Final Project

                                                       Cameroon: The Armpit of Africa

            Cameroon is a beautiful place where everyone should visit. Located on the coast of Africa, visitors have access to both the water and a volcano. The three main cities are Yaounde, the capital, Douala, and Bamenda. Cameroon has a lot to offer in its geography, art, religion and origin, natural resources and trade, its first contact with Europe, in missions, and in its national identity.

Located on the West side of Africa, Cameroon is in what is sometimes called the armpit of Africa. The country has both wet and dry seasons, which refers to whether there is rain. The Atlantic Ocean is the lowest point of Cameroon, while the highest point is the volcano called Mount Cameroon. According to Kids National Geographic, Cameroon is a “mixture of desert plains in the north, mountains in the central regions, and tropical rain forests in the south. Along western border with Nigeria are mountains…”.[1] Lake Nyos is the lake that in 1986 killed over one thousand people, including people miles away by releasing its toxic gases.[2]

In Cameroon, there a stool that is said to be common, and represent a throne. Depending on the pattern of the stole, determine if it was made for authority. If the stool was made for someone of high standing, it cannot be sold or given away as the commoner stool could.[3] If the stool was made for a commoner then the stool can be given. Earlier in Cameroonian history people of high standing would be respected by being given a stool to sit on that was appropriate of their rank. One person of high standing was known to stand for their visit rather than to sit in a seat that was not made for a person of their quality. The way to determine the status of the stool was royal is it would show an animal such as “an elephant, buffalo, leopard, lion, or python”.[4]

Commonly seen in tourist markets are the bracelets made of cowry shells. These shells “represent wealth and royalty, respect and dignity”.[5] Although the flag has changed over the years the current Cameroonian flag is made of bright colors of green, red, yellow, with a yellow star.  Green stand for “hope, green vegetation”, red is for “unity and independence”, the yellow stands for the “sun, the source of happiness and prosperity”, and the star stands for the “unity of Cameroon”.[6]

            40% of Cameroon is Animist, believing everything has a spirit, 40% is Christian, and 20 percent is Muslim. Christianity tends to be prevalent in the south and Muslim dominates the north.[7] One faith was brought to Cameroon by a Ugandan Man named Enoch Olinga, who had “created the largest Baha’I community in West Africa”.[8]

            With many resources, Cameroon’s agricultural products are “coffee, cocoa, cotton, rubber…bananas…and timber” to name a few.[9] Much of its wood goes to China and Europe.[10] The United States also imports from Cameroon.

            The Portuguese were the first contacts to Cameroon according to Bernard Fonlon in his article “The Language Problem in Cameroon (An Historical Perspective)” named by Fernando Gomez and his men when they found the Wouri River and named it the “river Rio does Camaros, the river of Pawns” because of the number of prawn the river contained.[11] Interesting fact the King for whom Gomez was exploring was the nephew of Henry the Navigator.[12]

            The first missionaries to Cameroon were slaves to Jamaica from Africa.[13] Once found man named Joseph Merrick arrive, he was one of “the first Negro Jamaicans to enter the ministry” and had a significant impact on the beginning of learning the new language. According to Brutsch, the first missionaries were the Baptist Missionary Society, then came the Basal Mission, German Baptist, and French.[14] The Pentecostals, particularly Full Gospel Mission Cameroon, according to Akoko Mbe, began in 1961. It is the largest Pentecostal church in Cameroon.[15] These are just of few of the many missionaries that have worked in Cameroon.

            Cameroon has been significantly affected by immigrants over the years since Cameroon does not have as much unrest as other African countries therefore people go to Cameroon to seek safety. Also, the national identity is changing because many of the students are going to Germany to study and doctors and nurses are leaving the country to find better paying job than in Cameroon.[16] In the past Cameroon had been highly affected by it people leaving the country looking of better school and higher paying jobs. As a result, the Cameroonian government started giving teachers raise if they would come back to Cameroon to teach, the stipend depended on their level of schooling.[17]

            Now that you know a little bit more about Cameroon, I encourage you to go for a visit. If you are worried they do not speak English, if you go to the cities you will find English speakers. I hope you have learned a lot from this paper and would love to hear about your adventures in Cameroon.

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[1] “Cameroon.” Relevant. 2016. Accessed January 19, 2017. http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/explore/countries/cameroon/#Cameroon-gorilla.jpg

[2] Thuras, Dylan. “Lake Nyos: Deadliest lake in the world suffocated over 1,746 people in one night.” Relevant. 2017. Accessed January 20, 2017. http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/lake-nyos-the-deadliest-lake-in-the-world

[3] Rand. “Cameroon Stools.” Rand African Art. Last Modified January 1, 2004. Accessed January 27, 2017. http://www.randafricanart.com/Cameroon_stool.html.

[4] Rand. “Cameroon Stools.” Rand African Art. Last Modified January 1, 2004. Accessed January 27, 2017. http://www.randafricanart.com/Cameroon_stool.html.

[5] Rand. “Cameroon Stools.” Rand African Art. Last Modified January 1, 2004. Accessed January 27, 2017. http://www.randafricanart.com/Cameroon_stool.html.

[6] “Cameroon Flag: Description and Meaning.” Cameroon Today: Cameroon Travel and Information Guide. Last modified n/a. Accessed January 27, 2017. http://www.cameroon-today.com/cameroon-flag.html.

[7] George Thomas Kurian “Cameroon: Religions” World Geography and Culture Online, accessed February 3, 2017, Facts On File, Inc.

[8] Anthony A. Lee, “Underground Movement in a Missionary Church: The Baha'i Faith in British Cameroons, 1952–1962,” Journal of Religious History 36, no. 4 (December 2012): 4, accessed February 3, 2017, Wiley Online Library. 

[9] “The World Factbook: Cameroon: Economy,” Central Intelligence Agency. Last modified January 12, 2017. Accessed February 9, 2017. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cm.html.

[10] “Economy & Industry,” Our Africa, last modified n/a, accessed February 9, 2017, http://www.our-africa.org/cameroon/economy-industry. Paragraph 9

[11] Bernard Fonlon, “The Language Problem in Cameroon. (An Historical Perspective),” Comparative Education 5, no.1 (February 1969): 28, accessed February 17, 2017, JSTOR.

[12] John Lang, “The Rediscovery of West Africa”, The Land of the Golden Trade [West Africa] (London: T.C. & E.C. Jack, 1910), 35, accessed February 17, 2017, https://ia802205.us.archive.org/33/items/landofgoldentrad00langrich/landofgoldentrad00langrich.pdf

[13] Jaap van Slageren, “Jamaican Missionaries in Cameroon,” Exchange 30, no. 2 (2001): 146, accessed February 24, 2017, ATLA0000024697

[14] Jean Rene Brutsch, “A Glance at Missions in Cameroon,” International Review of Mission 39, no. 155 (July 1, 1950): 303-305, accessed February 24, 2017, http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal

[15] Akoko Robert Mbe, “From the Asceticism to a Gospel of Prosperity: The Case of Full Gospel Mission Cameroon,” Journal for the Study of Religion 17, no. 2 (2004): 48, accessed February 24, 2017, http://www.jstor.org/stable/24764335

[16] Blessing Uchenna Mberu and Roland Pongou, “Crossing Boundaries: Internal, Regional, and International Migration in Cameroon,” International Migration, 54, no. 1 (February 2016): 109, accessed March 8, 2017, Wiley Online Library.

[17] Blessing, “Crossing Boundaries: Internal, Regional, and International Migration in Cameroon,” 110.

                                     

Bibliography Page

Brutsch, Jean Rene. “A Glance at Missions in Cameroon.” International Review of Mission 17, no. 2 (July 1950): 302-310. Accessed February 24, 2017. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1758-6631.

“Cameroon Flag: Description and Meaning.” Cameroon Today: Cameroon Travel and Information Guide. Last modified n/a. Accessed January 27, 2017. http://www.cameroon-today.com/cameroon-flag.html.

“Cameroon Geography.” Relevant. July 13, 2016. Accessed January 19, 2017. http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/africa/cameroon/cmland.htm

Fonlon, Bernard. “The Language Problem in Cameroon. (An Historical Perspective).” Comparative Education 5, no. 1 (February 1969):25-49. Accessed February 17, 2017, JSTOR.

Kurian, George Thomas, ed. "Cameroon: Religions." World Geography and Culture Online. Accessed February 3, 2017. Facts On File, Inc.

Lang, John. “The Rediscovery of West Africa”. The Land of the Golden Trade [West Africa] (London: T.C. & E.C. Jack, 1910. Accessed February 17, 2017. https://ia802205.us.archive.org/33/items/landofgoldentrad00langrich/landofgoldentrad00langrich.pdf

Lee, Anthony A. “Underground Movement in a Missionary Church: The Baha'i Faith in British Cameroons, 1952–1962.” Journal of Religious History 36, no. 4 (December 2012): 577-92. Accessed February 3, 2017. Wiley Online Library.

Mbe, Akoko Mbe. “From the Asceticism to a Gospel of Prosperity: The Case of Full Gospel Mission Cameroon.” Journal for the Study of Religion 17, no. 2 (2004): 47-66. Accessed February 24, 2017. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24764335.

Mberu, Blessing Uchenna and Pongou, Roland. “Crossing Boundaries: Internal, Regional, and International Migration in Cameroon.” International Migration, 54, no. 1 (February 2016): 110-113. Accessed March 8 2017. Wiley Online Library.

Rand. “Cameroon Stools.” Rand African Art. Last Modified January 1, 2004. Accessed January 27, 2017. http://www.randafricanart.com/Cameroon_stool.html.

Slageren, Jaap van. “Jamaican Missionaries in Cameroon.” Exchange 30, no, 2 (2001): 145-156. Accessed February 24, 2017. ATLA0000024

SOS Children. “Economy & Industry.” Our Africa. Last modified N/A. Accessed February 9, 2017. http://www.our-africa.org/cameroon/economy-industry.

Thuras, Dylan. “Lake Nyos: Deadliest lake in the world suffocated over 1,746 people in one night.” Relevant. 2017. Accessed January 20, 2017. http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/lake-nyos-the-deadliest-lake-in-the-world

“The World Factbook: Cameroon: Economy,” Central Intelligence Agency.  Last modified January 12, 2017. Accessed February 9, 2017. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cm.html.