Abong-Mbang

Coordinates: 3°59′N 13°10′E / 3.983°N 13.167°E / 3.983; 13.167
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Abong-Mbang
UTC+1 (WAT)
ClimateAw

Abong-Mbang is a town and

Centre Province 145 km (90 mi) from Abong-Mbang, the tar on National Route 10 ends and a dirt road begins.[1] Abong-Mbang is the seat of the Abong-Mbang sub-division and the Haut-Nyong division. The town is headed by a mayor.[2] Gustave Mouamossé has held the post since August 2002.[3] Abong-Mbang is site of one of the East Province's four Courts of First Instance[4] and a prefectural prison.[5] The population was estimated at 18,700 in 2001.[6]

History

According to oral traditions of the

Pygmy hunter-gatherers and requested their aid as guides through the region. Some of the migrants settled in the vicinity, which they called Bung-Ngwang ("bathing area in the Nyong River"). When Europeans arrived in the 19th century, this name was changed to Abong-Mbang. Some migrants continued westward in search of salt; they became the Kwassio and Bakola of Cameroon's coast.[7] German colonisers moved into the area in the late 19th century. They used the Nyong River as a means to reach the wild rubber growing farther inland.[8] The Germans built a fort and other military and administrative buildings in the town. The fort is today a prefectural prison, and the other buildings serve similar administrative functions.[9][10]
The French took over in 1919 following Germany's defeat in World War I.

Typical Maka house in Abong-Mbang

People and economy

Abong-Mbang is the main settlement of the

Doumé-Abong-Mbang diocese of the Roman Catholic Church. The church estimates that 46.7% of the population is Roman Catholic.[14]

Since Francophone Cameroun's independence in 1960, Abong-Mbang has become an important centre of commerce for the East Province.[15] This has led to a cosmopolitan influx of immigrants from outside the Maka area. An estimated 99% of males and 95% of females speak French.[16] However, among traders, Ewondo is the lingua franca of choice: 72% use Ewondo but only 48% use French in market situations.[17] By the late 1970s, the government had zoned large areas of the surrounding forest for timber exploitation.[18] Most timber and bushmeat traffic from the East Province passes through the town.[19] Union Abong-Mbang FC is the local football (soccer) team.[20] The town often suffers prolonged cuts to electric power, which the utility company, AES-SONEL, blames on an aging power plant. On 17 September 2007, violent protests against the cuts ended with two protesters dead and 10 others seriously injured.[21]

Abong-Mbang market

Geography

Abong-Mbang lies on the

Centre Province.[8] The area along the Nyong consists of swampy forests that support populations of raffia palm, such as Raphia montbuttorum.[12][23] The area surrounding the town consists of secondary-growth forest of semi-deciduous trees, particularly Sterculiaceae and Ulmaceae; the primary-growth forest has been removed for logging and farming. In some areas, the forests are further degraded and home to other forms of vegetation. The Abong-Mbang Forest Reserve is north of the town. Local wildlife includes populations of western lowland gorilla[24][25] and forest elephants. An estimated 100 elephants lived in the Abong-Mbang Forest Reserve in 1998.[26] The Ntimbe Caves are 18 km (11 mi) south of the town.[10]

Notes

  1. ^ Hudgens and Trillo 1115.
  2. ^ Mahop.
  3. ^ Elvido.
  4. ^ Geschiere, Witchcraft, 262 note 4.
  5. ^ Chrispin 52.
  6. ^ Institut National de la Statistique 41.
  7. ^ Ngima Mawoung 213.
  8. ^ a b Quinn 15.
  9. ^ Chrispin 52–53.
  10. ^ a b West 191.
  11. ^ Fisiy and Geschiere 230.
  12. ^ a b Boeglin et al. 277.
  13. ^ Oyono 119.
  14. ^ Cheney.
  15. ^ Peterson 106.
  16. ^ Sio Bobda.
  17. ^ Wolf 167.
  18. ^ Wolfheim 688.
  19. ^ a b Rose 2.
  20. ^ Foimoukom.
  21. ^ Nsom.
  22. ^ Sigha-Nkamdjou et al. 216.
  23. ^ Stuart 58.
  24. ^ Albrecht et al. 71.
  25. ^ Redmond 305.
  26. ^ Barnes et al. 41.

References

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3°59′N 13°10′E / 3.983°N 13.167°E / 3.983; 13.167

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