The Denya, also known as the Anyang people, are a small ethnic group of approximately 35,000 people who live today in the forests of the Akwaya Subdivisión and the Mamfe Central Subdivisión of Manyu Prefecture in the Southwest Province of Cameroon.
Most of them live near the Mamyu River and in Mamfe Town, and, from there, westward toward the Nigerian border. Denyas can also be found across the border in eastern Nigeria. They are divided into a number of clan subgroups, including the Takamandas, Bitiekus, Bashos, and Kendems, which enjoy their own dialects.
The Anyang of Cameroon are numbering 35,000 (Peoplegroups.org, 2024)
Most Denyas are subsistence farmers.
The Anyang people live in the rain forest of southwestern Cameroon at about 400 feet above sea level. The language of the Anyang is called Denya. They generally live in mud brick houses with thatch roofs and their ethnic foods include Eru, a green vegetable that grows wild in the rain forest, and Mango Seeds, from which they make a marketable soup. They live close to the Nigerian border and do business regularly with them and with other groups around them such as the Ejagham and Kenyam.
Because of the heavy rains the roads cannot be used by motorized traffic. It is not uncommon for the Anyang to walk everywhere, even hours, to their destination! They also walk to their fields, as most Anyang are farmers. They make sturdy wooden baskets to wear on their backs to carry the fruits or vegetables they harvest from their fields or from the vast tropical forest that surrounds their land.. The Anyang have come from a history of traditional animistic beliefs.
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