The South Region (french: Région du Sud) is located in the southwestern and south-central portion of the
Republic of 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 ...
. It is bordered to the east by the
East Region, to the north by the
Centre Region, to the northwest by the
Littoral Region, to the west by the
Gulf of Guinea
The Gulf of Guinea is the northeasternmost part of the tropical Atlantic Ocean from Cape Lopez in Gabon, north and west to Cape Palmas in Liberia. The intersection of the Equator and Prime Meridian (zero degrees latitude and longitude) is in the ...
(part of the
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
), and to the south by the countries of
Equatorial Guinea
Equatorial Guinea ( es, Guinea Ecuatorial; french: Guinée équatoriale; pt, Guiné Equatorial), officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea ( es, link=no, República de Guinea Ecuatorial, french: link=no, République de Guinée équatoria ...
,
Gabon
Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north ...
, and
Congo. The South occupies 47,720 km
2 of territory, making it the fourth largest region in the nation. The major ethnic groups are the various
Beti-Pahuin
The Beti-Pahuin are a Bantu ethnic group located in rain forest regions of Cameroon, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and São Tomé and Príncipe. Though they separate themselves into several individual clans, they all share a c ...
peoples, such as th
Ewondo Fang
A fang is a long, pointed tooth. In mammals, a fang is a modified maxillary tooth, used for biting and tearing flesh. In snakes, it is a specialized tooth that is associated with a venom gland (see snake venom). Spiders also have external fang ...
, an
Bulu
The South Region has a fair amount of
industry
Industry may refer to:
Economics
* Industry (economics), a generally categorized branch of economic activity
* Industry (manufacturing), a specific branch of economic activity, typically in factories with machinery
* The wider industrial sector ...
, its main commerce consisting of
logging
Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks or skeleton cars.
Logging is the beginning of a supply chain ...
,
timber
Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...
,
mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...
, and
offshore oil drilling
Offshore drilling is a mechanical process where a wellbore is drilled below the seabed. It is typically carried out in order to explore for and subsequently extract petroleum that lies in rock formations beneath the seabed. Most commonly, the te ...
.
Commercial agriculture
Intensive agriculture, also known as intensive farming (as opposed to extensive farming), conventional, or industrial agriculture, is a type of agriculture, both of crop plants and of animals, with higher levels of input and output per unit of ag ...
is also important in the South, the major
cash crops being
cocoa
Cocoa may refer to:
Chocolate
* Chocolate
* ''Theobroma cacao'', the cocoa tree
* Cocoa bean, seed of ''Theobroma cacao''
* Chocolate liquor, or cocoa liquor, pure, liquid chocolate extracted from the cocoa bean, including both cocoa butter and ...
and
rubber
Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Thailand, Malaysia, and ...
.
Cattle rearing and
fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...
are significant economic components, as well. Much of the population is made up of
subsistence farmers.
2008 presidential decree abolishes provinces
In 2008, the President of the Republic of Cameroon,
President Paul Biya signed decrees abolishing "Provinces" and replacing them with "Regions". Hence, all of the country's ten provinces are now known as Regions. This was to be the end of South.
Geography
Land
The
soil
Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, liquids, and organisms that together support life. Some scientific definitions distinguish ''dirt'' from ''soil'' by restricting the former te ...
of the South is made up primarily of
metamorphic rock
Metamorphic rocks arise from the transformation of existing rock to new types of rock in a process called metamorphism. The original rock (protolith) is subjected to temperatures greater than and, often, elevated pressure of or more, causin ...
, particularly
gneiss
Gneiss ( ) is a common and widely distributed type of metamorphic rock. It is formed by high-temperature and high-pressure metamorphic processes acting on formations composed of igneous or sedimentary rocks. Gneiss forms at higher temperatures an ...
. However, the land is riddled with
faults around the border with the Centre Province that arc toward the border with Congo;
granite
Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...
deposits occur along this line. The soil is primarily
ferrallitic Ferrallitisation is the process in which rock is changed into a soil consisting of clay ( kaolinite) and sesquioxides, in the form of hydrated oxides of iron and aluminium. In humid tropical areas, with consistently high temperatures and rainfall fo ...
except for southwestern portions near the border with Equatorial Guinea and moving north to
Ebolowa
Ebolowa is the capital of Cameroon's South Region. It has a population of 79,500 (2001 estimate). It is a colonial town and a notable agricultural centre.
Overview
The main crop is cocoa. It also hosts an important number of administrative se ...
, where it is mixed. Due to high amounts of leaching, the South's red earth is only marginally productive.
Drainage
Several river systems drain the South Region. The northernmost of these is the
Nyong
The Nyong (formerly german: Yong) is a river in Cameroon. The river flows approximately to empty into the Gulf of Guinea.
Course
The Nyong originates east of the town of Abong-Mbang, where the northern rain forest feeds it. The river's leng ...
, which forms part of the border with the Littoral. The coastal Ocean division is drained by two rivers, the
Lokounje to the north and the
Lobé to the south. The
Ntem, or Campo, rises in the east of the region and flows along or just north of the southern border to the town of
Campo. All of these rivers empty into the Atlantic Ocean.
The
Dja and
Lobo Rivers flow through the easternmost division of the region, splitting south of
Bengbis and encompassing the
Dja Reserve
Dja Faunal Reserve (Réserve de faune du Dja, also known as Réserve de Biosphère Dja), located in south eastern Cameroon, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site inscribed in 1987. Causes of inscription include diversity of species present in the park, ...
. These two rivers form part of the
Congo River basin
The Congo River ( kg, Nzâdi Kôngo, french: Fleuve Congo, pt, Rio Congo), formerly also known as the Zaire River, is the second longest river in Africa, shorter only than the Nile, as well as the second largest river in the world by discharge ...
.
Relief
The South Region begins at
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 ...
on the coast. The land slowly climbs throughout the Kribi-Douala basin, which averages 300–600 metres in altitude, until it reaches the
South Cameroon Plateau
The South Cameroon Plateau or Southern Cameroon Plateau (french: Plateau Sud-Camerounais) is the dominant geographical feature of Cameroon. The plateau lies south of the Adamawa Plateau and southeast of the Cameroon Range. It slopes south and west ...
with elevations of 500 to 1000 metres above sea level. Rocky promontories on the coast and rolling, tree-covered hills inland characterize the land. The
Ntem Massif Ntem may refer to:
*Ntem (department), Gabon
*Campo River, also called the Ntem, between Cameroon, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea
*Yamba language, also called the Ntem, in Cameroon
See also
*Woleu-Ntem Province, Gabon
{{dab ...
near Ebolowa is the province's highest point at 1400 metres.
Climate
The climate of the South Region is
Type A or
Guinea-type climate. Humidity is high, and precipitation averages 1500–2000 mm per year in the interior and 2000–3000 mm per year in the coastal region. The coast from the north of
Kribi
Kribi is a beach resort and sea port in Cameroon.
Location
The coastal town of Kribi lies on the Gulf of Guinea, in Océan Department, South Province, at the mouth of the Kienké River. This location, lies approximately , by road, south of ...
south to
Ebodjé gets as much as 4000 mm of rain per year. Temperatures are relatively high as well, averaging 24˚ C and 26˚ C from Kribi north along the coast.
In lieu of traditional
season
A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...
s, the Guinea-type climate affords alternating dry and wet periods. The year begins in a long dry season that lasts from December to May. This is followed by a light wet season from May to June and a short dry season from July to October. A heavy wet season begins around October and lasts through November.
Plant and animal life
The South is almost entirely covered in
rain forest
Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainforest ...
, the exception being a small tract of
mangrove
A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evoluti ...
on the coast south of
Campo. Much of this land has been intensely exploited for
logging
Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks or skeleton cars.
Logging is the beginning of a supply chain ...
, however, allowing sunlight to penetrate to the forest floor and for thick undergrowth to flourish.
Today, the only relatively untouched forest is located in a handful of
nature reserve
A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...
s. The Dja Reserve (''Réserve du Biosphère du Dja'') covers 5,260 km² in the northeastern portion of the province and the south-central portion of the neighbouring East. The
Campo Reserve (''Réserve du Campo'') covers 2,640 km² in the southwest on the border with Equatorial Guinea. Finally, the
Mangame Gorilla Sanctuary (''Sanctuaire à Gorilles de Mangame'') covers 1,224 km² on the Gabon border. In these more virgin areas, the forest is composed of multiple levels. Tall trees about 40 metres high make up the highest stratum. Below these lie smaller, thinner trees with leaves clustered at their tops. The forest bed has very little vegetation as little sunlight penetrates to it.
The southern rain forest supports abundant wildlife, including some of Cameroon's last populations of
chimpanzees,
gorilla
Gorillas are herbivorous, predominantly ground-dwelling great apes that inhabit the tropical forests of equatorial Africa. The genus ''Gorilla'' is divided into two species: the eastern gorilla and the western gorilla, and either four or fi ...
s, and
elephants
Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae and ...
. All of these are becoming increasingly rare due to
poaching
Poaching has been defined as the illegal hunting or capturing of wild animals, usually associated with land use rights.
Poaching was once performed by impoverished peasants for subsistence purposes and to supplement meager diets. It was set a ...
and
deforestation
Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated d ...
. More numerous are the various
monkey
Monkey is a common name that may refer to most mammals of the infraorder Simiiformes, also known as the simians. Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes, which constitutes an incomple ...
,
bat
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most ...
, and
bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...
species. Other common animals include
pangolin
Pangolins, sometimes known as scaly anteaters, are mammals of the order Pholidota (, from Ancient Greek ϕολιδωτός – "clad in scales"). The one extant family, the Manidae, has three genera: '' Manis'', '' Phataginus'', and '' Smut ...
s,
porcupines and other
rodent
Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the order Rodentia (), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are na ...
s, and
genets.
Demographics
Settlement patterns
Over 324,000 Cameroonians live in the South Province, and the overall
population density
Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...
is about seven inhabitants per square km. The most populous area is the central region south of Cameroon's capital,
Yaoundé
Yaoundé (; , ) is the capital of Cameroon and, with a population of more than 2.8 million, the second-largest city in the country after the port city Douala. It lies in the Centre Region of the nation at an elevation of about 750 metres (2,50 ...
, in the neighbouring Centre Province and extending south to
Ebolowa
Ebolowa is the capital of Cameroon's South Region. It has a population of 79,500 (2001 estimate). It is a colonial town and a notable agricultural centre.
Overview
The main crop is cocoa. It also hosts an important number of administrative se ...
, west to Kribi, and east to
Sangmélima
Sangmélima is a town on the Lobo River, and also the chief town of Lobo division ("Dja et Lobo"), in the South Province ('Province du Sud'), Republic of Cameroon, Africa. The language spoken there is Bulu. French, is also spoken as it is one ...
. The rest of the population lives in the
village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...
s and
town
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
Origin and use
The word "town" shares an ori ...
s built around the roads that criss-cross the terrain. In contrast, the vast tracts of jungle that have little or no road access are scarcely populated. The forest area is also plagued by disease-carrying
mosquito
Mosquitoes (or mosquitos) are members of a group of almost 3,600 species of small flies within the family Culicidae (from the Latin ''culex'' meaning " gnat"). The word "mosquito" (formed by ''mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish for "li ...
es and
blackflies that keep settlers away.
Tradition settlements in the Centre are placed along roads, resulting in large numbers of houses near the road with forest beginning directly behind them. The traditional house is a rectangular structure made of mud bricks and thin, wooden or
bamboo
Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, bu ...
posts. Roofs were mostly thatched
raffia palm in the past, but they are more often made of corrugated aluminium, iron, or tin today.
People
The majority of the inhabitants of the South are members of various
Bantu
Bantu may refer to:
*Bantu languages, constitute the largest sub-branch of the Niger–Congo languages
*Bantu peoples, over 400 peoples of Africa speaking a Bantu language
* Bantu knots, a type of African hairstyle
*Black Association for National ...
tribes that are collectively known as the Beti-Pahuin (''Béti-Pahouin''), the Fang-Beti, or simply the
Fang
A fang is a long, pointed tooth. In mammals, a fang is a modified maxillary tooth, used for biting and tearing flesh. In snakes, it is a specialized tooth that is associated with a venom gland (see snake venom). Spiders also have external fang ...
. All of these groups speak various dialects of the
Beti language
Beti is a group of Bantu languages, spoken by the Beti-Pahuin peoples who inhabit the rain forest regions of Cameroon, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon
Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: R ...
. In addition, most inhabitants of the more populated areas can also speak French.
Beti-Pahuin
The Beti portion of the group is primarily situated in the Centre Province, but large numbers of Ewondo and Bane inhabit the Ntem and the Dja and Lobo divisions of the South.
The Fang group lives close to the province's southern borders. The Fang proper are inland on the border with Equatorial Guinea and near
Djoum
Djoum is a town in South Province, Cameroon, South Province, Cameroon.
History
The first inhabitants of modern-day Djoum were the Baka people (Cameroon and Gabon), Baka peoples.
The rural municipality was formed in 1952. The town was later div ...
. The Ntumu inhabit the area around
Ambam
Ambam is a town and commune in South Province of Cameroon on the border with Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. This frontier town is located approximately 220 km from Yaoundé and as of 2005 had a population of 1,596. Traditionally, it has traded ...
, also on the southern border. The Mvang (or Mvae) occupy the regions directly east and west of the Ntumu. These tribal groups have many more members in Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Congo.
The Bulu form the third group with about a third of the total Beti-Pahuin population. They are further broken down into the Bulu proper, who inhabit the rich
cocoa
Cocoa may refer to:
Chocolate
* Chocolate
* ''Theobroma cacao'', the cocoa tree
* Cocoa bean, seed of ''Theobroma cacao''
* Chocolate liquor, or cocoa liquor, pure, liquid chocolate extracted from the cocoa bean, including both cocoa butter and ...
producing area from Kribi to Ebolowa and east through Sangmélima and Djoum. Inland from Kribi live the Pahuin proper, centered on the villages of
Bivouba and
Fifinda. The Zaman occupy the valley of the Dja River.
Other tribes
Several non-Pahuin tribes also inhabit parts of the South. Several related peoples who speak
Makaa–Njem languages
The Makaa–Njem languages are a group of Bantu languages spoken in Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and the Republic of the Congo. They are coded Zone A.80 in Guthrie's classification
The 250 or so "Nar ...
live inland a short ways. One of these is the
Mabi
Mauby (in Trinidad and Tobago, Saint Lucia, Jamaica, St. Vincent and The Grenadines, Grenada, Guyana, Bermuda, Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda and Anguilla), also known as ''maví (or mabí)'' in the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, ''mabi ...
, who live inland of this around
Eboundja. The
Ngumba (Numba) tribe inhabits portions of the interior around
Bandévouri to
Lolodorf
Lolodorf is a small town-centred region in the south province of the Republic of Cameroon, near the western coast of Africa. It is between Ngoumou and Bipindi, in a zone of the Atlantic Littoral Evergreen Forest.
It is notable for being the h ...
. The
Mabea (Maboa), also have pockets or territory. Non-Makaa–Njem-speaking groups include the Batanga, who occupy the coastal region from Kribi to
Grand Batanga
Grand Batanga is a coastal village in the South Province of Cameroon. It lies about halfway between the port of Kribi and the Guinea border to the south.
Iron Ore
Grand Batanga is the possible site of a deep water port for the haulage of ir ...
. The
Bakolo (Bakolle) are a coastal people north of Kribi, and the
Bakola live inland from the border with Equatorial Guinea to Ngumba territory. Most of these tribes have their own distinct languages.
The South is also home to some of Cameroon's oldest continuous inhabitants,
pygmies
In anthropology, pygmy peoples are ethnic groups whose average height is unusually short. The term pygmyism is used to describe the phenotype of endemic short stature (as opposed to disproportionate dwarfism occurring in isolated cases in a pop ...
of the
Baka (Babinga, Bibaya) and
Beye'ele tribes. These
hunter-gatherer
A traditional hunter-gatherer or forager is a human living an ancestrally derived lifestyle in which most or all food is obtained by foraging, that is, by gathering food from local sources, especially edible wild plants but also insects, fungi, ...
s roam the forests of the region, particularly the area at the center and southeast of the province from Ebolowa to Ambam and Djoum with the Lala on the coast near Lolodorf,
Bipindi
Bipindi is a town and commune in Cameroon.
Gallery
File:ASC Leiden - van Achterberg Collection - 1 - 016 - Marché à Bipindi - Bipindi, Cameroun - 6-12 février 1997.tif, Market, Bipindi, 1997
File:ASC Leiden - van Achterberg Collection - 1 - 0 ...
, and Kribi. These pygmy groups are becoming increasingly sedentary, however, taking up lifestyles very similar to their Beti-Pahuin and Makaa–Njem-speaking neighbours and intermarrying with them.
Religion
Presbyterian
Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...
and
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
missionaries
A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...
converted most of the peoples of the region by 1939. Traditional beliefs are still strong, however, and large numbers of people still adhere to various
animist
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 ...
beliefs, often in tandem with Christian beliefs. In some areas, such as the village of
Mbéle, animists still greatly outnumber Christians.
Economy
The South is one of Cameroon's most economically robust areas due to its numerous
plantation
A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...
s and the
tourism
Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...
generated by its scenic
beach
A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shel ...
es. The area's economic stronghold, however, is the
port
A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...
of Kribi, which services the Gulf of Guinea. Campo, near the border with Equatorial Guinea, is another important port.
Agriculture
Sustenance farming
The majority of farming in the South Province is done on the sustenance level.
Plantain
Plantain may refer to:
Plants and fruits
* Cooking banana, banana cultivars in the genus ''Musa'' whose fruits are generally used in cooking
** True plantains, a group of cultivars of the genus ''Musa''
* ''Plantaginaceae'', a family of flowerin ...
s are the major crop grown, with
cocoyam
Cocoyam is a common name for more than one tropical root crop and vegetable crop belonging to the Arum family (also known as Aroids and by the family name ''Araceae'') and may refer to:
* Taro
Taro () (''Colocasia esculenta)'' is a root veg ...
s being common north of Ebolowa.
Maize
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 ...
,
groundnut
Groundnut may refer to:
* Seeds that ripen underground, of the following plants, all in the Faboideae subfamily of the legumes:
** '' Best Basketball Player'', Obinna Udunni
** '' Arachis villosulicarpa'', a perennial peanut species
** ''Vigna sub ...
s,
manioc
''Manihot esculenta'', commonly called cassava (), manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively cultivated a ...
,
yams,
bean
A bean is the seed of several plants in the family Fabaceae, which are used as vegetables for human or animal food. They can be cooked in many different ways, including boiling, frying, and baking, and are used in many traditional dishes th ...
s, and other foodstuffs are raised in more modest quantities.
Traditional farms are placed in forest plots that are cleared with basic tools such as axes, hoes, and machetes. This is done during the dry season, and the resulting brush is then burned, with care taken to preserve any fruit trees. Planting occurs at the start of the wet season. Vegetables and spices are grown close to the house, while tubers such as
cassava
''Manihot esculenta'', common name, commonly called cassava (), manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively ...
, cocoyams, and yams are planted with plantains in larger fields further into the forest. Plots are fertilised with farmyard manure. Farmers harvest at the beginning of the next dry season.
These
slash and burn
Slash-and-burn agriculture is a farming method that involves the cutting and burning of plants in a forest or woodland to create a field called a swidden. The method begins by cutting down the trees and woody plants in an area. The downed veget ...
methods provide high yields the first year or two, but they eventually drain the soil of fertility. This necessitates the clearing of more farmland every few years, as this exhausted land can remain infertile for up to ten years. This presents little problem in the South's more underpopulated areas, but can pose difficulties in areas of higher population density.
Plantation farming
The South's equatorial climate makes it suitable for large plantations, as well. Cocoa is the major
cash crop for the entire region, with 80% of the arable land of Dja and Lobo division and Ocean division dedicated to raising it. Major cocoa collection facilities are located in
Ebolowa
Ebolowa is the capital of Cameroon's South Region. It has a population of 79,500 (2001 estimate). It is a colonial town and a notable agricultural centre.
Overview
The main crop is cocoa. It also hosts an important number of administrative se ...
.
Rubber
Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Thailand, Malaysia, and ...
is another important crop, and a major operation is located at
Njété, about 20 km inland from Kribi.
Palm oil
Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the mesocarp (reddish pulp) of the fruit of the oil palms. The oil is used in food manufacturing, in beauty products, and as biofuel. Palm oil accounted for about 33% of global oils produced from ...
is harvested near Campo.
Other food sources
The South is also home to various
animal husbandry
Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat, fibre, milk, or other products. It includes day-to-day care, selective breeding, and the raising of livestock. Husbandry has a long history, starti ...
operations.
Poultry
Poultry () are domesticated birds kept by humans for their eggs, their meat or their feathers. These birds are most typically members of the superorder Galloanserae (fowl), especially the order Galliformes (which includes chickens, quails, a ...
farms operate in the towns of Ebolowa and Sangmélima. Modest
cattle rearing takes place inland from Kribi, as well, though the area's thick forests and the presence of the
tsetse fly
Tsetse ( , or ) (sometimes spelled tzetze; also known as tik-tik flies), are large, biting flies that inhabit much of tropical Africa. Tsetse flies include all the species in the genus ''Glossina'', which are placed in their own family, Glos ...
prevents larger-scale operations. Kribi is also the base for various commercial
fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...
interests that operate along the province's coast.
Rural inhabitants of the South also practice
hunting
Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...
and
gathering
Gather, gatherer, or gathering may refer to:
Anthropology and sociology
* Hunter-gatherer, a person or a society whose subsistence depends on hunting and gathering of wild foods
*Intensive gathering, the practice of cultivating wild plants as a s ...
. Hunters traditionally utilise basic tools such as
spear
A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with fire hardened spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fasten ...
s,
bows and arrows
The bow and arrow is a ranged weapon system consisting of an elastic launching device (bow) and long-shafted projectiles ( arrows). Humans used bows and arrows for hunting and aggression long before recorded history, and the practice was com ...
,
knives
A knife ( : knives; from Old Norse 'knife, dirk') is a tool or weapon with a cutting edge or blade, usually attached to a handle or hilt. One of the earliest tools used by humanity, knives appeared at least 2.5 million years ago, as evidenced ...
, and
trap
A trap is a mechanical device used to capture or restrain an animal for purposes such as hunting, pest control, or ecological research.
Trap or TRAP may also refer to:
Art and entertainment Films and television
* ''Trap'' (2015 film), Fil ...
s. In modern times,
guns
A gun is a ranged weapon designed to use a shooting tube (gun barrel) to launch projectiles. The projectiles are typically solid, but can also be pressurized liquid (e.g. in water guns/cannons, spray guns for painting or pressure washing, ...
are increasingly used as well. This latter development has led to a great depopulation of many animal species, especially as demand has risen in urban centers such as Yaoundé for
bushmeat from the region.
Industry
With ocean access and vast tracts of forest, the South is home to a good deal of industry.
Timber
Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...
is a substantial part of the region's economy, and various
logging
Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks or skeleton cars.
Logging is the beginning of a supply chain ...
companies have operations in the area. However, because the largest trees within the South itself have mostly been harvested, the region is increasingly being used as a transport network for logging vehicles from Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Congo on their way to the ports of Kribi and
Douala
Douala is the largest city in Cameroon and its economic capital. It is also the capital of Cameroon's Littoral Region (Cameroon), Littoral Region. Home to Central Africa's largest port and its major international airport, Douala International Ai ...
. Kribi is also the site of
sawmill
A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...
s, and a
palm oil
Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the mesocarp (reddish pulp) of the fruit of the oil palms. The oil is used in food manufacturing, in beauty products, and as biofuel. Palm oil accounted for about 33% of global oils produced from ...
mill operates in
Lobé. Ebolowa was in past years an important
ivory
Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and teeth of animals, that consists mainly of dentine, one of the physical structures of teeth and tusks. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mammals is ...
-working center, but government regulations and the scarcity of
elephant
Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae an ...
s in modern times have dampened this part of the economy. Much of the South's electricity is produced in
hydroelectric power
Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...
stations on the
Ntem and
Ma'an
Ma'an ( ar, مَعان, Maʿān) is a city in southern Jordan, southwest of the capital Amman. It serves as the capital of the Ma'an Governorate. Its population was approximately 41,055 in 2015. Civilizations with the name of Ma'an have existe ...
rivers.
The South also has a fair amount of mineral wealth.
Iron ore
Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the fo ...
is mined near Campo and Kribi.
Natural gas
Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...
is found offshore of Campo, and a Kribi-based plant has been processing this since the 1980s. Perhaps the region's most lucrative resource is
oil
An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...
. This, too, is found off the coast of Campo. But more importantly, the South Province is located at the terminus of the
Chad-Cameroon oil pipeline, which was completed in June 2004. The pipe's mouth is located just south of Kribi, a fact that promises to bring in high revenues for both Cameroon and the province.
Transportation
For a region so heavily forested, the South has a fairly developed transportation network. Four main roads service the greater area of the region. The first of these, National Road 2, runs from Yaoundé to Ambam and then to the border with Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. National Road 7 is located completely in the South, travelling along the coast from Kribi to Campo. National Road 9 comes south from Yaoundé via
Mbalmayo
Mbalmayo is a town in Cameroon's Centre Region. The town had 60,091 inhabitants in 2012. It is the capital of the Nyong-et-So'o Division It is located at the banks of the Nyong river between Ebolowa and Yaoundé. It is an agricultural centre ...
and then to Sangmélima, Djoum, and
Mintom. Finally, National Road 17 begins at Sangmélima and goes to
Megong before crossing the border to Gabon. Other major roads cover the stretches between Mbalmayo and Ebolowa and between Kribi and
Edéa
Edéa is a city located along the Sanaga River in Cameroon's Littoral Region (Cameroon), Littoral Region. It lies on the Cameroon National Railways Authority, Douala–Yaoundé railway line. Its population was estimated at 122,300 in 2001. Th ...
in the Littoral Province. Of these, the route from Edéa to Kribi and from Ebolowa and Sangmélima to Yaoundé are paved. All other roads in the province are dirt, and thus subject to weather conditions.
The South is also accessible via sea and air. The major seaports are
Kribi
Kribi is a beach resort and sea port in Cameroon.
Location
The coastal town of Kribi lies on the Gulf of Guinea, in Océan Department, South Province, at the mouth of the Kienké River. This location, lies approximately , by road, south of ...
and
Campo, though Kribi is busier. Kribi is also the site of the regional
airport
An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...
. There are also airstrips at Ambam, Campo, Ebolowa, and
Sangmélima
Sangmélima is a town on the Lobo River, and also the chief town of Lobo division ("Dja et Lobo"), in the South Province ('Province du Sud'), Republic of Cameroon, Africa. The language spoken there is Bulu. French, is also spoken as it is one ...
.
Tourism
The South sees a good number of tourists due largely to its long, white-sand beaches. These run along the entire coastline, though the easiest to reach are at Kribi and Lobé. Kribi is the most popular destination due to its accessibility from Douala and Yaoundé via paved roads. It is also the largest beachfront town in the South, and it has an active
nightlife
Nightlife is a collective term for entertainment that is available and generally more popular from the late evening into the early hours of the morning. It includes pubs, bars, nightclubs, parties, live music, concerts, cabarets, theatre, ...
and several large
hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...
s.
Undertow is a significant problem, however, and several bathers drown on Kribi's beaches each year, a fact the locals personify as the siren-like "
Mami Water". The undertow at Campo is less dangerous, though the difficult road to reach that town keeps most holiday-seekers away.
Lobé, only a few kilometres south of Kribi, is another popular spot with tourists due to its even more isolated beaches and the picturesque
Lobé Falls (''chutes de Lobé''), found where the
Lobé River empties into the Atlantic. Local artists and vendors frequent the area around the falls, as do drivers offering to take passengers to Kribi or 65 km further south to see the Lala Pygmy village
Elogbatindi, .
In addition, the Cameroonian government is working with various
non-governmental organisations
A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in ...
to develop
ecotourism
Ecotourism is a form of tourism involving responsible travel (using sustainable transport) to natural areas, conserving the environment, and improving the well-being of the local people. Its purpose may be to educate the traveler, to provide funds ...
in the South. These efforts are largely concentrated on the area's two major parks, the Dja and Campo Reserves, both of which are bases for various gorilla
habituation
Habituation is a form of non-associative learning in which an innate (non-reinforced) response to a stimulus decreases after repeated or prolonged presentations of that stimulus. Responses that habituate include those that involve the intact org ...
projects. The
Netherlands Development Organisation runs another project that takes travellers to the Campo Reserve and then to traditional homes in Ebodjé, a village 25 km north.
File:Plage Lobe 1.jpg, Lobe Beach
File:Les chutes de la lobe 2.jpg, Lobé Falls
File:Au Débarcadère.jpg, Kibi ''Débarcadère''
File:Down Beach.jpg, Kribi Down Beach
Administration and social conditions
With the opening of the
Chad
Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic ...
-Cameroon pipeline in 2003, the population of the South Region only promises to grow as more industry moves to the area, particularly the coast, making the South an important target for Cameroonian politicians.
President
Paul Biya
Paul Biya (born Paul Barthélemy Biya'a bi Mvondo; 13 February 1933) is a Cameroonian politician who has served as the president of Cameroon since 6 November 1982. , himself a Bulu from a village near Sangmélima, enjoys widespread support in the South due to its place as the heart of Bululand. However, Biya has often been accused of showing favouritism toward members of the Bulu and closely related Beti groups, and a disproportionate number of Bulu and Beti today work in the civil service, in government posts, or in state-owned businesses. On the other hand, Biya has repeatedly shown intolerance of any opposition from his Bulu-Beti base. In 1996, for example, South Region native and Biya aide
Titus Edzoa announced his candidacy for the presidency and was arrested on embezzlement charges, apparently at Biya's urging.
Government
The capital of the region is
Ebolowa
Ebolowa is the capital of Cameroon's South Region. It has a population of 79,500 (2001 estimate). It is a colonial town and a notable agricultural centre.
Overview
The main crop is cocoa. It also hosts an important number of administrative se ...
, where the presidentially appointed
governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
has his offices. The region is further divided into four departments (''départements''), also called divisions, each under the supervision of a presidentially appointed prefect (''préfet'') or senior divisional officer.
The
Océan
Océan is a department of South Province in Cameroon. The department covers an area of 11,280 km and as of 2001 had a total population of 133,062. The capital of the department lies at Kribi.
Subdivisions
The department is divided adminis ...
department is the farthest west, located on the coast and administered from
Kribi
Kribi is a beach resort and sea port in Cameroon.
Location
The coastal town of Kribi lies on the Gulf of Guinea, in Océan Department, South Province, at the mouth of the Kienké River. This location, lies approximately , by road, south of ...
. Bordering this are the
Vallée-du-Ntem
Vallée-du-Ntem is a department of South Province in Cameroon. The department covers an area of 7,303 km and as of 2005 had a total population of 79,182. The capital of the department lies at Ambam.
Subdivisions
The department is divided a ...
(Ntem-Valley) department, governed from
Ambam
Ambam is a town and commune in South Province of Cameroon on the border with Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. This frontier town is located approximately 220 km from Yaoundé and as of 2005 had a population of 1,596. Traditionally, it has traded ...
, and the
Mvila
Mvila is a department of South Province in Cameroon. The department covers an area of 8697 km and as of 2005 had a total population of 179,429. The capital of the department lies at Ebolowa.
Subdivisions
The department is divided adminis ...
department, headed from
Ebolowa
Ebolowa is the capital of Cameroon's South Region. It has a population of 79,500 (2001 estimate). It is a colonial town and a notable agricultural centre.
Overview
The main crop is cocoa. It also hosts an important number of administrative se ...
. Farthest east is the
Dja-et-Lobo
Dja-et-Lobo is a department of South Province in Cameroon. The department covers an area of 19,911 km and as of 2005 had a total population of 196,951. The capital of the department lies at Sangmélima.
Subdivisions
The department is divi ...
(Dja and Lobo) department, with
Sangmélima
Sangmélima is a town on the Lobo River, and also the chief town of Lobo division ("Dja et Lobo"), in the South Province ('Province du Sud'), Republic of Cameroon, Africa. The language spoken there is Bulu. French, is also spoken as it is one ...
its capital.
The Beti-Pahuin and other ethnic groups in the South have little traditional political organisational structure. Instead, groups of families are loosely organised into
clan
A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship
and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clans may claim descent from founding member or apical ancestor. Clans, in indigenous societies, tend to be endogamous, meaning ...
s under a single patriarch. During the French colonial period, the Bulu formed a tribal union of their various clans. Today, these elders hold little actual power, and most such positions are merely honorary.
Education
There are 972 schools in the territory. Most of these are located in the area's larger towns and villages. Attendance numbers diminish as one moves into the area's frontiers, particularly the vast, forested areas south of Ebolowa and Sangmélima. Here, students are expected to walk long distances to attend school each day, or else to stay with relatives or alone in towns where schools are located. This problem is not as pronounced at the level of
primary school
A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...
, as these tend to be more widely distributed even in the remoter areas. Nevertheless, all schools in the region tend to be overcrowded.
Health
Poor
sanitation
Sanitation refers to public health conditions related to clean drinking water and treatment and disposal of human excreta and sewage. Preventing human contact with feces is part of sanitation, as is hand washing with soap. Sanitation systems ...
is perhaps the South Region's greatest health hazard. Many villages have no access to running water, and even areas that do have it must contend with outbreaks of
amoebic dysentery
Amoebiasis, or amoebic dysentery, is an infection of the intestines caused by a parasitic amoeba ''Entamoeba histolytica''. Amoebiasis can be present with no, mild, or severe symptoms. Symptoms may include lethargy, loss of weight, colonic u ...
,
bacterial dysentery,
brucellosis
Brucellosis is a highly contagious zoonosis caused by ingestion of unpasteurized milk or undercooked meat from infected animals, or close contact with their secretions. It is also known as undulant fever, Malta fever, and Mediterranean fever.
The ...
,
giardia,
hepatitis A
Hepatitis A is an infectious disease of the liver caused by ''Hepatovirus A'' (HAV); it is a type of viral hepatitis. Many cases have few or no symptoms, especially in the young. The time between infection and symptoms, in those who develop them ...
, and
schistosomiasis
Schistosomiasis, also known as snail fever, bilharzia, and Katayama fever, is a disease caused by parasitic flatworms called schistosomes. The urinary tract or the intestines may be infected. Symptoms include abdominal pain, diarrhea, bloody s ...
. In 2004, the relatively developed town of Kribi suffered a major
cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and ...
epidemic.
As it is almost entirely forested, the South supports many disease-carrying organisms.
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...
-bearing mosquitoes are one such pest, and the disease is a major health hazard in the region. Other parasitic diseases found in the South include
dengue fever
Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne tropical disease caused by the dengue virus. Symptoms typically begin three to fourteen days after infection. These may include a high fever, headache, vomiting, muscle and joint pains, and a characterist ...
,
falariasis,
tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...
, and
typhoid fever
Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several ...
.
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 ...
s and clinics are fairly widespread, but they are mostly located in larger towns and cities.
Traditional medicine
Traditional medicine (also known as indigenous medicine or folk medicine) comprises medical aspects of traditional knowledge that developed over generations within the folk beliefs of various societies, including indigenous peoples, before the ...
is thus still the major source of treatment for many of the South's citizens, particularly those in more remote locations.
Witchcraft
Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have us ...
is still blamed for many maladies, including
HIV
The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...
and
AIDS
Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...
in many cases.
History
Early population movements
Archaeological
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
finds in the areas of Kribi and Lobé attest to human presence in the territory of the South Province since prehistory. Of the area's current inhabitants, the earliest to arrive were the Pygmies, who moved in from further south and east in ancient times and lived for centuries as hunter-gatherers in the forests. The Batanga arrived and settled the coastal areas in the 18th century.
The Beti-Pahuin Bantu groups entered the area in the 19th century from the northeast, south of the
Sanaga River
The Sanaga River (formerly german: Zannaga) is the largest river in Cameroon located in East Region, Centre Region and Littoral Region. Its length is about from the confluence of Djérem and Lom River. The total length of Sanaga-Djérem Rive ...
. They were under pressure from the migrating
Vute
Vute is a Mambiloid language of Cameroon and Gabon, with a thousand speakers in Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, i ...
,
Mbum
Mbum Proper (also Mboum, Buna, Mboumtiba and Wuna) is a Adamawa–Ubangi language of Central Africa. It is spoken by about people in Cameroon and the Central African Republic.
History
The Mbum language is spoken by the Mbum people who inhabit ...
,
Babouti, and
Gbaya, who were themselves fleeing the
Fulbe
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 ...
(Fula). The Beti-Pahuin were more militarily advanced than the natives they encountered, and they easily subdued and assimilated these peoples or else pushed them away, as with the Ngumba and Mabea, descendants of the Maka and Njem, who had traveled southwest toward the coast when the Beti-Pahuin had first encountered them a century earlier north of the
Lom River
The Lom ( , ) is a river in northwestern Bulgaria, a right tributary of the Danube flowing into it 1 km east of the town of Lom.
The river takes its source from the foot of Midzhur (2,168 m), the highest peak of western Stara Planina, on ...
. The Beti-Pahuin may have practiced
cannibalism
Cannibalism is the act of consuming another individual of the same species as food. Cannibalism is a common ecological interaction in the animal kingdom and has been recorded in more than 1,500 species. Human cannibalism is well documented, b ...
at this time, as well.
Once across the Sanaga, in present-day East and Centre Provinces, the various tribal groups settled individually in family groups, or clans. The Ntumu, Fang, and Mvae moved toward the Dja valley and into present-day Gabon while the Bulu travelled west along the
Nyong
The Nyong (formerly german: Yong) is a river in Cameroon. The river flows approximately to empty into the Gulf of Guinea.
Course
The Nyong originates east of the town of Abong-Mbang, where the northern rain forest feeds it. The river's leng ...
to their present territory. The Beti formed the final wave.
European contacts
Europeans knew the entire western coast of the present-day South Province since
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
ships first explored it in 1472. The Portuguese set up trade with the natives, collecting particularly
pepper
Pepper or peppers may refer to:
Food and spice
* Piperaceae or the pepper family, a large family of flowering plant
** Black pepper
* ''Capsicum'' or pepper, a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family Solanaceae
** Bell pepper
** Chili ...
, ivory,
kola nuts, and
slaves. Other Europeans followed the Portuguese, and the
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
became the most active by the 17th century. Minor trading centers emerged, including Kribi and Campo. Trade was carried out on the Europeans' ships, allowing the coastal tribes to set themselves up as go-betweens, finding slaves from the interior and distributing goods obtained from the Europeans. In fact, the Beti-Pahuin migration was still taking place during this time, allowing the Bulu to set themselves in such a position.
The
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
supplanted the Dutch as the pre-eminent traders in the region by the 19th century. This was also the period of
abolition, and the British sent elements of the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
in 1827 to the Cameroonian coast to prevent further slave trading. Merchants were instead encouraged to trade in items such as ivory,
rubber
Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Thailand, Malaysia, and ...
, and
palm kernel
The palm kernel is the edible seed of the oil palm fruit. The fruit yields two distinct oils: palm oil derived from the outer parts of the fruit, and palm kernel oil derived from the kernel.
The pulp left after oil is rendered from the kernel is ...
s. Under the British, trade was conducted on land, and Europeans quickly set up bases along the coast. For example, a trading post was opened in Grand Batanga in 1828 to service the lower Cameroonian coastline. Slaves continued to be traded clandestinely.
German administration
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
annexed the Cameroons in 1884, and for the first few years, they were only interested in the coastal area. Explorers under Governor
Julius Von Soden
Julius Freiherr von Soden (5 February 1846 – 2 February 1921) was a German colonial administrator and politician. He was the Governor of the colonies of Kamerun and German East Africa, and later became ''Chef de Cabinet'' and Foreign Minister o ...
were the first to penetrate into the southern interior when they pushed in to Beti lands in 1887.
Eugen Von Zimmerer followed as
colonial
Colonial or The Colonial may refer to:
* Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology)
Architecture
* American colonial architecture
* French Colonial
* Spanish Colonial architecture
Automobiles
* Colonial (1920 au ...
governor with an aggressive push to build
plantation
A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...
s, particularly to grow cocoa. Much of the road infrastructure of the province dates from Von Zimmerer's time, since the Germans needed a means of travelling along the coast and from plantation to plantation. It was largely the native population who was forced to build these improvements.
As the Germans consolidated their power and conscripted workers, they faced resistance from the indigenous peoples. Of Cameroon's southern groups, the Bulu revolted first in 1891 in protest over their loss to the Germans of their lucrative trade position. Von Zimmerer's army finally suppressed the rebellion in 1895. That same year, the Ewondo rose up until the colonials were able to suppress them in 1896. Germany also replaced native chiefs with more sympathetic ones when they deemed it necessary.
Jesko Von Pultkamer became governor of German Kamerun in 1895. He accelerated the creation of plantations through the southern forest zone, which created more need for conscripted native labourers. In 1907, the Ewondo rebelled once more, but the Germans again suppressed them.
French administration
In 1916,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
gained control of most of Germany's Cameroonian territory at the end of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. Under French administration, the present South Province fell into the Kribi-Lolodorf-Campo district, governed from Kribi, and the Ebolowa-
Akoafim district, governed from Ebolowa.
The French maintained the various German-founded plantations and started new ones, including
coffee
Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulant, stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world.
S ...
plantations at Ebolowa,
palm
Palm most commonly refers to:
* Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand
* Palm plants, of family Arecaceae
**List of Arecaceae genera
* Several other plants known as "palm"
Palm or Palms may also refer to:
Music
* Palm (ba ...
plantations at Kribi, and groundnut fields at
Batoke. They also continued Germany's policy of propping up puppet chiefs of the various native peoples. The French greatly expanded the road network through the region and improved the port at Kribi, albeit still with native forced labour.
Post-independence
Upon Cameroon's independence in 1960, the present-day Centre and South Provinces were one territory called the Centre-South. In 1982, Paul Biya became the second president of Cameroon. One of his first moves was to separate the Centre-South into the modern Centre and South Provinces in August, 1983.
Geology
The West African coast has several
structural basins, along with counterparts along the South American margin, which formed during the
Late Jurassic
The Late Jurassic is the third epoch of the Jurassic Period, and it spans the geologic time from 163.5 ± 1.0 to 145.0 ± 0.8 million years ago (Ma), which is preserved in Upper Jurassic strata.Owen 1987.
In European lithostratigraphy, the name ...
to
Albian
The Albian is both an age of the geologic timescale and a stage in the stratigraphic column. It is the youngest or uppermost subdivision of the Early/Lower Cretaceous Epoch/Series. Its approximate time range is 113.0 ± 1.0 Ma to 100.5 ± 0.9 M ...
-
Cenomanian
The Cenomanian is, in the ICS' geological timescale, the oldest or earliest age of the Late Cretaceous Epoch or the lowest stage of the Upper Cretaceous Series. An age is a unit of geochronology; it is a unit of time; the stage is a unit in the s ...
rifting associated with the breakup of
Gondwanaland
Gondwana () was a large landmass, often referred to as a supercontinent, that formed during the late Neoproterozoic (about 550 million years ago) and began to break up during the Jurassic period (about 180 million years ago). The final stages ...
.
During rifting,
fluvial
In geography and geology, fluvial processes are associated with rivers and streams and the deposits and landforms created by them. When the stream or rivers are associated with glaciers, ice sheets, or ice caps, the term glaciofluvial or fluviog ...
and marine
clastic rock
Clastic rocks are composed of fragments, or clasts, of pre-existing minerals and rock. A clast is a fragment of geological detritus,Essentials of Geology, 3rd Ed, Stephen Marshak, p. G-3 chunks, and smaller grains of rock broken off other rocks ...
s plus
evaporite
An evaporite () is a water-soluble sedimentary mineral deposit that results from concentration and crystallization by evaporation from an aqueous solution. There are two types of evaporite deposits: marine, which can also be described as ocea ...
s were deposited.
[ The Sanaga Sud Field, located in the Douala Basin, was discovered with the Sanaga Sud A-1 well in 1979, and produces from ]Lower Cretaceous
Lower may refer to:
*Lower (surname)
*Lower Township, New Jersey
*Lower Receiver (firearms)
*Lower Wick
Lower Wick is a small hamlet located in the county of Gloucestershire, England. It is situated about five miles south west of Dursley, eig ...
shale
Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4) and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especial ...
s and sand
Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural class of s ...
s overlain by Upper Cretaceous
The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the younger of two epochs into which the Cretaceous Period is divided in the geologic time scale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous Series. The Cretaceous is named after ''creta'', the ...
shales.[ The gas-water contact shows up as a seismic amplitude event.
.][
]
Culture
Traditional dance accessories
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
Traditional Dances
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
File:Transes.jpg
File:Transe 2.jpg
File:Cameroon folk dance.webm
Traditional musical instruments
File:Balafon1.jpg
File:Balafons3.jpg
File:JoueursBalafons1.jpg
File:Calebasse1.jpg
File:GuitareTraditionelle.jpg, ''Mvêt''
Towns and settlements
* Oveng
References
*Fanso, V.G., ''Cameroon History for Secondary Schools and Colleges, Vol. 1: From Prehistoric Times to the Nineteenth Century.'' Hong Kong: Macmillan Education Ltd, 1989.
*Neba, Aaron, Ph.D., ''Modern Geography of the Republic of Cameroon,'' 3rd ed. Bamenda: Neba Publishers, 1999.
*Ngoh, Victor Julius, ''History of Cameroon Since 1800.'' Limbé: Presbook, 1996.
{{Authority control
Regions of Cameroon
States and territories established in 1983
1983 establishments in Africa