Bandjoun, Cameroon

Bandjoun, 2019-09-02. One of the most beautiful Chefferie in Cameroon.

The night shift from the gas station where we just spent the night comes to say goodbye. On our side, it is 9:10 am when we break camp.

Ready to go !

We have to go again through the checkpoint at the entrance to Bandjoun and, how could it be otherwise? we get checked for the 3rd time in a few hours. Maybe our carnet de passage has changed its validity date overnight!
We arrive at 9:25 am at the Chefferie. Although the site officially opens at nine o'clock we find the reception door closed. One of the guards confirms that the manager will be arriving very soon. In the meantime, we are going to walk around the large hut to admire closer the details of its carved wooden columns.

The large entrance porch to the Bandjoun chiefdom

And the portal a little lower

 

We are not alone on the site, a group of about 50 men from an non-secret society (as opposed to so-called secret societies) in the "kingdom" have gathered here for a meeting.

 

Gandalf parked in front of the Grande Case.

As we learned at the Dschang museum, a Chefferie is a traditional political and administrative entity in Cameroon. In common parlance, the king's residence is called the Chefferie.
The Chefferie of Bandjoun is the oldest and most important in the country of the Bamilékés with its 300,000 inhabitants. It came from the kingdom of Baleng some twenty kilometers further north, near Bafoussam, when after a succession dispute in the 17th century the dissident Prince Notchwegom came to settle here to found the Bandjoun dynasty.
We don't wait more than a quarter of an hour for the reception manager (a lady) to pick us up. We buy two tickets at 2000 CFA (3.14 €) plus an authorization at 2000 CFA to be allowed to take photos outside (photos inside the museum are prohibited).
She will start the guided tour of the museum while waiting for the official guide to arrive. This small museum certainly does not measure up to the Dschang Museum of Civilizations, but it is nonetheless very interesting. Almost 400 objects are exhibited there around the themes of forge, art and power.
After the museum we go to the large hut (Grande Case), the most beautiful building in the Chefferie. It is the place of all the great ceremonies and also the place of meeting and decision-making of the nine notables who advise the king. It is at the end of the large alley that leads down from the entrance porch, the Axis of Life (Axe de Vie), bordered on either side by the women's huts.

The "Grande Case"

The beautiful wooden columns. Here with Pope Francis

The front door of the hut.

Detail of the door.

L'Axe de Vie and the women huts.

 

The Chefferie has been the victim of two major fires in recent years. That of 2005 destroyed the large hut, some annex buildings and part of the sacred forest behind the hut. The large hut was rebuilt in record time with the same original materials in 2007. In the 2015 fire, the women's huts were burnt down. They were also quickly rebuilt but the thatched roofs were replaced by roofs made of non-flammable materials.
The large hut, on the other hand, with its gigantic thatched roof and bamboo raffia construction is still very exposed to the risk of fire.
We leave a tip of 1000 CFA to our guide at the end of the visit which he conducted very well.