Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

has a rich and diverse culture made up of a mix of about 250 indigenous populations and just as many languages and customs. The country is nicknamed "Little Africa" as geographically, Cameroon consists of coastline, mountains, grass plains, forest, rainforest and desert, all of the geographical regions in Africa in one country. This also contributes to its cultural diversity as ways of life and traditional food dishes and traditions vary from geographical region to geographical region.

Holidays

Religious holidays in

include: * Christian: Good Friday,

Easter Sunday Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the ''Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel P ...

, Easter Monday, Pentecost, Ascension Thursday and

Palm Sunday Palm Sunday is a Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem, an event mentioned in each of the four canonical Gospels. Palm Sunday marks the first day of Hol ...

* Muslim: Eid ul-Fitr, Eid ul-Adha and Ramadan

Politics

Since an amendment was added to the Cameroon Constitution in 1992, Cameroon has been a multi-party state, which means there are multiple parties that have the potential to gain power over the government. Cameroon's first president, Ahmadou Ahidjo, was in power from 1960 to 1982. The president holds executive power for seven years, for a maximum of two terms. The president and his cabinet hold the main power at the national level, while at the local level, the ''prefet'' and ''sous-prefet'' hold the most power. Getting a government position can happen several different ways: Regional background, ethical background, party loyalty, and who you know. The national and local levels have been known to work together, even though they have to deal with their own separate issues from each other.

Religion

Cameroon culture consists of numerous religions including

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

(about 79%), Islam (about 21%), and many other indigenous religions. The citizens of Cameroon are entitled to

freedom of religion Freedom of religion or religious liberty is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance. It also includes the freed ...

, as it is stated within their constitution. Therefore, citizens are free to practice any religion they choose, without harassment or forceful conversion. The northern part of Cameroon is heavily occupied by the

Fulani The Fula, Fulani, or Fulɓe people ( ff, Fulɓe, ; french: Peul, links=no; ha, Fulani or Hilani; pt, Fula, links=no; wo, Pël; bm, Fulaw) are one of the largest ethnic groups in the Sahel and West Africa, widely dispersed across the region. ...

people ( ff, Fulɓe; french: Peul or ''Peulh''; also known ''

Mbororo The Wodaabe ( ff, Woɗaaɓe, Adlam: ), also known as the Mbororo or Bororo (Adlam: , ), or Pullo, have a name that is designated to those of the Fula ethnic group who are traditionally nomadic and considered to be "ignorant of Islam." For thi ...

'', though this has sometimes been seen as pejorative). The Fulani are mainly

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

, because Islam is the dominant religion in the northern region. The western region is home of the Bamum people, an ethnic group that also practices the Islamic religion. The French-speaking people are often inhabitants of the southern and western regions and the majority of them are

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, while English-speaking citizens more to the west tend to be Protestants.

Fashion

Cameroon's relatively large and diverse population is also diverse with respect to its contemporary fashion. Climate, religious, ethnic and cultural belief systems as well as influences from colonialism, imperialism and globalization are all reflected in the clothes worn by modern Cameroonians. Notable Cameroonian articles of clothing include: Pagnes, a

sarong A sarong or sarung () is a large tube or length of fabric, often wrapped around the waist, worn in Southeast Asia, South Asia, Western Asia, Northern Africa, East Africa, West Africa, and on many Pacific islands. The fabric often has woven plaid o ...

s worn by Cameroon women,

Chechia The chechia (Tunisian Arabic: شاشية ) is a traditional headgear worn in Tunisia and Libya. It is considered in Tunisia to be the national headwear. Close relative to the European beret, the chechia is originally a cap-shaped bonnet, colore ...

, a traditional hat, Kwa, a male handbag and Gandura, male custom attire. Wrappers and

loincloths A loincloth is a one-piece garment, either wrapped around itself or kept in place by a belt. It covers the genitals and, at least partially, the buttocks. Loincloths which are held up by belts or strings are specifically known as breechcloth or ...

are used extensively by both women and men but their use varies by region with influences from

styles more present in the north and

Igbo Igbo may refer to: * Igbo people, an ethnic group of Nigeria * Igbo language, their language * anything related to Igboland, a cultural region in Nigeria See also * Ibo (disambiguation) * Igbo mythology * Igbo music * Igbo art * * Igbo-Ukwu, a ...

and

Yoruba The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitute ...

styles in the south and west.

Imane Ayissi Imane Ayissi (born 1969) is a Cameroonian dancer, performer, model, and haute couture fashion designer. Early life Ayissi is the son of Jean-Baptiste Ayissi Ntsama, a champion boxer, and Julienne Honorine Eyenga Ayissi, the first crowned Miss C ...

is one of Cameroon's top fashion designers and has received international recognition.

Culture and traditions

Cameroon has 250-300 distinct groups, and an estimated 300+ languages. These languages include the Akoose language, the

Gbaya languages The Gbaya languages, also known as Gbaya–Manza–Ngbaka, are a family of perhaps a dozen languages spoken mainly in the western Central African Republic and across the border in Cameroon, with one language (Ngbaka) in the Democratic Republic o ...

, the Fula language, the

Gyele language The Kwasio language, also known as Ngumba / Mvumbo, Bujeba, and Gyele / Kola, is a language of Cameroon, spoken in the south along the coast and at the border with Equatorial Guinea by some 70,000 members of the Ngumba, Kwasio, Gyele and Ma ...

, the Koonzime language, the Mundang language, the

Ngiemboon language The Ngiemboon (N'Jhamboon) language, ''Ngyɛmbɔɔŋ'', is one of a dozen Bamileke languages spoken in Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), ...

, and the

Vengo language Vengo (), or Babungo, is a Grassfields language and the language of the Vengo people from the village of Babungo in the Cameroonian Grassfields. The spelling Bamungo is also often found. In their own language, the Vengo people call their vill ...

. Others include Ewondo, Bassa,

Bamileke The Bamileke are a Central African people who inhabit the Western High Plateau of Cameroon. Languages The Bamileke languages belong to the Grassfields branch of the Niger-Congo language family, which is sometimes labeled as a " Bantuoid lang ...

, Duala and

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

in the North and Far-North regions. Cameroon is divided into several provinces, which are dominated by specific ethnic or religious groups. Ethnic divisions often correspond to geography, which is also widely varied. Religious differences often correspond to colonial or other historical influence. Partly through the influence of

colonialism Colonialism is a practice or policy of control by one people or power over other people or areas, often by establishing colony, colonies and generally with the aim of economic dominance. In the process of colonisation, colonisers may impose the ...

, there is a national culture, and two distinct regional cultures: the Anglophone and Francophone regions, which primarily speak English and French and use different legal systems. The national culture is established through public institutions such as school, the multiparty political system, shared history of colonialism and a national love of football.Pamela Feldman-Savelsberg, "Cameroon". In Carol R. Ember and

Melvin Ember Melvin Lawrence Ember (January 13, 1933 – September 27, 2009) was an American cultural anthropologist and cross-cultural researcher with wide-ranging interests who combined an active research career with writing for nonprofessionals. Biograph ...

(eds), ''Countries and Their Cultures'', Vol. 1. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2001, pp. 384–396. Theatre of Cameroon is also another important aspect of local culture.

Media

Gallery

Traditional dance accessories

South

File:AccessoiresDanse.jpg File:AccessoiresDanse1.jpg File:AccessoiresDanse2.jpg File:AccessoiresDanse3.jpg File:AccessoiresDanse6.jpg File:AccessoiresDanse7.jpg File:AccessoiresDanse8.jpg File:AccessoiresDanse9.jpg File:AccessoiresDanse10.jpg File:AccessoiresDanse11.jpg File:AccessoiresDanse13.jpg File:AccessoiresDanse14.jpg File:ParuresDanse4.jpg

North

File:AccessoiresDanseNord4.jpg File:AccessoiresDanseNord.jpg File:AccessoiresDanseNord1.jpg File:AccessoiresDanseNord2.jpg File:AccessoiresDanseNord3.jpg File:AccessoiresDanseNord6.jpg File:AccessoiresDanseNord8.jpg File:AccessoiresDanseNord7.jpg File:AccessoiresDanseNord9.jpg File:AccessoiresDanse16.jpg File:AccessoiresDanse17.jpg File:AccessoiresDanse19.jpg File:AccessoiresDanse20.jpg

North-West

File:AccessoireDanseNordOuest.jpg File:AccessoiresNordOuest.jpg File:AccessoiresNordOuest2.jpg File:AccessoiresNordOuest4.jpg File:CastagnettesNordOuest.jpg

West

File:AccessoiresOuest.jpg

Littoral

File:Instrument sawa1.jpg

East

File:DanseursPymees1.jpg File:ParuresDanse1.jpg File:ParuresDanse2.jpg

Traditional Dances

Centre

File:DanseurCentre.jpg File:Prestation5.jpg File:GroupeDanse4.jpg

South

File:AccessoiresDanse5.jpg File:AccessoiresDanse12.jpg File:GroupeDanse.jpg File:GroupeDanse5.jpg File:GroupeDanse3.jpg File:Prestation.jpg File:Prestation4.jpg File:Prestation3.jpg File:Prestation1.jpg

North

File:InstrumentistesNord.jpg File:DanseursNord.jpg File:DanseurNord1.jpg File:GroupeDanseNord2.jpg File:DanseurNord2.jpg File:DanseurNord3.jpg File:PrestationNord2.jpg File:DanseuseNord.jpg File:DanseursNord4.jpg File:GroupeDanseNord1.jpg File:PrestationNord.jpg File:PrestationNord3.jpg File:DanseurNord4.jpg File:DanseurNord.jpg File:GroupeDanseNord.jpg File:GroupeDanseNord3.jpg, Danse

Tupuri Tupuri (or Toupouri) is a language mostly spoken in the Mayo-Kebbi Est Region of southern Chad and in small parts of northern Cameroon. It is an Mbum language spoken by the Tupuri people with approximately 300,000 speakers. Tupuri was erroneou ...

File:GroupeTradionnelNord.jpg, Dance Group File:InstrumentistesNord1.jpg, Tam-tam player

North-West

File:DanseursNordOuest.jpg File:DanseurNordOuest.jpg File:DanseursNordOuest3.jpg File:PrestationNordOuest3.jpg File:DanseursNordOuest4.jpg File:DanseurNordOuest8.jpg File:DanseursNordOuest2.jpg File:DanseurNordOuest4.jpg File:PrestationNordOuest.jpg File:InstrumentisteNordOuest2.jpg File:InstrumentistesNordOuest.jpg File:DanseurNordOuest6.jpg File:DanseurNordOuest3.jpg File:DanseurNordOuest0.jpg File:DanseurNordOuest7.jpg File:PrestationNordOuest2.jpg File:InstrumentistesNordOuest3.jpg File:JoueurSanza.jpg, Joueur de guitare

South-West

File:Groupe danse sud ouest.jpg File:Groupe danse sud ouest1.jpg File:Groupe danse sud ouest5.jpg File:Groupe danse sud ouest6.jpg File:Groupe danse sud ouest3.jpg File:Groupe danse sud ouest4.jpg

Littoral

File:Danse sawa7.jpg File:Danse sawa3.jpg File:Danse sawa8.jpg File:Danse sawa1.jpg File:Danse sawa2.jpg File:Danse sawa4.jpg File:Danse sawa6.jpg File:Danse sawa9.jpg

East

File:DanseursPygmees.jpg File:DanseursPygmees2.jpg File:GroupeDanse1.jpg File:JoueursTamtam1.jpg, Joueur de Tam-tam

West

File:DanseurOuest2.jpg File:PrestationOuest.jpg File:PrestationOuest1.jpg File:InstrumentisteOuest1.jpg, Tam-Tam player File:PrestationOuest2.jpg File:DanseurOuest.jpg File:JoueursTamtamOuest.jpg, Group of Tam-tam players

Traditional musical instruments

South

File:Balafon1.jpg File:Balafons3.jpg File:JoueursBalafons1.jpg File:Calebasse1.jpg File:GuitareTraditionelle.jpg, ''Mvet''

North

File:MusicienNord.jpg File:InstrumentisteNord.jpg File:InstrumentistesNord2.jpg File:InstrumentNord5.jpg File:InstrumentNord2.jpg File:Balafon4.jpg File:TamtamNord.jpg File:TamTamNord.jpg File:InstrumentNord.jpg File:BalafonNord.jpg File:InstrumentNord7.jpg, Tam-tam File:InstrumentNord6.jpg, Guitar File:InstrumentNord4.jpg File:InstrumentNord3.jpg

North-West

File:JoueurBalafon.jpg File:TamtamNordOuest3.jpg File:TamtamNordOuest5.jpg File:TamtamNordOuest1.jpg File:TamtamNordOuest4.jpg File:Castagnettes.jpg File:InstrumentisteNordOuest.jpg File:InstrumentNordOuest.jpg File:InstrumentNordOuest1.jpg File:InstrumentisteNordOuest4.jpg File:InstrumentNordOuest2.jpg File:FluteNordOuest.jpg, Flute File:JoueurSanza1.jpg, ''Sanza'' File:InstrumentNordOuest4.jpg, Tam-tam File:GuitareNordOuest.jpg, Guitar File:GuitareNordOuest1.jpg, Another guitar

Littoral

File:Instrument sawa.jpg File:Danse sawa.jpg File:Danse sawa10.jpg

East

File:Tamtams3.jpg File:Balafon2.jpg

West

File:DanseurOuest3.jpg, Bamileke cowbells File:BalafonOuest3.jpg, Balafon File:BalafonOuest4.jpg, Another balafon File:TamtamNordOuest.jpg, Tam-tam File:JoueurSanzaOuest.jpg, ''Sanza'' File:JoueurSanzaOuest1.jpg, Sanza File:BalafonOuest2.jpg, Balafon File:BalafonOuest1.jpg, Balafon File:InstrumentOuest2.jpg File:InstrumentOuest.jpg

References

External links

* * The portal of Cameroon on the SPLA Sud Planète database managed by

br>KAMERCULTURES
{{DEFAULTSORT:Culture Of Cameroon pt:Camarões#Cultura

Holidays

Politics

Religion

Fashion

Culture and traditions

Media

Gallery

Traditional dance accessories

South

North

North-West

West

Littoral

East

Traditional Dances

Centre

South

North

North-West

South-West

Littoral

East

West

Traditional musical instruments

South

North

North-West

Littoral

East

West

See also

References

Further reading

External links