Mamfe
Mamfe | |
|---|---|
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  Mamfe Location in Cameroon | |
| Coordinates: 5°46′N 9°17′E / 5.767°N 9.283°E | |
| Country |  Cameroon |
| Province | Southwest |
| Divisions | Manyu |
Mamfe or Mamfé is a city in and the capital of Manyu, a division of the Southwest Region in Cameroon. It is 74 km (46 mi) 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 has 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.
Etymology
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.{{Citation needed|dat
N/B (Njang-baho) was a hunter from EGBEKAW and at the same time a security man. preventing witches and wizards from entering EGBEKAW from NIGERIA. His origanal name is NJANG but was nickname NJANG-BAHO because the whites who met him gave him a gun and he bercame the first person to own a gun.When he brought them to town(present day mamfe), they where carrying out some construction work when the whites try to ask the people what is the name of this place? since the people could not understand the whites, they took their question to mean were should we place this stick(the sticks they were using to construct) and the villagers responded by saying mafie fa(not sure of the spelling) but meaning we should put the sticks here and the whites took it to be MAMFE. Thats how the name MAMFE came about.
Demographics
The Egbekaw village and small amfe village are the natives/pioneers 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.
Education
Mamfe has no university yet, but the Catholic university is now under construction. The Queen of the Rosary Catholic College was Cameroon's first all-female boarding school. There is also a Teacher's training college, and several vocational schools.
Cuisine
Popular local foods in Mamfe include eru and fu-fu, plantains with ndole, and garri and agusi soup.
Climate
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.
| Climate data for Mamfe | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 31.4 (88.5) |
33.5 (92.3) |
33.3 (91.9) |
32.9 (91.2) |
32.1 (89.8) |
30.8 (87.4) |
29.0 (84.2) |
28.7 (83.7) |
30.1 (86.2) |
30.9 (87.6) |
31.4 (88.5) |
31.1 (88.0) |
31.3 (88.3) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 25.6 (78.1) |
27.2 (81.0) |
27.9 (82.2) |
27.8 (82.0) |
27.3 (81.1) |
26.5 (79.7) |
25.6 (78.1) |
25.4 (77.7) |
25.9 (78.6) |
26.5 (79.7) |
26.4 (79.5) |
25.8 (78.4) |
26.5 (79.7) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 19.9 (67.8) |
21.0 (69.8) |
22.2 (72.0) |
22.5 (72.5) |
22.5 (72.5) |
22.2 (72.0) |
22.0 (71.6) |
21.9 (71.4) |
21.8 (71.2) |
21.9 (71.4) |
21.6 (70.9) |
20.3 (68.5) |
21.6 (70.9) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 17.8 (0.70) |
57.0 (2.24) |
157.1 (6.19) |
224.3 (8.83) |
272.0 (10.71) |
372.8 (14.68) |
479.2 (18.87) |
465.1 (18.31) |
488.9 (19.25) |
415.8 (16.37) |
93.4 (3.68) |
28.6 (1.13) |
3,072 (120.94) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 2 | 4 | 11 | 17 | 20 | 24 | 25 | 27 | 26 | 24 | 8 | 2 | 190 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 181.9 | 173.6 | 167.5 | 166.7 | 167.7 | 131.0 | 87.2 | 72.8 | 101.3 | 135.3 | 171.9 | 187.9 | 1,744.8 |
| Source: NOAA[1] | |||||||||||||
References
- ^ "Mamfe Climate Normals 1961–1990". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved October 19, 2015.
5°46′N 9°17′E / 5.767°N 9.283°E
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