While I was in Bamenda a couple weeks ago, I also had the opportunity to visit the cultural museum attached to the chief’s palace in Mankom. Included here are various photos from the museum. A few of the many interesting things I learned in my visit:

- The chief, or “Fo” is also the Vice-President of Cameroon. Consequently, he’s been to America several times and photos of him visiting various US Goverment officials are prominently displayed in the palace area. Unfortunately he was out doing some business, otherwise I was told he would have been happy to greet and chat with me. He is apparently a wonderful man.
- The traditional structure of the society is extremely hierarchical with the Fo as the supreme leader. His word is law. In one of the photos you’ll see 5 stools of varying heights – these indicate a person’s position int he society, with the Fo having the biggest and the wife of the head of household having the smallest.
- The museum was funded and built by an Italian development project. They did a very nice job, and trained several locals as curators to run the museum.
- In one of the photos you see a figue covered in cowri shells which were formerly used as currency. So this statue represents great wealth. In another photo you see a cow head covererd in coins from all over the world – a modernized version of the previous statue.

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