Culture
The Wimbum people
Where we are from, how we are organised, and the language that holds it together.
The Wimbum occupy Donga-Mantung division on the Nkambe plateau in the North West Region of Cameroon. The land is high grassland, farmed and grazed, and the division's administrative centre is Nkambe town.
Three clans. The Wimbum are Wiya, War and Tang. Wiya includes Ndu and its surrounding settlements; War includes Tabenken and Binka; Tang includes Mbot and its neighbours. Clan identity is not decoration — it determines who speaks at a death celebration, how a marriage is negotiated, and what is expected of you when you go home.
Limbum. Limbum is our language, a Grassfields Bantu language spoken by several hundred thousand people. It is tonal, which is why written phrasebooks alone do not transmit it. Recorded audio is the only honest way to teach it to children raised in Europe, and it is a priority for the association's cultural work.
Diaspora. Wimbum people are now settled across Europe, North America and southern Africa. The association exists so that the second generation inherits more than a surname.