The southernmost province that was carved out of the former Grand North
Province. It is a plateau region.
|
|
Akonolinga |
A town in the Center Region. It is also the capital of the Nyong and
Nfomou Division.
|
Akum |
A Ngemba settlement 9 miles from Bamenda along the Bafoussam-Bamenda
road. It is also a traditional Ngemba kingdom and the dialect of the people
there.
|
Ambam |
A town in the South Region. It is a sub-divisional capital in Ntem Division.
|
Ashia |
Word used by both English and French-speaking
Cameroonians to express sympathy, condolence, consolation, encouragement,
compassion, harmony, understanding, agreement, thankfulness, and caution.
|
Bafang |
The capital of Upper Nkam Division and a Bamileké kingdom in the West
Region.
|
Bafaw |
The principal ethnic group in the area that comprises the Kumba
municipality. It is part of the larger Bantu group.
|
Bafedja |
A settlement and Bamileké kingdom in the Nde or Banganté Division, West
Region.
|
Bafoussam |
The capital of the West Region and Mifi Division. Also, a traditional
Bamileké kingdom.
|
Bafut |
A settlement and traditional Ngemba kingdom about 18 miles from Bamenda
in the Northwest Region.
|
Bakweri |
The principal ethnic group in the Fako Division, which is located in
the Southwest Region. The Bakwerians are Bantu speaking of the Sawabantu
subgroup.
|
Balengou |
Bamileké settlement and kingdom in the Nde Division, West Region.
|
Bali |
A Chamba settlement and kingdom about 18 miles north of Bamenda, in the
Northwest Region.
|
Bamena |
Bamileké settlement and kingdom in the Nde Division, West Region. |
Bambili |
A settlement and Ngemba kingdom about 9 miles north of Bamenda in the
Northwest Region.
|
Bambui |
A Ngemba settlement and kingdom about 6 miles north of Bamenda in the
Northwest Region.
|
Bamenda |
The capital of the
Northwest Region and Mezam Division.
|
Bamendjou |
Bamileké settlement and kingdom in the Mifi Division, West Region.
|
Bami (Bamileké) |
Diminutive of Bamileké.
|
Bamileké (Bami) |
The most populous semi-Bantu ethnicity and the principal ethnic group
in Cameroon. It is also their native language.
|
Bamilekéland |
The western half of the West Region, with fringes in the Northwest and
Southwest Regions. It comprises five administrative divisions, about ninety
traditional kingdoms, and eleven
dialectical groupings.
|
Bamoun |
A semi-Bantu ethnicity and one of the principal ethnic groups in
Cameroon. Also, their mother tongue.
|
Bamounland |
The Eastern half of the Western province.
|
Bandekop |
A Bamileké settlement and kingdom in Mifi Division, West Region.
|
Banganté |
The largest Bamileké kingdom, the capital
of Nde Division, its former name. Found in the West Region.
|
Bangou |
A Bamileké settlement and kingdom in the Upper Nkam Division, West
Region.
|
Bangoua |
Bamileké settlement and kingdom in Nde Division, West Region.
|
Bangoulap |
Bamileké settlement and kingdom in Nde Division, West Region.
|
Bantu |
A Large group of Negroid peoples of
Central, South, and East Africa that inhabits the forests of the Southwest,
Littoral, Center, South, and East Regions of Cameroon. Also, the largest
constituent of the Negroid or Black race.
|
Bassa |
The principal ethnic group
in the Littoral Region. It is Bantu speaking. Also found in the Center Region
of Cameroon.
|
Batoufam |
Bamileké kingdom in the Mifi Division, West Region.
|
Bawok (Bahouok, Bahouoc) |
Bamileké kingdoms speaking the Medumba dialects,
found in the West and Northwest Regions. The principal ones are:
· Bawok-Banganté or Banganté-Bawok is
a traditional Bamileké kingdom found in the Banganté subdivision, Nde
Division. Much of the kingdom is located in the city of Banganté. Following a
series of strives in the early twentieth century, it lost most of its
territory to the surrounding Bamileké kingdoms, with its subjects migrating
to other areas in Cameroon and even founding new kingdoms.
· Bawok-Bali or Bali-Bawok: An
offshoot of the mother kingdom of Bawok-Banganté, founded in 1907 with the
help of the friendly Bali-Nyonga kingdom. It is an enclave in the Bali
kingdom (fondom or kingdom)
|
Bayangam |
Bamileké settlement and kingdom in the Mifi Division, West Region.
|
Bazou |
Bamileké kingdom in Nde Division, West Region.
|
Beti |
Diminutive of Beti-Pahuin. It is
also a subdivision of the Beti-Pahuin
group of languages and is broken down
further into Ewondo, Eton, Bane, Mbida-Mbane
and Mvog-Nyenge.
|
Beti-Pahuin |
Diminuted or shortened to Beti, this group
of related peoples constitutes the
third principal ethnic group in Cameroon. The ethnic homeland of the Beti-Pahuin people is in the Center and South
Regions, with fringes and enclaves in the East Region. They are
Bantu-speaking and comprise the following: ·
Beti (Ewondo, Bane, Mbida-Mbane,
Mvog-Nyenge, and Eton), ·
Fang (Fang proper, Ntumu, Mvae,
and Okak) ·
Bulu (Bulu, Fong, Mvele, Zaman,
Yebekanga, Yengono, Yembama, Yelinda,
Yesum, and Yekebolo.) ·
Smaller tribes or ethnic groups
Pahuinised by the Beti-Pahuins such as the Baka, Bamvele, Manguissa, Yekaba, Evuzok, Batchanga (Tsinga), Omvang, Yetude peoples.
Beti-Pahuin people are also indigenous in Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and
The Republic of Congo.
|
Betiland |
The Beti-Pahuin speaking regions
of Cameroon (stretches from the southern half of the Center Region to the
central and eastern parts of the South Region and extend as fringes into the
Eastern province), Equatorial Guinea (Rio Muni), Gabon (the northern half),
The Republic of Congo (the Northwest), and São Tomé and Príncipe.
|
Biafra |
The short-lived Ibo-dominated state that seceded from Nigeria during
the 1966–1970 Nigerian Civil War.
|
Bota |
A suburb of Limbe, Fako Division, Southwest
Region.
|
British Cameroons |
The western third of the former German Kamerun that fell under British
control following the partition of the German colony. It comprised British
Northern Cameroons and British Southern Cameroons.
|
Boumnyebel |
A Bassa village in Nyong and Kelle Division, Center Region.
|
British Northern Cameroons |
The Northern half of
British Cameroons that voted to unite with Nigeria in 1961, following the
controversial United Nations plebiscite in the territory.
|
British Southern Cameroons |
The Southern half of
British Cameroons. Became part of the Cameroon Federation in 1961 following a
plebiscite that resulted in its reunification with the former French Cameroun. It comprises the Northwest and
Southwest Regions of Cameroon.
|
Buea |
The capital town of the
Southwest Region and former capital of German Kamerun.
|
Bulu |
One of the peoples of the Beti-Fang ethnic group with a homeland in the South Region.
|
Cameroonian Pidgin |
Also called Cameroonian Creole or Kamtok, it is the Pidgin English
spoken in Cameron. It has five variants.
|
CDU (Cameroon Democratic Union). Called UDC (Union Démocratique du Cameroun) in French
|
A political party in Cameroon founded by Adamou Ndam Njoya, a former
minister of the Ahmadou Ahidjo regime. |
CENER |
(Center National des Etudes et de
Recherché)—Acronym of Cameroon’s secret intelligence service (National
Center for Studies and Research)—that was changed in 1984 to Direction
Générale de la Recherché Extérieures (DGRE)—General Directorate for
External Research.
|
Center Region |
The central province of Cameroon. Comprises eight divisions.
|
CNU (Cameroon National Union) called in
French UNC (Union Nationale
Camerounaise) |
A political party that was formed in 1966 from the merger of the
political parties operating in Cameroon. It was headed by the first
Cameroonian president Ahmadou Ahidjo.
|
CPDM (Cameroon People’s Democratic
Movement), called in French RDPC (Rassemblement Démocratique du Peuple Camerounais) |
The CNU renamed in 1985. This is the party in Cameroon. Its former name
(1966-1985) was the Cameroon National Union (UNC), which itself was formed in
1966 by the merger of political parties in Cameroon. Before that, it was
called the UC (Union Camerounaise)—Cameroonian
Union (CU), the former political party founded by Ahmadou Ahidjo, the former
President of the Republic of Cameroon. The CPDM/CNU/CU/UC has been the ruling
party since the so-called 'independence of Cameroon in 1960. Paul Biya is the
party's president.
|
CU (Cameroonian Union) called in French UC (Union Camerounaise) |
Party formed by Ahmadou Ahidjo.
|
Douala |
The largest city, economic capital, and capital of the Wouri division
and Littoral Region.
|
Duala |
A Bantu-speaking people of the Sawabantu subgroup, they are the
principal ethnic group of the Wouri Division and the Douala area.
|
East Cameroon |
The French-speaking federal unit
of Cameroon from 1961–72. It was formed from former
French Cameroun.
|
East Region |
The Southeastern half of Cameroon. The East Region has four divisions
with Bertoua as its capital.
|
Eton |
One of the peoples of the Beti-Fang ethnic group. Found in the Center
Region.
|
Ewondo |
One of the peoples of the Beti-Fang group. Found in the Center Region
of Cameroon.
|
Extreme North |
A province in the far North of Cameroon. It comprises six divisions.
|
Free French Forces |
These were French and Francophone fighters who continued fighting the
axis powers of Germany, Italy, and
Japan, even after France surrendered and signed an armistice agreement with
Nazi Germany in June 1940. It was formed by General Charles De Gaulle, who
was a member of the French cabinet on an official
visit to Britain at the time of the surrender. General Charles De Gaulle
strongly opposed French capitulation and the armistice signed by the new
regime led by Marshall Petain that created the Vichy regime in the South of
France, thereby allowing the North of the country to be under German
occupation. He urged resistance against German control of France and its
collaborationist Vichy puppets. The movement drew recruits mostly from the
French empire, especially from French Central Africa, of which French
Cameroun was the base at the time, under the new governorship of Jacques
Philippe LeClerc. Philippe LeClerc led the Free French Forces’ first major
victory in the war with the capture in 1941 of Kufra, a town in the
then-Italian colony of Libya. It incorporated forces of the former Vichy
regime in the colonies from 1943 and
saw its ranks swollen by Frenchmen after the D-Day landing. The Free French
Forces achieved their greatest glory with the liberation of Paris in August
1944, led by the French 2nd Armored Division because it had the least number
of blacks in its ranks. By the end of the war, The Free French Movement
constituted the fourth largest military force in Europe, fighting against the
Axis powers. The right-wing political
parties in France have been dominated by its members and the ideology of its
founder called Gaullism.
|
FSD (Front Social-Démocrate). The SDF (Social Democratic Front) in French.
|
The political party that is described as the opposition leader in
Cameroon. The SDF is led since its inception on May 26, 1990, by John Fru Ndi. |
Fulfulde (Fula, Pulaar, Pular,
Peul) |
A Sene-Gambian language spoken by the Fulani people.
|
Fulani (Fulani, Fula, Fellata or Peul) |
A mixed Negro-Tuareg people inhabiting the Savannah from Sudan to
Sene-Gambia, they comprise three groups namely: The Mbororo, Bororo, Burure or
Abore who are pastoralists.
The Fulanin
Gida, Ndoowi’en or Magida, who are fully sedentary communities.
The semi-sedentary Peul people who
are agriculturalist and ultimately resume pastoralism, but often form
permanent communities.
Foulanis, Fulanis or Peuls are the second most populous ethnic group in
Cameroon. Found mostly in the northern provinces of Adamawa, North and
Extreme North. Their language is the lingua franca of this part of Cameroon.
|
Foumbam |
The capital of the Noun
Division and the Bamounland. Found in the West Region.
|
Foumbot |
Agricultural settlement in the Noun Division.
|
French Cameroun |
The Eastern two third of the former German Kamerun that fell under the
control of the French following the partition of the German colony by Britain
and France. It became a French mandatory territory and later trust territory
from 1918–1960.
|
Garoua |
The capital of the North
Region and Benue Division.
|
Graffi |
Pidgin German word for a grass
field. A name often applied
collectively to the semi-Bantu peoples of the Northwest and West Regions of
Cameroon.
|
Graffiland |
Cameroonian word for Western High Plateau, Western Highlands, or
Bamenda Grassfields. Mountainous grassland region of the Northwest and West
Regions of Cameroon. It comprises the Bamilekéland and Bamounland in the south, and the Ngembaland, Chambaland, and
Tikarland in the north.
|
Ibo |
One of the four principal ethnic groups of Nigeria. Found in the
southeast.
|
Idenau |
A town in Fako Division, Southwest Region.
|
Kamveu |
The local council of notables among the
different Bamileké kingdoms.
|
Koufra (Kufra) |
An important but isolated Oasis settlement in the southeastern Libyan
desert that was of strategic importance for the North African campaign during
the Second World War. Its capture from the Italians by the Free French Forces
marked the first major battle won by France in the war, thereby boosting
General Charles De Gaulle’s prestige and the morale of the demoralized
anti-Vichy forces.
|
Koutaba |
A settlement in the Bamounland, Noun Division, West Region. Also, a
major military and air base in Cameroon,
|
Kumba |
The largest city in the
Southwest Region and capital of Meme Division. It is located about 70 miles
north of Limbe.
|
KNDP (Cameroon National Democratic Party) |
Nationalist party in British Cameroons. It led the campaign that
realized the reunification of British Southern Cameroons with former French Cameroun.
|
Limbe |
Former Victoria. It is the capital of Fako Division in the Southwest
Region.
|
Littoral |
The coastal province of Cameroon. It consists of four divisions.
|
Loum |
An agricultural town in the Mungo Division, in the north of the
Littoral Region.
|
Maguida (Magida) |
Name erroneously used for the peoples of the Moslem North that
originated from the third group of Fulanis—the Fulanin Gida, comprising the fully sedentary Fulani communities.
|
Mamfe |
The capital of Manyu
Division in the Southwest Region.
|
Manjibo |
A Bamoun village in the Noun Division.
|
Mankon |
Mankon is a Ngemba kingdom and part of the city of Bamenda.
|
Maroua |
The capital of the
Extreme North Region and Diamare Division.
|
Mayo Tsanaga |
A division in the Extreme North Region of Cameroon.
|
Mayo Tsava |
A division in the Extreme North Region of Cameroon.
|
Mbengwi |
The capital of Momo
Division in the Northwest Region.
|
Mbo |
A Bantu-speaking people of the Mungo Division in the Littoral Region,
with fringes of their homeland in the Southwest and Western provinces.
|
Mokolo |
Capital of Mayo Tsanaga Division.
|
Molyko |
A suburb of Buea in the Southwest Region.
|
Mora |
The capital of Mayo Tsava
Division.
|
Mutengene |
A junction town to Limbe, Buea,
and Tiko, in Fako Division, Southwest Region.
|
Nde |
Formerly called Banganté Division. It is found in the West Region of
Cameroon.
|
Ngaoundéré |
Capital of the Vina Division and Adamawa Region.
|
Ngemba |
The second most populous peoples of the semi-Bantu group. The Ngemba
peoples are found in the northern half of the Cameroon Grassland (Western
Highlands), mostly in the Mezam and Momo Divisions of the Northwest Region.
The Ngemba people related dialects.
|
Ngembaland |
The Southwestern part of the Northwest Region that is composed of
several traditional kingdoms or fondoms
speaking closely related dialects.
|
Nkongsamba |
The capital of the Mungo
Division of Cameroon. It is also the largest city in the area.
|
Nkwen |
A traditional Ngemba kingdom and part of the city of Bamenda.
|
North Region |
Central of the Grand North Regions. It comprises four divisions.
|
Northwest Region |
A province from the former Federal unit of West Cameroon and the former
territory of British Southern Cameroons. Peopled by semi-Bantu groups of
Tikar, Ngemba and Chamba speakers. Their compatriots in the Southwest Region
collectively call them ‘Graffis’.
|
NUDP (National Union for Democracy and Progress) Called UNDP (Union Nationale pour la Démocratie et le Progrès) in French
|
A political party in Cameroon founded by Samuel Eboua, a former
minister of the regime of Ahmadou Ahidjo. Bello Bouba Maigari, a former prime
minister of the Biya regime, usurped the leadership of the party and has been
its president since 1992. |
Nzui-Mantor |
Banganté-Bamileké word for the panther or leopard.
|
OK (One Cameroon) |
An offshoot of the UPC
after it was also banned in British Cameroons.
|
Peul |
A French term for Fulani borrowed from the Wolof language.
|
RDPC
(Rassemblement Démocratique du Peuple Camerounais), Called CPDM (Cameroon People's Democratic Movement) in
English
|
The party in power in Cameroon. CNU renamed in 1985. |
SDF (Social Democratic Front) or
FSD (Front Social-Démocrate) in
French
|
The political party that is described as the opposition leader in
Cameroon. The SDF is led since its inception on May 26, 1990, by John Fru Ndi. |
Semi-Bantu |
The unique and unrelated ethnolinguistic grouping in Africa, comprises
the Bamileké, Bamoun, Tikar, Ngemba and Chamba peoples.
|
Sokolo |
A suburb in Limbe, Southwest Region.
|
South Region |
Cameroon’s southern coastal province. It comprises the three divisions
of Ntem, Ocean and Dja and Lobo.
|
Southwest Region |
Southwestern coastal province of Cameroon. It has four divisions.
Formerly a part of British Southern Cameroons and the federal unit of West
Cameroon.
|
Tcholliré |
The capital of Rey Bouba
Division in the North Region. |
Tiko |
A coastal town in Fako Division in the Southwest Region.
|
Tonga |
Bamileké settlement and kingdom in the Nde Division, West Region.
|
Tuareg |
A Berber-speaking people of the Tamazight group inhabiting the central
Sahara from Southern Algeria and Tripolitania in Libya, to the middle Niger and the northern borders of Nigeria.
They moved to the interior of the Sahara Desert to escape the Arab invasion
of North Africa in the 7th and 8th centuries.
|
UDC (Union Démocratique du
Cameroun) or CDU (Cameroon Democratic Union)
in English
|
A political party in Cameroon founded by Adamou Ndam Njoya, former
minister of the Ahmadou Ahidjo regime. |
UNC (Union Nationale du Cameroun). Called
CNU (Cameroon National Union) in
English
|
Party formed in 1966 from the merger of political parties operating in
Cameroon. It was headed by the first Cameroonian president Ahmadou Ahidjo. |
UNDP
(Union Nationale pour la Démocratie et le Progrès) or National Union for Democracy and
Progress (NUDP) in English
|
A political party in Cameroon founded by Samuel Eboua, a former
minister of the regime of Ahmadou Ahidjo. Bello Bouba Maigari, a former prime
minister of the Biya regime, usurped the leadership of the party and has been
its president since 1992. |
UPC (Union of the Populations of the Cameroons) |
First national and nationalistic party in Cameroon. The historic UPC
was formed in 1948. Banned in 1955, it resorted to an armed struggle that continued well into the late 1960s.
|
Victoria |
The former name of Limbe. Was founded in 1857 by missionaries for the
settlement of rescued or freed slaves.
|
West Region |
The southern half of the Western Highlands of Cameroon. It is populated
by the Bamileké and Bamoun peoples. It is also Cameroon’s cultural and
agricultural heartland and is
remembered for its historic role as the center of the country’s nationalism
and liberation struggle against the French Army in the land. It comprises the
six divisions of Bamboutous, Menoua,
Mifi, Nde, Noun, and Upper Nkam.
|
Wolowose |
Cameroonian word for a whore.
|
Wum |
The capital of Menchum
Division in the Northwest Region.
|
Yaoundé |
Cameroon’s second-largest city and national capital. Also, the capital
of the Center Region and Nfoundi Division. |
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