Mola Mbua Ndoko: Wisdom and Ways of the Bakweri People

Yoma Ndeene

Yoma  Ndeene - Nala  ala  vato, nasi-leli  ono”!
(I have been eating people, but I have never eaten a person like this one).

These were the confessions of Yoma  Ndeene, the super creature.

Yasi nanu:  Yoma  Ndeene was a super creature..  He was no respecter of the law.  He was fond of grabbing properties, and inheriting properties of deceased persons with whom he had no relationship.  If the owner of properties that Yoma  Ndeene was interested in refused to allow Yoma  Ndeene to take possession of the properties for free, Yoma  Ndeene would swallow the properties and its owner.

“Ewoka, emo-nga Mooli, wa-ene Mao-mba”.

135.  “Ewoka, emo-nga  Mooli, wa-ene  Mao-mba”.

(Great people leave behind them evidence of their greatness wherever they live).

Wealthy men were fond of growing mao-mba in their compounds.  Mao-mba provided shades under which people relaxed.  Besides, the barks of mao-mba were affixed on walls of houses as if the barks were ceiling boards.  Long straight branches were laid on poles on which roofs of houses rested.  The presence of mao-mba in abandoned premises, particularly mao-mba that had developed big trunks and long branches was evidence that a wealthy man had lived in that premises.

There exists in the villages of Wonjongo, Wotutu, Wolifamba  wo  Mbenge, Muea, Soffa Mokongo and Buea up till today impressive bungalows (faka) that Bakweri men built about 75-90 years ago.  The faka as surviving memorials of the past are considered as “maomba”.

In the Animal World small animals like vesoweya that are fond of eating fruits of plantain plants in farms leave no tracks of their movements either on stems of plantain plants or on the ground.  On the other hand because of its giant size Njoku leaves behind wide tracks of destruction whenever a Njoku visits a plantain farm.  When a Njoku walks through a bush or forests it leaves behind wide tracks.  If it visits swamps and sand beaches it leaves behind identifiable foot prints.

ewoka  emo-nga  mooli, wa-ene  maoo-mba

Literally:

Great people leave behind them evidence of their greatness wherever they live.

Lexicon:

woo-mba is the name of a tree.  The branches spread out to lengths of about four metres. Woo-mba has a long life span, for instance: the Woo-mba at the wrestling pitch at

Buea

 

Native

Town

has been standing there for hundreds of years.

mao-mba = plural of woo-mba. 

mooli = a wealthy person, a great man;

Isoweya = A small size specie of a squirrel.  It is slightly bigger than a rat and is fond of moving on top of fences.  The bigger size of a squirrel is called fai. 

Plural of isoweya = vesoweya.

Njoku/e-Njuku = elephant; an elephant, the elephant.

faka/ndava  faka = a bungalow.

Oma  nanu. Mola Mbua Ndoko

At

Dallas

Texas

,

USA

.