Fonban, Cameroon—

To enter the King Bamun Museum in western Cameroon, you must pass the fangs of a giant two-headed snake, the highlight of the majestic coat of arms of one of the oldest kingdoms in sub-Saharan Africa.

Thousands of Cameroonians gathered at the Palace Square in Fombane on Saturday to celebrate the opening of the King Bamun Museum.

King Sultan Mouhammad Nabil Mforifoum Mbombo Njoya welcomed 2,000 guests to the opening of a museum in Foumban, King Bamun’s historic capital.

The royal family, descendants of the monarchy dating back six centuries, attended the event wearing traditional ceremonial attire, colorful boob hats and matching felt hats.

Griot interpreters dressed in colorful boobs beat drums and played traditional flutes, while palace riflemen fired shots to signal the arrival of distinguished guests, including ministers and diplomats.

Later, the prince and princess from the Bamun chief, dressed in yellow robes and animal masks, performed the ceremonial Ndjah dance.

Armand Kpoumie Nchare, author of a book about the kingdom of Bamun, told AFP that such a museum dedicated to the kingdom’s history “is unique in its scope” for Cameroon .

“This is one of the few kingdoms that has managed to survive and remain authentic despite the presence of missionaries, traders and colonial rulers,” he said.

Founded in 1384, the Kingdom of Bamun is one of the oldest kingdoms in sub-Saharan Africa.

In memory of Bamun, the museum was built in the shape of the kingdom’s coat of arms.

A spider spanning over 5,000 square meters (54,000 square feet) perches on top of the building, while the entrance represents a two-headed snake.

“This is a festival for the Bamun people. We come from all over just to experience this unique moment,” said spectator Ben Oumar, 50.

Mahamet Jules Pepore, a civil servant, said: “It is a proud feeling to participate in this event. We have been waiting for it for a long time.”

The museum houses a collection of 12,500 objects, including weapons, pipes and musical instruments, only a few of which have ever been on display at the Royal Palace.

“It reflects the rich, centuries-spanning creativity of these people, both in terms of crafts and art – the Bamont pictures – and the technological innovations of farmers at different times: mills, wine presses, etc.,” Nchar said .

The exhibition also features items from the life of the most famous Bamun king, Ibrahim Njoya, who reigned from 1889 to 1933 and created the Bamun script, a type of Writing system with over 500 syllabic symbols.

The museum displays his manuscripts and the corn grinder he invented.

“We pay tribute to a king who was both a guardian and a pioneer… It is a way for us to be proud of building the future” and “to show that Africa is not an importer of ideas,” the great Njoya – Grandson, 30-year-old Sultan King Mohammed said.

To commemorate the work of his grandfather, former Sudanese King Ibrahim Mbombo Njoya started construction of the museum in 2013 after realizing that the palace rooms were too cramped.

The opening of the museum comes just months after the Bamun people’s Nguon ceremony, a series of rituals celebrated during a popular annual festival, was inscribed on the UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.