Habitat of the Koma
In the Alantika Mountains,northwest of Ngaoundéré, live the Koma. They lead a rather reclusive and primitive existence that has left their culture and traditions unchanged for centuries. It distinguishes itself from other inhabitants in the region by the special way in which it deals with their deaths; they are not dead but live on. The landscape is defined by villages with round huts of stone and loam with pointed roofs of dried millet stems. In addition to millet, bananas are also grown here thanks to the water of dozens of rivers. Three interesting books have been published on the culture of the Komas and Dowayos: Alantika, Bergland in Cameroon' by the French writer René Gardis, who came here in 1955 as one of the first Europeans and more recently by the British author Nigel Barley 'Traumatic Tropes' and 'The Caterpillar Plague'.
