Abong-Mbang
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198624629
2008-03-16T13:26:14Z
Blofeld of SPECTRE
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{{Infobox City |official_name = Abong-Mbang
|image_skyline = Abong-Mbang from Quartier Haussa.jpg
|nickname=
|image_flag =
|image_caption = Abong-Mbang, Cameroon, looking north from Quartier Haussa toward the Nyong River
|image_seal =
|pushpin_map = Cameroon
|mapsize = 150px
|map_caption = Map of Cameroon showing the location of Abong-Mbang
|subdivision_type = [[Provinces of Cameroon|Province]]
|subdivision_name = [[East Province (Cameroon)|East]]
|subdivision_type1 = [[Divisions of Cameroon|Division]]
|subdivision_name1 = [[Haut-Nyong division|Haut-Nyong]]
|subdivision_type2 = [[Sub-divisions of Cameroon|Sub-division]]
|subdivision_name2 = [[Abong-Mbang sub-division|Abong-Mbang]]
|leader_title = Mayor
|leader_name = [[Gustave Mouamossé]]
|area_magnitude =
|area_total =
|area_land =
|area_water =
|population_as_of = 2001
|population_urban = 18,700
|population_note = estimated
|population_total =
|population_metro =
|area_metro =
|population_density =
|timezone = [[West Africa Time|WAT]]
|utc_offset = +1
|timezone_DST =
|utc_offset_DST =
|latd=3|latm=59|lats=|latNS=N
|longd=13|longm=10|longs=|longEW=E
|latitude =
|longitude =
|website =
|footnotes =
}}
'''Abong-Mbang''' is a town (''[[commune rurale]]'') in the [[East Province (Cameroon)|East Province]] of [[Cameroon]]. Abong-Mbang is located at a crossroads of National Route 10 and the road that leads south to [[Lomié]]. [[Yaoundé]], the capital of Cameroon, is 311 km (193 mi) to the west, and [[Bertoua]], the capital of the East Province, lies 27 km (17 mi)<!--check this; perhaps 72 is correct?--> to the east.<ref>Chrispin 50.</ref> From [[Ayos]], at the border in the [[Centre Province]] 145 km (90 mi) from Abong-Mbang, the tar on National Route 10 ends and a dirt road begins.<ref>Hudgens and Trillo 1115.</ref> Abong-Mbang is the seat of the [[Abong-Mbang sub-division]] and the [[Haut-Nyong division]]. The town is headed by a mayor.<ref name="Mahop">Mahop.</ref> [[Gustave Mouamossé]] has held the post since August 2002.<ref>Elvido.</ref> Abong-Mbang is site of one of the East Province's four Courts of First Instance<ref>Geschiere, ''Witchcraft'', 262 note 4.</ref> and a prefectural prison.<ref>Chrispin 52.</ref> The population was estimated at 18,700 in 2001.<ref>Institut National de la Statistique 41.</ref>
According to oral traditions of the [[Kwassio]] and [[Bakola]] peoples, Abong-Mbang was settled when the Maka-Njem peoples moved northwest from the [[African Great Lakes|Great Lakes]] region of the [[Congo River]]. They encountered [[Pygmies|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.<ref>Ngima Mawoung 213.</ref> German [[colonialism|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.<ref name="Quinn 15">Quinn 15.</ref> 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.<ref>Chrispin 52–53.</ref><ref name="West 191">West 191.</ref> The French took over in 1919 following Germany's defeat in World War I.
[[Image:Maka house in Cameroon.jpg|thumb|left|Typical Maka house in Abong-Mbang]]
Abong-Mbang is the main settlement of the [[Maka people|Maka]] people, a group who speak a [[Bantu]] [[Maka language|language of the same name]].<ref>Fisiy and Geschiere 230.</ref> Much of the population farms; important crops include bananas, cocoa, corn, groundnuts, tomatoes, and tubers. [[Shifting cultivation]] with no fertiliser is the primary method of agriculture.<ref name="Boeglin 277">Boeglin ''et al.'' 277.</ref> [[Baka (Cameroon and Gabon)|Baka]] hunter-gatherers live in the surrounding forests. Since colonial times, the government has attempted to better integrate this group into Cameroonian society.<ref>Oyono 119.</ref> Abong-Mbang is part of the [[Doumé-Abong-Mbang diocese]] of the Roman Catholic Church. The church estimates that 46.7% of the population is Roman Catholic.<ref>Cheney.</ref>
Since Francophone Cameroun's independence in 1960, Abong-Mbang has become an important centre of commerce for the East Province.<ref>Peterson 106.</ref> 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.<ref>Sio Bobda.</ref> However, among traders, [[Ewondo language|Ewondo]] is the lingua franca of choice: 72% use Ewondo but only 48% use French in market situations.<ref>Wolf 167.</ref> By the late 1970s, the government had zoned large areas of the surrounding forest for timber exploitation.<ref>Wolfheim 688.</ref> Most timber and [[bush meat]] traffic from the East Province passes through the town.<ref name="Rose 2">Rose 2.</ref> [[Union Abong-Mbang FC]] is the local football (soccer) team.<ref>Foimoukom.</ref> 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.<ref>Nsom.</ref>
Abong-Mbang lies on the [[South Cameroon Plateau]], approximately 700 metres above sea level.<ref>Sigha-Nkamdjou ''et al.'' 216.</ref> The soils are red.<ref name="Rose 2"/> The [[Boumba River|Boumba]], [[Dja River|Dja]], and [[Nyong River|Nyong]] rivers rise in the Abong-Mbang region. The Nyong forms the town's northern border and is navigable for about 160 km (100 mi) to [[Mbalmayo]] in the [[Centre Province (Cameroon)|Centre Province]].<ref name="Quinn 15"/> The area along the Nyong consists of swampy forests that support populations of [[raffia palm]], such as ''Raphia montbuttorum''.<ref name="Boeglin 277"/><ref>Stuart 58.</ref> The area surrounding the town consists of [[secondary-growth forest]] of [[semi-deciduous]] trees, particularly ''[[Stertuliaceae]]'' 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|Western lowland gorilla]]<ref>Albrecht ''et al.'' 71.</ref><ref>Redmond 305.</ref> and [[African Forest Elephant|forest elephant]]s. An estimated 100 elephants lived in the Abong-Mbang Forest Reserve in 1998.<ref>Barnes ''et al.'' 41.</ref> The [[Ntimbe Caves]] are 18 km (11 mi) south of the town.<ref name="West 191"/>
==Notes==
{{reflist}}
==References==
{{commonscat|Abong-Mbang}}
*Albrecht, Gene H., Bruce R. Gelvin, and Joseph M. A. Miller (2003). "The hierarchy of intraspecific craniometric variation in gorillas: A population-thinking approach with implications for fossil species recognition studies", ''Gorilla Biology: A Multidisciplinary Perspective''. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521792819.
*Barnes, R. F. W., G. C. Craig, H. T. Dublin, G. Overton, W. Simons, and C. R. Thouless (1999). ''African Elephant Database 1998''. Cambridge: IUCN Publications Services Unit. ISBN 2831704928.
*Boeglin, Jean-Loup, Jean-Luc Probst, Jules-Rémy Ndam-Ngoupayou, Brunot Nyeck, Henri Etcheber, Jefferson Mortatti, and Jean-Jacques Braun (2006). "Soil Carbon Stock and River Carbon Fluxes in Humid Tropical Environments: The Nyong River Basin (South Cameroon)", ''Soil Erosion and Carbon Dynamics''. Boca Raton, Florida: Taylor & Francis Group. ISBN 1566706882.
*"[http://www.statistics-cameroon.org/pdf/Yearbook2006/2_part.pdf Chapitre 4: Caracteristiques de la Population]", Deuxième Partie: Population et Affaire Sociale, ''Annuaire Statistique du Cameroun 2006''.
*Cheney, David M. ([[7 January]] [[2007]]). "[http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/ddoam.html Diocese of Doumé-Abong' Mbang]". The Hierarchy of the Catholic Church. Accessed [[24 May]] [[2007]].
*Chrispin, Pettang, directeur, ''Cameroun: Guide touristique.'' Paris: Les Éditions Wala.
*Elvido, Sebastian Chi ([[2 August]] [[2007]]). "[http://www.quotidienmutations.info/mutations/aout/1186041335.php Abong-Mbang : Les élites montent les populations contre le maire]". ''Mutations Quotidien''. Accessed [[4 August]] [[2007]].
*Fisiy, Cyprian F., and Peter Geschiere (2001). "Witchcraft, development and paranoia in Cameroon: interactions between popular, academic and state discourse". ''Magical Interpretations: Material Realities: Modernity, Witchcraft and the Occult in Postcolonial Africa''. Routledge.
*Foimoukom, Honoré ([[22 November]] [[2005]]). "[http://www.lemessager.net/details_articles.php?code=3&code_art=9230&numero=1 Inter-poules 2005: la dernière ligne droite: Le calendrer complet (voir encadré de la compétition est connu.]" ''Le Messager''. Accessed [[21 May]] [[2007]].
*Geschiere, Peter (1997). ''The Modernity of Witchcraft: Politics and the Occult in Postcolonial Africa''. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia.
* Hudgens, Jim, and Richard Trillo (1999). ''West Africa: The Rough Guide''. 3rd ed. London: Rough Guides Ltd.
*Mahop, Charles ([[4 October]] [[2006]]). "[http://www.quotidienmutations.net/mutations/34.php?subaction=showfull&id=1159951936&archive=&start_from=&ucat=34& Abong-Mbang: Chasse aux vêtements provocants]". ''Quotidien Mutations''. Accessed [[23 May]] [[2007]].
*Ngima Mawoung, Godefroy (March 2001). "[http://www.africa.kyoto-u.ac.jp/kiroku/asm_suppl/abstracts/pdf/ASM_s26/15_NGIMA.PDF The Relationship between the Bakola and the Bantu Peoples of the Coastal Regions of Cameroon and Their Perception of Commercial Forest Exploitation]". ''African Study Monographs, Suppl. 26: 209--235.
*Oyono, Phil René (2004). "From Diversity to Exclusion for Forest Minorities in Cameroon". ''The Equitable Forest: Diversity, Community, & Resource Management''. Resources for the Future. ISBN 0915707969.
*Nsom, Kini ([[20 September]] [[2007]]). "[http://www.postnewsline.com/2007/09/sequel-to-aes-s.html Sequel To AES SONEL Crisis:Gov't Says SDO Did Not Kill Students]". ''ThePostNewsLine.com''. Accessed [[26 September]] [[2007]].
*Peterson, Dale (2003). ''Eating Apes''. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 0520230906.
*Quinn, Frederick (2006). ''In Search of Salt: Changes in Beti (Cameroon) Society, 1800–1960''. Berghahn Books. ISBN 184545006X.
*Redmond, Ian (2005). "Where Are the Great Apes and Whose Job Is It to Save Them?" ''World Atlas of Great Apes and Their Conservation''. Berkeley: University of California Press.ISBN 0520246330.
*Rose, Anthony L. (1998). "[http://bushmeat.net/gorilla-hunter.pdf On the Road with a Gorilla Hunter: Turning Poachers to Protectors]". Hermosa Beach, California: Wildlife Protectors Fund/Gorilla Foundation.
*Sigha-Nkamdjou, Luc, Daniel Sighomnou, Gaston Lienou, Gaspard Ayissi, J. Pierre Bedimo, and Emmanuel Noah (1998). "Variabilité des régimes hydrologiques des cours d'eau de la band méridionale du plateau sud-camerouais", ''Water Resource Variability in Africa during the XXth Century: (Variabilité des Ressources en Eau en Afrique au XXème Siècle)''. International Association of Hydrological Sciences Press. ISBN 1901502651.
*Simo Bobda, Augustin ([[16 December]] [[2001]]). "[http://www.inst.at/trans/11Nr/bobda11.htm Varying perception of English in Cameroon: A diachronic and synchronic analysis]". ''TRANS. Internet-Zeitschrift für Kulturwissenschaften'', No. 11. Accessed [[23 May]] [[2007]].
*Stuart, Simon N. (1990). ''Biodiversity in Sub-Saharan Africa and its Islands: Conservation, Management and Sustainable Use''. Occasional Papers of the IUCN Species Survival Commission, No. 6. The World Conservation Union (IUCN). ISBN 2831700213.
* West, Ben (2004). ''Cameroon: The Bradt Travel Guide''. Guilford, Connecticut: The Globe Pequot Press Inc.
*Wolf, Hans-Georg (2001). ''English in Cameroon''. Mouton de Gruyter. ISBN 3110170531.
*Wolfheim, Jaclyn H. (1983). ''Primates of the World: Distribution, Abundance, and Conservation''. Routledge. ISBN 3718601907.
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[[Category:Cities, towns and villages in Cameroon]]
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