Мамфе қаласы: Камерунның оңтүстік-батыс аймағындағы тарихы мен өмір салты

City in the Southwest Region of Cameroon

Mamfe or Mamfé is a city in and the capital of Manyu, a division of the Southwest Region in Cameroon. It is from the border of Nigeria, on the Manyu River. It has a population of 36,500 (2017 estimate). It is known as a centre for traditional religion (e. g., Obasinjom and Ekpe Society) and traditional medicine. Mamfe used to be known for bad infrastructure within the city limits, especially the roads, but in recent times the roads have been tarred and are currently in good condition. The roads leading in and out of the city have also been tarred e. g., Mamfe Bamenda, Mamfe Kumba, Mamfe Ekok. The Peace Corps has maintained a presence in the Mamfe area since they entered the country in 1962. Since 2017, Mamfe has been a frequent battleground in the Anglophone Crisis. The city saw heavy fighting in December 2017, when the Cameroonian Army battled the Ambazonia Defence Forces for control over Mamfe and the surroundings. In May 2020, separatist fighters assassinated the newly elected mayor, Ashu Priestly Ojong. As of January 2023, suspected separatist fighters stormed Mamfe and set a Total petrol station on fire.

The name "Mamfe" comes from the [Bayangi language]. When Germans first arrived in the area via the Cross River, the Germans greeted a local man at the Egbekaw River site who was carrying sand from the shore and tried interrogating him about where they were. The Banyang man didn't understand and only said in his dialect, "Mamfie fah?" ("Where should I put it?"). The Germans heard this as "Mamfe" and named the area so.

The Egbekaw village is the native/pioneer of Mamfe town. The inhabitants speak a Bayang language as their mother tongue, called Nyang, although English is the official language spoken along with Pidgin and several other dialects, including Ejagham. The city is also noteworthy for the high proportion of Nigerians who live there.

Mamfe has no university yet, but the Catholic university is now under construction. The Mamfe Girls College was Cameroon's first all female boarding school. There is also a teachers' training college, and several vocational schools.

Popular local foods in Mamfe include eru and fu fu, plantains with ndole, and fu fu and ogbono soup, koki and plantains.

Mamfe has a tropical monsoon climate (Köppen climate classification Am). As Mamfe is in a river valley, humidity can be over 90% and temperatures can exceed 120 F (49 °C) during the Dry Season (February April). During the rest of the year, temperatures remain in the 80 90s (27 to 37 °C) and only fall during the Rainy Season, sometimes to 70F (21 °C). The climate can be very uncomfortable for travellers, but tourism is beginning in the area, though small. Points of interest are the old German bridge, the Mamfe Cross, the Mamfe River by boat, and the Mamfe Cathedral. Hotels are few, but can and do accommodate western travellers.