The Benedictine Monastery is situated on the slopes of Mont Febe, one of the several hills surrounding the city of Yaounde. The monastery ranks high in recent years as one of the capital city's major tourist sites. The religious institution hosts a museum which houses a wide range of Cameroonian traditional arts collection such as masks, stools, pipes, drinking horns, ornaments, musical instruments and beaded statues, amongst others.
Multitudes of visitors visit the museum every day to see its unique collection of artifacts known as « Abbias » which are carvings done with dried fruit skins. These carvings depict the African way of life and sculptures of animals. Most of the items in this museum symbolise the art form of various ethnic groups such as the Bamileke, Bamoun, Bamenda and Tikar.
Guides say the collection was made by Swiss monk Father Luitfrid Marfurt who founded the museum in 1964. Over the years, the story goes, Father Marfurt's Cameroonian friends gave him art works when he visited their homes, villages and chiefdoms. He saved these gifts and purchased additional objects. Back in Yaounde, he converted the monastery library reading rooms to exhibition areas. While museums across the country are scarce, this one is worth visiting. The museum is very simple and has a chapel. The Holy Chapel of Sacrament is the eminent place in the monastery. Monks do pray there seven times a day, says Joseph Ngongolo. Visitors wishing to experience the culture and traditional history of Cameroon will find enough pleasure visiting this museum. The sight is memorable with interesting things for visitors to see.
