species that routinely traverse Cameroon in their yearly migrations. Mozogo Gokoro National Park houses a diverse number of monkey and reptile species within 14 km².
The status of the province's wildlife remains uncertain, as corruption has allowed even these protected areas to be used by poachers. Some villages have embraced the animals, however. The town of Logone-Birni
Logone-Birni
Logone-Birni is a town and commune in Cameroon. It is perhaps most famous as the possible birthplace of Abram Petrovich Gannibal of Russia. -References:...
, for example, is called "the village of the crocodiles".
Savanna
Savanna
A savanna, or savannah, is a grassland ecosystem characterized by the trees being sufficiently small or widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to support an unbroken herbaceous layer consisting primarily of C4 grasses.Some...
makes up the province's primary vegetation. Most of the area is thus covered in thin grasses punctuated by thorny shrubs such as baobab
Baobab
Adansonia is a genus of eight species of tree, six native to Madagascar, one native to mainland Africa and the Arabian Peninsula and one to Australia. The mainland African species also occurs on Madagascar, but it is not a native of that island....
, Faidherbia
Faidherbia
Faidherbia is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae. It belongs to the sub family Mimosoideae....
, and Karita. Those areas that have higher rainfall—south of 10&729 N and the Mandara Mountains—have thicker grasses and more and larger trees. Here the shrubs have thick barks to withstand the fires that sometimes ravage the area during the dry season. The frequently flooded Logone Valley and the perimeter of Lake Chad also support thicker and taller fields of grasses.
Human activities such as burning of fields, chopping down trees, and overgrazing of cattle have exacerbated the problem of desertification
Desertification
Desertification is the degradation of land in drylands. Caused by a variety of factors, such as climate change and human activities, desertification is one of the most significant global environmental problems.-Definitions:...
in the Far North. In response, the Cameroonian government, with aid from various non-governmental organisations, has begun Operation Green Sahel. The project aims to reverse the effects of desertification by reintroducing trees to the region.
Settlement patterns
In larger towns and cities, such as MarouaMaroua
Maroua is the capital of the Far North Region of Cameroon, on the Ferngo and Kaliao Rivers. The city had 201,371 inhabitants at the 2005 Census,and is a centre of cotton industry. The city also has an airport located near the town of Salak, an agricultural school and ethnographic museum. To the...
, houses tend to follow the modern model of concrete walls and metal roof. Though house construction differs from people to people, the most common type is a small building with a small entryway under a conical roof covered in palm leaves or thatching. Builders make walls from locally available materials, so the Matakam use stone, the Fulani use clay, and the Guizigi weave walls of straw. The head of a particular household or lineage often builds several small houses within a single, walled compound called a saré. These compounds tend to be built with the compound of the chief
Tribal chief
A tribal chief is the leader of a tribal society or chiefdom. Tribal societies with social stratification under a single leader emerged in the Neolithic period out of earlier tribal structures with little stratification, and they remained prevalent throughout the Iron Age.In the case of ...
at their centre, and all houses have a granary
Granary
A granary is a storehouse for threshed grain or animal feed. In ancient or primitive granaries, pottery is the most common use of storage in these buildings. Granaries are often built above the ground to keep the stored food away from mice and other animals.-Early origins:From ancient times grain...
nearby, as the long dry season prevents year-round food cultivation. Concentric farms surround the settlement, these surrounded by hedges to keep livestock away. Bororo
Bororo
Bororo may refer to:* Bororo people, of Brazil** Bororo language, their language* Wodaabe, people of Western Africa...
Fulani are primarily nomadic, though they do establish some semi-permanent settlements for the old or infirm.
The province is Cameroon's fourth most densely populated, with 1,855,695 people and an average of 54 inhabitants per km². Most of this population lives in the corridor between Maroua, which has 214,000 inhabitants, and Mokolo
Mokolo
Mokolo is the departmental capital and largest city of the Mayo-Tsanaga department, in the Far North Province of Cameroon. It is the fourth largest city in the Far North Province, after Maroua, Yagoua, and Kousséri...
. Another area of high density is the Mandara Mountains, a legacy of the Fulani conquest of the past, in the Diamaré plain, and at the Logone-Chari confluence and up to Lake Chad. The remainder of the province is moderately populated, and the Logone valley and the Chari division are sparsely populated until about the level of Kousséri. Since independence, much of the Far North's population has been migrating to large population centres, particularly Maroua and Garoua
Garoua
Garoua is the capital of the North Province of Cameroon, lying on the Benue River. The city had 235,996 inhabitants at the 2005 Census, and is an important river port.- Overview :...
.
People
Adamawa-language
Adamawa languages
The Adamawa languages are a putative family of 80–90 languages scattered across the Adamawa Plateau in central Africa, in Nigeria, Cameroon, Central African Republic, and Chad, spoken altogether by only one and a half million people . Joseph Greenberg classified them as one branch of the...
speakers make up a smaller group, with about 169,700 members in the country in 1982. These are broken into the Mundang and the Tupuri
Tupuri people
The Tupuri are an ethnic group in Cameroon and Chad. They speak a language called Tupuri, which had 125,000 speakers in Cameroon at an unspecified date and 90,785 speakers in Chad in 1993. In Cameroon, the Tupuri live east of Kaélé in the Kaele division and in the Kar-Hay subdivison of the...
, whose territories lie adjacent to one another on the southern border with Chad. The Kanuri, on the western border between Nigeria and Waza Park, are the sole speakers of a Nilo-Saharan language
Nilo-Saharan languages
The Nilo-Saharan languages are a proposed family of African languages spoken by some 50 million people, mainly in the upper parts of the Chari and Nile rivers , including historic Nubia, north of where the two tributaries of Nile meet...
. They numbered about 56,500 individuals in 1982. Some 63,000 semi-nomadic Shuwa
Shuwa
Shuwa may mean*Shuwa Arabic, the Afro-Arabic language spoken in Sudan, Chad and other states of Sahelian Africa*The mostly Arab speakers of this language also known as Baggara*The Japanese Sign Language *Honinbo Shuwa, a Japanese professional go player...
Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
s live in the north of the province up to Lake Chad.
More than 974,408 people in the province speak one of the various Chadic languages
Chadic languages
The Chadic languages constitute a language family of perhaps 200 languages spoken across northern Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Central African Republic and Cameroon, belonging to the Afroasiatic phylum...
and thus comprise the plurality of the population. Many of these are Kirdi
Kirdi
The Kirdi are is a term that describes some many cultures and ethnic groups who inhabit northwestern Cameroon and northeastern Nigeria.The term was applied to various peoples who had not converted to Islam at the time of colonization and was a pejorative, although some writers have reappropriated it...
, (pagan in Fulfulde) peoples who refused to convert to Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
during the Fulani conquest of the 19th century. Many of these Kirdi today live in the province's mountainous western border, as this areas was more easily defensible against the Fulani invaders. The various Mandara peoples lie primarily in the Mandara Mountains along the border with Nigeria. The Mandarawa are furthest north with their base at Mora
Mora, Cameroon
Mora is a town in northern Cameroon. The German fort of Mora was the last German fort in Cameroon to surrender during World War I. After a long time under blockade by allied forces, Captain von Raben and his men surrenderd to the allied forces on February 20, 1916, over a year after the rest of the...
, and the Parkwa lie directly south of them. The Glavda and Gvoko lie southwest in smaller territories. Although not part of the Mandara group, the Turu, Mabas, and Matakam live along the border with their capital at Mokolo. The Kapsiki
Kapsiki
The Kapsiki are an ethnic group of Cameroon. They live in the Far North Province in the Mandara Mountains. The Kapsiki are considered one of Cameroon's Kirdi ethnic groups due to their resistance to Islamisation during the Fulani jihad of Modibo Adama.-References:* DeLancey, Mark W., and Mark Dike...
, Hya
Hya
Hya was a saint of the early Celtic period, a companion of Saint Gwinear. She followed Gwinear from Brittany to Cornwall, where she was martyred by King Teudar....
, Bana
Bana
Bana may refer to:*Term for the Fali people, especially in Nigeria* Bana, Gabon* Bana, Guinea* Bana , a village in Rajasthan state of India* Bana , popular balladeer from Cape Verde* Bana, Hungary, village in Hungary...
, Zizilivikan, Jimi
Jimi
Jimi may refer to:* Jimi language , Afro-Asiatic language spoken in Cameroon* Jimi language , Afro-Asiatic language spoken in Jimi village in Bauchi State, Nigeria* Jimi languages, branch of Chimbu-Wahgi languages...
, and Gude
Gude
Gude is a surname and a Scots form of the English word "good". It may refer to:*Gilbert Gude, a United States Congressman from Maryland*Gregory Gude, a New Jersey resident and business owner*Hans Gude, a Norwegian romanticist painter...
occupy the remainder of the border from north to south. The Bulahai, Buwal, Gawar, Besleri, Sharwa, Tsuvan, and Mazagway lie just east of this border grouping. The southern border of the province is home to the Daba
Daba
Daba refers to:*Daba, Daba Township , a village in the Zanda County, Tibet Autonomous Region, China.*Daba, Fuxin County , town in Liaoning, China*Daba Mountains , mountain range in Central China...
and Muturwa.
The territory between Maroua, Mokolo, and Tokombére
Tokombéré
-References:* * - Thèse de Donation Avele, Université Montesquieu Bordeaux IV * Charles Nanga, , Mémoire ENA....
is a major population centre, and over a dozen ethnic groups live in small areas there. These are the Matal, Wuzlum, Vame, Muyang, Moloko
Moloko
Moloko were an Anglo-Irish electronic/pop duo consisting of Róisín Murphy from Wicklow, Ireland and Mark Brydon, from Sunderland, England.- Origin of band name :...
, Dugwor, Marva
Marva
Marva is a program in the Israel Defense Forces that allows young Jews to learn and experience the basics of IDF and Israeli life. Beginning in 1982, Marva operated out of a base in the Galilee, although it now is based at Sde Boker. It was originally associated with Gadna, youth battalions,...
, North Mofu, Mofu
Mofu
Mofu is a designation for various ethnic groups and languages they speak which are located in northern Cameroon, near the border with Nigeria. The Mofu live in the Mandara Mountains of Cameroon's Far North Province....
, Cuvok, Merey
Merey
Merey is a commune in the Eure department in Haute-Normandie in northern France.-History:As Madrie it was a pagus in the north of Gaul lying between the Seine river and the rivers Eure and Iton...
, Zulgo-Gemzek, Mada
Mada
Mada is a term from both Hindu theology and Hindu mythology.-Hindu theology:In Hindu theology means "pride, stubborn mindedness". It is seen as a major obstacle to attaining moksha or salvation...
, and Mbuko.
The Buduma live on islands in Lake Chad north of Kotokoland. The various Kotoko peoples live in the strip between Nigeria and Chad. This group includes the Afade, Logone, Makari, and the Kotoko proper, and the Kuseri and Maltam. The Jina
Jina
Jina may refer to:*Tirthankara, in Jainism*Jina, Sibiu, a commune in Sibiu County, Romania*Joint Institute for Nuclear Astrophysics...
and Majera live south of Kotokoland, between Waza National Park and Chad. More distantly related groups include the Kera, with a small territory on the southern border with Chad, the Zumaya, with small territory south of Maroua, the Massa, who occupy the tip of the province's beak, including Yagoua, and the Musaya, on the Chad border at Dom village.
With the exception of the Fulani herders, most people in the Far North are subsistence farmers
Subsistence agriculture
Subsistence agriculture is self-sufficiency farming in which the farmers focus on growing enough food to feed their families. The typical subsistence farm has a range of crops and animals needed by the family to eat and clothe themselves during the year. Planting decisions are made with an eye...
. The province sees a mixture of Islam, Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
, and traditional religions. The Kirdi peoples resisted Islam in the 19th century, though today many of these have been Christianised at least partially. Other groups have converted more fully to Christianity or Islam. The Fulani are dominant politically in the province.
Agriculture
Sustenance farming serves as the primary occupation for most Far North residents. Crops vary from area to area. Far to the south, planters may raise root crops such as manioc, but as one moves north, cereals dominate. MaizeMaize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
is found in the strip between Chad and Nigeria. Groundnuts
Peanut
The peanut, or groundnut , is a species in the legume or "bean" family , so it is not a nut. The peanut was probably first cultivated in the valleys of Peru. It is an annual herbaceous plant growing tall...
are in Maroua and northwest and in the Mandara Mountains. The seasonal flooding of the Logone River and Mayo Tsanaga supports large fields of rice
Rice
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
. Millet
Millet
The millets are a group of small-seeded species of cereal crops or grains, widely grown around the world for food and fodder. They do not form a taxonomic group, but rather a functional or agronomic one. Their essential similarities are that they are small-seeded grasses grown in difficult...
and sorghum
Sorghum
Sorghum is a genus of numerous species of grasses, one of which is raised for grain and many of which are used as fodder plants either cultivated or as part of pasture. The plants are cultivated in warmer climates worldwide. Species are native to tropical and subtropical regions of all continents...
grow all over, though millet tends to grow better than sorghum in arid conditions. Cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
is common, especially in the Diamaré Plain, though it grows poorly in the swampy Logone valley. Bean
Bean
Bean is a common name for large plant seeds of several genera of the family Fabaceae used for human food or animal feed....
s are also common.
Village farmers typically sow in concentric circles around the farm. Hedges surround the farm to keep away animals. Farming tools are typically simple hoes, sickles, knives, and machetes. Farmland is burnt during the dry season, then crops are planted at the first rains. These farms can be quite extensive, as in the Mandara Mountains area. Here, farms climb up the mountain slopes in terraces held in place by stones.
Rice is the primary moneymaker for farmers in the Logone valley. This is largely due to the Rice Expansion and Modernisation Company of Yagoua (SEMRY), which operates some 129 km² of rice fields. Elsewhere, cotton is the most lucrative cash crop. Both textile
Textile
A textile or cloth is a flexible woven material consisting of a network of natural or artificial fibres often referred to as thread or yarn. Yarn is produced by spinning raw fibres of wool, flax, cotton, or other material to produce long strands...
s and oil come from the cotton.. Société du Développement du Coton (SODECOTON) is the main government body working to improve cotton yields in the region.
The Bororo Fulani and Shuwa Arabs both live principally as cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
raisers. Bororo herds roam much of the Far North and often wind up far south for sale in Yaoundé
Yaoundé
-Transportation:Yaoundé Nsimalen International Airport is a major civilian hub, while nearby Yaoundé Airport is used by the military. Railway lines run west to the port city of Douala and north to N'Gaoundéré. Many bus companies operate from the city; particularly in the Nsam and Mvan neighborhoods...
or Douala
Douala
Douala is the largest city in Cameroon and the capital of Cameroon's Littoral Province. Home to Cameroon's largest port and its major international airport, Douala International Airport, it is the commercial capital of the country...
. Other ethnic groups are today becoming more involved in cattle raising. Horse
Horse
The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
s and donkey
Donkey
The donkey or ass, Equus africanus asinus, is a domesticated member of the Equidae or horse family. The wild ancestor of the donkey is the African Wild Ass, E...
s are common in the province, although these are usually employed as beasts of burden. Farmers also raise sheep and goat
Goat
The domestic goat is a subspecies of goat domesticated from the wild goat of southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the Bovidae family and is closely related to the sheep as both are in the goat-antelope subfamily Caprinae. There are over three hundred distinct breeds of...
s. Animal husbandry is less prevalent in the Far North than in the North and Adamawa Province
Adamawa Province
The Adamawa Region is a constituent region of the Republic of Cameroon. It borders the Centre and East regions to the south, the Northwest and West regions to the southwest, Nigeria to the west, the Central African Republic to the east, and the North Region to the north.This mountainous area...
s, however, as the arid conditions make watering large animals difficult and large population centres make fields scarce. Maroua has emerged as an important centre for animal raisers, with both a cattle market and a veterinary centre.
Fishing is an important way of life for the peoples who live along Lake Chad. The Kofia Islands are home to the Budumu and to fishermen from Cameroon, Chad, and Nigeria, most of whom earn their living in this fashion. The Logone is also heavily fished.
Industry and infrastructure
Industry
Industry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.-Industrial sectors:There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction,...
the north has mostly falls into the realm of handicrafts. Much of this revolves around cattle and related products, particularly in Maroua. This city is home to many tanneries
Tanning
Tanning is the making of leather from the skins of animals which does not easily decompose. Traditionally, tanning used tannin, an acidic chemical compound from which the tanning process draws its name . Coloring may occur during tanning...
, leatherworking, and embroidery
Embroidery
Embroidery is the art or handicraft of decorating fabric or other materials with needle and thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as metal strips, pearls, beads, quills, and sequins....
and metalworking
Metalworking
Metalworking is the process of working with metals to create individual parts, assemblies, or large scale structures. The term covers a wide range of work from large ships and bridges to precise engine parts and delicate jewelry. It therefore includes a correspondingly wide range of skills,...
. Maroua even has a beef cannery. Maroua also has a large artisanat, which sells handicrafts such as pottery
Pottery
Pottery is the material from which the potteryware is made, of which major types include earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. The place where such wares are made is also called a pottery . Pottery also refers to the art or craft of the potter or the manufacture of pottery...
, bead
Bead
A bead is a small, decorative object that is usually pierced for threading or stringing. Beads range in size from under to over in diameter. A pair of beads made from Nassarius sea snail shells, approximately 100,000 years old, are thought to be the earliest known examples of jewellery. Beadwork...
s. SODECOTON Cotton gin
Cotton gin
A cotton gin is a machine that quickly and easily separates cotton fibers from their seeds, a job formerly performed painstakingly by hand...
s operate in Guider, Mora, Mokolo, Maroua, Yagoua, and Kaélé. SODECOTON also operates cottonseed oil
Cottonseed oil
Cottonseed oil is a cooking oil extracted from the seeds of cotton plant of various species, mainly Gossypium hirsutum and Gossypium herbaceum...
mills in Kaélé and Maroua. Rhumsiki and other communities are home to spinners
Spinning (textiles)
Spinning is a major industry. It is part of the textile manufacturing process where three types of fibre are converted into yarn, then fabric, then textiles. The textiles are then fabricated into clothes or other artifacts. There are three industrial processes available to spin yarn, and a...
and weavers
Weaving
Weaving is a method of fabric production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. The other methods are knitting, lace making and felting. The longitudinal threads are called the warp and the lateral threads are the weft or filling...
, who work primarily with cotton. Rice processing forms the final prong of the province's industry. Much of this hulling is done through SEMRY in Yagoua. Limestone mining
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
operates at Figuil
Figuil
-References:* * - Thèse de Donation Avele, Université Montesquieu Bordeaux IV * Charles Nanga, , Mémoire ENA....
, and CIMENCAM produces cement
Cement
In the most general sense of the word, a cement is a binder, a substance that sets and hardens independently, and can bind other materials together. The word "cement" traces to the Romans, who used the term opus caementicium to describe masonry resembling modern concrete that was made from crushed...
there.
Three major roads service the Far North. National Road 1 enters the province from the south via Yaoundé and Maltam. It continues north and east through Mora and on toward Kousséri and then veers northwest into Nigeria. This road is tarred as far north as Kousséri. National Road 12 handles traffic between Maroua and Yagoua, and National Road 14 goes between Mora west to Nigeria via Kerawa. The stretches between Maroua and Kousséri, Maroua and Mokolo, and Maroua south to Garoua are tarred. Away from these more travelled thoroughfares, roads in the Far North are unpaved and can be quite rough. This is particularly true in the Mandara Mountains, where large stones litter the roadway. Motorcycles are often one of the few options for travel to more remote destinations. These vehicles also serve as the primary taxi service in town. Access to petrol is another problem, as supplies often run out during the rainy season. Merchants often hike or bicycle into Nigeria to obtain cheaper fuel there for resale in Cameroon. A major obstacle to road travel in recent years is increased road banditry.
Buses service the more traveled destinations, especially the road south from Maroua to Garoua. Smaller destinations are reachable by bush taxi
Share taxi
A share taxi is a mode of transport that falls between taxis and conventional buses. These informal vehicles for hire are found throughout the world. They are smaller than buses, and usually take passengers on a fixed or semi-fixed route without timetables, usually leaving when all seats are filled...
or privately hired motorcycle drivers. Motorcycle taxis are the primary means of travelling about in the large towns. Travel on the open road has in recent years been curtailed by increases in road banditry. These outlaws often ambush buses or bush taxis and rob all passengers. Air travel is another possibility within the Far North, and airstrips operate in Koza
Koza
A Koza is a Polish bagpipe.The Polish pipes are more related in appearance to some old German pipes. It uses a large goatskin bag and a single reed chanter, cylindrical bore and deep pitch, with a large horn and brass bell at the end. The bass drone typically has the same bell. It is usually...
, Méri
Meri
Meri may refer to:*Meri , folk hero in Bororo mythology*Meri, term in shakuhachi music*The Meri, novel by Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff*Meri, release title of La Mer in Finland...
, Waza, Yagoua, and Kaélé
Kaélé
Kaélé is a town in Cameroon's Far North Province, on the Diamaré Plain at . It lies near the Chadian border and 104 km south of Maroua. The town has a population of roughly 7,000 and is the capital of the Mayo Kani division. The cottonseed oil company Diamaor runs a mill there. Kaélé is...
. Maroua has a regional airport. Riverain transport is possible along the Logone and Chari Rivers during rainy season.
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
destinations. Waza National Park is the pre-eminent wildlife park in Cameroon, and it is well managed with knowledgeable guides and rentable rooms on the premises. The wildlife there is relatively easy to see, and, of Cameroon's wildlife parks, Lonely Planet
Lonely Planet
Lonely Planet is the largest travel guide book and digital media publisher in the world. The company is owned by BBC Worldwide, which bought a 75% share from the founders Maureen and Tony Wheeler in 2007 and the final 25% in February 2011...
names it "the best for viewing wildlife", and Rough Guides
Rough Guides
Rough Guides Ltd is a travel guidebook and reference publisher, owned by Pearson PLC. Their travel titles cover more than 200 destinations, and are distributed worldwide through the Penguin Group...
calls it the "probably the best site for savannah game viewing in West Africa".
Another of the Far North's draws is the picturesque scenery. Dozens of small villages dot the province, and each of these provides its own unique draws for the tourist. Oudjilla has a picturesque chief's compound, and Tourou
Tourou
For the Japanese stone lantern, see tōrō. Tourou is a village in the commune of Parakou in the Borgou Department of central-eastern Benin. It is located west of Parakou city centre on the RNIE 6 highway.-External links:*...
is renowned for the fact that the women there wear hats made from calabash
Calabash
Lagenaria siceraria , bottle gourd, opo squash or long melon is a vine grown for its fruit, which can either be harvested young and used as a vegetable, or harvested mature, dried, and used as a bottle, utensil, or pipe. For this reason, the calabash is widely known as the bottle gourd...
es, which convey details such as marital status. The Mandara Mountains are another major draw, as they offer hiking and striking views. This is most evident at Rhumsiki, where the "much photographed" Rhumsiki Peak is located. The village of Rhumsiki is today something of a tourist trap
Tourist trap
A tourist trap is an establishment, or group of establishments, that has been created with the aim of attracting tourists and their money...
, because, as Hudgens and Trillo put it, "[w]herever you look, the scenery is breathtaking."
Administration and social conditions
The Far North is very much divided between Muslim and non-Muslim. This manifests in the form of prejudice against non-Muslims, especially in rural areas. Moreover, the Kirdi groups remain disadvantaged socially, educationally, and economically. Human rightsHuman rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
organisations cite Fulani lamibe
Lamido
Lamido is the Anglicisation of a term from the Fula language or Fulfulde, used to refer to a ruler. In the language it is properly laamiiɗo , derived from the verbal root "laam-" meaning "to rule or to lead", and hence may be translated more specifically as "leader"...
(traditional rulers) as enjoying great leeway from the government, which allows them to keep private prisons and administer justice as they see fit. Government prisons are no better, especially those given over to holding suspected road bandits. Shuwa Arabs practice female genital mutilation
Genital mutilation
Genital mutilation can refer to:*Clitoridectomy*Female genital mutilation, also known as female circumcision*Genital modification and mutilation*Infibulation...
in the region.
Departments of Cameroon
The Provinces of Cameroon are divided into 58 divisions or departments . The divisions are further sub-divided into sub-divisions and districts...
(departements):
- DiamaréDiamaréDiamaré is a department of Far North Province in Cameroon. The department covers an area of 4,665 km² and at the 2005 Census had a total population of 642,227...
, with its capital at MarouaMarouaMaroua is the capital of the Far North Region of Cameroon, on the Ferngo and Kaliao Rivers. The city had 201,371 inhabitants at the 2005 Census,and is a centre of cotton industry. The city also has an airport located near the town of Salak, an agricultural school and ethnographic museum. To the... - Logone-et-ChariLogone-et-ChariLogone-et-Chari is a department of Extreme-Nord Province in Cameroon. The department covers an area of 12,133 km² and at the 2005 Census had a total population of 486,997...
, with its capital at KoussériKoussériKousséri is a city in Far North Province, Cameroon, lying on the border with Chad, across the Chari River from N'Djamena. It is the capital of the Logone-et-Chari department. It is a market town, and its population has recently been swollen by refugees from Chad. It had a population of 89,123 at... - Mayo-DanayMayo-DanayMayo-Danay is a department of Extreme-Nord Province in Cameroon. The department covers an area of 5,303 km² and at the 2005 Census had a total population of 529,061...
, with its capital at YagouaYagouaYagoua is a town and commune in the Far North Province of Cameroon. It is the capital of the department of Mayo-Danay.... - Mayo-KaniMayo-KaniMayo-Kani is a department of Extreme-Nord Province in Cameroon. The department covers an area of 5,033 km² and at the 2005 Census had a total population of 404,646...
, with its capital at KaéléKaéléKaélé is a town in Cameroon's Far North Province, on the Diamaré Plain at . It lies near the Chadian border and 104 km south of Maroua. The town has a population of roughly 7,000 and is the capital of the Mayo Kani division. The cottonseed oil company Diamaor runs a mill there. Kaélé is... - Mayo-SavaMayo-SavaMayo-Sava is a department of Extreme-Nord Province in Cameroon. The department covers an area of 2,736 km² and at the 2005 Census had a total population of 348,890. The capital of the department is at Mora.-Subdivisions:...
, with its capital at MoraMora, CameroonMora is a town in northern Cameroon. The German fort of Mora was the last German fort in Cameroon to surrender during World War I. After a long time under blockade by allied forces, Captain von Raben and his men surrenderd to the allied forces on February 20, 1916, over a year after the rest of the... - Mayo-TsanagaMayo-TsanagaMayo-Tsanaga is a department of Extreme-Nord Province in Cameroon. The department covers an area of 4,393 km² and at the 2005 Census had a total population of 699,971...
, with its capital at MokoloMokoloMokolo is the departmental capital and largest city of the Mayo-Tsanaga department, in the Far North Province of Cameroon. It is the fourth largest city in the Far North Province, after Maroua, Yagoua, and Kousséri...
These are in turn broken down into subdivisions. Presidentially appointed senior divisional officers (prefets) and subdivisional officers (sous-prefets) govern each respectively.
Traditional leaders, usually referred to as chiefs in English, often preside over particular ethnic groups or villages; nevertheless, many of these wield very little power today, the chiefs' compounds serving as little more than tourist attractions. In contrast, traditional Fulani leaders, known as lamibe, retain much of their influence.
In the 1990s, politics in the region was dominated by the National Union for Democracy and Progress
National Union for Democracy and Progress (Cameroon)
The National Union for Democracy and Progress is a political party in Cameroon, drawing its main support from the north of the country. It was established as an opposition party in the early 1990s and won the second largest number of seats in the 1992 parliamentary election...
(Union nationale pour la démocratie et le progress, UNDP) with its large base of Fulani supporters. The UNDP is largely Fulani-based today, but the ruling Cameroon People's Democratic Movement
Cameroon People's Democratic Movement
The Cameroon People's Democratic Movement is the ruling political party in Cameroon.-History:Previously known as the Cameroon National Union, which had dominated Cameroon politics since independence in 1960, it was renamed in 1985...
(CPDM) party is careful to address Fulani interests.
The Far North has even fewer hospitals. These are located in Mokolo, Maroua, Logone-Birni, Bini, Kousséri, and Waza. Furthermore, many of the inhabitants cannot afford Western medicines.
Each ethnic group in the province celebrates its own traditional festivals and holidays. Among the Fulani, the chief among these are Ramadan
Ramadan
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, which lasts 29 or 30 days. It is the Islamic month of fasting, in which participating Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking and sex during daylight hours and is intended to teach Muslims about patience, spirituality, humility and...
and the Feast of the Ram. Other notable festivals include the Cock Festival of the Tupuri. During the ritual, the nephew of the head of a family kills a cock and throws its head into the fire. The head is said to always land on its right side. The Dance of the Cock is another Tupuri affair. A museum of local art is in Maroua, which houses Sao, Tupuri, Musgum, and Fulani artefacts.
Early empires
Evidence of human habitation has been found in the Chad basin and at sites near Maroua and Mokolo. The Paleo-Sudanese peoples are the earliest known inhabitants of the territory. The arrival of Neo-Sudanese groups from the east and west forced the Paleo-Sudanese into the Mandara Mountains. The Shuwa Arabs, descendants of Banu HilalBanu Hilal
The Banu Hilal were a confederation of Arabian Bedouin tribes that migrated from Upper Egypt into North Africa in the 11th century, having been sent by the Fatimids to punish the Zirids for abandoning Shiism. Other authors suggest that the tribes left the grasslands on the upper Nile because of...
deported from the Fatimid Caliphate in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, arrived from the northeast and settled around Lake Chad in the 15th century.
Archaeological finds attest to the existence of the Sao culture in the Logone valley and around Lake Chad as early as the 5th century. Little is known about the Sao, except that they were copper and ironworkers and, legend says, fearsome giants. Legends of later peoples claimed that the Sao were descendants of the Hyksos
Hyksos
The Hyksos were an Asiatic people who took over the eastern Nile Delta during the twelfth dynasty, initiating the Second Intermediate Period of ancient Egypt....
who arrived in the area in several waves. Another theory makes them the original inhabitants of the Chad basin, traditionally an oasis to the north of the basin. They may have been of Nilotic
Nilotic
Nilotic people or Nilotes, in its contemporary usage, refers to some ethnic groups mainly in South Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, and northern Tanzania, who speak Nilotic languages, a large sub-group of the Nilo-Saharan languages...
origin. Even the span of their civilisation is in dispute, with various estimates putting their rise at some point between the 5th and 8th century and their fall between the 8th and 15th century. The prevailing opinion among scholars, however, dates them to no later than the 10th century. At this time, eastern invaders entered the Chad Basin and conquered them. The Sao likely disappeared through intermarriage with this and other groups. Many of the current ethnic groups in the Far North claim descent from the Sao.
The Kanem Empire
Kanem Empire
The Kanem Empire was located in the present countries of Chad, Nigeria and Libya. At its height it encompassed an area covering not only much of Chad, but also parts of southern Libya , eastern Niger and north-eastern Nigeria...
, originated in the 9th century AD to the northeast of Lake Chad
Lake Chad
Lake Chad is a historically large, shallow, endorheic lake in Africa, whose size has varied over the centuries. According to the Global Resource Information Database of the United Nations Environment Programme, it shrank as much as 95% from about 1963 to 1998; yet it also states that "the 2007 ...
, and from there expanded in the region. Islam reached Kanem early, and the rulers converted in the 11th century. Kanem-Bornu strengthened as an Islamic stronghold, and the population converted as well. Embassies were traded with North African states, and trade increased. The rulers launched a series of conquests, culminating in Dunama Dabbalemi
Dunama Dabbalemi
Dunama Dabbalemi, of the Sayfawa dynasty, was the mai of the Kanem Empire, in present-day Chad, from 1203 to 1243.A fervent Muslim, Dabbalemi initiated diplomatic exchanges with sultans in North Africa and apparently arranged for the establishment of a special hostel in Cairo to facilitate...
's (r. 1221–1259) expansion south as far south as the Adamawa Plateau
Adamawa Plateau
The Adamawa Plateau is a plateau region in west-central Africa stretching from south-eastern Nigeria through north-central Cameroon to the Central African Republic. The plateau was named after Fulani Muslim leader Modibo Adama. The part of the plateau that lies in Nigeria is more popularly known...
. At this point, Kanem and its successor Bornu
Bornu
Bornu may refer to:* Bornu Empire, a historical state of West Africa* Borno State, Nigeria...
were active participants in trans-Saharan trade
Trans-Saharan trade
Trans-Saharan trade requires travel across the Sahara to reach sub-Saharan Africa. While existing from prehistoric times, the peak of trade extended from the 8th century until the late 16th century.- Increasing desertification and economic incentive :...
. Slaves
Arab slave trade
The Arab slave trade was the practice of slavery in the Arab World, mainly Western Asia, North Africa, East Africa and certain parts of Europe during their period of domination by Arab leaders. The trade was focused on the slave markets of the Middle East and North Africa...
in particular were frequently traded in exchange for horses and salt. The Kanem-Bornu Empire lasted until 1893, when the Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
ese warlord Rabih az-Zubayr
Rabih az-Zubayr
Rabih az-Zubayr ibn Fadl Allah or Rabih Fadlallah , usually known as Rabah in French, was a Sudanese warlord and slave trader who established a powerful empire west of Lake Chad, in today's Chad....
overthrew it.
Other groups in the territory also formed kingdoms, such as that of the Kotoko
Kotoko kingdom
The Kotoko kingdom was a West African monarchy in what is today northern Cameroon and Nigeria, and southwestern Chad. Its inhabitants and their modern descendants are known as the Kotoko people....
. They were eventually split, as the northern Kotoko became a vassal state of the Kanem Empire, while the southerners paid tribute but remained mostly independent with their capital at Logone-Birni. This part of the kingdom would eventually be Islamicised as well.
The Mandarawa settled the Mandara Mountains in the 15th century. They coalesced into state, called Mandara
Mandara Kingdom
The Mandara Kingdom was a West African kingdom in the Mandara Mountains of what is today Cameroon. The Mandarawa people are descended from the kingdom's inhabitants.- History :...
. Over the next hundred years, they fought wars of expansion against their neighbours, eventually capturing Dulo
Dulo
Dulo may refer to:#The Dulo clan or House of Dulo, from which descended the earliest Bulgarian Dynasty;#Dulo, Mandara, the capital of the historical African state of Mandara in what is now Cameroon....
, which would become their capital. Civil war erupted after this conquest, and an appeal was made to the ruler of Bornu in 1614 to settle it. The resulting settlement established Bornu as an important influence over Mandara. In 1715, King Boukar received three Muslim missionaries and converted to their faith. The Mandara would largely convert to Islam over the next 200 years. Boukar also ended Bornu influence in Mandara when he defeated a Bornu expedition sometime in the late 18th or early 19th century. He launched further conquests on neighbouring groups.
Fulani jihads
Fulani herdsmen migrated into the territory from the west beginning in the 13th century. The earliest of these settled as minorities in pre-existing population centres, but by the 17th century, Fulani-only settlements had been established. A conversion to Islam only strengthened Fulani identity, and by 1804, population pressures were driving Fulani herdsmen to seek new territory in which to lead their cattle. Usman Dan FodioUsman dan Fodio
Shaihu Usman dan Fodio , born Usuman ɓii Foduye, was the founder of the Sokoto Caliphate in 1809, a religious teacher, writer and Islamic promoter. Dan Fodio was one of a class of urbanized ethnic Fulani living in the Hausa States in what is today northern Nigeria...
declared a jihad
Jihad
Jihad , an Islamic term, is a religious duty of Muslims. In Arabic, the word jihād translates as a noun meaning "struggle". Jihad appears 41 times in the Quran and frequently in the idiomatic expression "striving in the way of God ". A person engaged in jihad is called a mujahid; the plural is...
in what is now northern Nigeria and Cameroon, and Modibo Adama
Modibo Adama
Adama bi Ardo Hassana , more commonly known as Modibo Adama, was a Fulani scholar and holy warrior. He led a jihad into the region of Fumbina , opening the region for Fulani colonisation...
led the charge into the land of Fumbina, which included areas of the Far North.
Adama focused first on areas south. Then he turned his attentions toward the Mandara kingdom. Many soldiers who had fought Mandara in previous engagements in 1808 joined his ranks. Adama first attacked from the south and took Guider
Guider
Guider is a city situated in Cameroon's North Province, close to the border with Chad. It has a population of 110,240. The city is home to Espérance FC of the Cameroon Premiere Division.- References :*...
by 1810. He then took the Dulo, the Mandara capital, but the Mandarawa counterattacked and recaptured it. Bornu and Mandara allied against the Fulani invaders; meanwhile, several of Mandara's pagan vassal states rebelled. Bornu took advantage of Mandara's weakness and burnt Dulo. The Fulani took Bornu in 1845, and the weakened Mandarawa eventually fell to Fulani aggression in 1893. Adama took Maroua in battles from 1808 to 1813.
The Fulani eventually came to rule the territory, with the exceptions of Mandara, Kotoko, and various Kirdi ethnic groups that had fled to the mountains and swamps. The region had been depopulated by war, slavery, and disease. Adama set up government over this new Adamawa Emirate
Adamawa Emirate
The Adamawa Emirate is a traditional state located in Fumbina, what is now the Adamawa State, Nigeria, and previously also in the three northern provinces of Cameroon . It was founded by Modibo Adama, a commander of Sheikh Usman dan Fodio, the man who began the Fulani jihad in 1809...
in Yola
Yola, Nigeria
Yola is the capital city and administrative center of Adamawa State, Nigeria. Located on the Benue River, it has a population of 88,500 . Established in 1841, Yola was the capital of a Fulani state until it was taken by the British in 1901. Daytime temperatures can easily exceed during the dry...
(present-day Nigeria), answering only to the sultan of the Sokoto Empire. The Mandara Mountains and the swampy confluence of the Logone and Chari rivers supported the highest population density, as many peoples had fled the Neo-Sudanese and Fulani invasions by taking refuge on higher ground. The region was part of a lamidat ruled from Maroua.
European contacts
The earliest Europeans to reach the territory were British explorers Hugh ClappertonHugh Clapperton
Hugh Clapperton was a Scottish traveller and explorer of West and Central Africa.He was born in Annan, Dumfriesshire, where his father was a surgeon. He gained some knowledge of practical mathematics and navigation, and at thirteen was apprenticed on board a vessel which traded between Liverpool...
, Dixon Denham
Dixon Denham
Dixon Denham was an English explorer in West Central Africa.Denham was born in London. He was educated at Merchant Taylors' School, and was articled to a solicitor, but joined the army in 1811...
, and Dr. Walter Oudney
Walter Oudney
Walter Oudney was a Scottish physician and African explorer.In 1817 he received his medical doctorate at Edinburgh. A few years afterwards he was appointed by the British government as consul for promotion of trade to the Kingdom of Bornu in sub-Saharan Africa...
, who were exploring the Niger River. They crossed the Sahara Desert overland and reached Lake Chad in 1822. Denham then explored the lake while Clapperton and Oudney followed the Chari River. Denham accompanied the Bornu and Mandara army in its attack on Fulani in Mosfei, north of Maroua in April 1823. He was captured, but managed to escape as his Fulani captors argued over his clothing. Oudney died in 1823. Clapperton and Denham regrouped near the Mandara Mountains and returned to England in 1825. They published their adventures in 1826 as Narrative of Travels and Discoveries in Northern and Central Africa, 1822, 1823, 1824.
James Richardson
James Richardson (explorer of the Sahara)
James Richardson Richardson made an expedition in 1845 from Tunis and Tripoli in Libya to Ghadames and Ghat in the middle of the Sahara. Here he collected information about the Tuareg and arrived after nine months back again in Tripoli...
led a British expedition to the Chad Basin in 1851. He was accompanied by Germans Heinrich Barth
Heinrich Barth
Heinrich Barth was a German explorer of Africa and scholar.Barth is one of the greatest of the European explorers of Africa, not necessarily because of the length of his travels or the time he spent alone without European company in Africa, but because of his singular character.-Biography:Barth...
and Herman Overweg. Their goal was to explore the land south of Lake Chad. Richardson died at Lake Chad in 1851. The others arrived at the Mandara Mountains and then explored Uba, the northernmost Fulani settlement in the Adamawa Emirate then continued on to Yola. Overweg died in 1852, but by 1855, Barth was back in England, where he published Travels and Discoveries in North and Central Africa.
In 1865 to 1867, two German expeditions under Gerhard Rolfs and Gustav Nachtigal
Gustav Nachtigal
Gustav Nachtigal was a German explorer of Central and West Africa. He is further known as the German Empire's consul-general for Tunisia and Commissioner for West Africa. His mission as commissioner resulted in Togoland and Kamerun becoming the first colonies of a German colonial empire...
explored the Chad Basin and the Mandara Mountains. They noted the potential commercial benefits of the area to Germany. In 1868, Nachtigal returned, reaching Lake Chad basin in June 1870. He stayed three years as a guest of the Sultan of Bornu, noting the groups around and their relations to one another. He returned to Europe in 1875 and published a three-volume Sahara and Sudan in 1879.
Colonial administration
In 1884, Germany took nominal control over the territory. They sent an army north and met with Fulani resistance. With the fall of TibatiTibati
Tibati is a town and commune in Djérem, Cameroon. The town and region are reigned by a local monarch, the Lamido.The most notable economic activity in the region is the fishery industry. The fish comes from the lake Mbakaou, a large dammed lake next to Tibati...
in 1899 under Captain Von Kaptz and Lieutenant Hans Dominik
Hans Dominik
Hans Dominik was a German colonial officer of the Schutztruppe . He was the long-time commander of the Jaunde military station in Kamerun.- Early life and career :...
, the area was subdued. The region became part of the administrative units ruled from Garoua and Mora. Much of the local administration was left in the hands of the lamidos. The Germans placed the Wandala and the Kirdi under the jurisdiction of these Fulani rulers. In 1903, the German Resident at Maroua, Graff Fugger, was assassinated by Yerima Mustafa. The Germans invaded Maroua and set up another administrative unit there. The area was otherwise largely ignored, as the crops available were not as lucrative as the rubber and ivory found in the jungles to the south. The only real way to get in or out was along the Benue River, which travelled through British-controlled Nigeria.
In World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, the French under General Aymerich attacked the German outpost at Kousséri. On 25 August 1914, Colonel C. H. P. Carter attacked Germans at Mora, but was repulsed after a two-day fight. Captain Von Reuben continued the resistance, but he succumbed to the Anglo-French allies eventually.
In February 1916, France became the colonial head of the area. The territory was placed in the Mora-Garoua administrative unit, headed at Garoua. France allowed the lamidos to keep their power, but it also overthrew any who refused to comply with French mandates. They set up independent Kirdi chiefdoms to discourage animosity between the Islamic and non-Islamic peoples in the territory. Missionaries
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
began to arrive, setting up a Bible school at Yagoua and a printing press for religious literature in Kaélé. The French improved the roads and built an airstrip at Maroua. In 1931, they introduced a higher-yielding form of cotton. They also began SEMRY, a rice-growing project in the Logone-Chari swamplands.
The first Cameroonian premier of Cameroon, André-Marie Mbida
André-Marie Mbida
Andre-Marie Mbida was a Cameroonian State man, pragmatic nationalist, first Cameroonian to be elected Member of Parliament at the French National Assembly, Prime Minister of Cameroon, second African-born Prime Minister in the dark continent , first Head of State of French speaking autonomous...
, startled the Fulani of the area when he announced his Abong-Mbang Resolutions in 1957. One of these stated that northern French Cameroon was to be "democratised", which the lamidos read to mean that their power would be curtailed. The northern territories threatened to secede
Secession
Secession is the act of withdrawing from an organization, union, or especially a political entity. Threats of secession also can be a strategy for achieving more limited goals.-Secession theory:...
and join with Chad. Northerner Amadou Ahidjo and his Union Camerounaise party rejected the resolutions, and Ahidjo used the issue to gain leverage and replace Mbida as prime minister.
Post-independence
Cameroon was granted independence on 1 January 1960 with Ahmadou Ahidjo its president. Under his rule, SODECOTON was set up, as was the Société de Développement et d'Exploitation des Production Animales (SODEPA) set up to improve ranching in 1974. Another was SEMRY in 1971. Upon Paul Biya'sPaul Biya
Paul Biya is a Cameroonian politician who has been the President of Cameroon since 6 November 1982. A native of Cameroon's south, Biya rose rapidly as a bureaucrat under President Ahmadou Ahidjo in the 1960s, serving as Secretary-General of the Presidency from 1968 to 1975 and then as Prime...
accession to the presidency, Moussa Yaya was accused of stirring up the lamidos against him. The UNDP is a Fulani-based party, but the CPDM is careful to support their interests. In 1983, the Grand North was split into three provinces.