A number of you have asked about the kingdom that exists in Northern Cameroun today, where I have my hunting concession.
I will try to answer any questions, but to start it off here is the official version of the kingdom.
The Baba( sultan ) of Rey-Bouba rules over fifty five thousand subjects, and his territory is as large as Belgium and Luxemburg reunited ( 35 000Km2 ).
A former parliamentarian in the Camerounian Assembly, Bouba Abdoulaye had to leave everything and renounce modern life in order to succeed his father. His great-grand father, Bouba Ndjidda came from Mali in 1799, with his Fulani warriors, and decided to settle on the borders of Adamawa, at the edge of the Mayo-Rey river.
He placed a white flag, a silver drum, a sword and a basket containing the royal secrets, and built a palace with a surrounding wall that was 800 meters long and seven meters high.
Today these walls shelter one of the most traditional sovereigns of Africa. He exercises an invisible and permanent power. He is only allowed to go out three times during the year. The Baba is the center of the world and the kingdom. He knows everything, and has to know everything. Hundreds of agents keep him informed of all the movements and acts in his kingdom.
Here is his official picture:

Nope, wrong photo, try this one:

First photo is our camp.

I welcome questions, as I could go o forever about it, but would prefer to answer questions than just go on about something no one but myself finds fascinating.
cam

Wouldn't know what to ask. Please, just keep telling us what you find interesting.

I find it fascinating.


Dulcinea

Here is a photo of the current palace. No different than a photo taken in 1966 for National Geographic.
In order to enter the palace you need to have the escort of one of the Dogaries, who gets you an invitation from the King. In order to be respectful and follow tradition you take off your shoes in the courtyard. you go in through a narrow hallway liked with armed guards. You have to walk a trail of rocks to hurt your feet and then the King is usually under a small awning with mats on the floor.
His subjects are not allowed to look at him. the "caller" who announces you actually crawls into the court and always looks down.
The King has been very kind to me as my father and his were also friends, so I am allowed to sit in his company and actually look at him when I talk to him. My father was a medical missionary in Cameroun for 23 years. My grandfather and Grandmother were in Cameroun in the 1900's.

Here is the palace:


Here I am with the king:

quote:

Originally posted by Dulcinea:
Wouldn't know what to ask. Please, just keep telling us what you find interesting.

I find it fascinating.


Dulcinea

x2...Thanks Cam PLEASE continue!!!
Incredibly fascinating!!!

yep, i certainly recognize the palace entrance. i wondered what lay beyond it.this area of Cameroon is heavily Muslim, so i assumed the Lamido is too. strange cultural practices like this is one of the reasons i enjoy hunting in distant places....oh, and BTW Cam, Phillip Nelson and his wife said to tell you hello!

Very interesting information Camshaft. So much more to these locations then just hunting animals.

As a child I visited the previous Lamido twice. Once in about 1966 and again about 1968. I was fortunate enough to visit both times at the end of Ramadan. This is when the loyal subjects from all over the kingdom come in their finest and have a long ceremony to pay their homage to the Lamido. All the knights come in their chain mail, riding chargers, and the horses are clad in padding just like the medieval times in Europe.
This was all documented on my Brownie Camera, which I then managed to overexpose, so I never got the photos, but never lost the memory. For those of you interested it is well documented in the above mentioned National Geographic. I am not sure if there is a way to link a PDF, so let me know as I have it, and will try.
These same festivals still take place today and I plan to be at the next one as the personal guest of the Lamido if my health will just turn around for the better.
Here are some of the drummers at a Lamido audience I attended in a remote village. I was the only "white" person in the area and enjoyed myself very much with lots of drumming, dancing and special times. The king had "summoned" me so I had to drove for 600 km. to get to this village where he was holding an audience. All he wanted to do was discuss how well the concession he had give to me was going. They held a big dance that night with at least 5 different drumming groups vying for the crowd.



Here are the shoes of the supplicants who have gone in to get an audience with the King.

Camshaft

Hey Cam. Nice photos. I'm Dave Skidmore who used to work in R5 at Syntex. Nice seeing you at SCI. Hope your feeling better.

Hi Camshaft,

great infos:

Are the hunters from other countrys:
- allowed to visit the king
- How mutch does it costs in "tipps"
- Are they allowed to "look at him"
- Are photos allowed (of course only serious)

???

Thank you and best wishes.

B.

Bockhunter,
If you have an invitation to see the king he will see you, but it is not always in a manner that we in the
Western world would consider expedient. (Anyone booking my hunts is welcome to do this and I will arrange an audience if he is in court.) The first time I went to visit the new king I was held up for 3 days in what I thought was going to be a 2 hour visit. He put me up in a nice little house and sent me food every day. We met over the course of the three days 3 times, but it was clear that I was not to leave the premises until he was done talking to me. This was when he wished to have me take over his private hunting concession, so a bit one-off. Still I had come with no clothes except what I was wearing and he asked me to take a look at his concession and I did not even have a pair of binoculars on me! Most visits can be pre-arranged and you can visit in the space of a day at some point in time, he will make a slot for you. You can get your picture with him, as he is actually very progressive and wishes to promote Cameroun.
You tip your “Dogarie” as he is not allowed to have a salary and this is how he makes his wages. Usually about $20 for him and maybe an envelope with $100 for the king would be sufficient but on the low side.
Tom Macintyre of Sports Afield hunted with me this year and had a nice 2+ hour long meeting with him and I think you will see the pictures in a forthcoming Sports Afield.
cam

Very interesting.

Thanks for the post camshaft.

What a great essay on a unique African experience. Thank you Camshaft.

Incredibly fascinating Cam!

For me the hunt would be just one aspect but being able to experience the culture is what really makes a trip to Africa...Please share more!!!

And would be grateful if you posted a link to the NG .pdf

Thank you!

quote:

Tom Macintyre of Sports Afield hunted with me this year and had a nice 2+ hour long meeting with him and I think you will see the pictures in a forthcoming Sports Afield.

Maybe you can post this article.

Thank you for the infos.

Here is the "teaser" for it thanks to Jason:

http://www.fieldandstream.com/...ortId=NDIxNjU5NDQ5S0
Camshaft

Here are the photos from the 1966 National Geographic. I am only posting relevant pages.

I was there the same year the photos were taken.

[URL=http://s304.photobucket.com/user/Camshaft2008/media/ReyBoubaNatGeographic_Page_1_zps25e0cfda.jpg.html][IMG]

[URL=http://s304.photobucket.com/user/Camshaft2008/media/ReyBoubaNatGeographic_Page_2_zpsa7b43548.jpg.html][IMG]

[URL=http://s304.photobucket.com/user/Camshaft2008/media/ReyBoubaNatGeographic_Page_3_zpsf047c219.jpg.html][IMG]

[URL=http://s304.photobucket.com/user/Camshaft2008/media/ReyBoubaNatGeographic_Page_4_zps4f4a9b32.jpg.html][IMG]

[URL=http://s304.photobucket.com/user/Camshaft2008/media/ReyBoubaNatGeographic_Page_5_zpsc51a2baf.jpg.html][IMG]


Hope this works.
camshaft

Try again???





I will post more if this works.
Camshaft

Here are the rest:







cam

You can note that the palace walls have exactly the same configuration in 2013 as they did in 1966 and probably a lot before that!

I remember seeing that issue of National Geographic.

Very interesting information and photos Camshaft.

Cam thank you so much.

Mike

damn, now i wished we had tried to pre- arrange an audience i was interesting watching the Dogaries seated out in front of the palace decide what to do with the poacher we caught.

Quite fascinating. Thanks for the info.

I could not have arranged an audience, the King was in France! That is why I knew he was not at the palace when you turned in the poacher! He goes there regularly for "treatments" but I think just to get a breath of fresh air away form all his crushing responsibilities!
cam

oh well.... heavy hangs the head that wears the crown.

Thank you Cam

Very interesting. Thanks for taking time to post and include the links !

Its an awsome place with plenty of game. Next time I bringing a cast net to catch bait. Remi will love that.

Everyone loves it and so do I, BUT...
If it was a Frenchman that came to Cameroun in 1799, took over the land and still kept the Kingdom, what would we say now?

quote:

Originally posted by boarkiller:
Everyone loves it and so do I, BUT...
If it was a Frenchman that came to Cameroun in 1799, took over the land and still kept the Kingdom, what would we say now?

I think your view is a bit simplistic....

Would your hypothetical Frenchman have thousands and thousands of people whom he called his "kin", or would he place himself and his family above the locals and form a system of "apartheid"?

damn good point, Jason.

Seems to me we all just had to pay some taxes on the 15th April, right?
Cam

Actually I thought it was a legitimate question

but it wasn't a Frenchman. it was a black African who came and made himself respected and loved by his subjects. i seriously doubt a Frenchman would be enjoying the same respect and love.

Cam, please keep sharing more! How about some recollections of the various conversations you have had with the king.

quote:

Originally posted by boarkiller:
Actually I thought it was a legitimate question

everybody came from somewhere. there has always been relocation, and rulers have come and gone. when they bring a workable system of law, order, prosperity, and fairness, they are usually welcomed.

a frenchman could have done so, theoretically; but in all likelihood, he would have been there not to make an enduring home, but to export a fortune. that was the european model, and they thought it was the right way.