January - March 2017 •
The Lion King
• 21
Country Focus
to come into the country.
CULTURE
Over 250 ethnic groups live in
Cameroun’s 10 regions. Across the
different regions, communities have
an allegiance to local chiefs as well
as being ruled by central govern-
ment. As might be expected from
the large number of ethnic groups,
Cameroun’s people follow different
religions. Around half are Christian
(Catholics and Protestant), mostly in
the south. In the North, Muslims domi-
nate, accounting for nearly a quarter
of the population. The remaining 25%
of the population follow variations of
traditional animist beliefs, paying hom-
age to the spirits of ancestors.
With so many cultures and traditions,
there is general tolerance between
groups. Camerounians tend to be
more conscious of a person’s region,
than their religion. And in some
aspects of life, particularly in sport and
football, Camerounians think nation-
ally!
Music and dance are an integral part
of Camerounian ceremonies, festivals,
social gatherings, and storytelling.
Popular music styles include ambasse
bey of the coast, assiko of the Bassa,
mangambeu of the Bangangte, and
tsamassi of the Bamileke. The two most
popular styles of music are makossa
and bikutsi.
The different cultures have also
blessed this nation with a very big
variety of foodstuff. Camerounian cui-
sine is known for its uniqueness, nutri-
tive value and richness. A tourist can
eat one new meal every day for a
whole month. Cocoyam, maize, cas-
sava (manioc), millet, plantains, pota-
toes, rice, fresh vegetables, fish, just to
name a few are available throughout
the year.
SPORTS
There is no way you can talk about
Cameroun without mentioning sports,
and most importantly, football. The
Indomitable Lions, the male senior
team, were the first African team to
qualify for the quarterfinals of the world
cup in 1990. They have been a domi-
nant force on the continent winning 5
AFCON titles. The most recent won at
the just ended 2017 AFCON in Gabon.
In addition they have been to the
world cup 6 times. The Olympic foot-
ball team is one of the only 2 African
countries to win a gold medal at
the Olympic in Sydney 2000. Football
remains one of Cameroun’s biggest
exports with thousands of players play-
ing on almost every continent.
Other sports disciplines too have
brought much glory to the country.
Francoise Mbango bagged 2 gold
medals in the triple jump at the
Olympics in 2004 and 2008. Handball,
volleyball basketball, wrestling, weight
lifting and martial arts are sports also
very present in Cameroun.
Cameroun last year hosted the
Female African nation’s cup and in
2019 will be hosting the male AFCON.
Preparations are gonging on to ensure
all is set before the start of the tourna-
ment.
Picture by Ludwig Tröller
Sunset on Lobé River.
Take a local boat ride up this lush river to visit
the pygmies of Bagyeli village. Lobe waterfalls
empty the waters of the Lobe river directly into
the Atlantic ocean, a very rare phenomenon.
