Portal:Cameroon/Featured article
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Pelvicachromis pulcher is a freshwater fish of the cichlid family, endemic to Nigeria and Cameroon. The species is popular amongst aquarium hobbyists, and is most commonly sold under the name kribensis, although the species has other common names, including various derivatives of kribensis: krib, common krib and rainbow krib, along with rainbow cichlid and purple cichlid. Originally P. kribnesis, its Latin name was changed to P. pulcher. Pulcher is Latin for "beautiful". The species is a popular cichlid for the aquarium. In the wild, male P. pulcher grow to a maximum length of approximately 12.5 cm (4.9 in.) and a maximum weight of 9.5 g. Females are smaller and deeper bodied, growing to a maximum length of 8.1 cm (3.2 in.) and a maximum weight of 9.4 g. Both sexes have a dark longitudinal stripe that runs from the caudal fin to the mouth and pink to red abdomens, the intensity of which changes during courtship and breeding. The dorsal and caudal fins also may bear gold-ringed eye spots or ocelli.
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Nki National Park is a national park in southeastern Cameroon, located in its East Province. The closest towns to Nki are Yokadouma, Moloundou and Lomie, beyond which are rural lands. Due to its remoteness, Nki has been described as "the last true wilderness." It has a large and varied ecosystem, and it is home to over 265 species of birds, and the forests of Cameroon contain some of the highest population density of forest elephants of any nation with an elephant density of roughly 2.5 per square kilometer for Nki and neighboring Boumba Bek National Park combined. These animals are victims of poaching, which has been a major problem since an economic depression in the 1980s. The indigenous people follow in the footsteps of the poachers, attracted by the financial opportunities. The removal of logging industries from the park, on the other hand, has been a success; it is no longer considered a major threat to Nki's wilderness.
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The South Region (South Province until 2008; French Province du Sud) 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 (part of the Atlantic Ocean), and to the south by the countries of Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and Congo. The South occupies 47,720 square km 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 South Region has a fair amount of industry, its main commerce consisting of logging, timber, mining, and offshore oil drilling. Commercial agriculture is also important in the South, the major cash crops being cocoa and rubber. Cattle rearing and fishing are significant economic components, as well. Much of the population is made up of subsistence farmers.
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The Western High Plateau, Western Highlands, or Bamenda Grassfields is a region of Cameroon characterised by high relief, cool temperatures, heavy rainfall, and savanna vegetation. The region lies along the Cameroon faultline and consists of mountain ranges and volcanoes made of crystalline and igneous rock. The region borders the South Cameroon Plateau to the southeast, the Adamawa Plateau to the northeast, and the Cameroon coastal plain to the south.
The Western High Plateau lies along the Cameroon line, a fault running from the Atlantic Ocean in the southwestern part of the plateau to the Adamawa Plateau in the northeast. The region is characterised by accidented relief of massifs and mountains. The Western High Plateau features several dormant volcanoes, including the Bamboutos Mountains, Mount Oku, and Mount Kupe. Mountain ranges on the plateau include the Atlantika and Gotel mountains.
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The balafon (bala, balaphone) is a resonated frame, wooden keyed percussion idiophone of West Africa; part of the idiophone family of tuned percussion instruments that includes the xylophone, marimba, glockenspiel, and the vibraphone. Sound is produced by striking the tuned keys with two padded sticks.
Believed to have been developed independently of the Southern African and South American instruments now called the marimba, oral histories of the balafon date it to at least the rise of the Mali Empire in the 12th century CE. Balafon is a Manding name, but variations exist across West Africa, including the Balangi in Sierra Leone and the Gyil of the Dagara, Lobi and Gurunsi from Ghana, Burkina Faso and Côte d'Ivoire. similar instruments are played in parts of Central Africa, with the ancient Kingdom of Kongo denoting the instrument as palaku.
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The Code de l'indigénat was a set of laws creating, in practice, an inferior legal status for natives of French Colonies from 1887 until 1944–1947. First put in place in Algeria, it was applied across the French Colonial Empire in 1887–1889. A similar strategy was also employed by other European colonial powers, under the concept of Indirect rule.
French colonial policy is often contrasted with the British concept of Indirect rule pioneered by Frederick Lugard of the British East Africa Company in Uganda and later the Royal Niger Company in what is today Nigeria. Lugard devised a method of colonial administration which relied upon maintenance of pre-colonial chiefs and other political structures, who were in turn subject to the authority of British representatives.