Cameroon opens museum honoring oldest sub-Saharan kingdom

Mouhammad-Nabil Mfonrifoum Mbombo Njoya (C), Sultan King of the Bamouns, sits on his throne while attending the inauguration ceremony of the new Bamoun Kings Museum in Foumban, on April 13, 2024. A traditional masked dancer performs during the inauguration of the new Bamoun Kings Museum in Foumban, on April 13, 2024. A Bamoun warrior responsible of the security of the Sultan King of the Bamouns shoots into the air during the start of the inauguration ceremony of the new Bamoun Kings Museum in Foumban, on April 13, 2024.

To enter the Museum of the Bamoun Kings in western Cameroon, you have to pass under the fangs of a gigantic two-headed snake — the highlight of an imposing coat of arms of one of the oldest kingdoms in sub-Saharan Africa.