Happy Independence Day, Cameroon! Today we are honoring this Central African country by delving into its colorful culture.

Cameroon is bordered by the Central African Republic, Nigeria, Chad, Gabon, Congo and Equatorial Guinea. It’s name comes from ‘Rio dos Camaroes’ which means ‘River of Prawns’ in Portuguese. When the Portuguese arrived to present day Cameroon in the 15-16th century, they saw a plethora of prawns in the Wouri River.

(Yaoundé, Cameroon)

Yaoundé is the political capital of the country. Both English and French are national languages. Cameroon is known as ‘Africa in Miniature’ due to its wide array of cultural diversity. With over 240 tribes, Sudanese, Bantus and Semi-Bantus dominate the country in terms of population. Cameroon’s population has the highest literacy rates on the African continent.

(Cameroonians at the Mankon festival)

The current president, Paul Biya, has been in power since 1982. His corruption has long plagued the economic progress of the country. In recent times, the Northern part of the country has been burdened by Boko Haram.

Cuisine of the country include Eru soup or vegetable soup with Eru leaves, Accra Banana or banana fritters, Born House Planti or plantain stew, Fufu corn and Njama Njama or corn fufu with vegetable stew, Egusi soup and more.

(Eru Soup with Water Fufu)