Cameroon: Africa in Miniature

By Abdoulaye Ahidjo 乔旭阳：Abdoulaye Ahidjo，中文名乔旭阳，国际教育学院2019级硕士研究生，留学生骨干。曾作为留学生代表在2019年开学典礼发言。2020年7月，赴镇巴县开展“助力脱贫攻坚，义务志愿支教”社会实践。2020年12月，代表喀麦隆参加陕西省中外人文艺术交流周国别展。

Cameroon is a central African country situated in the gulf of Guinea. With an area of 475,400 km², the land of cameroon is home to almost all types of creatures, cultures, climates, vegetations, stream and landforms you can find in Africa.

People： All the major african ethnic groups can be found in Cameroon including the Bantu and the sahelians.

The Bantu (which translate “people”) are mostly found in central, west, and south Africa. The Sahelian are mostly found in the central west, east and north Africa. So in Cameroon you find the Fulani, the Sudanese and the Hausa in the north , the Beti, the Baka, the Bakweri and the Grassfield in the south. As you travel from Kousseri to Ebolowa, you will have the opportunity to meet almost all the people that make the different ethnic groups in Africa.

Language and Culture:  The Cameroonian people are proud of their cultural diversity and have been living together in harmony.

Cameroon has more than 250 local languages reflecting different cultures. The offical languages are English and French. You would be surprised to realise that almost all of the most spoken languages in Africa are spoken in Cameroon. The cultural diversity in Cameroon is displayed via multiple yearly cultural festivals. The most famous festivals  are

Fantasias: celebrates the warriors(fulani and  northerners) in the resistance battles against the Germans(1880s) in northen Cameroon
Nguon: 600 years old festival that celebrates the Bamoun culture in west Cameroon

Ngondo: water-centered festival by the Sawa(“costal”) people in Douala.

Wildlife and vegetation: the beauty of the safari in the north and the forest in the south is part of the treasures that make Cameroon Africa in miniature. If you are fan of wildlife, then the animals found in the two parts of the country would definitely blow your mind. 

Landscapes: The beauty of Cameroon also resides in its stream and landforms. This geographical aspect is a reflection of almost all the geographical structures found in Africa. The sceneries vary from north to south with weather and climates. The far-north region’s relief and weather is that of a desert, the north is a made of plains and mountains, the south is made of plateaus and mountains.

Food: Cameroonian dishes are made of a variety of the African cuisine. 

Source: Northwestern Polytechnical University