Cameroon

=Cameroon= flat

=Map of Cameroon= = =

=Historical Timeline=
 * The earliest inhabitants of Cameroon were the Bakas. These people still inhabit the southern and easter provinces of the country.
 * Malaria prevented most European settlement in Cameroon until the late 19th century when a vaccination was available. Europeans wanted to enter Cameroon for trade and acquiring slaves.
 * Christianity is the prominent religion in Cameroon because of the Missionaries in the late 1800's.
 * In 1844, Cameroon was the German colony 'Kamerun' until after WWI when it was partitioned between Britain and France because of the League of Nations Mandate on June 28, 1919.
 * In 1955 the UPC (Union of the Peoples of Cameroon) rebelled for independence in French Cameroon. This was an armed rebellion and tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of deaths resulted.
 * French Cameroon finally achieved Independence in 1960 as 'Republic of Cameroon'.
 * The Christian 1/3 of Nigeria later joined the Republic of Cameroon, forming the Federal Republic of Cameroon.
 * In 1966, the President, Ahmadou Ahidju, outlawed all political parties except his own.
 * In 1972, a new constitution replaced the Federation as a Unitary State.[[image:http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSthJuQU59LNPG41dnNgIPHd7nbViny2UpetHvDPWSg0Y8MGDyR&t=1 width="265" height="222" align="right"]]
 * Ahidjo resigned in 1982 and was succeeded by Prime Minister, Paul Biya.

Ahmadou Ahidju (left) Paul Biya (right)

== =Geography=

==
 * Location: Western Africa.
 * Slightly larger than California.
 * Climate: Tropical and desert conditions- a "mini Africa"
 * Terrain: Costal plains and mountains
 * Population: 16,380,005
 * Capital: Yaounde
 * Life Expectancy: Males- 50, Females- 51
 * 6.9% with AIDS (560,000)
 * Deaths by AIDS- 49,000 (as of 2005)
 * [[image:http://www.sveurop.org/gb/articles/img/couleeMtCameroun.jpg width="264" height="219" align="center"]]



=Economy=
 * Population below poverty line: 48%
 * Unemployment: 30%
 * Currency: Franc
 * For a while after Independence, Cameroon was one of the most prosperous countries in Africa.
 * Drops in the prices of important exports helped lead to a recession that lasted for ten years in the 1980's.
 * Currently Cameroon has one of the strongest economies in countries that lie under the Sahara desert.
 * **Major Exports**: Petroleum, cotton, coffee, cocoa, oil, and lumber.
 * **Imports:** Food, fuel, machinery, and electrical equipment.
 * Less than 5 % of Cameroonians have access to a bank account.

=﻿Relations with France=
 * Cameroon was a colony of France from 1919 until 1960.
 * Today, Cameroon has close ties economically with the country, since France is Cameroon’s most important trading country.
 * Cameroon imports machinery, food, transport equipment, and electrical equipment from France.
 * Cameroon exports agricultural items, petroleum, lumber, and cotton to France.
 * They also kept French as a national language and have deep traditions that stem from French colonial times.
 * In 2009, France's president Nicholas Sarkozy invited Paul Biya to France to recieve military honors.
 * Cameroon relies heavily on France for defense.

=Music= Music and dance is very prevalent in the Cameroonian culture. There are many different types of music. 1. **Bikutsi** The name means "let's beat the earth" and is characteristically very rhythmic. It was formed by the Beti people in the 1940's. It is used at gatherings such as weddings and funerals and is considered dance music. 2. **Makossa** This is another type of dance music seen in urban areas of Cameroon. It has been influenced by Latin music and jazz and includes a bass rhythm and horn appearances. [|Makossa Music] [|Bikutsi Music] [|"Nawa" Traditional Cameroonian music] In the 1990's there has been a decline in Bikutsi and Makossa; other music genres have arisen: 1. **Bend-skin** This is a combination of singing and rapping and a rhythm made from marracas and drums (sometimes made from soda cans) that was invented in 1993. [|Bend-skin Music]
 * There is **traditional music** such as...
 * There is also **modern music**...



=﻿Literature=
 * Much literature is based onCameroon's past. Eary authors focus on the aspect of colonization. Many authors write on the subject of colonialism. Sadly, the works written within the time period of colonialism, such as the works by Sultan Ibrahim Njoya and Rudolph Doula Manga Bell were lost.
 * **First Novel**: //Nnanga Kon// by Jean-Louis Njembe Medou (1932) was written in Boulou, a native language of Cameroon.
 * **Widely Appreciated Work:** //Vision of the White World from a Black Perspective// by Joseph Ekolo
 * There are also many women that have contributed to the literature of Cameroon, such as Theresa Kuoh Morkouri, Marie Pauline Thorbecke, Calixthe Beyala and Werewere Liking. Leonora Miano is a modern author from Cameroon.
 * **Houseboy:** Written by Ferdinand Léopold Oyono in 1956 in the form of a diary. Originally titled //Un vie de boy//.




 * English and French are the official languages of Cameroon, but there are 24 major African languages spoken as well!

=﻿Food=
 * The cuisine in Cameroon is one of the most varied in Africa!
 * The national dish is Ndolé: which is a stew of nuts with ndoleh leaves and ground beef and fish.
 * Staple Foods include: yams, corn, fish, nuts and many vegetables.
 * In cities, restaurants serve Western foods, and even Chinese food.
 * There are fast food burger restaurants as well.

=﻿Sports=
 * **Traditional sports** include tug of war, swimming and canoe racing.
 * **Modern sports** include basketball, table tennis, netball, handball, cycling and boxing.
 * Soccer (football) is the **most popular**!


 * The National Cameroon Team has won **four** African Cup of Nations titles!
 * One of the few warm-climated countries to compete in the **Winter Olympics**.

=Tourism= Cameroon's slogan is "Africa's Miniature" when it comes to tourism, because it offers a small taste of all the diversity in Africa in one small place. Although it is a small industry for Cameroon, they have been focusing on expanding tourism during the past few years. Some major tourist destinations are: the coast, major cities, Western areas, and Northern areas. Cameroon also has mountains in Western regions which attract hikers.

=Art= The art in Cameroon consists of bright, bold colored paintings, sculptures, pottery, and bead-work. A lot of the artwork is of traditional craft and is incredibly beautiful. Some crafts are basket weaving and bronze work.



=﻿Book Resources= //**Samantha:**// ** Falola, Toyin. //Key Events in African History: A Reference Guide.// Westport, CN: Greedwood Press, 2002. **

This book discusses ancient African history, beginning with the emergence of //Homo sapiens// in Africa around 40,000 B.C. It talks about the development of agriculture and ancient civilizations such as the Berber peoples. It decribes the Neolithic farming technique that arose between 3000 and 1000 B.C. in central Africa, in the area that is now Cameroon. The book also states the various powers of each of the African states before colonization occurred. Specifically to Cameroon, the book discusses two of the major crops that were once present in the Cameroon area, yams and oil-producing trees, which were important during the colonial times. It also describes colonization. Cameroon was originally two separate areas; one area was owned by Britain and the other was owned by France. After Independence, the two areas fused to become one country. The book was helpful because it allowed me to acquire an overall idea of what was happening on the continent during important dates for Cameroon. It also gave background information that was important in interpreting the events that occurred in Cameroonian history, although it did not provide a lot of information on the country of Cameroon, itself.

2.**Gifford, Prosser, WM. Roger Louis, eds. //France and Britain in Africa: Imperial Rivalry and Colonial Rule.// Yale University Press, 1971.** This book has many articles by different authors which discuss France and Britain’s interactions with Africa, focusing heavily on the aspect of colonization. The history of colonization of Cameroon is detailed within the text. Portuguese explorers landed on the coast of Cameroon in the 1470’s. Then Germany claimed about 790,000 square kilometers as a colony and called it Kamerun. Cameroon was split into British and French Cameroons after Germany was defeated during World War I. In 1960, French Cameroon became independent from France and a year later, British Cameroon became independent and joined with the previous area that had been French Cameroon to become simply Cameroon. I thought that it was interesting that during colonial times, the Africans were forced to contribute 10 free days of labor per year to the government. I also thought that it was interesting that although slavery was banished, the government still found ways to get free labor out of the natives. The book also discusses some of the major exports of Cameroon, some of which were rubber, palm products and cocoa products. The book also described some of the city aspects of Cameroon. The main harbor is Douala and there were three railroads that ran throughout the colony, when occupied by France and Britian. The book had a lot of small details that were interesting. One interesting fact was that King Leopold considered claiming Cameroon for his personal colony, but then Stanley announced his discovery of Congo, and King Leopold focused on Congo. This book was helpful because it went into a lot of detail surrounding the colonization of Cameroon, instead of focusing of Africa as a whole. There were also many other articles that discussed the colonization of other countries in Africa. One could compare and contrast the various countries histories easily. It was interesting to read about the small bits of history that we had not learned from internet sources or from class. The book was large and it took a while to read the section because it was very dense with information, yet it was an excellent source.

//**Mallory:**// This book explains the steps African countries are taking toward improving their system of government. In Cameroon, the book classifies the Political Reform as "moderate reform", in this category Cameroon is along side Senegal. Although some leaps have been made in creating a political system, there are some major gaps in which corruption has taken place. A section in this book is called 'The Birth of Multiparty Politics in Cameroon' which tells us exactly what events happened to make the people turn against their president after realizing some of the corruption in the system. The President, Biya, who changed the way politics work by making himself the head of both the state and the head of the RDPC (Democratique du Peuple Camerounias) the new and only legal party in Cameroon. This book also branches off into constitutions, armed forces, and other economic problems.
 * 3. John F. Clark, David E. Gardinier. //Political Reform in Francophone Africa.// Westview Press, 1997. **

Although this book has very little information specifically about Cameroon, understanding the occupation of surrounding countries in Africa by the British, French and Germans, really helps piece things together about the history of the country. This book shows us that Germany actually had a great impact on Cameroon around the first world war. When the Germans had colonized Cameroon it was called "Kamerun".
 * 4. Margery Perham. The Colonial Reckoning: The End of Imperial Rule in Africa In the Light of British Experience. Alfred A. Knopf, INC., 1962.**

=**Film Anaysis:**= =//Samantha://= The film //Afrique, je te plumerai//, directed by Jean-Marie Téno, takes place in Cameroon. The film shows the main events that have happened in the last 100+ years of history and focuses on the effects of colonization. The film is a documentary and throughout the film, there are interviews with native population mixed with historical news footage. The film begins with the publication of a letter to President Biya which calls for a national conference in the early 1990’s, just before the film was produced. This event shows the current turmoil because they arrest the author of the letter. The film then backtracks through time beginning with German missionaries who forced religion on the native people. The film progresses through events such as World Wars I & II, when France took Cameroon from Germany and shared the land mass with England. In 1960, Cameroon became an independent nation. Corruption of the government is an omnipresent theme throughout the film. The leftist organization Cameroonian Peoples Union (CPU) is repressed throughout the whole film and the people riot for democracy. The exploitation of the resources of the country is also an important feature of the film. The film discusses the current tragedy of the Cameroonians losing their own African culture because of the influence the French still have on the area through the media.

The name, ‘Afrique, je te plumerai’, is very symbolic. The title is based off the French children’s song ‘Alouette’. The song states that the singer will pluck the lark clean. ** Lyrics ** Alouette, gentille Alouette Skylark, nice skylark Alouette, je te plumerai Skylark, I shall pluck you Je te plumerai //la tête// I shall pluck //your head// Je te plumerai //la tête//)

The film is entitled //Afrique, je te plumerai// because the European powers came into Africa and wanted to ‘pluck’ the area clean. They wanted to take all of the resources and become rich. They did not care about the people whose lives they were negatively affecting. The skylark is a metaphor for Africa and the title shows this by using the song lyrics. The director of this film was Jean-Marie Téno. He was born in Cameroon in 1954 and was a young child when the country became independent. He has made films on the colonization of African nations for 20 years. His films work to make the abuse of power in Africa during colonialism well known. Within the film, he explores the cause and effect relationship of yesterday’s colonial powers on the present government corruption and other hardships.

The main theme of this film is the everlasting effect of colonialism on the region. It is seen everywhere within the film. The school system held European standards in old news footage, the narrator claims that the schools gave them everything they needed for a normal life: basic training on how to be peasants in addition to 'moral values'. This of course suggests that the native African’s life was abnormal before the Europeans arrived. Another theme is the loss of culture. The influence of the European powers can have a devastating effect on the original culture of Cameroon. One event that shows the dwindling culture of Cameroon is shot within the bookstores and libraries in the film. The camera takes us to several different libraries and the Cameroonian history section is very small. Furthermore, the majority of the books are written by European authors. In addition, there are many books available on European history. Another example is the fact that classes are taught in French rather than native languages. A heavy focus throughout the film is on the operation of the publishing and television industries and how they are contributing to the loss of indigenous culture. There is present day censorship, seen in the first scene in which the author of a letter requesting a national conference is jailed. The government controls the publishing companies and allows for many European media to be accessed by the public, but turns down a lot of Cameroonian media and cultural works. In a reenacted scene, a television manager rejects the film (//Afrique, je te plumerai//) to be played on the local stations.

The film is a documentary so it is very serious and authentic. This is achieved by the black and white picture and the narrative quality present in many scenes. The film has been very similar to other films. It focuses on a colonialism that all other colonies have experienced as well; the Europeans strip the colonies of all natural resources and claim to make the lives of the native people better, but really disrupt their culture. Many of the films that we have watched have had this theme either directly such as in //Chocolat (1989)// or indirectly in the other films. It is also similar to the //Congo River// //(2005)// in the fact that it is a documentary and it conducts interviews with the native people. Just as the //Congo River// focuses on the river, //Afrique, je te plumerai// focuses on the publishing world. Both films have many additional subplots that tie into the main point of the movie somehow. It is also similar to //War of Algiers (1966)// because it is black and white and has segments of history tied within the film. Although War of Algiers has fictional characters, it resembles a documentary. The film //Afrique, je te plumerai// and many other films that we have studied have shared a common theme of colonialism and the negative effects that it can have on the native people. The time sequence in this film, however, is very different from other films. It begins with a current event, the author of a letter calling for a national conference is jailed, and then the film proceeds to discuss the historic events of the area. The director flashes back and forth through the past and present to show the intimate relationship between the past and the present and to display how the past continues to create unfortunate events in the present. A scene in the beginning of the film is particularly striking. It is a historic news footage with a narrator discussing events that happened at the time. The scene begins when Cameroon got its independence in 1960. This event is shown with images of people clapping, men shaking other people hands, and overall peace and happiness. There is cheerful and upbeat non-diegetic music that accompanies the scene. The narrator then discusses Ahidjo, who is called the ‘Father of the Nation’. He assembled everyone into one party which allowed for him to be the supreme ruler, signifying the start of governmental corruption. At this point, the music becomes less upbeat and a bit slower, symbolizing a fast fall of their happiness. The images on the screen contain negative things such as guns and soldiers and people look unhappy now. The lighting is not as bright as before. The narrated history segments end with the narrator telling that Ahidjo ran from office and the successor is Prime Minister Biya. The next scene opens with a large black truck rumbling onto the screen and overwhelming the screen. This foreshadows negative events that are soon to take place. The entire narrated history scene is shot in black and white, giving an authentic feel and serious tone to the scene. This scene is important because it gives us necessary background historic information that will be needed to understand some of the current events that are taking place. The second scene I chose to analyze was the scene which depicts the school. It resembled a commercial to me. There is a narrator again and his voice is upbeat and happy, sounding like he is trying to sell the idea that the schools are helping the Africans. The accompanying non-diegetic music is upbeat and happy, but subtle. The images contrast the idea that everyone is happy. There is a group of African boys walking around with their hands up and doing various exercises, but they do not look happy at all. The narrator states that the teacher is the example within the school and that the students joyously imitate him, but the latter statement is clearly false. The narrator says that the school is helping the young Africans with their practical needs. In other words, the system tries to train them to be nothing but obedient peasants. Then, young children who are all yelling fill the screen and the mood is chaotic. They use this shot to try and demonstrate the Africans were wild animals before they are educated by the European system. In addition, the narrator states that their education is cut off after puberty. This scene is important because it sheds light on the African side of the European school system and makes us wonder whether the school systems were really created to educate Africans, or just to obtain order and obedience from them, and to cut them out of education before they got too intelligent. ** Questions: ** There were many scenes that exhibited very little dialogue, what could the purpose of this be? Why was black and white selected for all scenes within the movie?

Mallory Smith Film Analysis
‘Afrique je te plumerai’ is a documentary that gives an overview of political events in Cameroon since World War I. The documentary flips back and forth from old history to the modern day so the viewer can easily understand the ‘cause and effect’ of each situation that arose.

‘Afrique je te plumerai’, released in 1992, is directed by Jean-Marie Téno. Jean-Marie Teno is a native Cameroonian, born on May 14, 1954, in Famleng, Cameroon. He is a successful African director whose films have been honored in film festivals all over the world. For ‘Afrique je te plumerai’, Jean-Marie Teno really wanted the viewer to understand cause and effect in society. In this documentary, there are several scenes that are acted out. Perhaps just for dramatic effect, but they help illustrate what life was and is like in Cameroon along with getting valuable points across to the viewer. One example of this is the library scene. The overseer of the library is a native Cameroonian, not a European. The film probes this idea with a woman asking questions about all the books. She acts surprised that the government allowed a native to run the library and acquire a few books by native Cameroonian and African authors. Through this scene I sensed great negativity towards the government coming from these people who live and function in the society. A little piece of why they were angry is because the culture is being wiped away and replaced with European culture.

The purpose of the film is to educate viewers on Cameroon’s history, both in the past and modern day and how they affect each other. Director, Jean-Marie Téno, used news reels, interviews, and added acting to dramatize the topic. He did this so he could use pieces of film from several different time periods. As previously stated, he hoped to create a theme of cause and effect throughout the documentary.

The film seems to be born from anger. The intellectuals of Cameroon insist that the government is corrupt. We see it in multiple scenes where interviewees attack the government. Most of the things said were about native Cameroonian culture and how they feel that the colonization from the World War I era affects it today. Although there were no costumes or special scenes because this is a documentary, the attitude of the people and the words they say sway the viewer's image of Cameroonian government and give it the critical view that radiates throughout the entire film.

One scene presents the press and book making. This scene comes after we see the library that is run by a Native Cameroonian. We see the workers in a small dark room preparing papers for printing. The technology that they are using isn’t as advanced as printing presses here in the United States, but they do get the job done. They get the image by using a light table in the dark room for a brief couple of seconds on light sensitive paper. Then, the paper goes through a chemical bath, where the copied image shows up. This scene shows us the hard work that goes on behind the scenes, it goes without credit.

Another scene presents the head of the public broadcasting. The director meets this man and ask about what goes on when he meets with someone who wants to air something on National Television. Because of strict censorship regarding what is aired on television about the government. “How much will you pay me to show your nonsense on National Television” is what we hear from this man; a sign in itself that the government is corrupt.

__[]__ http://newsreel.org/nav/title.asp?tc=CN0003
 * 1) 7. [|__http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106225/plotsummary__]

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