Oku is a subdivision in North West Region, (formerly North West Province),

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 ...

. The term Oku also refers to the people who live in this region ruled by a Paramount Monarch ''HRM King Ngum IV. Ngum Ernest Merlin Shangand the primary language that they speak (although

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

is also widely spoken). Oku is a rural area containing about 36 villages with the population of about 180,000 inhabitants . The nearest really large city is

Bamenda Bamenda, also known as Abakwa and Mankon Town, is a city in northwestern Cameroon and capital of the Northwest Region, Cameroon, Northwest Region. The city has a population of about 2 million people and is located north-west of the Cameroonian ca ...

, but

Kumbo Kumbo, also known as Kimbo, is the second-largest city in the North West Province of Cameroon and the capital of Bui Division. It lies about 2000m above sea level and is situated approximately 110 km away from Bamenda (the provincial capital ...

, which is closer (about from the village of Keyon, or about 70 minutes by car, as the road network is not good and not paved), is large enough to have

telephone A telephone is a telecommunications device that permits two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most efficiently the human voice, into e ...

lines and a

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

-run

hospital A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emerge ...

. Oku also has a Sub-divisional hospital. However, three mobile telephone networks (MTN, ORANGE, CAMTEL) are available in Oku. As such, mobile internet facilities are available.

Geography and climate

Oku is a very mountainous region, around above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardised g ...

, and thus rather cool considering its latitude. It is not cold enough for snow, but at night during the dry season temperatures drop below human comfort range.

Mount Oku Mount Oku, or Kilum Mountain, is the largest volcano in the Oku Massif, in the Cameroon Volcanic Line, located in the Oku region of the Western High Plateau of Cameroon. It is the second highest mountain in mainland Central Africa. The stratovolc ...

, a

stratovolcano A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a conical volcano built up by many layers (strata) of hardened lava and tephra. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile with a summit crater and per ...

, reaches a height of 3011 metres (9880 feet) and is the second highest mountain of Cameroon after Mount Fako (better known as

Mount Cameroon Mount Cameroon is an active volcano in the South West region of Cameroon next to the city of Buea near the Gulf of Guinea. Mount Cameroon is also known as Cameroon Mountain or Fako (the name of the higher of its two peaks) or by its indigenous n ...

). The broader

Oku Oku or OKU may refer to: *Oku, Cameroon, subdivision in the Northwest Region of Cameroon ** Lake Oku, a crater lake on the Bamenda Plateau in the Northwest Region of Cameroon ** Mount Oku, the largest volcano in the Oku Massif, in the Cameroon Volc ...

or Foumbot volcanic field also includes many

scoria cone Scoria is a pyroclastic, highly vesicular, dark-colored volcanic rock that was ejected from a volcano as a molten blob and cooled in the air to form discrete grains or clasts.Neuendorf, K.K.E., J.P. Mehl, Jr., and J.A. Jackson, eds. (2005) ''G ...

s and

maar A maar is a broad, low-relief volcanic crater caused by a phreatomagmatic eruption (an explosion which occurs when groundwater comes into contact with hot lava or magma). A maar characteristically fills with water to form a relatively shallow ...

s, several of which are filled by

crater lake Crater Lake (Klamath language, Klamath: ''Giiwas'') is a volcanic crater lake in south-central Oregon in the western United States. It is the main feature of Crater Lake National Park and is famous for its deep blue color and water clarity. The ...

s. Lake Oku is a crater lake. Two of the crater lakes,

Lake Nyos Lake Nyos ( ) is a crater lake in the Region of Cameroon, located about northwest of Yaoundé, the capital. Nyos is a deep lake high on the flank of an inactive volcano in the Oku volcanic plain along the Cameroon line of volcanic activity ...

and

Lake Monoun Lake Monoun is a crater lake ( maar) in West Province, Cameroon, that lies in the Oku Volcanic Field. On August 15, 1984, a limnic eruption occurred at the lake, which resulted in the release of a large amount of carbon dioxide () that killed 37 ...

, have been the subject of extensive research. Quantities of

gas Gas is one of the four fundamental states of matter (the others being solid, liquid, and plasma). A pure gas may be made up of individual atoms (e.g. a noble gas like neon), elemental molecules made from one type of atom (e.g. oxygen), or ...

build up in the lakes and are occasionally released; being heavier than air, they pour down the mountainside and can suffocate entire villages. Some of the locals believe that a god lives in the lake and must be appeased. The region is an important one for

biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...

, especially the Kelum mountain Forest. Oku has many well graded earth road linking its various villages and neighbouring subdivisions like Noni, Babessi and Kumbo central, although none of them would be called good by most

Westerners The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to the various nations and states in the regions of Europe, North America, and Oceania.

. Oku has recently got a road link through Babungo from Bamenda. One can now take two hours from Bamenda through Ibal Oku, Mbockevuh, Mawes*lake oku* through Tolon, Chiar, Ikal to Elak and to Banso.

Economy

Oku is characterized by

subsistence farming Subsistence agriculture occurs when farmers grow food crops to meet the needs of themselves and their families on smallholdings. Subsistence agriculturalists target farm output for survival and for mostly local requirements, with little or no su ...

. There is a shortage of

arable land Arable land (from the la, arabilis, "able to be ploughed") is any land capable of being ploughed and used to grow crops.''Oxford English Dictionary'', "arable, ''adj''. and ''n.''" Oxford University Press (Oxford), 2013. Alternatively, for the ...

, and the people farm even the steep hillsides. A typical practice is to plant beans,

corn Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...

, and potatoes together in the same furrows. There is also a lot of bee farming in OKU and Oku is the only area in the whole of Cameroon that produces the natural white honey and has an Oku Honey Cooperative to manage and sell what bee farmers harvest."One of the first three products is Oku white honey from the Republic of Cameroon (Cameroon), which is produced in the nationally protected forest of Kilum Ijim near Mount Oku (French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD), 2013). As one of Cameroon’s first registered GIs, producers and cooperatives involved in the production of Oku white honey are hoping that their product can eventually compete on an international level with the likes of other well-known GIs and spur economic development."

Religion

The religion of the region is predominantly a mixture of assorted local traditional beliefs (chiefly

ancestor worship The veneration of the dead, including one's ancestors, is based on love and respect for the deceased. In some cultures, it is related to beliefs that the dead have a continued existence, and may possess the ability to influence the fortune of t ...

, also

animism Animism (from Latin: ' meaning 'breath, Soul, spirit, life') is the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct Spirituality, spiritual essence. Potentially, animism perceives all things—Animal, animals, Plant, plants, Ro ...

and

paganism Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christianity, early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions ot ...

) with diluted forms of

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 ...

(mostly Baptist and

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 ...

, but also

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

and

Charismatic Charisma () is a personal quality of presence or charm that compels its subjects. Scholars in sociology, political science, psychology, and management reserve the term for a type of leadership seen as extraordinary; in these fields, the term "ch ...

; the

Church of the Brethren The Church of the Brethren is an Anabaptist Christian denomination in the Schwarzenau Brethren (german: link=no, Schwarzenauer Neutäufer "Schwarzenau New Baptists") tradition that was organized in 1708 by Alexander Mack in Schwarzenau, Germa ...

are also represented). As of 2004, the former Fon (i.e., the traditional king of the people, but with no formal political power), who has a

background, was attempting some religious reforms, to move the people away from some of the more un-Christian traditional practices; these reforms have met with considerable resistance given that the present fon (Fon Sentieh II) . The shrines in Oku are Lumetu, Yicham, Wuchia. Lumetu is Famous for its in this shrine the houses the second grave of Mnkong Moteh. The palaces example is the Mbokenkfey palace (NtokeMbokenkfey)

References

{{Coord, 6, 11, 59, N, 10, 31, 07, E, region:CM_type:mountain_source:kolossus-dewiki, display=title Volcanoes of Cameroon Maars of Cameroon Northwest Region (Cameroon)