THE BAKUNDUS AT BEBOKA

Jenkins Diomo Betombo

jenkinsdiomo@gmail.com

0023671466329

University of Buea, Faculty of Arts, Department of History

Introduction

The Bakundu clan has had diverse interpretations and words of recognition in relation to its originally source of existence. Oral tradition has played an immense role as fairy tales would reveal the real identity of the Bakundu even though not microscopic in a laboratory justification. The Bakundu had always been proud of their existence as an ethnic group with so many similarities to so many ethnic groups. Such similarities emerged with the arguments dished out by Greenberg and Gutherie in their early ethnic group migratory trends in Cameroon that Bantu and Semi-Bantu ethnic groups possessed similarities in their linguistic original tendencies. Coupled with few similar characteristics in culture, the Bakundu clan was linked to other ethnic groups like Bakweri, and Douala. Meanwhile, the emergences of Bakundu ethnic group led to the eruption of a culture and tradition which was depicted and photocopied by other ethnic groups.

 In recent studies made by scholars of the Bakunduland, the Bakundu clan set the base within which other ethnic groups of the same geographical environment raised.  The eruption of similar ethnic groups led to the formation and development of the word ‘Oroko’. Oroko, constituted the combination of similar tribes in linguistic, cultural, traditional, and historical perspectives.  Some of these tribes included, the Ngolo, Batanga, Balue etc. This explained why it was and is one of the biggest ethnic groups in Cameroon. This chapter will diagnose the tales of Bakundu origin, activities and social, economic and political structures, and the tribal clans which erupted at the same ancestral ground with the Bakundu.

Origin of orokoland

Oroko remained the output of ancestral procreation and migration. This land consist of all the semi-bantu tribes of the mungo east. On a punitive cultural note, the high level of inter-relationship between the rural ethnic groups of the mungo east actually reiterated the level of commitment in social cohesion. This equally sampled the justification of common langueage, rites and rituals of the old order, and other traditional fortune activities. These orko tribes include; Balue ,Ngolo,Batanga,Balundu ,Balue,Mbonge,balung ,bassossi,betenge etc. However, a typical historic argument brandishing the outmost co-existence and relation within the ethnic groups could be spotted in the similarities and the common spoken land. This explains why historical social relations and actvities witnessed immensed developments within the confines of these confirguration of tribes.

Language of the Bakundu Origin

The two sections of the Bakunduland have a language known to be Lukundu and it is spoken with slide different between the Bakundus of the lower and upper section. Small variations in the manner in which the language is brandished exist between the neighbouring villages and at times within villages. The people are very conscious of the dialect this explained why they exist differences in their pronunciations of certain words of the dialect. Dialectical variations mostly exist as a result of sounds in the vowel, consonants, lexicon, but rarely there exist differences in tone. The tone was and is a very essential phenomenon but no matter how slide variable it may be, the dialect remains mutually intelligible.

The Bakundus of the Orokoland

Just like other tribes embbedded and possessing similar characteristic with other ethnic groups. The bakundu tribe referred to the people claim to have one and the same ancestral heritage. The Bakundu are mostly found in Meme Division of the South West Region of the Republic of Cameroon. They belong to the Bantus in Cameroon. They often trace their origin from the Congo Basin. They have as neighbours other Oroko speaking tribes, like Mbonge to the WEST, Ngolo to the North and othe Bantus of Non Oroko like the balung and bassossi to the north east, the Barombis to the south and southern  balungs as well as Bafaws who have established close link with the Bakundus especially in Konye as they intermarry with the Bakundus. The Bakundu Villages are found in Meme Division of the South West Region of Cameroon. They are mostly in three sections, ie, the konye sub-division, Mbonge sub-division, and kumba I sub –division.

Country Sides of the Lower and Upper Bakunduland

The Bakundu Communities of the Konye Sub-Division

Kokaka Bakundu, Ndoi Bakundu, Kony Town, Mbakwa Supe, Kumbe Bakundu, Wone Bakundu, Dipenda Bakundu, Koba Bakundu, Ibemi Bakundu, Sambbaliba Bakundu, Itoki Bakundu, Mbu Bakundu, Mwangale Bakundu, Masak Bakundu, Mosanja Bakundu, Mbiaka Bakundu, Mambaba Bakundu, Bosaka Bakundu, Man dongo Bakundu, Mokwalibe.

The Bakundu communities of the Kumba 1 Sub-Division,  and Mbonge Sub Division

Kake Bongwana(kake 1), Kake Bokoko ( Kake 11) and ,Along the Kumba –Buea road- Bombe Bakundu, Banga Bekele, Banga Ngonge, Bopo, Along the Kumba –Mbonge road -Kombone Miso, Kombone Bakundu, Boa Bakundu, Marumba Botondowa,Marumba Bowa , Pete Bakundu, Foe Bakundu, KwaKwa Bakundu, Nake Bongwana, Nake Bokoko, Bole 1, Bole Dipenda, Bole Botondwa, Ngongo Bakundu, Mabonji Bakundu.

Tales of (Bombe)Bakundu Origin

Folklore tales from oral sources have revealed and reiterated the beliefs of the Bakundus been originally from Beboka. Beboka was a rural area found at the extreme north of Ndian Division and was known as the birth place of the Bakundu clan. This was conceived due to the notion brandished from oral sources by some Bakundus of their ancestor been the founder of the locality of Beboka. According to Dr. Joseph Ebune, the Bakundus believed that their ancestor was Mukundangnoe. While on the other hand, the BACDU profile history of the Bakundus stipulated that, the Bakundu people are one of those ethnic groups who owed their origin to the great ancestor Ngoe (father) and Sumediang (mother). This oral folklore lines painted a picture of similarities and slide differences. It is now no doubt that, the name Ngoe found in both research traces was the beginning of the Bakuîdu ethnic group existence.

In this line, Joseph Ebune elaborated on the oral ideology conceived that the fairy tale reflected that, Mukundangoe and Sumediang had two children, which were Mauma and Mukundu 1. These brothers live in Bekoka with their families and performed their expertise duties with divine blessings from nature. Their activities were mostly agriculture, hunting and fishing. The bloodlines of Mukundu 1 existed and were extended throughout the territories they lived.  The Mukundu 1 family lived on many areas including Beboka for decades and reshaped their destinies in new trends of actions. Mukundu 1 and his brother Mauma were believed to have engaged in a series of disputes which reduced and forsake the trust imposed by the forces of nature and their parents.

The menace was centered on spheres of control (land /ownership). The output of turbulence was division and separation. Some family lineages of Mukundu 1 moved Southeast wards. While, the siblings of Mauma tend to move Southwest wards. The activities and trends would be intensively elaborated at the subsequent chapters but the processes, organisation, relationship, and might which gingered the actions and ambitions of the bakundu family lineages were the point of interest and focus. Nevertheless, Oral tales equally set forthlines that there were continues migration patterns which were undertaken. For instance, Mukundu 1 moved to Ngolo area in(a village called Boama near the Ndian River. At Boama, Mukundu 1 was said to have several sons which included, Ngoe whom he named after his father, Mukuîdu 11, whom he named after himself, Balue, Batanga, Ngolo, Mbonge, etc. these children álso traveled and lived in different areas.

In the later decades, Mukundu 11 was known to have stay at Itoki and Beboka with his entire family. It should be noted that oral sources revealed that the name Mukundu 11 was later transformed to Bakundu. Bakundu had several children of which the prominent were Mbakwa, and Wombe. Wombe later had two children known as Tata Elonga Ngo and Botia Tua. Tata Elonga Ngo and Botia Tua was another segment of uterine brothers who lived and nursed the ambition of protecting the virues of their father Wombe and grandfather Bakundu(mukundu 11). The Wombe siblings named their community Wombe Bakundu as a means to venerate their father and grandfather. The Wombe Bakundu community existed in the Pre-colonial era. The upheavals in historical events brought the Europeans to Wombe Bakundu and with western perspectives and eventual domoniation in local and national affairs, the name Wombe Bakundu was changed to Bombe Bakundu(by the Germans). However, Beboka remained the ancestral ground on which the Bakundus foundation and other Oroko tribal clans were built.

The several expositions in events may have remunerated incentives and pushed dispersed motives but the belief that all Bakundus are related may be another dotes of concern and interest. Oral tradition justified the actions of the lineages of Bakundu to live in Beboka and search for new and favourable grounds. Tata Elonga Ngho and Botia Tua were siblings who administered the laws and teachings of their grandfather and father. These laws circled around the happenings of social and economic relations within the clan and neighbours. On an important note, oral tradition laid some laws perpetuated or given by their ancestors (Mukundangoe) even though tomorrow took care of its self.

Some of the Laws of the Ancestors of Elonga Ngo and Botia Tua

Protect your lineages at all instances

Avoid tempting the ancestors and gods

Take care of others like your own

Uphold the rites of the ancestors

Ask the ancestors for the impossible

The trends of event at Beboka accelerated the evolutions and transitions in their happenings. Haven been of a noble and powerful bloodline, Tata Elonga Ngo and Botia Tua transcended to ambitious veterans of conquest since they exercised expertise in hunting games. The growth in population size was an outer most justification highlighted by Tata Elangwe Bosaka of been the essence of relocation to wider and favourable grounds of resemblance. Such environment was to be covered by forest and water gauges. This was because; the Bakundus were experts in the discipline of hunting and fishing as they lived above and beneath the water and reserved. Before relating to other formidable migratory trends and paths, the off springs of ELonga Ngo and Botia Tua operated under political, economic and social scenes.

The Political Atmosphere at Beboka

The manner in which things were manned in the ancestral community have made it vividly plausible for diverse incentives and aspirations to be born, nursed to the state of maturity until when they were brandished. Unity within the different folks of the old order stringently focused on what is and to be relevant in guarranteeing the survival of all the races or tribes. Despite the decentralisation format or system which characterised the traditional setting of administrayion, experiences and examples of nuturing and exermining qualities suitable and worht trusted of delivering centred on the manner in which the man(contestant) manages the household affairs.

On a global oral tradition tales, the tribes which  latter formed the political setting of Beboka groomed from the Bantu speaking generation.This painted the unique picture previoulsy concieved by many Bakundu historians that the community Beboka was mainly occupied the Bakundus(oroko). Some samples of oral ressemblance reiterates that the Bakossi|(s), Balung and Betenge tribes were found in and around the vissinities of the community. In this platform, there is no doubt that a combine well known traditional administrative setting was to be established to the conviniences of the entire enthnic groups. The presence of other tribes didnot meant the community was not dominated and known to beneath the oroko clan.

The economic and social wards

The confines which nursed the priority of the magnificient economy of the community. The community wallowed in the best expertise of mindsets and procedures. These modes were brandished and shown in the practises of agricultural, fishing and hunting activities practised by the citizens. There was intenssive specialisation and communal force which was utilised to serve as the force behind the prosperity of the rural economic activities and lives. This act was circled with deep devotion to what the people could do. Agriculture mostly involved the production of food crops and beef. There exist many specialised bush men whom apart of taking part in food crop production also enhanced the ,production of food products like meat and hides.

The producion of the various segments were mostly in the act of ensuring the survival of the household in haven food in abundance. This fashioned the rural community to the state of excess. The rural community was more traditional than modern. The rural community centred her social and cultural beliefs on the base and basis of ancestors and gods. This brandish the essence that the community venerated the forces beyond nature. Based on the religion system, vocational training also played an effective role in building the minds of tomorrow.

 The beliefs of the inhabitants of Beboka pushed the community to state of instilling sustainable pathways into the minds of the young. And this was ssen in the manner in which mindset and hand worked with one another for a profitable output. Some training works were spoteed in the manner in which bore holes were dug and traditional mat was formated. In this platform, social and economic interactions brought social intimacy amongst the diverse ethnic groups of the Beboka leading to concepts susch as marriage, and inheritance. On a brief punitive note, the economic and social sectors at Beboka provided a broad spectrum on the time before remembering.

Conclusion

The origin and eventual settlement of the Bakundus at Beboka strigently reiterated the historical justification that the community was the birth place of the Bakundus and the entire Orokoland. Sampling the histocal facts and evidence above painted the picture of a massive development and growth in the political, economic and social aspects of the land which were depicted by the generations which unfolded. In this framework, Bombe Bakundus owed their existence and always paid homage to her ancestral vineyard(Beboka).