Baltic Sea, arm of the North Atlantic Ocean, extending northward from the latitude of southern Denmark almost to the Arctic Circle and separating the Scandinavian Peninsula from the rest of continental Europe. The largest expanse of brackish water in the world, the semienclosed and relatively

Oceanic art and architecture: The Admiralty Islands: For example, the people on Baluan made bird-shaped bowls, ladles, and spatulas; on Lou, obsidian was carved into great hemispheric bowls; on Rambutyo figures and anthropomorphic lime spatulas were common; and the people on Pak made beds (used nowhere else in Melanesia) and slit gongs. Although the Matankor were neither…

Luba, a Bantu-speaking cluster of peoples who inhabit a wide area extending throughout much of south-central Democratic Republic of the Congo. They numbered about 5,594,000 in the late 20th century. The name Luba applies to a variety of peoples who, though of different origins, speak closely

Baloch, group of tribes speaking the Balochi language and estimated at about five million inhabitants in the province of Balochistān in Pakistan and also neighbouring areas of Iran and Afghanistan. In Pakistan the Baloch people are divided into two groups, the Sulaimani and the Makrani, separated

Baluchistan, traditional region of southeastern Iran, the greater part of which is in Sīstān va Balūchestān ostān (province). With harsh physical and social conditions, the region is among the least developed in Iran. Precipitation, scarce and falling mostly in violent rainstorms, causes floods and

Balochistan, westernmost province of Pakistan. It is bordered by Iran (west), by Afghanistan (northwest), by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab provinces (northeast and east), by Sindh province (southeast), and by the Arabian Sea (south). Although an indigenous population of the region passed through

Balochi language, one of the oldest living languages of the Indo-Iranian group of the Indo-European languages. A West Iranian language, Balochi is spoken by about nine million people as a first or second language in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, India, and Baloch diaspora communities. Balochi is

Baluchi rug, floor covering woven by the Baloch people living in Afghanistan and eastern Iran. The patterns in these rugs are highly varied, many consisting of repeated motifs, diagonally arranged across the field. Some present a maze of intricate latch-hooked forms. Prayer rugs, with a simple

Baluchistan, traditional region of southeastern Iran, the greater part of which is in Sīstān va Balūchestān ostān (province). With harsh physical and social conditions, the region is among the least developed in Iran. Precipitation, scarce and falling mostly in violent rainstorms, causes floods and

Balochistan, westernmost province of Pakistan. It is bordered by Iran (west), by Afghanistan (northwest), by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab provinces (northeast and east), by Sindh province (southeast), and by the Arabian Sea (south). Although an indigenous population of the region passed through

Pakistan: The Balochistan plateau: The vast tableland of Balochistan contains a great variety of physical features. In the northeast a basin centered on the towns of Zhob and Loralai forms a trellis-patterned lobe that is surrounded on all sides by mountain ranges. To the east and southeast…

Balochistan: The University of Balochistan was established in Quetta in 1970. The Balochi Academy and the Pashto Academy, also in Quetta, promote the preservation of traditional cultures. Area 134,051 square miles (347,190 square km). Pop. (2003 est.) 7,450,000.

Indricotherium, genus of giant browsing perissodactyls found as fossils in Asian deposits of the Late Oligocene and Early Miocene epochs (30 million to 16.6 million years ago). Indricotherium, which was related to the modern rhinoceros but was hornless, was the largest land mammal that ever

Jean Balue was a French cardinal, the treacherous minister of King Louis XI. Of humble parentage, Balue was first patronized by the bishop of Poitiers. In 1461 he became vicar-general of the bishop of Angers. His activity, cunning, and mastery of intrigue gained him the appreciation of Louis XI,

Balurghat, city, northern West Bengal state, northeastern India. It is situated just east of the Atrai River, just north of the Bangladesh border. Balurghat was declared a municipality in 1951. The city is connected by road with Ingraj Bazar (Angrezabad) in West Bengal and with Dinajpur and

baluster, one of a series of small posts supporting the coping or handrail of a parapet or railing. Colonnettes are shown as balusters in Assyrian palaces by contemporary bas-reliefs and are similarly used in many railings of the Gothic period. Although no Greek or Roman example of the baluster is

metalwork: Middle Ages: …simple matter to distinguish between baluster jugs from London and pichets from Paris or between wine flagons from Switzerland and those made in the Low Countries, Burgundy, the Main regions of Franconia, southern Germany, and the Rhineland. The type of a baluster jug made in the region around Frankfurt-am-Oder and…

balustrade, low screen formed by railings of stone, wood, metal, glass, or other materials and designed to prevent falls from roofs, balconies, terraces, stairways, and other elevated architectural elements. The classic Renaissance balustrade consisted of a broad, molded handrail supported by a

Étienne Baluze was a French scholar, notable both as a historian and as the collector and publisher of documents and manuscripts. At the Collège St. Martial at Toulouse, he studied chiefly ecclesiastical history and canon law, becoming in 1654 secretary to the archbishop of Toulouse, who was a

Bad Bunny: …featuring Bad Bunny, Colombian singer J Balvin, and American-born Dominican singer Prince Royce.

Elizabeth Holmes: Early life and education: …there, she befriended technology entrepreneur Ramesh (“Sunny”) Balwani.

Elizabeth Holmes: Early life and education: …there, she befriended technology entrepreneur Ramesh (“Sunny”) Balwani.

John Murray, 2nd marquess and 1st duke of Atholl was a leading Scottish supporter of William and Mary and of the Hanoverian succession. Son of the 1st marquess of Atholl, he favored the accession of William and Mary in 1689 but was unable, during his father’s absence, to prevent the majority of his

African literature: Somali: …by women, the heello, or balwo, made up of short love poems and popular on the radio, and the hees, popular poetry. Maxamed Cabdulle Xasan (Mohammed Abdullah Hassan) created poetry as a weapon, mainly in the oral tradition. Farah Nuur, Qamaan Bulhan, and Salaan Arrabey were also well-known poets. Abdillahi…

Bally, city, southeastern West Bengal state, northeastern India. It lies on the west bank of the Hugli (Hooghly) River, opposite Baranagar, and is part of the Haora (Howrah) urban agglomeration as well as the larger Kolkata (Calcutta) metropolitan area. Bally was constituted a municipality in 1883.

al-Khiḍr, a legendary Islamic figure endowed with immortal life who became a popular saint, especially among sailors and Sufis (Muslim mystics). The cycle of myths and stories surrounding al-Khiḍr originated in a vague narrative in the Qurʾān (18:60–82) that describes the long and arduous journey

Kamala Das: … (1967; “Cold”) and the memoir Balyakalasmaranakal (1987; “Memories of Childhood”). Perhaps her best-known work was an autobiography, which first appeared as a series of columns in the weekly Malayalanadu, then in Malayalam as Ente Katha (1973), and finally in English as My Story (1976). A shockingly intimate work, it came…

Balykchy, town, capital of Ysyk-Köl oblasty (province), northeastern Kyrgyzstan. It is a port located on the western shore of Lake Ysyk (Issyk-Kul) and is linked to Frunze, about 87 miles (140 km) north-northwest. Balykchy’s economy centres on a food industry, including meat-packing and cereal

Auguste Rodin: Discords and triumphs of Auguste Rodin: …the Victor Hugo and the Balzac were even more serious.

Honoré de Balzac was a French literary artist who produced a vast number of novels and short stories collectively called La Comédie humaine (The Human Comedy). He helped to establish the traditional form of the novel and is generally considered to be one of the greatest novelists of all time.

Jean-Louis Guez de Balzac was a man of letters and critic, one of the original members of the Académie Française; he had a great influence on the development of Classical French prose. After studies in the Netherlands at Leiden (1615), some youthful adventures, and a period in Rome (1620–22), he

Damon Albarn: …the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Flea on bass.

Islamic arts: Belles lettres: …the late 10th century, when Balʿamī made an abridged translation of the vast Arabic historical chronicle by al-Ṭabarī (died 923).

Merce Cunningham: …mark Cunningham’s 90th birthday, the Brooklyn Academy of Music premiered his new and last work, Nearly Ninety, in April 2009. His career was the subject of the documentary Cunningham (2019).

Bam, is a city in eastern Kermān province, Iran. The city, an agricultural centre situated on the Silk Road and long famed for its large fortress, was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2004. Bam is located about 115 miles (185 km) southeast of the city of Kermān at an elevation of

Siberia: The Soviet period and after: The construction of the BAM (Baikal-Amur Magistral) railroad between Ust-Kut, on the Lena River, and Komsomolsk-na-Amure, on the Amur, a distance of 2,000 miles (3,200 km), was completed in 1980.

Iván Zamorano is one of the most recognized Chilean football (soccer) players of all time. He gained fame as a great scorer in Europe. His popularity led the way for later Chilean stars to play in Europe. Playing sports from a young age—Zamorano’s father signed him up for the local soccer team when

high place, Israelite or Canaanite open-air shrine usually erected on an elevated site. Prior to the conquest of Canaan (Palestine) by the Israelites in the 12th–11th century bc, the high places served as shrines of the Canaanite fertility deities, the Baals (Lords) and the Asherot (Semitic

high place, Israelite or Canaanite open-air shrine usually erected on an elevated site. Prior to the conquest of Canaan (Palestine) by the Israelites in the 12th–11th century bc, the high places served as shrines of the Canaanite fertility deities, the Baals (Lords) and the Asherot (Semitic

Bamako, capital of Mali, located on the Niger River in the southwestern part of the country. When occupied for the French in 1880 by Captain Joseph-Simon Gallieni, Bamako was a settlement of a few hundred inhabitants, grouped in villages. It became the capital of the former colony of French Sudan

Mali: Education: …the government—is offered by the University of Bamako (1993) and state colleges, which include teacher-training colleges, a college of administration, an engineering institute, an agricultural and veterinary science institute, and a medical school. Many of Mali’s university students study abroad, especially in France and Senegal. Other school reform has focused…

Bambara, ethnolinguistic group of the upper Niger region of Mali whose language, Bambara (Bamana), belongs to the Mande branch of the Niger-Congo language family. The Bambara are to a great extent intermingled with other tribes, and there is no centralized organization. Each small district, made up

Mande languages: …more than a million speakers: Bambara (which has four million), Malinke, Maninka, Mende, Dyula (which is used as a trade language by four million people in northern Côte d’Ivoire and western Burkina Faso), Soninke, and Susu. The smaller eastern group consists of 13 languages, only one of which, Dan, has…

Southern Africa: Growth of missionary activity: …the Tswana converts were the Ngwato, under the king Khama III (reigned 1875–1923), who established a virtual theocracy among his people and was perhaps the most acclaimed Christian convert of his day, while in the eastern Cape the Mfengu were in the forefront of mission activity and peasant enterprise. In…

Native American dance: Mexico and Mesoamerica: Contests of improvisations to la bamba, widely danced in the Mexican Gulf Coast area, also contribute to the merriment of the Veracruz huapango.

Islamic arts: General considerations: …member of Senegal’s literary community, Amadou Bamba M’backe, who founded the politically important group of the Murīdiyyah, wrote (quite apart from practical words of wisdom in his mother tongue) some 20,000 mystically tinged verses in Classical Arabic.

Mount Bamba, mountain (2,625 feet [800 metres]) in the Mayombé Massif, in the southwestern part of the Republic of the

Afrika Bambaataa is an American disc jockey (deejay or DJ) and music producer who is credited as being a leading disseminator of hip-hop music and culture. A pioneer of breakbeat deejaying, a style marked by the quick repetition of fast-paced, syncopated drum samples, Bambaataa is often referred to

Bambara, ethnolinguistic group of the upper Niger region of Mali whose language, Bambara (Bamana), belongs to the Mande branch of the Niger-Congo language family. The Bambara are to a great extent intermingled with other tribes, and there is no centralized organization. Each small district, made up

Fabales: Ecological and economic importance: …family is Vigna subterranea (Bambara groundnut), a leguminous plant that develops underground fruits in the arid lands of Africa. Important too are the seeds of Bauhinia esculenta; they are gathered for the high-protein tubers and seeds. Vigna aconitifolia (moth bean) and V. umbellata (rice bean) are much used in…

Mande languages: …more than a million speakers: Bambara (which has four million), Malinke, Maninka, Mende, Dyula (which is used as a trade language by four million people in northern Côte d’Ivoire and western Burkina Faso), Soninke, and Susu. The smaller eastern group consists of 13 languages, only one of which, Dan, has…

Bambara states, two separate West African states, one of which was based on the town of Ségou, between the Sénégal and Niger rivers, and the other on Kaarta, along the middle Niger (both in present-day Mali). According to tradition, the Segu kingdom was founded by two brothers, Barama Ngolo and Nia

Toni Cade Bambara was an American writer, civil-rights activist, and teacher who wrote about the concerns of the African-American community. Reared by her mother in Harlem, Bedford-Stuyvesant, and Queens, N.Y., Bambara (a surname she adopted in 1970) was educated at Queens College (B.A., 1959). In

Melanesian languages: …Mission in the Solomon Islands; Bambatana, a literary language used by the Methodists on Choiseul Island; Bugotu, a lingua franca on Santa Isabel (Ysabel Island); Tolai, a widely used missionary language in New Britain and New Ireland; Yabêm and Graged, lingua francas of the Lutheran Mission in the Madang region…

South Africa: Black, Coloured, and Indian political responses: …an armed rising led by Bambatha, a Zulu chief. At the end of this “reluctant rebellion,” between 3,000 and 4,000 Blacks had been killed and many thousands imprisoned.

Bamberg, county, south-central South Carolina, U.S. Bordered to the northeast by the South Fork Edisto River and to the southwest by the Salkehatchie River, it is also drained by the Little Salkehatchie River. The county is largely agricultural, with wetlands in the Coastal Plain. The Cathedral Bay

Bamberg, city, Bavaria Land (state), south-central Germany. It lies along the canalized Regnitz River, 2 miles (3 km) above the latter’s confluence with the Main River, north of Nürnberg. First mentioned in 902 as the seat of the ancestral castle of the Babenberg family, Bamberg became the seat of

Bamberg: Bamberg’s imperial cathedral (1004–1237) contains many notable statues, the tombs of Henry II, his wife, Cunegund, and Pope Clement II, and a wooden altar carved by Veit Stoss. There are two bishops’ palaces: the Alte Residenz, or old palace (1571–76), which houses a local history museum, and…

Ludwig Bamberger was an economist and publicist, a leading authority on currency problems in Germany. Originally a radical, he became a moderate liberal in Bismarck’s Germany. Born of Jewish parents, Bamberger was studying French law when the Revolutions of 1848 inspired his radicalism. He became a

Bambi, novel by Felix Salten, published in 1923 as Bambi: Eine Lebensgeschichte aus dem Walde. The story is an enduring children’s classic as well as an allegory for adults. It is a realistic, although anthropomorphized, account of a deer from his birth to his final role as a wise and tough old

Bambi, American animated film, released in 1942, that is considered a classic in the Disney canon for its lush hand-drawn animation and its sensitive affective narrative. The story chronicles the adventures of Bambi, a fawn whose father is revered as the Great Prince of the Forest. From birth Bambi

Bambi, novel by Felix Salten, published in 1923 as Bambi: Eine Lebensgeschichte aus dem Walde. The story is an enduring children’s classic as well as an allegory for adults. It is a realistic, although anthropomorphized, account of a deer from his birth to his final role as a wise and tough old

Bambi, novel by Felix Salten, published in 1923 as Bambi: Eine Lebensgeschichte aus dem Walde. The story is an enduring children’s classic as well as an allegory for adults. It is a realistic, although anthropomorphized, account of a deer from his birth to his final role as a wise and tough old

Elfriede Jelinek: , 1997); and Bambiland (2003).

Héctor Espino was a professional baseball player with the Mexican League (an affiliate with U.S. Minor League Baseball). Although virtually unknown in the United States, Espino is considered by many in Mexico to be the greatest native-born hitter of all time and is a national hero in that country.

Boston Red Sox: …and of the supposed “Curse of the Bambino” (“Bambino” was one of Ruth’s nicknames), cited by many Red Sox fans as the reason the team failed to win another World Series in the 20th century while the Yankees went on to become baseball’s most successful franchise. After losing Ruth…

Rome: The Capitoline: …is the home of “Il Bambino,” a wooden statue (originally a 15th-century statue; now a copy) of the Christ Child, who is called upon to save desperately ill children.

Babe Ruth was chosen as one of the first five members of the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1936, a year after he finished his career. He transformed baseball through his home-run hitting, which produced an offensive revolution in the sport. His accomplishments, together with his personal charisma and

Bamboccianti, group of painters working in Rome in the mid-17th century who were known for their relatively small, often anecdotal paintings of everyday life. The word derives from the nickname “Il Bamboccio” (“Large Baby”), applied to the physically malformed Dutch painter Pieter van Laer

Bamboccianti: …the physically malformed Dutch painter Pieter van Laer (1592/95–1642). Generally regarded as the originator of the style and its most important exponent, van Laer arrived in Rome from Haarlem about 1625 and was soon well known for paintings in which his Netherlandish interest in the picturesque was combined with the…

bamboo, (subfamily Bambusoideae), subfamily of tall treelike grasses of the family Poaceae, comprising more than 115 genera and 1,400 species. Bamboos are distributed in tropical and subtropical to mild temperate regions, with the heaviest concentration and largest number of species in East and

Bamboo Annals, set of Chinese court records written on bamboo slips, from the state of Wei, one of the many small states into which China was divided during the Dong (Eastern) Zhou dynasty (770–256 bce). The state records were hidden in a tomb uncovered some 6 miles (10 km) southwest of the

bat: Locomotion: …as the bamboo bats (Tylonycteris), have specialized wrist and sole pads for moving along and roosting on the smooth surface of leaves or bamboo stalks. Bats are not known to swim in nature except, perhaps, by accident. When they do fall into water, however, they generally swim competently.

Anthony Mann: The 1940s: film noirs: The Bamboo Blonde (1946) was a hybrid of a musical and a war movie about a bomber pilot who falls in love with a nightclub singer.

houseplant: Trees: The parlour palms and bamboo palms of the genus Chamaedorea have dainty fronds on slender stalks; they keep well even in fairly dark places. Similar in appearance is the areca palm (Chrysalidocarpus) with slender yellowish stems carrying feathery fronds in clusters. The pygmy date (Phoenix roebelenii), a compact palm…

bamboo rat, any of four Asiatic species of burrowing, slow-moving, nocturnal rodents. Bamboo rats have a robust, cylindrical body, small ears and eyes, and short, stout legs. The three species of Rhizomys are 23 to 50 cm (9.1 to 19.7 inches) long with a short and bald or sparsely haired tail (5 to

annelid: Annotated classification: Maldane, Axiothella. Order Flabelligerida Sedentary; setae of anterior segments directed forward to form a cephalic (head) cage; prostomium and peristome retractile, with 2 palpi and retractile branchiae; size, 1 to 10 cm; examples of genera: Flabelligera, Stylariodes.

Savion Glover: …in director Spike Lee’s film Bamboozled, and in 2001 he made an appearance in Bojangles, a television biopic of tap dancer Bill (“Bojangles”) Robinson starring Hines. He premiered “Classical Savion,” a production that featured him tapping to classical music, in New York City in 2005; the show later toured the…

Latin American dance: Central America, Colombia, and Venezuela: zamacueca—are called the bambuco and joropo. The bambuco combines features of the fandango, Andean, and Afro-Latin dances as partners use a handkerchief to flirt and to embellish the courtship theme of the dance. The joropo is distinctive beyond the separation of the couple, with the man dancing the…

Luba: A powerful religious lodge, the bambudye, acted as an effective check on the behaviour of the king and even had the power to execute him in case of excessive abuse of power. It was assumed that the king had to obey the mandate of heaven by governing according to the…

Bamburgh, coastal village, unitary authority and historic county of Northumberland, northeastern England. The site is dominated by Bamburgh Castle, which stands on a cliff 150 feet (45 metres) above the North Sea. The fortress was founded in the 6th century by Ida, first monarch of the Anglo-Saxon

Bamburgh Castle, castle in Bamburgh, England, on a site that has been occupied since ancient times. The oldest surviving aboveground parts of the castle date from the 12th century. Standing above the Northumbrian coast, with commanding views of Lindisfarne and the Farne Islands, this castle was in

bamboo: especially Dendrocalamus strictus and Bambusa bambos, are used to make fine-quality paper. The jointed stems of bamboo have perhaps the most numerous uses; the largest stems supply planks for houses and rafts, while both large and small stems are lashed together to form the scaffoldings used on building-construction sites.…

bamboo: especially Dendrocalamus strictus and Bambusa bambos, are used to make fine-quality paper. The jointed stems of bamboo have perhaps the most numerous uses; the largest stems supply planks for houses and rafts, while both large and small stems are lashed together to form the scaffoldings used on building-construction sites.…

bamboo, (subfamily Bambusoideae), subfamily of tall treelike grasses of the family Poaceae, comprising more than 115 genera and 1,400 species. Bamboos are distributed in tropical and subtropical to mild temperate regions, with the heaviest concentration and largest number of species in East and

Bambuti, a group of Pygmies of the Ituri Forest of eastern Congo (Kinshasa). They are the shortest group of Pygmies in Africa, averaging under 4 feet 6 inches (137 cm) in height, and are perhaps the most famous. In addition to their stature, they also differ in blood type from their Bantu- and

Hierapolis, ancient Syrian city, now partly occupied by Manbij (Membij), about 50 miles (80 km) northeast of Aleppo. The place first appears in Greek as Bambyce, but its Syrian name was probably Mabbog. The Seleucids made it the chief station on their main road between Antioch and

Bamenda, town located in northwestern Cameroon. It is situated in the volcanic Bamenda Highlands. Although communications are difficult because of heavy precipitation and rugged relief, the town serves as a trade and export centre for local agricultural products such as hides, coffee, and tobacco.

Samuel Bamford was an English radical reformer who was the author of several widely popular poems (principally in the Lancashire dialect) showing sympathy with the condition of the working class. He became a working weaver and earned great respect in northern radical circles as a reformer. Bamford

Kingdom of Rwanda: …communities were subdued by the mwami (“king”) Ruganzu II Ndori in the 17th century. The borders of the kingdom were rounded out in the late 19th century by Kigeri IV Rwabugiri, who is regarded as Rwanda’s greatest king. By 1900 Rwanda was a unified state with a centralized military structure.

Bamiyan, town located in central Afghanistan. It lies about 80 miles (130 km) northwest of Kabul, the country’s capital, in the Bamiyan valley, at an elevation of 8,495 feet (2,590 meters). Bamiyan is first mentioned in 5th-century-ce Chinese sources and was visited by the Chinese Buddhist monks

Bamileke, any of about 90 West African peoples in the Bamileke region of Cameroon. They speak a language of the Benue-Congo branch of the Niger-Congo family. They do not refer to themselves as Bamileke but instead use the names of the individual kingdoms to which they belong or else refer to

Bamiyan, town located in central Afghanistan. It lies about 80 miles (130 km) northwest of Kabul, the country’s capital, in the Bamiyan valley, at an elevation of 8,495 feet (2,590 meters). Bamiyan is first mentioned in 5th-century-ce Chinese sources and was visited by the Chinese Buddhist monks

South Asian arts: 14th–19th century: Bammera Pōtana, a great Śaiva devotee in life and poetry, unschooled yet a scholar, is widely known for his Bhāgavatam, a masterpiece that is said to excel the original Sanskrit Bhāgavata-Purāṇa. Tāḷḷapāka Annāmācārya, son of a great family of scholars, fathered an exciting new genre…

high place, Israelite or Canaanite open-air shrine usually erected on an elevated site. Prior to the conquest of Canaan (Palestine) by the Israelites in the 12th–11th century bc, the high places served as shrines of the Canaanite fertility deities, the Baals (Lords) and the Asherot (Semitic

Bamum, a West African people speaking a language that is often used as a lingua franca and belongs to the Benue-Congo branch of the Niger-Congo family. Their kingdom, with its capital at Foumban (q.v.) in the high western grasslands of Cameroon, is ruled over by a king (mfon) whose position is

Bamum: …West African people speaking a language that is often used as a lingua franca and belongs to the Benue-Congo branch of the Niger-Congo family. Their kingdom, with its capital at Foumban (q.v.) in the high western grasslands of Cameroon, is ruled over by a king (mfon) whose position is hereditary…

John Bampton: …Christendom’s most distinguished lectureships, the Bampton lectures at Oxford University.

John Bampton was an English clergyman who gave his name to one of Protestant Christendom’s most distinguished lectureships, the Bampton lectures at Oxford University. Bampton studied at Trinity College, Oxford, and was a prebendary of Salisbury Cathedral from 1718 until his death. The Bampton

Bamum, a West African people speaking a language that is often used as a lingua franca and belongs to the Benue-Congo branch of the Niger-Congo family. Their kingdom, with its capital at Foumban (q.v.) in the high western grasslands of Cameroon, is ruled over by a king (mfon) whose position is