Cameroon: Africa in Miniature and the Lions That Defined a Continent
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Cameroon is called Africa in miniature because its geography encompasses almost every major landscape on the continent: rainforest in the south, savannah in the north, volcanic highlands in the west, Sahel scrubland approaching Lake Chad in the far north, and 360 kilometres of Atlantic coastline. It also has more than 250 ethnic groups and two official languages — French and English — a consequence of being divided between British and French colonial administration after World War One.
The Indomitable Lions — Cameroon's national football team — produced one of the most dramatic moments in World Cup history when, at the 1990 tournament in Italy, they became the first African team to reach the quarterfinals. Roger Milla, who celebrated his goals by dancing at the corner flag at the age of 38, became one of football's great late-career stories. Cameroon's relationship with football is intense in a way that makes match days feel like national events regardless of what is actually at stake.
Cameroonian food varies dramatically by region but is unified by a preference for bold, complex flavour. Ndolé — a stew of bitter leaf, peanuts, and meat or shrimp — is considered the national dish. Egusi soup, made from ground melon seeds, appears across the country in regional variations. Palm wine, tapped fresh from palm trees and drunk within a day before it ferments further into something more aggressively alcoholic, is the social drink of village life across much of the country.
