We ended last week with the tragic fall of Nsa’gu, Fon of the Bamum people in Cameroon, to the Nso. In this episode, we delve into the Bamum side of the story which culminates in Nsa’gu’s fall in the 1800s and Njoya’s rise to power and rule which extended into the 1900s. In keeping with history and tradition, sibling rivalries and succession battles abound!

Can’t Get Enough?

Medou Mgbara by the late, great La Rhodia. Bamum Royal Shenanigans at its finest.

This is one of my favorite songs from Cameroon and if you watch the clip, you’ll understand why. Everything about it is perfect. Peep the Queen at 3:34-3:36. She lives for the drama!

Also… Thank you!!!

Preorder here…

References

* A Concise Historical Survey of the Bamum Dynasty and the Influence of Islam in Foumban, Cameroon, 1390–Present by Mathew Forka Leypey Fomine

* The Origins of the Last Nso'-Mum War of the 1880s: The Other Side of the Coin by B. Chem-Langhëë, B and J. N. Lemven.

* Nsan'gu's Head: The mythification of the past in the search of importance, identity and excuses or cover-ups by B. Chem-Langhëë, B and J. N. Lemven.

* Ancestral Veneration in Traditional Cameroonian Society by Mythological Africans

* Bamum Script

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