In Pictures: Meet King Abumbi II, The Cameroonian Monarch with 100 Wives

 

After the death of his father in 1968, Abumbi II, became the 11th fon, or king, of Bafut in Cameroon. The local tradition in the country, mandates a new king to take over all the wives of the previous king.

 

He is allowed to marry his own queens but he must first inherit the wives of the late king. These women are believed to shape the kingly lifestyle of the new king.

 

The King and his wives 

Abumbi now has around 100 wives having been passed 72 from his father. The old wives will help bring up the new queens that the king will marry after ascending the throne.

 

 
Abumbi II has ruled Bafut for 47 years and he is stuck between the traditional norms and the modern ways. Although he follows every tradition, but thinks he is a modern king because he has found a way to merge both in his daily life.

"My role is to blend them, to find the way forward so my subjects can enjoy the fruits of development and modernity without destroying their culture. Without a culture, you are not a human being, you are an animal. And therefore the chieftaincy institution is the guarantor of our culture," he said.

 

 

Abumbi’s third wife, Queen Constance, does not see anything wrong in the tradition. "Behind every successful man must be a very successful, staunch woman," she said.