MEET OUR CAMEROON with a Spotlight.. ✨🔥
Spotlight on the Northwest: The Land of Rugged Beauty and Royal Heritage.
Cameroon is a land of majestic variety—10 regions, each with its own landscape, language, rhythm, and heart. Together, they form the beating soul of a country often called Africa in Miniature.
At ACAM, many of our members proudly trace their roots to the Northwest Region, one of Cameroon’s two Anglophone provinces. Today, we begin our Meet the Regions series by diving deep into this unforgettable place.
📍 Where is the Northwest Region?
Tucked in Cameroon’s western highlands and bordering Nigeria, the Northwest Region is known for its lush hills, cool weather, volcanic soil, and vibrant traditional kingdoms. Its capital is the historic town of Bamenda, often affectionately called “Abakwa” by locals.
This region is not only a geographic marvel—it’s a cultural powerhouse.
👑 Kingdoms, Chiefs, and Tradition
The Northwest is home to some of Cameroon’s most organized and respected traditional chieftaincies (fondoms). Each ethnic group, village, or tribe is traditionally ruled by a Fon (chief) who plays both spiritual and political roles.
Notable fondoms include:
Bafut
Nso (Kumbo)
Mankon
Kom (Boyo Division)
Nkwen, Bali, Bamunka, Babanki, and many others
These kingdoms are living institutions, where traditional rites, dances, festivals, and values of respect, wisdom, and communal living still thrive. When a Fon speaks, people listen.
🗣️ Languages and Identity
The Northwest is linguistically rich, with over 20+ ethnic languages including:
Ngemba (spoken in Bamenda, Mankon, and Nkwen)
Lamso’ (spoken by the Nso people)
Kom, Meta, Bafut, Moghamo, and others
Most locals also speak Pidgin English—the lingua franca of the Anglophone regions. Children are often raised multilingual, navigating English, Pidgin, and their mother tongue.
Even here in Canada, ACAM families continue to pass on these languages as precious cultural threads.
🌄 Landscape & Nature
The Northwest is as breathtaking as it is bold.
Rolling hills and mountains
Lush green valleys
Cool temperatures
Fertile volcanic soil for farming
It's home to Lake Oku (a sacred crater lake), the Sabga Hills, and parts of the Bamenda Highlands. This is farming land—known for Irish potatoes, corn, beans, cabbage, and coffee.
🎉 Festivals & Cultural Pride
The Annual Dance of the Fon, Ngonso Festival in Nso, and traditional funerals and naming ceremonies are cultural treasures. People wear elegant toghu (royal embroidered attire), perform deep ancestral rituals, and dance to the beat of the talking drum.
To be from the Northwest is to carry a sense of belonging, beauty, and deep ancestral pride.
🎓 Education & Influence
The Northwest Region is also known as one of Cameroon’s academic powerhouses. Schools like:
Sacred Heart College
PCHS Bamenda
GHS Mbengwi
BHS Buea (for NW and SW students)
…have trained many of Cameroon’s top professionals, leaders, and scholars—many of whom are now contributing right here in Manitoba and across Canada + Worldwide.
Challenges and Strength
The Northwest has faced deep challenges in recent years, particularly tied to the Anglophone Crisis. But through every trial, the people of this region have shown incredible resilience, faith, and unity.
At ACAM, we hold space for healing and hope, while celebrating the region’s unmatched contributions to Cameroon and the world.
💚 In Manitoba, the Spirit Lives On
Here in Canada, especially in Winnipeg, our community of Northwest Cameroonians continues to:
Speak our languages
Cook our traditional meals
Wear our cultural attire
Honor our elders
Raise our children with pride
The spirit of the Northwest lives on—in our songs, our smiles, and our stories.
🌟 Stay Tuned for More
This is just the beginning. In upcoming editions of Meet the Cameroonian Regions, we’ll explore:
The vibrant Southwest Region
The lively Littoral (Douala)
The grasslands of West Region
The majestic Adamawa, North, Far North
…and more!
But today, we honor the Northwest—a place where tradition meets tenacity, and the hills still whisper the stories of our ancestors.
We are proud. We are present. We are Northwest. We are Cameroonians.
