Bafia
The Town of Bafia
Bafia is a city of the
Cameroun located in the province of the Center, with 120km in the north of
Yaounde. Bafia is the chief town of the department of the
Mbam-and-Inoubou. It consists of approximately 55.700 inhabitants. It is the third plus big city of the province of the Center after
Yaounde and
Mbalmayo
German, during the crossing of the area of Mbam, will stop in the high plateau of the area which we call today Bafia. Not knowing how to indicate this splendid area, they will ask a native who was by there, ghost of a shooting party, “
how names this locality? ”.
Our hunter which did not include/understand the question, thinks rather than its hosts ask him for his name. “
ufino yamè yo lomo: Bofia Nkano”. Let us translate this into French: “
I name myself Bofia Nkano”. From where the name of Bafia allotted to the locality.
The Bafia ethnos group
Bafia are located in the valley of Mbam, on Right Bank of the section of this river which runs in the North-western direction, South-eastern. The area is limited to the West by the Bapéi mountains. It is an area of savanna sprinkled by small affluents of Mbam and Sanaga and intersected with small islands of forests not very dense. It represents a ground of contacts between the savanna of North and the forest of South-Cameroun.
Bafia are those which speak Bafia which is a Bantoue language of the west of Cameroun. (cf "
Bafia, language bantoue of Cameroun , Gladys Guarisma, 1992, thesis Paris 5)
They by the spoken language are indicated like the “Bekpag”. They peupent the districts of: Bafia, Kiiki and of Kon-Yambetta and include/understand Binkira (Roum, Yakan, Gouifé, Ngam, Koro, Sanam) and Bekee (Mouko, Kiiki, Ribang, Bitang) to which we can assimilate Bapéi, Yambetta and Balom.
Administration
- mayors of the urban district of Bafia of 1965 with today
Kotouo Pierre 29-06-1962/23-06-1965
Nkendjouo Luc 29-06-1965/13-08-1965
Anong with Erouné Amos August 1965 and 15-06-1967 /18-02-1970
Medjo Akono 04-03-1970/07-12-1970
Mbassa with Zock Aboubakar 30-01-1971/20-11-1975
Mone Mvondo Pierre 18-12-1975 /12-11-1977
Machia Djiberou 12-11-1977/20-10-1987
Mbamba with Dong Alphonse 20-10-1987/05-02-1996
Mougam with Ribouém 05-02-1996 - 2002
Machia Abdoulay 2002-…
The prefecture of Bafia was set up in 1961. It covered the ex department of Mbam (current departments of Mbam-and-Inoubou and Mbam-and-Kim). Since 1992, Bafia is the capital of the department of Mbam-and-Inoubou.
Bafia also accommodates a Sub-prefect who manages the district of Bafia, a commune covering the territorial spring of this commune.
All the police headquarters of the country are represented in the city by departmental delegates and delegates of district.
The county courts and great authority of the department have their seat with Bafia. The city also has a prison and presence of the police services and gendarmerie. Notaries, bailiffs and lawyers have the studies in the downtown area of Bafia.
Infrastrutures
The town of Bafia has a Teacher training school of the teachers of mainstream education (ENIEG), of a traditional College, a bilingual College, a Technical school, a College of industrial and commercial technical education (CETIC of Kiiki) and of three Colleges of secondary education. To those, several private and denominational colleges are added, of many elementary schools and public and private nursery schools.
The Hospital of District of Bafia is the principal medical structure of the city. It is equipped with principal specialities (general medicine, pediatry, gynecology, odonto-stomatology, surgery, etc). It is supported on the local plan by several health centres integrated into the level of certain districts and villages. The religious confessions also contribute to this action of public health through in particular the Protesting Hospital of Donenkeng (Bafia) from which the fame extends in extreme cases from the city and department from Mbam-and-Inoubou.
Two private pharmacies and pharmacies of the two principal hospitals allow an easy supply essential drugs.
The town of Bafia counts only one mortuary installed at the Hospital of district. Some private funeral parlors are installed on the spot.
The town of Bafia offers elementary urban facilities. Four service stations make it possible to the inhabitants to be supplied while carburizing and other consumable for car. The taxis function according to a service of collecting. One recently notes the development of the activity of motor bike-taxi serving the ways not very accessible to the cars and the rural area. The main arteries of the city are bituminized. Urban lighting is not suitably everywhere assured.
A post office proposes all the postal services. The telephone operators fixed and mobile are also active.
The banking services are exerted by establishments of microfinance and transfer of money.
Several restaurants operate in the city and offer a varied chart dominated by the local mets (kepen ki bazi, kidjane, bitosso, etc) a hotel two stars having a nightclub (discotheque) and several other establishments of less scale ensure the lodging of the visitors. Many bars and gargotes supplement the table.
In addition, the city counts a bakery, shops and markets where one can buy various food and manufactués products.
National television (CRTV), the cable and the satellite as well as broadcasting (out of FM) national, international (RFI) and local make it possible to remain in contact with the international topicality.
Bafia is reachable only by road. At the beginning of Yaounde, several transport companies by road allow to rejoin Bafia by a bituminized road of 121 kilometers starting from the Coach station of Tongolo (Northern of Yaounde). The aerodrome of very active Biamo in the quinzes first years after independences is not any more in a position to receive single-engined aircrafts, twin-engines or helocopteres.
At the beginning of Douala, it is advisable either to pass by Yaounde (360 kilometers) or to pass by Bafang and Bangangté or Bafang and Bafoussam (nearly approximately 390 kilometers in both cases). By Douala, changes of transport company will be operated either in Bafoussam, or in Bafang.
Religion
Bafia are animists, Moslem or Christian. Bafia were the followers of the traditional primitive religions. Islam was the first religion revealed to be introduced into Mbam in general and the subdivision of Bafia in particular. This new religion married itself with the ancestral habits of Bafia and gained many hearts starting from the end of the XIXe century. Thereafter, Christianity knew a remarkable progress compared to the Islamic religion but the Christians bafia after their conversion remain still related to the traditional beliefs.
The diocese of Bafia is the ecclesiastical district which marries its limits with that of the department of Mbam and having at its head a bishop who resides at the chief town of the diocese of Bafia. Thus the name Bafia becomes determinative designating all the Christians catholic of the area of Mbam.
- See also: List of the bishops of Bafia
This assembly brings together all the pastors of the area of Mbam and designates all the Christians protesting of the Cameronian Church presbytérienne (EPC) of Mbam and the province of the west in general.
The consistory Judaea Shalom was born from the bursting in 2001 of old Cansistoire Mbam and account ten Pastors and a little more than 5.000 Christians parcemé in all the districts of the départemet of the MBAM (Inoubou and KIM). He has his seat with KIIKI place chief of the arrondissemnt of KIIKI.
History
The fortuitous meeting with an animal, snake, bird, that the clan regards as a totem constitutes a sign which announces happiness or misfortune.
- Gam: Bafia believe in the power of the spider mygale called Gam which in the meetings of divination makes known the dangers which watches for the individual and his family. Nowadays, the worship of Gam tends to disappear fault from initiator and initiate.
- The Tortoise: The phenomenon of the tortoise is a problem taboo at Bafia. The tortoise is the symbol of justice, peace and happiness. The large respect that Bafia attach to this one pushed people to say that the tortoise is an animal fetish which Bafia do not touch and do not even see. She is crowned. This is why she is venerated.
See also: Myth of the tortoise at Bafia
Sports activities and cultural
- Bafia Beneficie club from a stage has its measurement: the Ayem stage. Name of a former Prefect who was a fanatic of football in general. It is him which took the initiative to build a stage and to offer it to the clubs of Bafia and its surroundings. Bafia known club its years of glory in the first national division with the high-speed motorboat Mouthe Philippe, then later the Bougoli genius in the Seventies.
- Bitosso (Generally accompanied by corn couscous called Kepen)
- Kedian (sheet of manioc)
- Gbarak (sticky sauce made with pistachios and meat)
The traditional dance of Bafia is one of the dances of most elegant of Cameroun.Le charms, the posture and the expressions of the face of the dancers transmit a feeling of joy and dynamism.
Bonds external
- Twinning between the town of Bafia and Thann (city which is located in France in the Alsace area)