Mola Mbua Ndoko: Wisdom and Ways of the Bakweri People

49. “Vekoka, osi-ve kii-ya o-joo-ngo” !

(vekoka should not be rejected outright when they are still lying inside a pot).

vekoka = food that has remained in a pot over-night.

joongo = a pot.

kiya = to reject.

Yasi nanu:  Isume's mother sent Isume early in the morning to deliver a message to his maternal uncle, Mola  Nalionge.  Mola was very pleased and excited to see Isume who had been away in far away Womana in Womboko.  Mola then asked that Isume should share a bowl of “vekoka” with him  .

Responding, Isume said:
“jae !”.= no.
(“Mola, I am not interested in “vekoka”).

48. “isi-ji kovene, ijo-ngene, iso no wa, isi-kovene ngundeli,ijo-ngene”

You and I have never been together in setting traps.
You should not therefore expect to accompany me when I am visiting my traps.

 

Yasi nanu: Members of a Youth Club for setting traps for birds were routinely always together whenever they were setting traps and whenever they visited their traps. However, Mulungu preferred not to join the club.  He set his traps alone and visited the traps alone. 

During one of his visits to his traps he was frightened when he came face to face with a marauding young elephant. Thereafter, he abandoned his traps, and then regularly joined members of the Youth Club whenever they were roasting birds they had captured.  Following tradition, Mulungu was always served with the share reserved for gate crashers (va-teeme).

On one occasion, after he had eating a slice of a bird meat Mulungu informed members of the Youth Club that he would henceforth accompany them whenever they were going out to visit the traps they had set.

277. An appeal for Rehabilitation of Bakweri traditional names

An appeal for Rehabilitation of Bakweri traditional names that are either being distorted or are suffering relegation.

By Thomas Mbua Ndoko

There are distortions in the pronunciation of ancestral names of some Bakweri villages and persons.  The abnormality has resulted in ancestral names being erroneously pronounced and spelt with strange prefixes: “Ba, Bo, Bona Bu, Di, Mu”.  Examples:  Vatoke, Wokova, Wonjongo, Wolifamba, Wonakanda, Livanda, Mosaka, are now respectively pronounced and spelt: Ba-toke, Bo-kova, Bo-njongo, Bo-lifamba, Bona-kanda, Di-banda, Mu-saka.

Buea station in the 1890s during the German colonial era

It is common knowledge that names of several families and villages are derived from the names of the founders of the families/villages concerned. Bakweri names have meanings attached to them. This fact highlights the significance of the prefixes “va, wo, woli, wona, wonya” to names of Bakweri persons, families and villages. 

To a Bakweri person the prefixes “va, wo, woli, wona, wonya” suggests the name of the founder of the family or village as well as the meaning of the name, since the meaning of the prefixes “va, wo, woli, wona” is “wonya” that is, the children or descendants of... Examples:

276. Ancestral Pronunciation / Current Pronunciation Or New Name.

Herewith a list of the names of villages in the then Victoria Division (currently Fako division). I have shown in respect of each village its traditional name, and where applicable, the distorted name. The list is an extract from Bulletin No.5 (Cameroons Province) of the Population Census of The Eastern Region of Nigeria, 1953.

Click here to print, download or read the complete list of Bakweri villages in PDF format

Ancestral Pronunciation               Current Pronunciation Or New Name.

                  Buea Village Group.Bakweri Native Authority(N.A)
01.  Buea                                                            Buea
02.  Gbassa                                                        Bwassa
03.  Bwiyuku                                                      Bwiyuku
04.  Ewonda                                                       Ewonda
05.  Kombo                                                       Kombo,
06.  LikombeL                                                    ikombe
07.  Likoko  Membea                                          Likoko  Membea
08.  Membea  or WokpwaongoMembea    or      Bokpwaongo
09.  Meveo                                                        Meveo
10  Sasse                                                            Sasse
11.  Sofa  Mokongo or                                       Sofo  NdeneGreat Soppo.
12.  Sofa  Wonganga                                         Soppo   Wonganga
13.  Sofa  Woteke                                             Soppo  Woteke.
14.  Sofa  Wovila                                               Soppo Wovila.
15.  Sofa  Likoko                                               Soppo  Likoko.
16.  Wokoko                                                      Wokoko
17.  Wolikawo                                                    Wolikawo
18.  Wolikova                                                    Wolikova
19.  Wonganjo                                                  Wonganjo
20.  Wonakanda                                                Bona-Kanda.
21.  Wonya  Nango                                            Wonya  Nango
22.  Wotolo                                                      Wotolo.
23.  Wova                                                         Bo-va
24.  Wullu                                                         Bu-lu         

47. Yoma Ndeene - Nala ala Vato, Nasi-leli Ono !!

I have been eaten people, but I have never eaten some one like this one.

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

Maito, maito  kaii:  It’s time to tell Tale of  the Forests of Fako.

Yasi  nanu:  Yoma  Ndeene was a super creature. He was no respecter of the law.  He frequently grabbed properties of people and inherited properties of deceased persons with whom he had no relationship.

When an 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.

Warning Yoma  Ndeene Ikula  Nyame said:
“Yoma  Ndeene ! You are a disgrace.  You are shameless. Stop grabbing properties from people and save yourself from embarrassment, humiliation and possible assassination”.

("Yoma Ndeene !  o  sambo !  je  ! 
manga-na  anga  gbwasi  wo  wulutu-tu, wono,
owa,  osa  ngana  e-mbenda  tetei, nau”  !)

Responding Yoma  Ndeene said:
“chi  !  I cannot be assassinated”
All creatures fear me.

46. “Tuuva na Ndonge: Loova li-ke-va nau, seke te Tuuva momwiti meene mondi a-li kevise;Ndonge mofe au-keli o-teni”.

Tuuva  and  Ndonge:  It is not Tuuva alone who causes the sky to thunder; Tuuva in fact works in concert with Ndonge to produce thunder and rainfall.

Bakweri  folklore.

Tuuva and  Ndonge are the twin brothers who control rainfall and thundering of the sky Their father decided not to bestow on any of them the full mystic powers that cause rainfall and thundering of the sky to occur.

He instead anointed each of them separately with partial powers only. He explained that rainfall and thundering of the sky can only occur when Tuuva and Ndonge combine their respective powers. 

He warned that any one of them who alone attempts to produce rainfall and thunder without working in concert with his brother is doomed to failure and affliction by mystery illness.

He warned firmly that each of them must keep his partial powers a secret and not to disclose or surrender the secret to his brother. He warned further that the twin brothers should not despise each other. 

Tuuva is arrogant, talkative, flamboyant, while Ndonge is reserved.  For these reasons Wolinyama held the wrong view for several decades that it is Tuuva alone who produce thunder. Whenever the sky belched, Wolinyama used to exclaim:

"Tuuva  ama  tongole  fe" !  (“Tuuva has done it again”).

Responding, Tuuva would say: "Oh yes, I have done it again".

45. Mofonge-fonge, osi mo kake lomba !

A “mofonge-fonge“ should not be wrapped with leaves.

mofonge-fonge is the name of an insect with spikes.

fii-ya = edible maggots that live inside the trunk of a dead or a dying palm tree. 

likao = the tuber on which coco-yams grow.

veyali = leaves; singular, yali.

veyali  ve  likao = “likao”  leaves.

ngaata = a shallow basket for farm use.

Yasi nanu: Liyengu was not aware that there was a mofoge-fonge among fii-ya (maggots) she had wrapped in coco yam leaves (veyali  ve  likao) and placed in a basket (ngaata) that was standing on a heap of dead grass. As is usual with mofonge-fonge, using its spikes, it burst holes on the coco yam leaves. Several fiiya then used the holes as escape routes.

44. “Liyeti la Mwaana, vetembe ve Nyango”.

A child’s illness causes fatigue to the child’s mother.

liyeti = fever.

vetembe = fatigue.

Iya = my mother; Mama.

njiya  wuva = the way to a latrine; to go to a latrine

tande/li-tande = to carry someone on the laps.

Yasi nanu:  Ngando was about twelve years old when he had a serious attack of fever.
He was restless. Groaning continuously, he said:

"Iya  oo !
I am thirsty.
I want to drink water".
(“Iya  oo  !  e-nyisa  maliva;  ono  mbgwe  maliva  ma  li-nyo)

His mother helped him to drink water.

43. “Eto ama mwese si mwa” !

Rat says day light will not be as long as a year.

Tales of the Animal World.

lifoko = good fortune; delicious food.

Yasi nanu:  Yonja Wuva and Eto stole meat, maize and pumpkin during the sassa of Mola Ekpwa, and hid the meat, maize and pumpkin behind Yonja  Wuva’s nest on top of a shelf (wokao) over the fire place.  Next morning, to his surprise, every time that Eto made an attempt to eat some of the maize and pumpkin (lifoko), Yonja  Wuva alerted the inmates of the house that Eto was on the wokao.

“Eto  ene  o wokao !
yeene  e-vanga;
ya gbwa  o-likando”  !
(See that rat. 
It is running towards the roof).

42. “Nama koowa li-kowa; nase-mba-neya lemba-neya”.

I have been ordained and inducted. I am not a quack.

This is one of the citations that a traditional doctor makes at the commencement of treatment.

The citation services as notice to a patient to rest assured that the Doctor has received professional training; has graduated; has been ordained and commissioned to treat and heal; and that the doctor is not a quack.

Nama koowa  li-kowa; nase-mba-neya  lemba-neya.

Literally:

"I have been ordained and inducted.
I am not a quack;
I have the competence to safely handle this matter.

Oma Nanu

Imba

Mola Mbua Ndoko
P.o Box 38 Buea, South West Province
Cameroon, West/Africa

41. “ Gbwasu-gbwasu ase-nji foni wooli; Wooli gbwasu ase-nje wooli”.

You should acknowledge the distinction between personal property and community property

Maito, maito kaii: Fables of the Animal World.

Yasi  nanu:  During a dry season the Supreme National Council of Wolinyama decided to replace ownership of private farms with one large community farm in which they would plant all crops. Access into the farm would be free, and individuals would harvest freely.

Opposing the decision Ikula  Nyame explained:
Do not be deceived in believing in the slogans:
“This is our property.

That which belongs to me belongs to you”.
Be businesslike and endeavour to acquire your own personal property.  It therefore devolves upon every citizen to acquire his own possessions and control his possessions himself”.

(“gbwasu-gbwasu  ase-nje  foni  wooli;
wooli  gbwasu  ase-nje  foni  wooli”).

270. Introduction of Immigrant Plantation labourers in Victoria Division.

Source:  Oral History.

The aboriginal inhabitants of Victoria (Fako) Division were the pioneer labourers in the plantations that German nationals established in the Division, 1890-1914. 

As plantations continued to expand aboriginal habitants continued to die in hundreds as a consequence of forced labour in the plantations and in other assignments that the Colonial Administration in Buea forced them to do. 

When it became evident that what remained of the active aboriginal population could no longer provide enough labour force for the plantations and Government Services the German Colonial Administration in Buea and owners of plantations recruited several hundred labourers from various Cameroon ethnic groups and then also brought in some technicians from Togo , Dahomey and Monrovia .

It is worthy of note that since more that one hundred years ago when plantations were established in Fako Division and the populations of the indigenous inhabitants forcefully displaced Bakweri villages are either Surrounded  by plantations or situated at the edges of plantations

Oma Nanu
Imba Thomas Mbua Ndoko
Chicago ILL, USA

40. “Wheni Ekale emuka o-Wojuwa oma ema sambowa” !

Any Ekale that arrives in the area known as “Wojuwa” is doomed to failure and disgrace.

Wojuwa = Villages within Buea customary court area and parts of Muea customary court area.

Yasi nanu: It became a matter of concern that vekale that performed very well in other parts in the lands of the Bakweri failed to do so within the area known as Wojuwa. For instance, Vekale collapsed in the course of performance in Wojuwa villages. 

Furthermore, the sorcery of Ngala Ewolo that was renowned for identifying witches and members of Nyongo societies and for referring victims of evil witch craft to appropriate clinics suffered failure and disgrace in Wojuwa villages. And, for that reason Wojuwa was labeled as the area in Bakweri land where vekale are doomed to suffer failure as well as disgrace. Hence the idiom:

"wheni  Ekale  emuka  o-Wojuwa  oma  ema  sambowa” !
(Any Ekale that arrives in Bakweri land in the area known as Wojuwa is doomed to failure disgrace).

Alarmed by the frequent disgrace that vekale suffered in Wojuwa land elderly and eminent traditional doctors in Wojuwa wanted to know the cause of failures of vekale in Wojuwa area.

39. “Wheni o-laana te ikpwa, ove-ye oma Ewese a-mbe-lele anga”.

There are times of abundance and times of scarcity.

Fables of  of the Animal World.

Yasi nanu:  Ewese was a thief. In broad daylight he would steal a calabash of palm wine from friends who were in the course of drinking the wine. Again, in broad daylight, Ewese would steal fish in the market when a trader was engaged in a discussion with a customer. Ewese's notoriety was a serious force to be reckoned with in the Animal World.

During the years of a long civil war when salt (ikpwa) was scarce Ewese visited the home of Kaava  Nyame in the afternoon and managed to steal from that home salt in a clay pot (livanya) that the wife of Kaava  Nyame had hidden behind the shelf over the fire place (o-mbusa  wokao)

It was not until after nightfall when the wife of Kaava  Nyame was in the course of preparing soup that she realised that the clay pot (livanya) and the salt (ikpwa) had disappeared.

38 “e-luwa, esi sii-se, esi tome-ya”.

 

 

Panic occurs in markets when business is at its peak.

Yasi  nanu:  Mola  Kumbu  a  Mosoke of the village of Woanda had mystic power of causing panic in crowds by lifting his head wear (cap, hat, helmet).  Order was restored when he returned the head wear on his head.

On one occasion when women from Mola  Kumbu's village met Mola  Kumbu in Tiko early in the morning of a Tiko Market day, the women asked him to cause panic so that they would freely collect fish when panic occurred.

Mola  Kumbu said he would comply with the wishes of the women. By eight o'clock the women urged Mola  Kumbu to cause panic so that they would commence their return journey home early. 

Responding Kumbu said: