The Museum of war in Cameroon preserves ancient legends. Goulfey, a town in Cameroon’s northern region about fifty kilometers from Kousseri, is undergoing a transition.
Most visitors are captivated by this small sultanate’s architecture located on the banks of the Logone River, close to Ndjamena, Chad’s capital.
Goulfey is a centuries-old clay house. It was turned into a museum and now serves as a cultural center where young people can learn about the Kotokos’ rich history.
“First and foremost, this museum is dedicated to the Kotoko principality’s heritage. So this mass of the earth is an element that the old SAOs have been bringing up for a long time, “Abba Aba Kaka, the meum’s communications officer, said.
Goulfey’s history started between the 16th and 18th centuries, after an Arab invasion.
The Arabs discovered people steeped in ancestral rituals, locally known as the varan cult.
The Varan is revered as the city’s religious symbol and a sacred feature of security and divination. Inside this culture, it plays a significant religious and political role.
It is assumed that the spirits known as the “Gbwéi-gbwéi” interacted with the people through the traditional priest to supply household food such as pots of honey and milk to the Varans living in the Tower regularly.
However, the famed war emperor Rabah arrived from Egypt to convert locals to Islam and capture slaves.
In the town of Gulfey, where unarmed civilians battled the Arabs, he faced fierce resistance. They forged their arms out of iron and constructed a fortress.
The firearms used in this war can still be seen.
“Once we saw movements and unfamiliar people from above, we realized they were coming for battle, and then they took the arms here and went around to attack them from outside,” museum guide Mahamat Abamé said.
These tactics allowed them to approach the enemy from behind and fire them.
Rabat is known as the maker of Goulfey. Djagara then led a victory over Rabat with the support of the French, who later controlled this territory.
The territory was called the Sultanate of Goulfey after it was divided from Chad, Nigeria, and Niger.
This well-known small town situated between Chad and Cameroon is well-known for its warfare practice and techniques in the region. The Logone River divides it from Chad.
For decades, the younger generation has been taught this story.
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