The Residue of the Western Missionary in the Southern Cameroons: The Christian Village: A Sad Tale of Strife and Dissension

Chapter Four: The Baseng Christian Village

313 Chapter Four The Baseng Christian Village Introduction The Bakossi people occupy an area of more than 3,000 square kilometres on the slopes of the Bakossi Mountains, Mount. Kupe, Mount Mwanenguba and Mount Nlonako, in the Republic of Cameroon. Traditionally farmers, hunters and anglers and with a population of 100,000433 , the Bakossi people grow coffee and cocoa as their main cash crops. Administratively, the people fall under the Kupe-Manenguba Division with headquarters in Bangem and the Mungo Division in the Littoral Province. The climate of the Bakossi region is equatorial, with heavy rainfall fairly well distributed throughout the year giving rise to forest vegetation and fertile soils. The dry season runs from the month of November to March. During this period, the weather is bright with little or no rainfall and characterised by cold nights and hot days with a wide diurnal temperature range.434 The Bakossi Mountains cover an area of about 230,000 square kilometres and contain what is possibly the largest area of cloud or submontane forest in West and Central Africa. It is undoubtedly one of Africa’s most famous bird sites, such as the Mount Kupe Bush-shrike, Malaconotus kupeensis alongside the animals in the wild. The general name “Bakossi” has come to refer to the people on the immediate western and eastern slopes of Mount Mwanenguba and Mount Kupe, who share Ngoe as a common ancestor. According to oral tradition, Ngoe “appeared on Mwanenguba Mountain.” He and his wife settled on the western slopes at Mwekan and had many children, the number and birth order differs according to the oral traditions of the various clans. From these slopes, their offspring migrated to different areas. However, two sons, 433 Assessment Reports on the Elung, Bakossi and Ninong Tribal Area, Kumba Division, by M.O.R. Arthur, 1931 434iwww.bacda-nrw.com/bakossipeople.htm may 18th 2012 314 Anngoe (Nninong) and Ngemengoe (Bangem), remained with their father in the north, forming the nucleus of the present day Bakossi people. Bakossi land was situated in the Anglo-French frontier, which is a watershed, the highest point being the mountains Mwanenguba and Kupe, both about 6 900 feet high. Between these two points, the lowest altitude is about 3 000 feet and is south of Kupe. The land falls away to the Mungo River only a few hundred feet above the sea level. The villages in this north western part lie in the cluster of two valleys between these mountains and communication between the two clusters is very difficult by land. Early European Incursions Events before the German era, largely unrecorded, faded away from living memory of the people. By the time the art of writing was available to the people, some of the legends and traditions had faded beyond recall. However, there still exist some traditions meshed with legends and historical fact pointing to their humble beginnings. According to these legends and traditions, the birthplace of Bakossi, Elung and Ninong and the Bassossi people was Nlun, which at the time of the British was called Ninong village. In this village, lived Ngoe, from whom sprang these four tribes mentioned above.435 The Bassossi are supposed to have lived in the Muangem and Muetenaku valley and to have been driven thenceforward by the expansion of the Bakossi emigration. When a Bakossi village wanted a new site for part of its inhabitants, which happened quite often in those days, a suitable place was found and occupied without seeking permission from anyone. There was plenty of land for all and groups frequently freely resorted to this practice without trouble. This is significant when speculating upon the original site of the Bakossi clans. Events of the pre-colonial years, which have survived in the people’s mind, speak of the exit of the Bassossi westward down from the Muangam Muctuanaku valley, during the Bafo and lum wars of the Bakossi and Elung versus the Ninong wars. The Bakossi-Bafo war is said to have been started by the Mbknut clan of the Bakossi in the classical tradition over a woman. According to the Bakossi, they were completely victorious and drove the 435 ibid 315 Bafo across to the west of the bank of Mungo. The Bakossi claimed victory after they drove the inhabitants of Lum in the French territory from the southern slopes of Mount Kupe and reached the present site of Lum just before the...