Bandjoun and Foumban

As I live in THE regions of Chefferies (“Palaces” in English), I realize that I never visited one of them. This is a good weekend to stay in the region and get to know a bit more of “my” culture ;-)


Saturday in Bandjoun

Bandjoun is a small village near Bafoussam, about 1h30 driving from Dschang, where a volunteer friend lives and doesn’t have much fun… Even after one year spent there, he never visited the museum of the chefferie, so we decided to go together (the pictures are not mine, remember that I broke my camera…)

Sunday in Foumban

Of course, I don’t use Couchsurfing in Africa as much as in the US. But when I do, it turns out in very interesting experiences :)

On the suggestion of a Couchsurfer, I went to the west of the West province, in Foumban, where he has his family. I was hosted in the concession (the father had 4 wives), participated to the engagement of the older son, tried local food, and had very intense conversation about religion (this is another Muslim area).

I also visited the Sultana and its big museum, where I learned the entire story from the first king (1392) to the present one (the 19th).

The Bamoun culture is one of the most influential in the country, especially for its arts that you can find everywhere. And whereas the Bamiléké have a multitude of chefferies and languages, the Bamoun have only one King and one language, making the things easier!

The family was so nice, that they asked me to stay a night more, what I did, and went directly back to work on Monday!