Mamfe

Mamfe (also spelled Mamfé) is a city and capital of the Manyu Division of the Southwest Province in Cameroon. It is located 60 km (37 mi) from the border of Nigeria, on the Cross River. It has a population of 20,300 (2001 estimate). It is known as a centre for traditional religion and traditional medicine. It used to be known for its bad infrastructure, especially the roads, which however were recently tarred and presently are in a good condition, within the city limits. The roads leading in and out, however, remain untarred and are difficult to impassable during the rainy season. The name “Mamfe” comes from the Bayangui language. When Germans first arrived in the area via the Cross River, the Germans greeted a local man who was carrying sand from the shore and tried interrogating him about where they were. The Bayangui man didn’t understand and only said in his dialect, “I’m carrying sand”. The Germans heard this as “Mamfe” and named the area so. The inhabitants speak a Bayangui language as their mother tongue, called Kenyang, although English is the official language spoken along with Pidgin, and several other dialects, including Ejagha. The city is also noteworthy for the high proportion of Nigerians who live there.