Bafut is a town located in a modern
commune
A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to:
Administrative-territorial entities
* Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township
** Communes of ...
in
Cameroon
Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...
, it is also a traditional
fondom. It is located in the
Mezam Department, which in turn is located in the
Northwest Province.
![Bafut - Cameroon 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/80/Bafut_-_Cameroon_2.png)
Bafut is famous for having preserved its structure as a traditional kingdom (or "
Fondom" ), under the leadership of the
Fon of Bafut
The Fon of Bafut is the fon or Mfor (traditional ruler) of the town of Bafut and its adjoining areas in the Northwest Province, Cameroon, which comprise the erstwhile Fondom of Bafut. At present, the Fon of Bafut is still a local ruler, but und ...
. Its
traditional power structures operate in harmony with its modern local government council, which aims to turn Bafut into an
eco-city An eco-city or ecocity is "a human settlement modeled on the self-sustaining resilient structure and function of natural ecosystems", as defined bEcocity Builders(a non-profit organization started by Richard Register who first coined the term). Simp ...
.
![BAFUT PALACE - HUT FOR THE TALKING DRUM](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/06/BAFUT_PALACE_-_HUT_FOR_THE_TALKING_DRUM.JPG)
History
The Bafut tradition traces its dynastic origins to the Ndobo or Tikari areas. From the reign of Firloo, the first
Fon of Bafut
The Fon of Bafut is the fon or Mfor (traditional ruler) of the town of Bafut and its adjoining areas in the Northwest Province, Cameroon, which comprise the erstwhile Fondom of Bafut. At present, the Fon of Bafut is still a local ruler, but und ...
, it has operated as a
fondom or kingdom, using
traditional power structures.
Upon their arrival from Tikari at least 400 years ago, the Bafut people built the current "old palace" of Mbebeli, also known as Ntoh Firloo. It still contains the tombs of the first three Bafut kings Firloo, Nebasi Suh and Ambebi.
The Fon's palace, and thus the centre of Bafut's traditional power, was later moved to its current location, and by the time of the German colonisation of the Cameroons in the late 19th century, Bafut had roughly assumed its present make-up.
The Bafut Wars and German colonisation
The
Bafut Wars
The Bafut Wars were a series of wars fought in the early 20th century between the troops of the Fon of Bafut and German-backed troops of neighbouring fondoms and German troops.
The wars ultimately led to a defeat for the Fon of Bafut, forcing h ...
resulted from German colonial intrusion into the Bafut fondom.
The German explorer Dr Eugen Zintgraff visited Bafut in 1889. He had earlier stopped in Bali Nyonga where he had received a warm welcome from Galega, the Fon of Bali Nyonga. However the Bafut Fon, Abumbi, received him with circumspection since Bafut was not on good terms with Bali Nyonga. Zintgraff is said to have committed two breaches of etiquette. He seized the drinking cup from the Fon's hand and drank from it and he insisted on calling Abumbi by his princely name 'Gualem'. This open display of disrespect was interpreted in Bafut as a deliberate attempt to belittle the Fon and it was assumed that Galega of Bali Nyonga was behind this.
Relations between Bafut and the Germans subsequently deteriorated to the point of armed conflict. In 1891 Bafut went to the aid of its neighbour and ally Mankon which had been attacked by a German-led Bali Nyonga force en route to Bafut. This force had been sent to avenge the death of two of Zintgraff's messengers sent to Bafut to demand ivory. On 31 January 1891 it attacked Mankon and burnt the town. As the attacking force retired, Mankon warriors, assisted now by their allies from Bafut, counter-attacked and inflicted heavy losses on their enemies. Ten years later the Germans, under Pavel, returned in full force. Bafut suffered a series of punitive raids in 1901, 1904–05 and 1907, at the end of which the Fon was arrested and exiled to
Douala
Douala is the largest city in Cameroon and its economic capital. It is also the capital of Cameroon's Littoral Region. Home to Central Africa's largest port and its major international airport, Douala International Airport (DLA), it is the com ...
for a year.
In the meantime a military station had been established at Bamenda which served as the administrative headquarters of the district until the Germans were expelled during the World War of 1914–1918. The Bamenda garrison fell in October 1915.
British and French colonisation
![Cameroon boundary changes](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a7/Cameroon_boundary_changes.PNG)
After a brief period of joint administration Britain and France provisionally partitioned the territory and this, with only minor adjustments, was confirmed by the Milner–Simon agreement of July 1919. Bafut fell into the British sector which was constituted into the Cameroons Province and attached to the Southern Provinces of British Nigeria for administrative purposes. At least one Fon of Bafut,
Achirimbi II maintained friendly ties with the British. When the British left part of Cameroon in 1961, the region had a choice of joining either the newly formed Cameroon or
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
. The Fon
Achirimbi II is famously said to have remarked that it was a choice between the "Fire and the Deep Sea".
Post-colonial history
On 1 January 1960, French Cameroun gained independence from France, and on 1 October 1961, the formerly British
Southern Cameroons (including Bafut) united with French Cameroun to form the Federal Republic of Cameroon.
The Bafut Council was created by a presidential decree on 23 November 1993 to promote local development and improve the living conditions of the region's inhabitants. The local government began operation in 1996, following municipal elections.
Since 2017, Bafut has become of battleground of the
Anglophone Crisis
The Anglophone Crisis (), also known as the Ambazonia War or the Cameroonian Civil War, is an ongoing civil war in the Northwest and Southwest regions of Cameroon, part of the long-standing Anglophone problem. Following the suppression of the ...
, with an
Ambazonia
Ambazonia, officially the Federal Republic of Ambazonia, also referred to as Amba Land, is an unrecognised breakaway state in West Africa which claims the Northwest Region and Southwest Region of Cameroon, though it currently controls almost ...
n separatist militia known as
Seven Karta
Seven Karta is an Ambazonian separatist militia that is part of the Ambazonia Self-Defence Council. setting up bases in the area.
Operation Free Bafut
Operation Free Bafut was a week-long Cameroonian military operation against the Seven Karta militia in and around Bafut that resulted in the deaths of two separatist generals.
Background
Following the beginning of an armed rebellion in the An ...
in April 2020 saw heavy fighting in and around the village.
Geography and demographics
Bafut had a population of 80,305 in 2005, but is now estimated to have over 100,000 inhabitants. It is primarily an agrarian region.
Bafut is situated about northwest of
Bamenda
Bamenda, also known as Abakwa and Mankon Town, is a city in northwestern Cameroon and capital of the Northwest Region. The city has a population of about 2 million people and is located north-west of the Cameroonian capital, Yaoundé. Bamenda is ...
, in the Mezam Division, and covers an area of roughly 340 km
2.
It is located in the
Western Grassfields
The Western High Plateau, Western Highlands or Bamenda Grassfields is a region of Cameroon characterised by high relief, cool temperatures, heavy rainfall and savanna vegetation. The region lies along the Cameroon line and consists of mounta ...
geographic region, which includes Cameroon's
Northwest Province and surrounding grassland areas. Bafut is the most powerful of the traditional kingdoms of the Grassfields, now divided into 26 wards along a 10-kilometre stretch of the "Ring Road" that trails along a ridge above the
Menchum Valley
The Menchum River and its tributaries drains a large area of the Northwest Region of Cameroon.
It in turn is a tributary of the Benue River in Nigeria.
Location
The Menchum, Donga and Katsina Ala rivers all flow west from the Northeast Regi ...
.
The population is settled in three main zones:
* At the centre are the people of ''Mumala'a'' (heart of the country) clustered around the Fon's palace who refer to themselves as the real Bafut (''Bufu''). This name can be applied to the whole chiefdom.
* To the south is the ''Ntare'' (ridge area) .
* To the north is the ''Mbunti'' (lower) which descends abruptly to the
Menchum
Menchum is a department of Northwest Province in Cameroon. The department covers an area of 4469 km and as of 2005 had a total population of 161,998. The capital of the department lies at Wum.
The Menchum River drains this area, flowing we ...
river valley.
The major languages are the
Bafut language
The Bafut language, ''Fut'', is an Eastern Grassfields language of the Niger–Congo languages, and related to Bamum. Oral tradition traces dynastic origins to the Ndobo or Tikari areas. It is spoken by people of Bafut Subdivision, Tuba, in ...
and
Cameroonian Pidgin English
Cameroonian Pidgin English, or Cameroonian Creole ( wes, Wes Cos, from West Coast), is a language variety of Cameroon. It is also known as Kamtok (from 'Cameroon-talk'). It is primarily spoken in the North West and South West English speaking r ...
, though Mundum, Mbuhnti and French are also spoken.
The Bafut language is classed within the Mbam-Nkam section of the central branch of the Niger-Congo family along with other nearby languages such as Bali Nyonga, Bamum and Pinyin
File:Bafut.jpg, Side entrance of the Palace
File:Bafut-64.jpg, Home corner of the Palace
File:Bafut Quartier des femmes.jpg, Women houses in the Palace
File:Bafut-85.jpg, Interior place of the Palace
Local government
Traditional power structures
![Bafut Palace - EcoVillage - Cameroon](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/ff/Bafut_Palace_-_EcoVillage_-_Cameroon.JPG)
Bafut is one of the two regions in Cameroon (the other being
Bali, Cameroon
Bali is a town and commune in Cameroon, lying west of Bamenda. It has a population of 32,000 (2001 estimate). Formerly the centre of a kingdom, it is known for its palace and its regular festival
A festival is an event ordinarily celebra ...
), where traditional power structures are still in place. Bafut is a chiefdom or
fondom. It was long the centre of the local kingdom of the
Tikar
The Tikar (also Tikari, Tige, Tigar, Tigre, Tikali) are a central African people who inhabit the Western High Plateau in Cameroon. They are known as great artisans and storytellers. Once a nomadic people, some oral traditions trace the origin of ...
people (originally from the Northern regions of
Lake Chad), and is presently administered by the
Fon of Bafut
The Fon of Bafut is the fon or Mfor (traditional ruler) of the town of Bafut and its adjoining areas in the Northwest Province, Cameroon, which comprise the erstwhile Fondom of Bafut. At present, the Fon of Bafut is still a local ruler, but und ...
.
The Fon of Bafut was, and to some extent still is, the ''paramount'' Fon of the region, with all other Fons pledging allegiance to him.
The Fon shared power with a council of elders or "Kwifor". Membership was restricted to commoners who had attained the rank of Bukum (sing. Nkum). The strength of Kwifor lay in its role as a council of kingmakers and was thus a check on royal power.
Bafut Council
![Bafut Council Building - Cameroon](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a8/Bafut_Council_Building_-_Cameroon.png)
The Bafut Council was created by a presidential decree on 23 November 1993 to promote local development and improve the living conditions of the region's inhabitants.
The local government began operation in 1996, following municipal elections. The council, situated at Njinteh Bafut, is intended to be a meeting point of modern local democratic governance and traditional customs. It is made up of the Bafut first class Fondom and the Mundum’s I and II autonomous second class Fondoms who share powers with the council.
Since its creation, the Bafut council has been concentrating its efforts on the provision of water to the surrounding villages, improving the roads and infrastructure that connect the farmlands to the village markets, planting a council forest and improving local health centres. The national government of Cameroon has worked towards transferring some responsibilities and local resources to the country's councils, making the region's councils a focal point for orientation and management of local development. However, the council personnel have suffered from deficient capacities for the appropriate functioning of council institutions.
The Bafut council has just completed a community-driven sustainable development plan with qualitative and quantitative needs of the villages within the council, that would facilitate the proper orientation and management of the development of the council area. Very aware of the limitations in its resources, the Council has been working to build public–private partnerships to be better able to use its resources for local development of the council area in an environmentally sustainable way. In its sustainable development work, the council has strongly partnered with an indigenous Cameroonian NGO, BetterWorld Cameroon (BWC).
Mayor
Mayor Ngwasoh Abel Langsi, originally a trained educationalist and a science teacher, was elected in July 2007 along with 4 deputy mayors and 35 councillors. His term of office runs up until 2014.
The Mayor has demonstrated an interest in pursuing
sustainable development in Bafut, working on empowering local Cameroonian youth through the creation of Green Jobs and developing projects such as the Bafut Ecovillage project and the Green Heart of Bafut conceived with Ecovillage Designer Joshua Konkankoh. The latter programme (through its extensive reforestation projects, especially on the upper mountain slopes) has intended to combat severe soil erosion and re-establish degraded water catchments, and thus to protect the huge farmlands located in the lower valleys of Bafut. The newly established council industrial nursery employs local youth to reforest the mountaintops, water catchments, and town streets, additionally aiming to fight the spread of malaria and cholera, as well as to serve as a template for similar projects in the neighbouring communes. Together with Better World Cameroon NGO he also established a climate change and agricultural research unit within the council, to educate farmers and local youth on the most productive and sustainable modern farming techniques. Through Ndanifor Permaculture Demonstration Land Trust in Bawum he is working with Better World Cameroon in using
permaculture
Permaculture is an approach to land management and settlement design that adopts arrangements observed in flourishing natural ecosystems. It includes a set of design principles derived using whole-systems thinking. It applies these principle ...
to develop the future of agriculture in Cameroon into a more constructive, modern, creative and rewarding sector by 2035.
He has subsequently joined the World Mayors Council on Climate Change, ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability, and been hailed by the Cameroon government as a "national green hero".
The Bafut Ecovillage Project
![Bafut - Cameroon 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/80/Bafut_-_Cameroon_2.png)
The Bafut Ecovillage Project was designed by Konkankoh Joshua in Sieben Linden Germany in 2013 as an indigenous frame work for regenerative education. Over the years, it has become a signature programme of the Bafut Council and Bafut Palace. It's Ndanifor Permaculture & Ecotourism Demonstration site in Alegnwi Bawum has become a blue print in sub Saharan Africa for making informal education the catalyst for economic and community development. https://www.betterworld-cameroon.com It has been designed on the UN SDGs implementation platform and Global Ecovillage Ntwork GEN Africa to host a sustainable technologies park and cross-cultural education hub for local and international volunteers promoting youth engagement to the implementation of the UN Agenda 2030 in Africa. ''Its bioregional Ecovillage Design Education Courses'' and International Youth camp have created young social entrepreneurs making great impact in the Biodiversity conservation,
climate change adaptation
Climate change adaptation is the process of adjusting to current or expected effects of climate change.IPCC, 2022Annex II: Glossary öller, V., R. van Diemen, J.B.R. Matthews, C. Méndez, S. Semenov, J.S. Fuglestvedt, A. Reisinger (eds.) InClimat ...
and creation of a green economy in Bafut. The project won the Gaia Trust Excellence as the most inspiring project in Africa training environmental technicians with the knowledge and skills to develop and execute strategies for achieving sustainability, within the framework of the sustainable development goals at scale and enterprise business models.
The Bafut Eco-village 2020 Project is the most pressing sustainable development challenge facing the Bafut community and its strategy of building capacity by linking with Global Ecovillage Network GENAfrica, ICLEI and other international organisations in developing educational and public awareness programmes with respect to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity The project in its sudden success and expansion internationally dispels the myth about the ineffectiveness of African systems and is contributing to essential approaches to sustainable development intimately connected with equity.
Bafut Ecovillage has subsequently established a new mission statement and Sustainable Development Plan that better encompasses the new ecovillage vision of transitioning African villages to resilience and specifies what the community wishes to achieve through it https:www.spiritofndanifor.com
Bafut in popular culture
Bafut is famous for
* Being the venue of the Annual Dance of the Fon (local chieftain) or the
Abin e Mfor
The Brazilian Intelligence Agency ( pt, Agência Brasileira de Inteligência, ABIN) is the main intelligence agency in Brazil. ABIN's mission is to ensure that the Federal Executive has access to knowledge related to the security of the State a ...
.
*
![Musée de Bafut](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d3/Mus%C3%A9e_de_Bafut.jpg)
The location of the palace of the
Fon of Bafut
The Fon of Bafut is the fon or Mfor (traditional ruler) of the town of Bafut and its adjoining areas in the Northwest Province, Cameroon, which comprise the erstwhile Fondom of Bafut. At present, the Fon of Bafut is still a local ruler, but und ...
, the residential dwelling of the Fon and his wives and counsel which is now a UNESCO World Heritage Centre and houses a museum (see
Fon of Bafut
The Fon of Bafut is the fon or Mfor (traditional ruler) of the town of Bafut and its adjoining areas in the Northwest Province, Cameroon, which comprise the erstwhile Fondom of Bafut. At present, the Fon of Bafut is still a local ruler, but und ...
for a section on the Palace of the Fon)
* Better World Cameroon's Ndanifor Permaculture Ecovillage Demonstration Land Trust in Bawum is a major contributor to the operations of the Bafut Ecovillage Vision 2020 working with the aim of reconnecting Bafut Youth to their cultural heritage, and with the goal of striking a balance between economic, social and environmental needs.
* Bafut Council-Better World Cameroon joined Action in Ecovillage Vision 2020 is to actively promote culture, indigenous knowledge systems related to soil fertility, providing rehabilitation and long-term care to plants and animals through a climate campaign. Better World Cameroon works closely with the Cameroon government and Global Ecovillage Network Africa to protect natural heritage sites through Permaculture Education and Social support. Since 2000 Better World Cameroon has adopted Bafut and devoted to transitioning it to resilience. Bafut Permaculture Ecovillage as support structure for implementing Bafut Ecovision 2020 and the Sustainable Development Goals in Cameroon envisions Bafut as a centre for international partnerships.
* The nearby location of the
botanical garden
A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...
of
Savanna Botanic Gardens, which noted naturalist
Ngwa Che Francis helped plan, is located near the town.
* The presence of the Bafut market, which is a very vibrant one in the area, occurring every eight days, selling fruits, spices, vegetables, meat and animals.
The town of Bafut is probably best remembered as the place where the famous naturalist
Gerald Durrell
Gerald Malcolm Durrell, (7 January 1925 – 30 January 1995) was a British naturalist, writer, zookeeper, conservationist, and television presenter. He founded the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust and the Jersey Zoo on the Channel Island o ...
came on two animal-collecting expeditions in 1949 and 1957. Durrell wrote two accounts – ''
The Bafut Beagles'' and ''
A Zoo in My Luggage'' – on his travels in Bafut, and created a mini-TV series, ''To Bafut with Beagles''.
See also
*
Fon (Cameroon)
A Fon is a chieftain or king of a region of Cameroon, especially among the Widikum, Tikar, and Bamiléké peoples of the Bamenda grass fields (the Northwest, West Region) and the Lebialem of the South West Region. They were a creation of Germ ...
*
Traditional administrative system of Bafut The Fondom of Bafut political system centred on the Fon or Mfor who was the fount of the political and religious life of the people.
The Fon had multifarious functions:
*He controlled external relations and internally he made laws.
*All justice wa ...
References
Further reading
* Michael TabuweÌ Aletum; Political conflicts within the traditional and the modern institutions: A case study of the Bafut-Cameroon; Vander Pub., 1973
* R. K. Engard; Myth and political economy in Bafut (Cameroon) – the structural history of an African kingdom; ''Paideuma'', Vol. 34, pp. 49–89; 1988
* R. K. Engard; Dance and power in Bafut (Cameroon), ''Creativity of power: Cosmology and action in African societies'', ed. W. Arens and Ivan Karp,
Smithsonian Institution Press; 1989
{{coord, 6, 05, N, 10, 06, E, region:CM_type:city, display=title
Populated places in Northwest Region (Cameroon)
Communes of Cameroon