The gunshots were so loud, I put tissue in my son's ears so he wouldn't be afraid but he wasn't!
HRH al-Hajj Sultan IBRAHIM MBOMBO NJOYA and MY SON
Video: http://www.calacademy.org/exhibits/africa/exhibit/cameroon/who1.htm#big
Who are the Bamum (baa-MOOM)?
The Bamum are a group of people who have lived for centuries in the Grassfields region of western Cameroon. Before European colonialization, the Bamum had their own kingdom; today, they are citizens of the republic of Cameroon.
From fathers, the Bamum receive their names, privileges and property. From mothers, the Bamum learn their history and family and community values. Though family ties are strong, the whole community looks after the welfare of each child.
Where did the Bamum come from?
In the 1600s three princes of Rifum (ree-FOOM) defied their father and set out to form their own kingdoms in neighboring lands.
On the bank of a great river, Prince Nshare left his brothers. He and his followers crossed the river into the land of the Mban. After conquering the local people, Nshare addressed them. "I am now King of the Mban people," he said. "From now on, my people will be called the Bamum." Since then, the capital of the kingdom has been called Fumban, meaning "on the grave of the Mban," and the people have been known as the Bamum.
Where do the Bamum live?
The Bamum live in the grassfields of western Cameroon. To the south are extensive rain forests. To the north are mountains.
A double-headed serpent stands for the Bamum
Just as the bald eagle stands for the United States of America, so the double-headed serpent stands for the Bamum kingdom. In the 1800s, King Mbuembue (hm-BOM-bo) made the double-headed snake Bamum royalty's most important symbol. Its two heads remind the Bamum people of this king's heroic army, which once fought enemies on two fronts at the same time-and won. Inside the snake is a double-gorged bell. This bell's twin chimes were a call to arms-when they rang out, Bamum warriors rushed to where the fighting was at its thickest, and most deadly. The spider symbolizes wisdom. According to Bamum legend, spiders carry messages between humans and the Creator.
BAMOUN (Sultanate)
TITLE: Mfon (till 1918), Sultan RELIGION: Muslim LOCATION: Cameroun CAPITAL: Foumban AREA: 7,686 km2 POPULATION: ~500,000 (2006) Present Ruler: HRH al-Hajj Sultan IBRAHIM MBOMBO NJOYA, Sultan of Bamoun since the 28th of July 1992 The Sultan has restored the Palace and has created a museum showing the great history of the dynasty; he has also established a school in the this palace, in which schoolchildren are once again learning the Bamum script developed by Sultan Ibrahim Njoya. Predecessors and Short History: Founded in 1394. Became a part of German Cameroon on 14th July 1884 then incorporated in 1918 into French Cameroun till 1960, when the country gained Independence. Rulers were...
- Mfon NCHARE YEN 1394/1418, waged successful wars against several neighboring kingdoms, as a military leader, he was intrepid and outstanding; he founded the capital Foumban, then called Mfomben.
- Queen Nguepu (f) 1418-1461
- Mfon MONJOU 1461-1498
- Mfon MENGAP 1498-1519
- Mfon NGOU I 1519-1544
- Mfon FIFEN 1544-1568
- Mfon NGOU II 1568-1590
- Mfon NGAPNA 1590-1629
- Mfon NGOULOURE 1629-1672
- Mfon KUETOU 1672-1757, his reign was calm and peaceful, reportedly the father of 400 children.
- Mfon MBOUOMBOUO [Mbuembue] 1757-1814 or 1810-1845, waged successful wars against many neighboring Grassfields kingdoms, under his reign, all Bamoun people, regardless of their social origins, became wealthy; he was also famous for repelling an attack by the Fulani in the early 19th century; constructed a trench to fortify the capital.
- Mfon NGBETNKOM 1814-1817
- Mfon MBEIKUO 1817-1818
- Mfon NGOUHOUO 1818-1865
- Mfon NGOUNGOURE 1865
- Mfon NSANGOU 1865-1889, during his reign, Bamoun became a part of German Kameroun on 14th July 1884; married (amongst others), Queen Njapudunké (later regent for her son), and had issue. He was beheaded in a conflict with the Nso, and his head carried off in 1889.
- HRH Sultan IBRAHIM NJOYA (qv)
Queen Mother Njapudunké 1889-1895 (Regent), died 1913, buried at Foumban.
- HRH Sultan IBRAHIM NJOYA 1889/1931, born 1885 (1876-1880), he and his court converted to Islam in 1897; as ruler he displayed a sense of curiosity, a wit and a cultural ambition that sets him apart from the rest. Eager to modernize his kingdom, he created an alphabet (Shumom script) made of ideograms (80 signs), set up numerous schools to enforce it and wrote a book on the history and traditions of the Bamoun entitled "Histoire des lois et des coutumes des Bamoun", he also drew the map of his kingdom, created numerous pharmaceutical recipes and more surprising, invented an electric mill; later he merged some of the tenents of Christianity and Islam with traditional beliefs to create an altogether new religion more palatable to his subjects; after WWI, the incoming French Administration in due course considered him of too independent a mind and deposed him, sending him to Yaoundé in 1931 where he died in exile two years later. He was Mfon of Bamun till 1918, then Sultan of Foumban and Mfon of Bamun; married and had issue, 167 (or 177) children. He died June 1933.
- HRH al-Hajj Sultan SEIDOU NJIMOULUH NJOYA (qv)
1931/1933 (Regent)
- HRH al-Hajj Sultan SEIDOU NJIMOULUH NJOYA, Sultan of Foumban and Mfon of the Bamun 1933/1992, born 1904/1911, educated in French, English, and the shu mom script developed by his father. He served on the legislative and national assemblies of Cameroon during both colonial and post-colonial periods. He was a patron of the arts and worked to preserve Bamun culture. After the French left in 1960, he restored the sacred Bamun idols to the Royal Palace, establishing a museum. He married 27 wives (amongst whom), Queen Nöh Lantana Ndoufou, died 27th October 2004 at Foumban Royal Palace, aged 93, buried ibid same day, and had issue, 86 children. He died 28th July 1992.
- HRH Sultan IBRAHIM MBOMBO NJOYA (by Queen Nöh) (qv)
- Princess Rabiatou Njoya, born 1945, educated at Général Leclerc grammar school in Yaoundé and at the Thurrock Technical School in England 1967/1968, then five years in Paris, where she went to the Sorbonne and obtained a degree in English and Spanish and a diploma in translating. She has taught English and Spanish for many years and in 1991 was working as a translator and researcher, married Nsangou and lives in Yaoundé with her family.
- HRH al-Hajj Sultan IBRAHIM MBOMBO NJOYA (see above)
http://www.calacademy.org/exhibits/africa/exhibit/cameroon/who1.htm
http://reference.findtarget.com/search/Kingdom%20of%20Bamum/
