About

Ly Dumas - Author, textile collector, patron of the arts, philanthropist, humanist.
Author, textile collector, patron of the arts, philanthropist, humanist, Ly Dumas is founder and president of the Cameroon-based Jean-Félicien Gacha Foundation and of the Espace Culturel Gacha in Paris. A traveller in a continuous dialogue with the vast number of cultures this earth has to offer. She is also a former self-taught fashion designer.

Born a princess in the heart of the kingdom of Nde, whose motto is Nobility, Dignity, Elegance, Ly Dumas is today Má Bat Goup Nap Go, the queen who wears the bead-embroidered royal panther skin, a distinction she earned by living according to the precepts: ”respect, listen, help, love”, values she inherited from her parents.


"My royal line is matriarchal, which is obvious when you look at the line of strong, independent women that precede me. More than just luck, I'd say, it's a real grace. I am the granddaughter of Maveun Tawa III, herself the granddaughter of Njiké, the seventh king of the Bangangte dynasty, and of Ngoup Nyadjam, daughter of King Nya Ndep of Bangnoun and Zota, all descendants of King Ngami, founder of the Bangangte kingdom."

This lineage can boast a king’s daughter, a king’s wife and a king’s mother!. Heritage, my sister Caroline de Néchaud de Féral embraces with great and particular pride.

A modern and versatile woman, Ly’s life looks like a beautiful prolific tree. A tree of life!

In her adolescence, she was a handball and basketball champion, she danced to the Beatles and the rhythms of Ghanaian high life, melted over Indian musical comedies, while sporting trainers and miniskirts.

The extensive library in her parents’ house awakened her curiosity and inspired her to read and develop her general culture: she immersed herself in classical music , devoured the classics of French literature, such as Zola and Balzac novels… Soon, with her father’s blessing, she joined Frédéric Dumas in Paris and married him.

Interested in European languages and cultures, hers by birth and upbringing, (Cameroon has two official languages, French and English, and was a german protectorate between 1884 and 1916), she enrolled at the Sorbonne, where she took Applied Foreign Languages for three years. Beyond vocabulary and grammar, she pursued a more profound understanding of cultures and the links between them.

When the couple moved to Los Angeles for a few years, she continued her studies at UCLA. Her main focus there was on African oral literature and its unfathomable wisdom. Her thirst for the deeper meaning of things led her to discover that the symbols found on everyday art objects represented, in fact, a form of written expression.

The study of symbols has followed her throughout her life and was reflected in many of her later artistic projects.She also studied drawing, calligraphy included, on various media, under Japanese master Sakogushi, in addition to being a yoga practitioner and teacher.

Ly Dumas started travelling in her early childhood with her parents and later on with her husband. Her journeys took her all over Cameroon and some neighbouring countries and then the world. Her thirst to discover new cultures even led her into nations such as Bhutan or Tibet where few really ventured at the time, or India where in the seventies tourists in search of spirituality were only just starting to go. 

She travelled these places as an aesthete, feeling inspired to assemble different objects, beadwork and textiles, as if to hold on to reminders of each destination’s soul. This turned into one of Ly Dumas’ great passions, her grand collection including traditional objects and fabrics from Africa and other continents. Her fascination for them was so powerful that, to our great delight, she chose to be a fashion designer. A pioneer of African fashion from the 1980s until the end of 2002, she enchanted us with the magic of beads and royal African textiles, becoming one of the most acclaimed and innovative members of catwalks. She is also a proud mother of four and as of today, grandmother of seven.

2002 is the year when animated by her personal view on life, she set up the Jean- Félicien Gacha Foundation, named in her father’s honour. Jean-Félicien Gacha was a tireless worker and a great politician. Proud of his country, he was instrumental in its growth and emancipation.

Her mission: Ly Dumas works towards a world where the less fortunate are empowered to acquire knowledge and know-how to earn a living for themselves and their families in their native land. Where they share their crafts and culture, learn new skills through training and live together in harmony and reconciliation.
Her vision: develop local populations through social actions and compassion.
Her values: my mother used to say to me: "When you speak, let it be to say what you would like to hear, and never to be hurtful; but at the same time, to always try to speak the truth, to be fair”.
Her goal is to pass on ancient know-how, preserve tradition and promote this innovative Africa.
Her life's mission is to selflessly help others without expecting anything in return.
She calls her values “her temples”, as they are strong and sacred to her. She engraved them at the core of the Foundation she created. They are:
  • compassion, friendship and love,
  • excellence in being, living and doing,
  • knowledge, sharing and learning,
  • living together,
  • laughing, singing, dancing,
  • respect for traditions, and openness to the world
  • tolerance towards cultures and others.
”My role and, I would say, my mission, is to encourage the younger generation to feel pride in their culture and their roots and to assume responsibility for their transmission and survival in time”