Long before debates about gender equality, polygamy, and the Sustainable Development Goals, the Kingdom of Foumbina had its own grand saga of love and power (the book). He courted her. She refused. He insisted. And she answered: “I will love you… if I am yours alone.” “But I will be king,” he said. “A king…
So, we already know that I come from Cameroon. And in Cameroon, most people are aware that the traditional symbol of the Bamoun* people is a two-headed serpent. However, in certain popular interpretations, this symbol is seen as a sign of betrayal or duplicity. People say, “the serpent has two heads because it deceives, it…
When you grow up in a Cameroonian city, traditional masks are something you don’t often come across. Maybe, hanging on a wall at an uncle’s house. In a craft shop. Behind the glass in a museum. Personally, as a child, I found them terrifying. I did everything I could to avoid looking at them for…
The Bamoun people In the heart of the western highlands of Cameroon, the Bamoun Kingdom took shape over the centuries. Founded in the 14th century, it became one of the most powerful and organized kingdoms in Central Africa. Foumban, its capital, was a center of art, politics, and spirituality. Here, symbols were never chosen at…
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