Cameroon Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! AdvancedSpecial charactersHelpHeadingLevel 2Level 3Level 4Level 5FormatInsertLatinLatin extendedIPASymbolsGreekGreek extendedCyrillicArabicArabic extendedHebrewBanglaTamilTeluguSinhalaDevanagariGujaratiThaiLaoKhmerCanadian AboriginalRunesÁáÀàÂâÄäÃãǍǎĀāĂ㥹ÅåĆćĈĉÇçČčĊċĐđĎďÉéÈèÊêËëĚěĒēĔĕĖėĘęĜĝĢģĞğĠġĤĥĦħÍíÌìÎîÏïĨĩǏǐĪīĬĭİıĮįĴĵĶķĹĺĻļĽľŁłŃńÑñŅņŇňÓóÒòÔôÖöÕõǑǒŌōŎŏǪǫŐőŔŕŖŗŘřŚśŜŝŞşŠšȘșȚțŤťÚúÙùÛûÜüŨũŮůǓǔŪūǖǘǚǜŬŭŲųŰűŴŵÝýŶŷŸÿȲȳŹźŽžŻżÆæǢǣØøŒœßÐðÞþƏəFormattingLinksHeadingsListsFilesDiscussionReferencesDescriptionWhat you typeWhat you getItalic''Italic text''Italic textBold'''Bold text'''Bold textBold & italic'''''Bold & italic text'''''Bold & italic textDescriptionWhat you typeWhat you getReferencePage text.<ref>[https://www.example.org/ Link text], additional text.</ref>Page text.[1]Named referencePage text.<ref name="test">[https://www.example.org/ Link text]</ref>Page text.[2]Additional use of the same referencePage text.<ref name="test" />Page text.[2]Display references<references />↑ Link text, additional text.↑ Link text===Early history=== [[File:Shumom-text.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Bamum script]] is a writing system developed by King Njoya in the late 19th century.]] Present-day Cameroon was first settled in the [[Neolithic]] Era. The longest continuous inhabitants are groups such as the [[Baka people (Cameroon and Gabon)|Baka]] ([[Pygmy peoples|Pygmies]]).<ref>[[#DeLancey|DeLancey and DeLancey]] 2.</ref> From there, [[Bantu expansion|Bantu migrations]] into eastern, southern and central Africa are believed to have occurred about 2,000 years ago.<ref name="history"/> The [[Sao civilisation|Sao]] culture arose around [[Lake Chad]], {{circa|500 CE}}, and gave way to the Kanem and its successor state, the [[Kanem–Bornu Empire|Bornu Empire]]. Kingdoms, [[Fon (title)|fondoms]], and [[chiefdom]]s arose in the west.<ref name=Njung/> [[Portuguese discoveries|Portuguese sailors]] reached the coast in 1472. They noted an abundance of the ghost shrimp ''[[Lepidophthalmus turneranus]]'' in the [[Wouri River]] and named it {{lang|pt|Rio dos Camarões}} (''Shrimp River''), which became ''Cameroon'' in English.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Pondi |first=J.E. |title=Cameroon and the Commonwealth of nations |journal=The Round Table |volume=86 |issue=344 |pages=563–570 |year=1997 |doi=10.1080/00358539708454389}}</ref> Over the following few centuries, European interests regularised trade with the coastal peoples, and Christian [[missionaries]] pushed inland.<ref name=Fanso/> In 1896, Sultan [[Ibrahim Njoya]] created the [[Bamum script]], or Shu Mom, for the [[Bamum language]].<ref>[[#DeLancey|DeLancey and DeLancey]] 59</ref><ref name="NMAA">{{cite web|url=http://africa.si.edu/exhibits/inscribing/bamum.html|title=Bamum|publisher=National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution|access-date=29 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120101155844/http://africa.si.edu/exhibits/inscribing/bamum.html|archive-date=1 January 2012}}</ref> It is taught in Cameroon today by the [[Bamum Scripts and Archives Project]].<ref name="NMAA"/> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page