Talk:Kingdom of Bamum

Ethnicity of Bamum

I have removed the following comment from the main article because it needs discussion here, and not in the article itself:

"Their language is explicitly said in the article to be a Niger-Congo language, not a Bantu language! And what does "SEMI-Bantu" mean, anyway?!"

It seems very likely that the Bamum people are part Bantu, and part Afro-Asiatic. Gorges (1930) noted that their king, Ibrahim Njoya (the Great), was not himself of Bantu appearance, but many of the people appear to be more so. Their language is described as "Niger-Congo group", which (by definition) includes those of the Bantu peoples. It therefore seems likely to a non-expert outsider that the people are part Afro-Asiatic (probably Hauser) and part Bantu; so I have substituted "part-Bantu", which must be factually correct if they speak a Niger-Congo language. --Wally Tharg (talk) 21:20, 7 August 2012 (UTC)

Allegiance during WW1

I have changed the POV statements regarding the allegiance of Bamun during WW1. It is clear from Gorges' account that Bamun was loyal to German rule before WW1, but accepted the British take-over in December 1915 without resistance (Gorges, p.247 et seqq). Furthermore, the article repeatedly stated that French rule, which followed WW1, was repressive. It may well have been, but we either need to cite a reference or omit the judgement: an encyclopedia is no place for opinion. --Wally Tharg (talk) 22:18, 7 August 2012 (UTC)