Foumban The Sultanate
F
oumban or
Fumban is a city in Cameroon, lying north east of Bafoussam. It has a population of 83,522 (at the 2005 Census). It is a major town for the Bamoun people and is home to a museum of traditional arts and culture. There is also a market and a craft centre, while Foumban Royal Palace contains a museum with information on Ibrahim Njoya who invented a new religion and the Shumom alphabet. Though touristy, Foumban is one of Cameroon’s major attractions and an important centre
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of traditional African art. Its jewel is the Palais Royal, seat of power for the Bamoun people. The ruler of the Bamoun is known as the sultan, and the Bamoun can trace the lineage of their sultan back to 1394. The palace, completed in 1917, resembles a medieval chateau. It houses the Sultan’s Museum, which contains a multitude of royal gowns, arms, musical instruments, statues, jewellery, masks and colourful bead-covered thrones carved in the shapes of the men who sat on them. A few hundred metres south of the palace is the Musée des Arts et des Traditions Bamoun.
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This extensive collection has exhibits on Bamoun history and art, including cooking implements, musical instruments, pipes, statues, masks, gongs and an ornately carved xylophone. The road that connects the two museums is the Rue des Artisans, home to sculptors, basket makers, weavers and embroiders, and one of the best places in Central Africa to buy wood carvings.
Le Domaine de Petpenou Located in the heart of Bamoun Country, the Petpenou Estate (or Le Domaine de Petpenou) is an modern but exotic and wild resort build in the middle of the Bamun Land. The estate is a perfect escape for those looking to take on a vacation far from the noise and the sometimes chaotic sceneries of the urban life.
Situé au coeur du royaune Bamoun sur les verges du lac Petpenou, Le Domaine de petpenou, un paradis dans la nature sauvage est un complexe hotelier moderne au milieu du royaume Bamoun. Le domaine est conseillé à ceux qui voudraient s’évader du vacarme et du chaos de la vie urbaine et savourer un repos mérité. Les visiteurs trouveront dans ce complexe, un confort de standing international.