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The Kings and Queens of the
Bamum
 Eighteen
fon (FOHN), or kings and queens, have ruled the Bamum kingdom since
it was founded in the late 1600s.
Find out what some of the artists of the Bamum have
thought about 6 of these fon.
Nshare
(hn-SHAH-ray) Ruled in the 1600s
"To become king of the Bamum people, Nshare had to wage
successful wars against several neighboring kingdoms. As a military leader,
he was intrepid and outstanding. Very generous, he also enjoyed dancing
and drinking palm wine."
Nguepu (hn-GAY-poo) Ruled in
the 1600s
"Nguepu became queen after Nshare's assassination. She
lived a very long life and preserved Nshare's accomplishments. "
Kuetu (KAY-too) Ruled in the
1800s
"Kuetu was short and fat. He was kind and had 400 children.
He did not like wars, so his reign was calm and peaceful."
Mbuembue (hm-BOM-bo)
Ruled from about 1810 to 1845
"Mbuembue waged successful wars against many neighboring
Grassfields kingdoms. Under his reign, all Bamum people, regardless of
their social origins, became wealthy. No other Bamum king, except for Nshare,
can compare with Mbuembue. Everyone, even children, just loved him."
Nsangu (hn-SAH-hn-goo) Ruled
from about 1865 to 1886
"Nsangu said: 'If, after my death, you recognize my son
Njoya as your king, you all will prosper. . . . But if you choose someone
else, an elephant will cross this nation and destroy it.'"
Ibrahim Njoya
(hn-JOY-ah) Ruled from about 1886 to 1930
"Njoya said: 'All kings who resisted the white men were
defeated. . . . Bamum, you see, if I had foolishly accepted your decision
to resist them, they would have destroyed us all.'"
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