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West Province (Cameroon)
Encyclopedia
The West Region is 14,000 km² of territory located in the central-western portion of the Republic of Cameroon
. It borders the Northwest Region to the northwest, the Adamawa Region to the northeast, the Centre Region to the southeast, the Littoral Region to the southwest, and the Southwest Region to the west. The West Region is the smallest of Cameroon's ten regions in area, yet it has the highest population density.
As home to the enterprising Bamileke
(Bamiléké) tribes, the West is an economic bright spot and one of Cameroon's more developed regions. This progressive development is tempered by the strong traditional culture that persists among the Bamileke and the province's other major ethnic group, the Bamum
(sometimes Bamoum, Bamun, Bamoun).
varies greatly within a relatively small land area. The land along the Noun River
and at the Bamendjing Reservoir, for example, is a lightly evolved blend of various raw minerals. The province's western half, on the other hand, is a haphazard mixture of raw minerals, granite
, ferrallitic patches of red dirt, and other types. Finally, the soil of the eastern portions away from the reservoir is ferrallitic. Rocks in the area range from the volcanic
along the reservoir and Noun to Precambrian
deposits of crystalline rocks such as granite and gneiss
under a cover of basaltic rock in the northwest. Metamorphic rock
s like gneiss and mica
dominate the rest of the territory. The soil throughout is mostly red in color due to high iron
content, though that of the northwest is black or brown basalt. The province's soils are the richest and most productive in Cameroon.
and active tectonics
create many fast-moving river
s with picturesque fall
s and isolated crater lake
s. These rivers follow a Cameroon regime, experiencing a period of high waters during the wet season and a period of low waters in the dry period. The rivers all form part of the Atlantic
basin.
The Mbam River
runs along the border with the Centre and Southeast Provinces. The Nkam
is the name for the headwaters of the Wouri River
, which flow from the West's Bamboutos Mountains. The eastern branch through the area rises northwest of Bangangté
, and the western branch forms the border with the Littoral Province southwest of Bafang
. These headwaters are subject to seasonal flooding. The Noun River, a tributary
of the Sanaga
, flows from the Centre Province, around Bafoussam
, and to the Bamendjing Reservoir. This manmade lake is created by a dam
on the Noun River, which helps regulate the Sanaga at Edéa
in the Littoral Province and is thus an important component in Cameroon's supply of hydroelectric power. Falls are common, such as the Balatchi, Metché, and Tsugning Falls.
Most of the West's lakes are crater lakes formed from collapsed volcano
es. Such lakes exist at Balent, Banéfo, Doupé
, and near Foumban
. Many of these still have active volcanoes at their bottoms, particularly in the northwest on the Western High Plateau
. One example is Lake Baleng, northeast of Bafoussam, and the twin lakes of Foumbot
. These volcanoes can causes deposits of gas to build up at the lakebed until poisonous gases finally bubble to the surface. Such an eruption at Lake Monoun
killed 37 villagers near Foumbot on 15 and 16 August 1984.
, at 2,740 metres. These mountains lie along the Cameroon Fault, dating from the Cretaceous
, which runs roughly parallel to the border with the Northwest Province and through the capital of Bafoussam. West of the Cameroon Mountains lies the Western High Plateau, with elevations of 1,000-2,500 metres. South of the fault, the land descends in steps until levelling off at the South Cameroon Plateau
. Here, terrain is gentler, with large hills separated by deep valleys.
give the West one of Cameroon's more pleasant climates. Temperatures average a cool 22˙, and rainfall is moderate. Except for the southeasternmost portions, the West experiences two major seasons in lieu of the traditional four: the year begins in a long, dry period of little rain, which runs until May, then the rains begin in May or June and last until October or November. Though the transition is gradual, the southeastern reaches of the province are part of the South Cameroon Plateau and thus have four seasons: the long dry season from December to March, the short rainy season from March to June, the short dry season from June to August, and the long rainy season from September to December.
The climate is equatorial of the Cameroon sub-variety in the northwestern third and equatorial of the Guinea type in the southeastern two-thirds. Rainfall, moderated by the mountains, averages 1,000-2,000 mm per year throughout, though it is highest at the area of the Bamendjing Reservoir.
, turning the area into grassland. The Melap Reserve (Réserve de Melap) near Foumban is one heavily wooded area, but it is more of a city park
than an actual reserve.
East of the Noun River, the terrain is primarily covered in woodland savanna
of the Sahel type, which forms a transitional zone to the lowly vegetated northern provinces. West of that river, this savanna is of the Sudan type, and is interspersed among open, dry forest. A few small patches of rain forest persist to the west of the Mbam River in the Noun division. As elevation increases, forests thin out, until they are replaced by fern
s and bamboo
s at 1,800 metres. Trees throughout shed their leaves during the dry season as protection against brush fires.
The West's population density is high in general, especially in the towns of Bafoussam, Dschang
, Mbouda, and Bafang. This is due to the pleasant climate and fertile soils. Bafoussam is both the provincial capital and the centre of the Bamileke lands. Populations thin out toward the southern border and in the eastern Bamum-dominated territories. Settlements are scattered.
The region experiences significant out-migration, particularly when the vast plantations of the Southwest Province hire workers for annual harvests. Permanent emigration is mainly by those who wish to escape the overcrowded conditions and to farm larger pieces of land, and is directed mainly to the Southwest and Littoral Provinces.
Bamileke homes are traditionally made of dried earth placed on a bamboo frame and covered by a thatched roof. Farm plots separated by fences surround the typical home. Houses of this type are seldom seen today, however, though barns are still constructed using these methods. The last bastion of traditional architecture are the many chief
s' compounds that dot the province. These are characterized by their tall, conical roofs, bamboo and clay-brick walls, and carved poles around the entryway. The typical layout places a central audience chamber in front of other rooms for individuals of progressively lower rank.
Both of these are considered semi-Bantu or grassfields Bantu. The Bamileke are the more numerous, estimated to number 3000000 or more. They are concentrated southeast of the Bamboutos Mountains and west of the Noun River. Their major settlements are at Bafoussam, Bandjoun
, Bafang, Bawaju, Bangangté, Dschang, and Mbouda. They organise themselves in sub-groups, each under the rule of a different chief. Examples are the Fe'fe', Ghomala, Kwa', Medumba, Mengaka, Nda'nda', Ngomba, Ngombale, Ngiemboon, and Yemba. Most of these groups speak a unique language, though all are closely related. Most Bamileke are Christian
, with Roman Catholics in the majority.
The Bamum people
are the area's other major ethnic group. They are a subgroup of the Tikar
, though they speak a language called Bamum
. They are primarily Islam
ic, and all are ruled by a sultan
in their tribal capital, Foumban.
Other languages spoken in the province include Bamenyam, Mbo, and Tikar
. Most educated inhabitants also speak French.
).
Maize
is the major staple, and farmers surround rows of it with cocoyam
s, plantain
s, bean
s, groundnut
s, melon
s, and yams
. Potato
es are another mainstay, and the West is one of the few places in Cameroon where they grow well due to high elevations in the region. Farmers grow these crops on the hillsides and use the valleys to plant cocoyam
s, colocasia
, and raffia palm
s. In the western Wouri valley, Rice
is also important.
s more prevalently in the West. Coffee
is the major cash crop
, with large fields in the regions of Bafoussam, Foumbot, and Dschang and powerful supervision by Union des Cooperatives de Café Arabica de l'Ouest (UCCAO). Cocoa is also important, particularly in the lowlands. Tea
is grown commercially near Dschang. Some rice cultivation takes place under the Upper Noun Development Company (UNVDA) in the southeast, largely due to government projects. Tobacco
from Mbouda and Foumbot stays within the province for local consumption, though the Bastos Company of Yaoundé
processes some for export.
raising was once practiced more widely, but as populations have risen, most land has been converted to crop cultivation (a fact that has raised tensions between herders and farmers). Still, some herders drive cattle
using transhumance
methods in the northwestern half of the province, and the Kounden area is home to some modern ranching. Ranchers sell these animals, which account for 10% of Cameroon's beef, mostly in the Douala
market.
Many farmers raise sheep and goat
s in the southeastern half of the province. Increasingly common these days are poultry
and pig
s, which can live in pens on smaller farms. In fact, the majority of Cameroon's pork comes from the region, and a large government-run poultry farm operates at Kounden. Smallholder farmers, especially women, keep domestic cavies in their homesteads that may provide more protein to family nutrition than any other meat source.
The Bamendjing is also the site of traditional fishing
, and professional fisheries operate at Foumban.
. The area's few factories are almost all devoted to food processing
, with plants in Bafoussam (beer
, instant coffee
), Foumbot, Dschang, and Kékam. The building materials, pharmaceuticals, and bauxite
mining industries also have a presence.
Arts and crafts form the heart of the West's production. Particularly renown are the goods produced by Bamum cooperative
s at Foumban. These include intricately decorated ceramics
made from Foumban's high-quality clay, woodworking
, brass
and bronze
casting, and cotton textile
s, often featuring elaborate embroidery
. The Bamileke are also skilled artisans, with their own cooperative
at Bafoussam.
and Bamenda
in the Northwest Province through Mbouda and Foumban to Banyo and beyond in the Adamawa. Bafoussam forms an important nexus between the cities of Bamenda, Douala, Yaoundé, and Foumban. Roads often must wind and sharply turn to traverse the region's mountains, and traffic accidents are not uncommon. The region is reachable by air via domestic airport
s at Bafoussam and Koutaba
and an airstrip at Dschang.
's numerically inferior Beti-Pahuin tribal group, are often accused of anti-Bamileke bias. The Bamileke thus stand to gain a great deal from a more free and transparent government, and the West harbors many sympathisers for the presidential party's main opponents, the Social Democratic Front.
The West consists of eight divisions or departments
(departements), each headed by a prefect
(prefet), or senior divisional officer. The president appoints all of these officers and the provincial governor
in Bafoussam. A special urban council presides over Bafoussam, staffed by presidentially appointed counselors who serve under a presidentially appointed delegate.
The Noun
department, headquartered at Foumban
, is the largest division geographically and occupies most of the Bamum territories bordering the Adamawa and Centre Provinces. The Ndé
department is southwest of this with its capital at Bangangté
. The Haut-Nkam
(Upper Nkam) department, capitalled at Bafang
is further west, and the Ménoua
department borders it to the northwest with its capital at Dschang
. The Mifi
department, with its capital Bafoussam
, forms the centre of the region, and it is hemmed in by a handful of smaller divisions: the Bamboutos
department, headquartered at Mbouda
, the Hauts-Plateaux
(High Plateaus) department, governed from Baham
, and the Koung-Khi
department, governed from Bandjoun
. These latter two divisions were recently formed due to population booms in the area.
The Bamileke, in contrast, are divided into over 100 groups, each headed by a chief (fon, foyn, or fo). The chiefs are themselves divided into various ranks, with major rulers living in Bandjoun, Bafang, Bangangté, Dschang, and Mbouda. Traditionally, chiefs command divine powers and own all lands by divine mandate. Individual tenants work plots at their chief's behest. These groupings thus form the basis for Bamileke tribal identity. Advisers, often called the “Council of Notables”, in turn serve the chiefs. Below them are various district chiefs who govern individual wards in the village.
s. The province is also the location of a bilingual university
at Dschang as well as the private Université des Montagnes
in Bangangté.
is not a problem as in much of the rest of Cameroon. Lack of sanitation
is a serious issue, as this leads to outbreaks of dysentery
, hepatitis A
, typhoid, and other ailments, especially in the more urbanised centres.
and the Feast of the Ram. They also hold an annual cultural festival called the Ngouon. Bamileke festivals vary from tribe to tribe, and most are held during the dry season or for special events such as funerals or the birth of twins. Some examples are the Macabo Festival of Bangoua
, the Medumba Festival of Bangangté, and the Ben Skin Dance, a dance of female sensuality that has grown increasingly commercialised.
A number of museums celebrate the West's history and traditions. Among these are the Musée du Palais du Sultan Bamun, the Musée des Arts et des Traditions Bamoun, and the Musée Sacré Djissé, all in Foumban. The Musée de la Chefferie Bandjoun is the region's largest repository of Bamileke artifacts.
in the 17th century, probably fleeing Fulbe
(Fula) slave raids. They originally settled in what is now Bamum territory, but the Bamum forced them across the Noun in a series of wars in the 18th century. Bamileke tradition states that they migrated in three major groups. The first consisted of the Baleng, Bapi, and Bafussam (who founded the settlement at Bafoussam along with the Bamougoum). Next came the Bagam, Bamendu, Bamsoa, Bazu, and Bangu. The final wave consisted of the Bati and Bafangwa. This period also saw the Bamileke assimilation of several older populations.
Bamum tradition claims their kingdom was founded when Ncharé Yen led them to settle at Foumban (Mfom-Ben) in the 15th century. However, most scholars today place this migration as late as the 19th century, likely the result of population pressures caused by the same Fulbe jihads that had earlier pushed the Bamileke south. The king Mbwe-Mbwe extended Bamum holdings from the Mbam to the Noun Rivers, subjugating numerous local rulers in the process. Mbwe-Mbwe also kept the Fulbe from encroaching further south and west.
The Bamum experienced a golden age of sorts under the leadership of Sultan Ibrahim Njoya
(r. 1886-1933). Njoya was a patron of learning, and he converted to Islam
under the tutelage of numerous Muslim scholars he had allowed into the kingdom. He developed an alphabet
for the Bamum language (the Shumon script), and established schools to teach it. The Islamisation of the Bamum occurred during his reign.
The Bali-Chamba are the third major group to have pushed through the West Province territory in historical times. They came under the leadership of a warrior chief named Gawolbe and crossed the Noun around 1825. In 1830, they fought a war with the Bamileke Bafu-Fundong group near Dschang. Their leader, Gawolbe II died, and the tribe splintered as Gawolbe's seven sons fought for control. Most of these groups migrated further west into what is today the Northwest Province.
annexation of the Cameroons in 1884. The first Europeans to enter the territory were representatives of the Basel Mission
in 1897. The Germans themselves did not move in to the territory until 1899 (though they had signed treaties with Bamileke leaders as early as 1884). Governor Jesko Von Puttkamer
established the Gesellschaft Nordwest-Kamerun to monopolise trade in the area, and he established the divisional capital at Dschang in 1903. The area's cool temperatures drew many German settlers, and the colonisers established great coffee plantations, which they forced the natives to work. Larger plantations were established further south, and many Bamileke were forced or encouraged to move out of their traditional territories to work them. The Germans also set up a puppet over-chief for all the Bamileke, who had never before considered themselves a single group. Catholic missionaries reached the grasslands area in 1910. By 1912, most of the Bamileke had converted to Christianity.
Sultan Njoya welcomed the first German emissary to the Bamum kingdom in 1902 after hearing of the ruthless treatment given rebellious tribes further to the northwest. He even lent military support for the German campaign against the Nso
near Bamenda in 1906. The Bamum soldiers, eager for revenge for an earlier defeat to the Nso in 1888, committed such atrocities that the Germans sent them back. Njoya also ordered the building of a palace at Foumban in 1917, which he modeled after that of the German governor.
in 1916 after the Germans' defeat in World War I
. The territory became part of the Baré-Foumban-Nkongsamba administrative area, and the capital was moved to Foumban. Dschang served as the seat of a French-run school for the sons of chiefs, which the French used to indoctrinate as well as instruct. The French maintained German plantations and labour sources, and new operations sprung up, such as a palm plantation at Dschang. The new colonial overlords made improvements to the region's infrastructure, as well, especially to the road network.
The French continued Germany's policy of propping up sympathetic chiefs and deposing recalcitrant ones. They sought some sort of administrative centre amid the Bamileke domains, and in 1926, Fotso II of the Bandjoun people offered the site of Bafoussam, neighbouring his domains but not actually part of them. Mambou, chief of the area, opposed the colonials, but he was defeated, and the foundations of modern Bafoussam were laid. The Bamum did not escape the French sphere, either, as sultan Ibrahim Njoya was deposed in 1931 due to his pro-German views. Njoya died in a Yaoundé prison two years later.
After World War II
, the West was a centre of political pressure and protest against colonial rule. Other groups came into being to combat these (usually with France's blessing), including the Union Bamiléké in 1948. In 1956, France granted self-rule to its colony, and the West proved one of Cameroon's more politically influential areas due to groups such as Paysans Independants and the Assemblée Traditionnale Bamoun. The population boomed between 1958 and 1965, a period of high urbanisation in Cameroon.
In 1958, Ahmadou Ahidjo
became prime minister
of French Cameroon with a pro-independence platform. The powerful Union des Populations du Cameroun (UPC) party, including many Bamileke, opposed him as a French puppet. On 27 June 1959, several Bamileke areas were struck in what were later labeled terrorist
strikes. Ahidjo declared martial law
. His later attitudes toward the Bamileke likely were strongly influenced by these incidents.
Ahidjo's battles with the UPC continued past Cameroon's independence on 1 January 1960. He outlawed the party's "terrorist" wing on 30 October 1963, leading to more strikes in Bamileke population centres and subsequent military retribution.
What support Ahidjo did enjoy among the Bamileke largely came from his pro-business policies. When the president resigned in 1982, his replacement, Paul Biya, sent his representative, Moussa Yaya, to reassure the West's businessmen that he would not prove unfriendly to their interests. Yaya mistrusted Biya, however, and only exacerbated Bamileke reservations. The Bamum, as well, were reluctant to see Cameroon's presidency change from a Muslim to a Christian. Much Bamileke and Bamum resentment for the Biya administration dates to this period.
In 2008, the President of the Republic of Cameroon, Paul Biya
, signed decrees abolishing "Provinces" and replacing them with "Regions". Hence, all of the country's ten provinces are now known as Regions.
Neba, Aaron, Ph.D., Modern Geography of the Republic of Cameroon, 3rd ed. Bamenda: Neba Publishers, 1999.
Ngoh, Victor Julius, History of Cameroon Since 1800. Limbé: Presbook, 1996.
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 Northwest Region to the northwest, the Adamawa Region to the northeast, the Centre Region to the southeast, the Littoral Region to the southwest, and the Southwest Region to the west. The West Region is the smallest of Cameroon's ten regions in area, yet it has the highest population density.
As home to the enterprising Bamileke
Bamileke
The Bamileke is a folk whose native ancestral area is in the western highlands of Cameroon's West Province, west of the Noun River and southeast of the Bamboutos Mountains and in the Moungo region of the Littoral, Southwest, and Centre Provinces. They are a part of the Semi-Bantu ethnic groups...
(Bamiléké) tribes, the West is an economic bright spot and one of Cameroon's more developed regions. This progressive development is tempered by the strong traditional culture that persists among the Bamileke and the province's other major ethnic group, the Bamum
Bamum people
The Bamum, sometimes called Bamoum, Bamun, Bamoun, or Mum, are an ethnic group of Cameroon with around 215,000 members.-Religion:...
(sometimes Bamoum, Bamun, Bamoun).
Land
The West sits at the geological crossroads of Cameroon; the soilSoil
Soil is a natural body consisting of layers of mineral constituents of variable thicknesses, which differ from the parent materials in their morphological, physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics...
varies greatly within a relatively small land area. The land along the Noun River
Noun River
The Noun River is a river of the West Province of Cameroon. It arises at Lake Oku and flows south, it is joined by the Monoun River and flows south in the valley between the mountains Ngotsetzezan and Mount Yahou. It turns east at about 5° N latitude...
and at the Bamendjing Reservoir, for example, is a lightly evolved blend of various raw minerals. The province's western half, on the other hand, is a haphazard mixture of raw minerals, 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...
, ferrallitic patches of red dirt, and other types. Finally, the soil of the eastern portions away from the reservoir is ferrallitic. Rocks in the area range from the volcanic
Volcanic rock
Volcanic rock is a rock formed from magma erupted from a volcano. In other words, it is an igneous rock of volcanic origin...
along the reservoir and Noun to Precambrian
Precambrian
The Precambrian is the name which describes the large span of time in Earth's history before the current Phanerozoic Eon, and is a Supereon divided into several eons of the geologic time scale...
deposits of crystalline rocks such as granite and 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:...
under a cover of basaltic rock in the northwest. 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...
s like gneiss and 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...
dominate the rest of the territory. The soil throughout is mostly red in color due to high iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
content, though that of the northwest is black or brown basalt. The province's soils are the richest and most productive in Cameroon.
Drainage
The West's mountainous terrainMountain
Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...
and active tectonics
Plate tectonics
Plate tectonics is a scientific theory that describes the large scale motions of Earth's lithosphere...
create many fast-moving river
River
A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...
s with picturesque fall
Waterfall
A waterfall is a place where flowing water rapidly drops in elevation as it flows over a steep region or a cliff.-Formation:Waterfalls are commonly formed when a river is young. At these times the channel is often narrow and deep. When the river courses over resistant bedrock, erosion happens...
s and isolated crater lake
Crater lake
A crater lake is a lake that forms in a volcanic crater or caldera, such as a maar; less commonly and with lower association to the term a lake may form in an impact crater caused by a meteorite. Sometimes lakes which form inside calderas are called caldera lakes, but often this distinction is not...
s. These rivers follow a Cameroon regime, experiencing a period of high waters during the wet season and a period of low waters in the dry period. The rivers all form part of the Atlantic
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
basin.
The Mbam River
Mbam River
The Mbam River is the main tributary of the Sanaga River in Cameroon.It flows from the Adamawa Plateau and receives the Kim and Ndjim rivers on its left bank and later the Noun River at its right bank before its confluence with the Sanaga River....
runs along the border with the Centre and Southeast Provinces. The Nkam
Nkam River
The Nkam River rises in the Western High Plateau in the West Region of Cameroon, and joins the Makombé River to become the Wouri River. It is known to tourists for the spectacular Chutes d'Ekom, an high waterfall about from Bafang....
is the name for the headwaters of the Wouri River
Wouri River
The Wouri is a river in Cameroon. The river is formed at the confluence of the rivers Nkam and Makombé, northeast of the city of Yabassi. The Wouri then flows about southeast to the Wouri estuary at Douala, the chief port and industrial city in the southwestern part of Cameroon on the Gulf of...
, which flow from the West's Bamboutos Mountains. The eastern branch through the area rises northwest of Bangangté
Bangangte
Bangangté is a town and commune in Cameroon. It is the capital of the Ndé division of West Region. The town is primarily inhabited by the people of the Bamileke tribe....
, and the western branch forms the border with the Littoral Province southwest of Bafang
Bafang
Bafang is a town and commune in Cameroon situated in the Haut-Nkam division of the West Province. It lies at the heart of the territory of the Bamiléké people, and has a population of roughly 80,500.-References:1...
. These headwaters are subject to seasonal flooding. The Noun River, a tributary
Tributary
A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...
of the Sanaga
Sanaga River
The Sanaga River is a river of South Province, Cameroon, Centre Province, Cameroon, and West Province, Cameroon. Its length is 890 kilometers.The Sanaga River forms a boundary between two tropical moist forest ecoregions...
, flows from the Centre Province, around Bafoussam
Bafoussam
Bafoussam is the capital of the West Province of Cameroon, in the Bamboutos Mountains. It is the prefecture of the Mifi department, one of three arrondissements in the department. The city had a population of 239,287 inhabitants . The city is the region's center of trade. People are farming...
, and to the Bamendjing Reservoir. This manmade lake is created by a dam
Dam
A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...
on the Noun River, which helps regulate the Sanaga at Edéa
Edéa
Edéa is a city located in the Littoral Province, Cameroon by the Sanaga River and near the railroad line Douala-Yaoundé. It has a population of 122,300 . There are bauxite facilities, aluminium processing facility, steel processing facility, timber facilities, paper facilities and some water...
in the Littoral Province and is thus an important component in Cameroon's supply of hydroelectric power. Falls are common, such as the Balatchi, Metché, and Tsugning Falls.
Most of the West's lakes are crater lakes formed from collapsed volcano
Volcano
2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...
es. Such lakes exist at Balent, Banéfo, Doupé
Doupě
Doupě is a village and municipality in Jihlava District in the Vysočina Region of the Czech Republic.The municipality covers an area of , and has a population of 106 ....
, and near Foumban
Foumban
Foumban or Fumban is a city in Cameroon, lying north east of Bafoussam. It has a population of 83,522 . It is a major town for the Bamoun people and is home to a museum of traditional arts and culture...
. Many of these still have active volcanoes at their bottoms, particularly in the northwest on the Western High Plateau
Western High Plateau
The Western High Plateau, Western Highlands, or Bamenda Grassfields is a region of Cameroon characterised by high relief, cool temperatures, heavy rainfall, and savanna vegetation. The region lies along the Cameroon line and consists of mountain ranges and volcanoes made of crystalline and igneous...
. One example is Lake Baleng, northeast of Bafoussam, and the twin lakes of Foumbot
Foumbot
-References:* * - Thèse de Donation Avele, Université Montesquieu Bordeaux IV * Charles Nanga, , Mémoire ENA....
. These volcanoes can causes deposits of gas to build up at the lakebed until poisonous gases finally bubble to the surface. Such an eruption at Lake Monoun
Lake Monoun
Lake Monoun is a lake in West Province, Cameroon, that lies in the Oku Volcanic Field . On August 15, 1984, the lake exploded in a limnic eruption, which resulted in the release of a large amount of carbon dioxide that killed 37 people. At first, the cause of the deaths was a mystery, and...
killed 37 villagers near Foumbot on 15 and 16 August 1984.
Relief
The Bamboutos Mountains are the West's primary land feature. Elevations reach as high as 2,000 metres and dip as low as 500 metres in the Noun and Nkam valleys. The highest point is Mt. Bamboutos, a dormant volcano west of MboudaMbouda
Mbouda is the divisional capital of the Bamboutos division, Western region of Cameroon. Mbouda is located between two major cities Bafoussam and Bamenda which are respectively the capital cities of the west and North-West regions of Cameroon....
, at 2,740 metres. These mountains lie along the Cameroon Fault, dating from the Cretaceous
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous , derived from the Latin "creta" , usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide , is a geologic period and system from circa to million years ago. In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period of the...
, which runs roughly parallel to the border with the Northwest Province and through the capital of Bafoussam. West of the Cameroon Mountains lies the Western High Plateau, with elevations of 1,000-2,500 metres. South of the fault, the land descends in steps until levelling off at the South Cameroon Plateau
South Cameroon Plateau
The South Cameroon Plateau or Southern Cameroon Plateau is the dominant geographical feature of Cameroon. The plateau lies south of the Adamawa Plateau and southeast of the Cameroon Range. It slopes south and west until giving way to the Cameroon coastal plain in the southwest and the Congo River...
. Here, terrain is gentler, with large hills separated by deep valleys.
Climate
High elevations and moderate to high humidityHumidity
Humidity is a term for the amount of water vapor in the air, and can refer to any one of several measurements of humidity. Formally, humid air is not "moist air" but a mixture of water vapor and other constituents of air, and humidity is defined in terms of the water content of this mixture,...
give the West one of Cameroon's more pleasant climates. Temperatures average a cool 22˙, and rainfall is moderate. Except for the southeasternmost portions, the West experiences two major seasons in lieu of the traditional four: the year begins in a long, dry period of little rain, which runs until May, then the rains begin in May or June and last until October or November. Though the transition is gradual, the southeastern reaches of the province are part of the South Cameroon Plateau and thus have four seasons: the long dry season from December to March, the short rainy season from March to June, the short dry season from June to August, and the long rainy season from September to December.
The climate is equatorial of the Cameroon sub-variety in the northwestern third and equatorial of the Guinea type in the southeastern two-thirds. Rainfall, moderated by the mountains, averages 1,000-2,000 mm per year throughout, though it is highest at the area of the Bamendjing Reservoir.
Plant and animal life
Very little of the West's original flora or fauna survives, since most land has been cleared by human farmers. This is particularly evident on the Western High Plateau, where poor soil and less rainfall have exacerbated the effects of deforestationDeforestation
Deforestation is the removal of a forest or stand of trees where the land is thereafter converted to a nonforest use. Examples of deforestation include conversion of forestland to farms, ranches, or urban use....
, turning the area into grassland. The Melap Reserve (Réserve de Melap) near Foumban is one heavily wooded area, but it is more of a city park
City Park
City Park can refer to:Australia*Launceston City ParkCanada* City Park, Saskatoon, a neighbourhoodHungary* City Park Kenya* City Park, NairobiLuxembourg* City Park , a park in central Luxembourg CityUnited Kingdom...
than an actual reserve.
East of the Noun River, the terrain is primarily covered in woodland 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...
of the Sahel type, which forms a transitional zone to the lowly vegetated northern provinces. West of that river, this savanna is of the Sudan type, and is interspersed among open, dry forest. A few small patches of rain forest persist to the west of the Mbam River in the Noun division. As elevation increases, forests thin out, until they are replaced by fern
Fern
A fern is any one of a group of about 12,000 species of plants belonging to the botanical group known as Pteridophyta. Unlike mosses, they have xylem and phloem . They have stems, leaves, and roots like other vascular plants...
s and bamboo
Bamboo
Bamboo is a group of perennial evergreens in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family....
s at 1,800 metres. Trees throughout shed their leaves during the dry season as protection against brush fires.
Settlement patterns
Dschang
Dschang is a city located in the West Province of Cameroon, with an estimated population of 87,000 in 2001, growing dramatically from 21,705 recorded in 1981. The 2006 Population is estimated to be 200,000 inhabitants....
, Mbouda, and Bafang. This is due to the pleasant climate and fertile soils. Bafoussam is both the provincial capital and the centre of the Bamileke lands. Populations thin out toward the southern border and in the eastern Bamum-dominated territories. Settlements are scattered.
The region experiences significant out-migration, particularly when the vast plantations of the Southwest Province hire workers for annual harvests. Permanent emigration is mainly by those who wish to escape the overcrowded conditions and to farm larger pieces of land, and is directed mainly to the Southwest and Littoral Provinces.
Bamileke homes are traditionally made of dried earth placed on a bamboo frame and covered by a thatched roof. Farm plots separated by fences surround the typical home. Houses of this type are seldom seen today, however, though barns are still constructed using these methods. The last bastion of traditional architecture are the many 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 ...
s' compounds that dot the province. These are characterized by their tall, conical roofs, bamboo and clay-brick walls, and carved poles around the entryway. The typical layout places a central audience chamber in front of other rooms for individuals of progressively lower rank.
People
Two major tribal groups dominate the West: the Bamileke and the Bamum.Both of these are considered semi-Bantu or grassfields Bantu. The Bamileke are the more numerous, estimated to number 3000000 or more. They are concentrated southeast of the Bamboutos Mountains and west of the Noun River. Their major settlements are at Bafoussam, Bandjoun
Bandjoun
Bandjoun is a town and commune in West Province, Cameroon. Bandjoun is the capital of the Banjun people. The chief dwells in Hialah, and has many wives....
, Bafang, Bawaju, Bangangté, Dschang, and Mbouda. They organise themselves in sub-groups, each under the rule of a different chief. Examples are the Fe'fe', Ghomala, Kwa', Medumba, Mengaka, Nda'nda', Ngomba, Ngombale, Ngiemboon, and Yemba. Most of these groups speak a unique language, though all are closely related. Most Bamileke are Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
, with Roman Catholics in the majority.
The Bamum people
Bamum people
The Bamum, sometimes called Bamoum, Bamun, Bamoun, or Mum, are an ethnic group of Cameroon with around 215,000 members.-Religion:...
are the area's other major ethnic group. They are a subgroup of the Tikar
Tikar
The Tikar are a group of related ethnic groups in Cameroon. They live primarily in the northwestern part of the country, in the Northwest Province near the Nigerian border. They speak Bantoid language, also called Tikar. Their population is approximately 25,000.The Tikar have elements of...
, though they speak a language called Bamum
Bamum language
Bamum , or in its French spelling Bamoun, is one of the Benue–Congo languages of Cameroon, with approximately a quarter million speakers. The language is well-known for its original script developed by King Njoya and his palace circle around 1895...
. They are primarily Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
ic, and all are ruled by a sultan
Sultan
Sultan is a title with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic language abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", and "dictatorship", derived from the masdar سلطة , meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be used as the title of certain rulers who...
in their tribal capital, Foumban.
Other languages spoken in the province include Bamenyam, Mbo, and Tikar
Tikar language
Tikar is a Bantoid language of uncertain classification spoken in Cameroon by the Bankim, Ngambe, and related Tikar peoples, as well as by the Bedzan Pygmies...
. Most educated inhabitants also speak French.
Economy
The West is one of Cameroon's soundest economic areas due primarily to its agricultural prosperity and the enterprising traditions of the Bamileke people. In areas that do not have a daily market, market days are typically every eighth day (the Bamileke follow an eight-day weekWeek
A week is a time unit equal to seven days.The English word week continues an Old English wice, ultimately from a Common Germanic , from a root "turn, move, change"...
).
Subsistance farming
The Bamileke are skilled farmers who exploit virtually every strip of land available. Along with the neighbouring Northwest Province, the West supplies most of the food consumed in Cameroon's seven lower provinces. Tools are largely traditional. Farmers plant after the first rains in fields consisting of alternating ridges and furrows. In the past, farmers practiced field rotation, allowing land to lie fallow for two or three years. Due to increasing population density, however, they use the land almost continuously today; the loss in fertility partially countered through extensive use of fertilisers and manure. Hedges or fences that separate private plots and keep out animals surround farms in the West. These hedges also provide firewood and help prevent from soil erosion. In the Southeast, farmers sometimes place fields in forest clearings where they use slash-and-burn agriculture.Maize
Maize
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 the major staple, and farmers surround rows of it with cocoyam
Cocoyam
Cocoyam can mean:* Taro - old cocoyam* Malanga - new cocoyam...
s, plantain
Plantain
Plantain is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa. The fruit they produce is generally used for cooking, in contrast to the soft, sweet banana...
s, 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, groundnut
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...
s, melon
Melon
thumb|200px|Various types of melonsThis list of melons includes members of the plant family Cucurbitaceae with edible, fleshy fruit e.g. gourds or cucurbits. The word "melon" can refer to either the plant or specifically to the fruit...
s, and yams
Yam (vegetable)
Yam is the common name for some species in the genus Dioscorea . These are perennial herbaceous vines cultivated for the consumption of their starchy tubers in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Oceania...
. Potato
Potato
The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family . The word potato may refer to the plant itself as well as the edible tuber. In the region of the Andes, there are some other closely related cultivated potato species...
es are another mainstay, and the West is one of the few places in Cameroon where they grow well due to high elevations in the region. Farmers grow these crops on the hillsides and use the valleys to plant cocoyam
Cocoyam
Cocoyam can mean:* Taro - old cocoyam* Malanga - new cocoyam...
s, colocasia
Colocasia
Colocasia is a genus of 25 or more species of flowering plants in the family Araceae, native to tropical Polynesia and southeastern Asia. Common names include Elephant-ear, Taro, Cocoyam, Dasheen,Chembu, and Eddoe...
, and raffia palm
Raffia palm
The Raffia palms are a genus of twenty species of palms native to tropical regions of Africa, especially Madagascar, with one species also occurring in Central and South America. They grow up to 16 m tall and are remarkable for their compound pinnate leaves, the longest in the plant kingdom;...
s. In the western Wouri valley, 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...
is also important.
Plantation agriculture
Population pressures prevent entrepreneurs from establishing large plantationPlantation
A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...
s more prevalently in the West. Coffee
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
is the major cash crop
Cash crop
In agriculture, a cash crop is a crop which is grown for profit.The term is used to differentiate from subsistence crops, which are those fed to the producer's own livestock or grown as food for the producer's family...
, with large fields in the regions of Bafoussam, Foumbot, and Dschang and powerful supervision by Union des Cooperatives de Café Arabica de l'Ouest (UCCAO). Cocoa is also important, particularly in the lowlands. Tea
Tea
Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by adding cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant to hot water. The term also refers to the plant itself. After water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world...
is grown commercially near Dschang. Some rice cultivation takes place under the Upper Noun Development Company (UNVDA) in the southeast, largely due to government projects. Tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
from Mbouda and Foumbot stays within the province for local consumption, though the Bastos Company of 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...
processes some for export.
Livestock
LivestockLivestock
Livestock refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber and labor. The term "livestock" as used in this article does not include poultry or farmed fish; however the inclusion of these, especially poultry, within the meaning...
raising was once practiced more widely, but as populations have risen, most land has been converted to crop cultivation (a fact that has raised tensions between herders and farmers). Still, some herders drive 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...
using transhumance
Transhumance
Transhumance is the seasonal movement of people with their livestock between fixed summer and winter pastures. In montane regions it implies movement between higher pastures in summer and to lower valleys in winter. Herders have a permanent home, typically in valleys. Only the herds travel, with...
methods in the northwestern half of the province, and the Kounden area is home to some modern ranching. Ranchers sell these animals, which account for 10% of Cameroon's beef, mostly in the 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...
market.
Many farmers 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 in the southeastern half of the province. Increasingly common these days are poultry
Poultry
Poultry are domesticated birds kept by humans for the purpose of producing eggs, meat, and/or feathers. These most typically are members of the superorder Galloanserae , especially the order Galliformes and the family Anatidae , commonly known as "waterfowl"...
and pig
Pig
A pig is any of the animals in the genus Sus, within the Suidae family of even-toed ungulates. Pigs include the domestic pig, its ancestor the wild boar, and several other wild relatives...
s, which can live in pens on smaller farms. In fact, the majority of Cameroon's pork comes from the region, and a large government-run poultry farm operates at Kounden. Smallholder farmers, especially women, keep domestic cavies in their homesteads that may provide more protein to family nutrition than any other meat source.
The Bamendjing is also the site of traditional fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
, and professional fisheries operate at Foumban.
Industry
The West is home to relatively little industryIndustry
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 area's few factories are almost all devoted to food processing
Food processing
Food processing is the set of methods and techniques used to transform raw ingredients into food or to transform food into other forms for consumption by humans or animals either in the home or by the food processing industry...
, with plants in Bafoussam (beer
Beer
Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
, instant coffee
Instant coffee
Instant coffee, also called soluble coffee and coffee powder, is a beverage derived from brewed coffee beans. Instant coffee is commercially prepared by either freeze-drying or spray drying, after which it can be rehydrated...
), Foumbot, Dschang, and Kékam. The building materials, pharmaceuticals, and bauxite
Bauxite
Bauxite is an aluminium ore and is the main source of aluminium. This form of rock consists mostly of the minerals gibbsite Al3, boehmite γ-AlO, and diaspore α-AlO, in a mixture with the two iron oxides goethite and hematite, the clay mineral kaolinite, and small amounts of anatase TiO2...
mining industries also have a presence.
Arts and crafts form the heart of the West's production. Particularly renown are the goods produced by Bamum cooperative
Cooperative
A cooperative is a business organization owned and operated by a group of individuals for their mutual benefit...
s at Foumban. These include intricately decorated ceramics
Ceramics (art)
In art history, ceramics and ceramic art mean art objects such as figures, tiles, and tableware made from clay and other raw materials by the process of pottery. Some ceramic products are regarded as fine art, while others are regarded as decorative, industrial or applied art objects, or as...
made from Foumban's high-quality clay, woodworking
Woodworking
Woodworking is the process of building, making or carving something using wood.-History:Along with stone, mud, and animal parts, wood was one of the first materials worked by early humans. Microwear analysis of the Mousterian stone tools used by the Neanderthals show that many were used to work wood...
, brass
Brass
Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc; the proportions of zinc and copper can be varied to create a range of brasses with varying properties.In comparison, bronze is principally an alloy of copper and tin...
and bronze
Bronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
casting, and cotton 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, often featuring elaborate 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....
. The Bamileke are also skilled artisans, with their own cooperative
Cooperative
A cooperative is a business organization owned and operated by a group of individuals for their mutual benefit...
at Bafoussam.
Transportation
With such a small land area and large network of mostly paved roads, the West is one of Cameroon's more accessible provinces. Major routes through the area include National Road 4 to Yaoundé, National Road 5 from Békoko to Bandjoun, and National Road 6 (dubbed la Transafricaine) from Ekok, MamfeMamfe
Mamfe is a city and capital of the Manyu department of the Southwest Province in Cameroon. It is located from the border of Nigeria, on the Manyu River. It has a population of 20,300 . It is known as a centre for traditional religion and traditional medicine...
and Bamenda
Bamenda
Bamenda, also known as Abakwa and Mankon Town, is a city in northwestern Cameroon and capital of the North West Province. The city had a population of 269,530 at the 2005 Census, and is located 366 km north-west of the Cameroonian capital, Yaoundé...
in the Northwest Province through Mbouda and Foumban to Banyo and beyond in the Adamawa. Bafoussam forms an important nexus between the cities of Bamenda, Douala, Yaoundé, and Foumban. Roads often must wind and sharply turn to traverse the region's mountains, and traffic accidents are not uncommon. The region is reachable by air via domestic airport
Domestic airport
A domestic airport is an airport which handles only domestic flights or flights within the same country. Domestic airports don't have customs and immigration facilities and are therefore incapable of handling flights to or from a foreign airport....
s at Bafoussam and Koutaba
Koutaba
-References:* * - Thèse de Donation Avele, Université Montesquieu Bordeaux IV * Charles Nanga, , Mémoire ENA....
and an airstrip at Dschang.
Tourism
With its legions of artisans and its lavish sultan's palace, Foumban forms the West's main tourist draw. Visitors also come to experience the region's magnificent scenery and rich traditional culture.Administration and social conditions
The West's high population and economic dominance lend it great political importance. However, Cameroon's government and state-run media, largely run by 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...
's numerically inferior Beti-Pahuin tribal group, are often accused of anti-Bamileke bias. The Bamileke thus stand to gain a great deal from a more free and transparent government, and the West harbors many sympathisers for the presidential party's main opponents, the Social Democratic Front.
Government
Department (subnational entity)
Department is the name given to the administrative and political subdivisions of many countries.As a territorial unit, "department" was first used by the French Revolutionary governments, apparently to emphasize that each territory was simply an administrative sub-division of the united sovereign...
(departements), each headed by a prefect
Prefect
Prefect is a magisterial title of varying definition....
(prefet), or senior divisional officer. The president appoints all of these officers and the provincial governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
in Bafoussam. A special urban council presides over Bafoussam, staffed by presidentially appointed counselors who serve under a presidentially appointed delegate.
Noun (department)
Noun is a department of West Province in Cameroon. The department covers an area of 7687 km² and as of 2001 had a total population of 434,542.The capital of the department lies at Foumban.-Subdivisions:...
department, headquartered at Foumban
Foumban
Foumban or Fumban is a city in Cameroon, lying north east of Bafoussam. It has a population of 83,522 . It is a major town for the Bamoun people and is home to a museum of traditional arts and culture...
, is the largest division geographically and occupies most of the Bamum territories bordering the Adamawa and Centre Provinces. The Ndé
Ndé
Ndé is a department of West Region in Cameroon. The department covers an area of 1,524 km² and as of 2001 had a total population of 123,661.The capital of the department lies at Bangangté.-Subdivisions:...
department is southwest of this with its capital at Bangangté
Bangangte
Bangangté is a town and commune in Cameroon. It is the capital of the Ndé division of West Region. The town is primarily inhabited by the people of the Bamileke tribe....
. The Haut-Nkam
Haut-Nkam
Haut-Nkam is a department of West Province in Cameroon. The department covers an area of 958 km² and as of 2001 had a total population of 203,251.The capital of the department lies at Bafang.-Subdivisions:...
(Upper Nkam) department, capitalled at Bafang
Bafang
Bafang is a town and commune in Cameroon situated in the Haut-Nkam division of the West Province. It lies at the heart of the territory of the Bamiléké people, and has a population of roughly 80,500.-References:1...
is further west, and the Ménoua
Menoua
Menoua is a department of West Province in Cameroon. The department covers an area of 1,380 km² and as of 2001 had a total population of 372,244.The capital of the department lies at Dschang.-Subdivisions:...
department borders it to the northwest with its capital at Dschang
Dschang
Dschang is a city located in the West Province of Cameroon, with an estimated population of 87,000 in 2001, growing dramatically from 21,705 recorded in 1981. The 2006 Population is estimated to be 200,000 inhabitants....
. The Mifi
Mifi
Mifi is a department of West Province in Cameroon. The department covers an area of 402 km² and as of 2001 had a total population of 290,758.The capital of the department lies at Bafoussam.-Subdivisions:...
department, with its capital Bafoussam
Bafoussam
Bafoussam is the capital of the West Province of Cameroon, in the Bamboutos Mountains. It is the prefecture of the Mifi department, one of three arrondissements in the department. The city had a population of 239,287 inhabitants . The city is the region's center of trade. People are farming...
, forms the centre of the region, and it is hemmed in by a handful of smaller divisions: the Bamboutos
Bamboutos
Bamboutos is a department of West Province in Cameroon. The department covers an area of 1,173 km² and as of 2001 had a total population of 318,848.The capital of the department lies at Mbouda.-Subdivisions:...
department, headquartered at Mbouda
Mbouda
Mbouda is the divisional capital of the Bamboutos division, Western region of Cameroon. Mbouda is located between two major cities Bafoussam and Bamenda which are respectively the capital cities of the west and North-West regions of Cameroon....
, the Hauts-Plateaux
Hauts-Plateaux
Hauts-Plateaux is a department of West Province in Cameroon. The department covers an area of 415 km² and as of 2001 had a total population of 117,008. The capital of the department lies at Baham.-Subdivisions:...
(High Plateaus) department, governed from Baham
Baham, Cameroon
Baham is the seat of the Department of Hauts-Plateaux, in the Western Province of Cameroon. It also constitutes a traditional Bamileke chiefdom....
, and the Koung-Khi
Koung-Khi
Koung-Khi is a department of West Province in Cameroon. The department covers an area of 353 km² and as of 2001 had a total population of 121,794. The capital of the department lies at Bandjoun.-Subdivisions:...
department, governed from Bandjoun
Bandjoun
Bandjoun is a town and commune in West Province, Cameroon. Bandjoun is the capital of the Banjun people. The chief dwells in Hialah, and has many wives....
. These latter two divisions were recently formed due to population booms in the area.
Traditional political organisation
Traditional rulers still hold substantial power in the province. A sultan, whose palace and head of government are in Foumban, rules the Bamum. Bamum tradition claims an unbroken line of succession since 1394.The Bamileke, in contrast, are divided into over 100 groups, each headed by a chief (fon, foyn, or fo). The chiefs are themselves divided into various ranks, with major rulers living in Bandjoun, Bafang, Bangangté, Dschang, and Mbouda. Traditionally, chiefs command divine powers and own all lands by divine mandate. Individual tenants work plots at their chief's behest. These groupings thus form the basis for Bamileke tribal identity. Advisers, often called the “Council of Notables”, in turn serve the chiefs. Below them are various district chiefs who govern individual wards in the village.
Education
With nearly 1,000 schools serving its some 1,000 villages, the West relatively well provisioned educationally. The high population density contributes to classroom overcrowding, however. Students must often travel to nearby towns in order to pursue higher levels of education, since most villages do not have secondary schoolSecondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
s. The province is also the location of a bilingual university
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
at Dschang as well as the private Université des Montagnes
Université des Montagnes
Université des Montagnes is a private, non-profit university in Bangangté in the West Region of Cameroon, founded in 2000.Programs in the Health Sciences include Medical studies, Pharmacy, Dental Surgery, Nursing and Veterinary Science....
in Bangangté.
Health
Hospitals and health clinics are fairly prevalent in the region. The area's pleasant climate keeps it largely mosquito-free, so malariaMalaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
is not a problem as in much of the rest of Cameroon. Lack of sanitation
Sanitation
Sanitation is the hygienic means of promoting health through prevention of human contact with the hazards of wastes. Hazards can be either physical, microbiological, biological or chemical agents of disease. Wastes that can cause health problems are human and animal feces, solid wastes, domestic...
is a serious issue, as this leads to outbreaks of dysentery
Dysentery
Dysentery is an inflammatory disorder of the intestine, especially of the colon, that results in severe diarrhea containing mucus and/or blood in the faeces with fever and abdominal pain. If left untreated, dysentery can be fatal.There are differences between dysentery and normal bloody diarrhoea...
, hepatitis A
Hepatitis A
Hepatitis A is an acute infectious disease of the liver caused by the hepatitis A virus , an RNA virus, usually spread the fecal-oral route; transmitted person-to-person by ingestion of contaminated food or water or through direct contact with an infectious person...
, typhoid, and other ailments, especially in the more urbanised centres.
Cultural life
The West has a lively traditional culture. The Bamum observe traditional Muslim holy days, such as RamadanRamadan
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. They also hold an annual cultural festival called the Ngouon. Bamileke festivals vary from tribe to tribe, and most are held during the dry season or for special events such as funerals or the birth of twins. Some examples are the Macabo Festival of Bangoua
Bangoua
-References:*This article was initially created from French Wikipedia...
, the Medumba Festival of Bangangté, and the Ben Skin Dance, a dance of female sensuality that has grown increasingly commercialised.
A number of museums celebrate the West's history and traditions. Among these are the Musée du Palais du Sultan Bamun, the Musée des Arts et des Traditions Bamoun, and the Musée Sacré Djissé, all in Foumban. The Musée de la Chefferie Bandjoun is the region's largest repository of Bamileke artifacts.
Early population movements
Human beings have inhabited the West since prehistoric times, as evidenced by archaeological finds at Galima and Foumban. Bamileke groups likely entered the area from the Adamawa PlateauAdamawa 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...
in the 17th century, probably fleeing Fulbe
Fula people
Fula people or Fulani or Fulbe are an ethnic group spread over many countries, predominantly in West Africa, but found also in Central Africa and Sudanese North Africa...
(Fula) slave raids. They originally settled in what is now Bamum territory, but the Bamum forced them across the Noun in a series of wars in the 18th century. Bamileke tradition states that they migrated in three major groups. The first consisted of the Baleng, Bapi, and Bafussam (who founded the settlement at Bafoussam along with the Bamougoum). Next came the Bagam, Bamendu, Bamsoa, Bazu, and Bangu. The final wave consisted of the Bati and Bafangwa. This period also saw the Bamileke assimilation of several older populations.
Bamum tradition claims their kingdom was founded when Ncharé Yen led them to settle at Foumban (Mfom-Ben) in the 15th century. However, most scholars today place this migration as late as the 19th century, likely the result of population pressures caused by the same Fulbe jihads that had earlier pushed the Bamileke south. The king Mbwe-Mbwe extended Bamum holdings from the Mbam to the Noun Rivers, subjugating numerous local rulers in the process. Mbwe-Mbwe also kept the Fulbe from encroaching further south and west.
The Bamum experienced a golden age of sorts under the leadership of Sultan Ibrahim Njoya
Ibrahim Njoya
King Ibrahim Njoya , distinguished ruler, intellectual, and inventor, was 17th in a long dynasty of kings that ruled over Bamum and its people in western Cameroon dating back to the 14th century. He succeeded his father Nsangu and ruled from 1886/7 until his death in 1933...
(r. 1886-1933). Njoya was a patron of learning, and he converted to Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
under the tutelage of numerous Muslim scholars he had allowed into the kingdom. He developed an alphabet
Alphabet
An alphabet is a standard set of letters—basic written symbols or graphemes—each of which represents a phoneme in a spoken language, either as it exists now or as it was in the past. There are other systems, such as logographies, in which each character represents a word, morpheme, or semantic...
for the Bamum language (the Shumon script), and established schools to teach it. The Islamisation of the Bamum occurred during his reign.
The Bali-Chamba are the third major group to have pushed through the West Province territory in historical times. They came under the leadership of a warrior chief named Gawolbe and crossed the Noun around 1825. In 1830, they fought a war with the Bamileke Bafu-Fundong group near Dschang. Their leader, Gawolbe II died, and the tribe splintered as Gawolbe's seven sons fought for control. Most of these groups migrated further west into what is today the Northwest Province.
European contacts
German administration
The area had only indirect contact with European powers (mostly due to slave raids by tribes further south) before the GermanGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
annexation of the Cameroons in 1884. The first Europeans to enter the territory were representatives of the Basel Mission
Basel Mission
The Basel Mission is a Christian missionary society active from 1815 to 2001, when it was merged into Mission 21, the successor organization of Kooperation Evangelischer Kirchen und Missione founded in 2001....
in 1897. The Germans themselves did not move in to the territory until 1899 (though they had signed treaties with Bamileke leaders as early as 1884). Governor Jesko Von Puttkamer
Jesko von Puttkamer
Jesko Albert Eugen von Puttkamer was a German colonial military chief, and nine times governor of Kamerun:*13 May 1887 - 4 October 1887*14 August 1890 - 2 December 1890*31 December 1894 - 27 March 1895...
established the Gesellschaft Nordwest-Kamerun to monopolise trade in the area, and he established the divisional capital at Dschang in 1903. The area's cool temperatures drew many German settlers, and the colonisers established great coffee plantations, which they forced the natives to work. Larger plantations were established further south, and many Bamileke were forced or encouraged to move out of their traditional territories to work them. The Germans also set up a puppet over-chief for all the Bamileke, who had never before considered themselves a single group. Catholic missionaries reached the grasslands area in 1910. By 1912, most of the Bamileke had converted to Christianity.
Sultan Njoya welcomed the first German emissary to the Bamum kingdom in 1902 after hearing of the ruthless treatment given rebellious tribes further to the northwest. He even lent military support for the German campaign against the Nso
Nso
The Nso are a people of the Bamenda Grassfields in the Northwest Region of Cameroon. Their traditional language is Lamnso and their capital is Kumbo...
near Bamenda in 1906. The Bamum soldiers, eager for revenge for an earlier defeat to the Nso in 1888, committed such atrocities that the Germans sent them back. Njoya also ordered the building of a palace at Foumban in 1917, which he modeled after that of the German governor.
French administration
Bamileke and Bamum territory fell to the FrenchFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in 1916 after the Germans' defeat 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 territory became part of the Baré-Foumban-Nkongsamba administrative area, and the capital was moved to Foumban. Dschang served as the seat of a French-run school for the sons of chiefs, which the French used to indoctrinate as well as instruct. The French maintained German plantations and labour sources, and new operations sprung up, such as a palm plantation at Dschang. The new colonial overlords made improvements to the region's infrastructure, as well, especially to the road network.
The French continued Germany's policy of propping up sympathetic chiefs and deposing recalcitrant ones. They sought some sort of administrative centre amid the Bamileke domains, and in 1926, Fotso II of the Bandjoun people offered the site of Bafoussam, neighbouring his domains but not actually part of them. Mambou, chief of the area, opposed the colonials, but he was defeated, and the foundations of modern Bafoussam were laid. The Bamum did not escape the French sphere, either, as sultan Ibrahim Njoya was deposed in 1931 due to his pro-German views. Njoya died in a Yaoundé prison two years later.
After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the West was a centre of political pressure and protest against colonial rule. Other groups came into being to combat these (usually with France's blessing), including the Union Bamiléké in 1948. In 1956, France granted self-rule to its colony, and the West proved one of Cameroon's more politically influential areas due to groups such as Paysans Independants and the Assemblée Traditionnale Bamoun. The population boomed between 1958 and 1965, a period of high urbanisation in Cameroon.
In 1958, Ahmadou Ahidjo
Ahmadou Ahidjo
Ahmadou Babatoura Ahidjo was the first President of Cameroon from 1960 until 1982.-Early life:Ahidjo was born in Garoua, a major river port along the Benue River in northern Cameroun, which was at the time a French mandate territory...
became prime minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
of French Cameroon with a pro-independence platform. The powerful Union des Populations du Cameroun (UPC) party, including many Bamileke, opposed him as a French puppet. On 27 June 1959, several Bamileke areas were struck in what were later labeled terrorist
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
strikes. Ahidjo declared martial law
Martial law
Martial law is the imposition of military rule by military authorities over designated regions on an emergency basis— only temporary—when the civilian government or civilian authorities fail to function effectively , when there are extensive riots and protests, or when the disobedience of the law...
. His later attitudes toward the Bamileke likely were strongly influenced by these incidents.
Post-independence
Under Ahidjo, the current West Province was known as the Administrative Inspectorate of the West. He named Bafoussam the capital and set the province's current boundaries after union of British and French Cameroon in 1972.Ahidjo's battles with the UPC continued past Cameroon's independence on 1 January 1960. He outlawed the party's "terrorist" wing on 30 October 1963, leading to more strikes in Bamileke population centres and subsequent military retribution.
What support Ahidjo did enjoy among the Bamileke largely came from his pro-business policies. When the president resigned in 1982, his replacement, Paul Biya, sent his representative, Moussa Yaya, to reassure the West's businessmen that he would not prove unfriendly to their interests. Yaya mistrusted Biya, however, and only exacerbated Bamileke reservations. The Bamum, as well, were reluctant to see Cameroon's presidency change from a Muslim to a Christian. Much Bamileke and Bamum resentment for the Biya administration dates to this period.
In 2008, the President of the Republic of Cameroon, Paul Biya
Paul 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.
Other references
Fanso, V.G., Cameroon History for Secondary Schools and Colleges, Vol. 1: From Prehistoric Times to the Nineteenth Century. Hong Kong: Macmillan Education Ltd, 1989.Neba, Aaron, Ph.D., Modern Geography of the Republic of Cameroon, 3rd ed. Bamenda: Neba Publishers, 1999.
Ngoh, Victor Julius, History of Cameroon Since 1800. Limbé: Presbook, 1996.