Lolodorf is a small town-centred region in the south province of the Republic of Cameroon, near the western coast of Africa. It is between Ngoumou and Bipindi, in a zone of the Atlantic Littoral Evergreen Forest.
Lolodorf, W. Africa -- selling food on road in 1900
It is notable for being the home of Pygmy clans and their camp settlements and hunting areas, such as those of the Lala and Bakola clans. The Ngumba and Kwassio (speakers of Makaa–Njem languages) and Bagyeli tribes also reside in the area, the Bagyeli having been forced off their lands by the logging industry since the 1960s and the effect of the new oil pipeline since 1999. There are also settled Bantu peoples, who previously 'owned' pygmy clans.
The name of Lolodorf is German in origin, and relates to the name of a notable of Bikoui village, Loule-Dorf. In 1897 a Christian mission was opened in Lolodorf. Most of the people in the region are now Christians.
The Lokoundje River flows through Lolodorf, said to be "narrow with fast moving water and numerous waterfalls", and there is a temporary bridge over the river. Malaria and sleeping sickness are common problems in the humid climate, and there are a variety of natural remedies in which the Pygmy healers are expert.
The nearest market is at the coastal port & resort town of Kribi, and there is a dirt road to it from Lolodorf of about 110km, usually taking around 6 hours.
Farming, tapping palm wine, gathering fruits and nuts for food, and hunting are the main occupations. There are some cocoa plantations. Coffee was abandoned as a crop in the mid-1990s. There is said to be little river fishing. There is some limited tourism, arriving from Kribi; to see Pygmy camps, wildlife and local musicians.
Eight different languages are spoken in the town. There is a volunteer-run Frenchradio station at Lolodorf that began broadcasting in 1997.
There has been a weather station in the town for more than 25 years.
Nearby villages are Saballi and Jalalli. There is a seminary at nearby Bibia which trains Presbyterian ministers.
Oil companies aim to run an important pipeline through the area, taking oil from Doba in Chad to an undersea terminal on the sea coast at Kribi. There is a $600,000 'Indigenous Peoples Plan' as compensation to local people, following an intensive study of the area's economy in 1999. Organisations such as Forest Peoples have concerns about the management and distribution of such aid.
There is thought to be some illegal mining of diamonds and gold in the area.
The Bakweri are a Bantu ethnic group of the Republic of Cameroon. They are closely related to Cameroon's coastal peoples, particularly the Duala and Isubu.
The Bantu expansion is a hypothesis of major series of migrations of the original Proto-Bantu-speaking group, which spread from an original nucleus around West-Central Africa across much of sub-Saharan Africa. In the process, the Proto-Bantu-speaking settlers displaced or absorbed pre-existing hunter-gatherer and pastoralist groups that they encountered.
Abong-Mbang is a town and commune in the East Region 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 178 km to the west, and Bertoua, the capital of the East Province, lies 108 km to the east. 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. Abong-Mbang is the seat of the Abong-Mbang sub-division and the Haut-Nyong division. The town is headed by a mayor. Gustave Mouamossé has held the post since August 2002. Abong-Mbang is site of one of the East Province's four Courts of First Instance and a prefectural prison. The population was estimated at 18,700 in 2001.
The East Region occupies the southeastern portion of the Republic of Cameroon. It is bordered to the east by the Central African Republic, to the south by Congo, to the north by the Adamawa Region, and to the west by the Centre and South Regions. With 109,002 km2 of territory, it is the largest region in the nation as well as the most sparsely populated. Historically, the peoples of the East have been settled in Cameroonian territory for longer than any other of the country's many ethnic groups, the first inhabitants being the Baka pygmies.
The South Region is located in the southwestern and south-central portion of the Republic of Cameroon. It is bordered to the east by the East Region, to the north by the Centre Region, to the northwest by the Littoral Region, to the west by the Gulf of Guinea, and to the south by the countries of Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and Congo. The South occupies 47,720 km2 of territory, making it the fourth largest region in the nation. The major ethnic groups are the various Beti-Pahuin peoples, such as the Ewondo, Fang, and Bulu.
The Baka people, known in the Congo as Bayaka, are an ethnic group inhabiting the southeastern rain forests of Cameroon, northern Republic of the Congo, northern Gabon, and southwestern Central African Republic. They are sometimes called a subgroup of the Twa, but the two peoples are not closely related. Likewise, the name "Baka" is sometimes mistakenly applied to other peoples of the area who, like the Baka and Twa, have been historically called pygmies, a term that is no longer considered respectful.
The Maka or Makaa are a Bantu ethnic group inhabiting the southern rain forest zone of Cameroon. They live primarily in the northern portions of the Upper Nyong division of Cameroon's East Province. Major Maka settlements include Abong-Mbang, Doumé, and Nguélémendouka. Some Maka villages lie over the border into the Centre Province, as well.
The Njyem are an ethnic group inhabiting the rain forest zone of southern Cameroon and northern Republic of the Congo. In Cameroon, the Njyem live along the road running south from Lomié, passing the government center of Ngoyla and going as far south as Djadom. From there, footpaths extend to Souanke in northern Congo. Their territory lies south of the Nzime people and north of the Bekwel, both related groups. Ngoyla is the largest Njyem center. Souanke is equally important, but is a center shared with the Bekwel. They speak Njyem ("NJY"), one of the Makaa–Njem Bantu languages.
The Ekang are a group of closely related Bantu ethnic groups located in rain forest regions of Cameroon, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and São Tomé and Príncipe. Though they separate themselves into several individual clans, they all share a common origin, history and culture.
Kribi is a beach resort and sea port in Cameroon.
The Nzime are a Bantu ethnic group inhabiting the rain forest zone of southeastern Cameroon. The Nzime live along the road running south of Abong-Mbang, through Mindourou and Lomié, and forking to Zoulabot and Zwadiba. Their territory lies south of the Koonzime in Djaposten, east of the Badwe'e, north of the Njyem, and west of the Konabembe people, all related groups. The Nzime speak the Nzime dialect of Koonzime ("OZM"), one of the Makaa–Njyem Bantu languages.
The Atlantic Equatorial coastal forests, also known as the Congolian coastal forests, are a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion of central Africa, covering hills, plains, and mountains of the Atlantic coast of Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Republic of the Congo, Angola, and Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Campo Ma'an National Park is a 2,680 square kilometer National Park in Cameroon, located in the South Region in the Océan division. It borders with Equatorial Guinea on the south, the Atlantic Ocean to its west, the Vallée-du-Ntem and the Mvila to the east. Total area of the park and buffer zone measure approximately 700, 000 hectares. The climate has two dry seasons, November to March and July to August, and two rainy seasons, April to June and August to October. Average temperature is 25°C.
The Kwasio language, also known as Ngumba / Mvumbo, Bujeba, and Gyele / Kola, is a language of Cameroon, spoken in the south along the coast and at the border with Equatorial Guinea by some 70,000 members of the Ngumba, Kwasio, Gyele and Mabi peoples. Many authors view Kwasio and the Gyele/Kola language as distinct. In the Ethnologue, the languages therefore receive different codes: Kwasio has the ISO 639-3 code nmg, while Gyele has the code gyi. The Kwasio, Ngumba, and Mabi are village farmers; the Gyele are nomadic Pygmy hunter-gatherers living in the rain forest.
Baka is a dialect cluster of Ubangian languages spoken by the Baka Pygmies of Cameroon and Gabon. The people are ethnically close to the Aka, the two together called the Mbenga (Bambenga), but the languages are not related, apart from some vocabulary dealing with the forest economy, which suggests the Aka may have shifted to Bantu, probably 15000 people have shifted.
The Gyele, also known as the Kola (Bakola) or Koya (Bakoya), are the pygmies of southern Cameroon and adjacent areas of Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. They live among Bantu patrons, the Mvumbo and Bassa. They speak a variety of or a language closely related to Mvumbo.
The Kola people, Bakola, also known as the Koya, Bakoya, are pygmies of the NE Gabon–Congo border area. They speak the Bantu Ngom language.
Iyasa is a Bantu language spoken in Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea by the Iyasa and Ndowe coastal fishing peoples. It is also spoken by Pygmies, perhaps Babongo, in Gabon. Approximately 3,000 people speak Iyasa, though some note that this number may be an overestimation.
The Twa are a group of indigenous African Pygmy tribes.
The African Pygmies are a group of ethnicities native to Central Africa, mostly the Congo Basin, traditionally subsisting on a forager and hunter-gatherer lifestyle. They are divided into three roughly geographic groups:
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