The Badwe'e (also ''Bajwe'e''; French ''Badjoué'') are an ethnic group inhabiting the

rain forest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainforest ...

zone of southeastern

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; th ...

. They recognize themselves as the descendants of Edwe'e, the youngest son of Koo and the brother of Njeme and Nzime. The Badwe'e live south of Messaména in the East Province in a region south of the Bekol and both north and west of the Nzime. Their territory includes much of the northern and western border of the Dja Biosphere Reserve. They speak a dialect of

Koozime Nzime (''Koonzime'') is a Bantu language of Cameroon, spoken by the Nzime and Dwe'e (''Bajwe'e'') people. Maho (2009) lists these as two languages. It is closely related to Mpo. Demographics Koonzime is spoken in most of the southern part of ...

, together with the

Nzime The Nzime are a Bantu ethnic group inhabiting the rain forest zone of southeastern Cameroon. The Nzime live along the road running south of Abong-Mbang, through Mindourou and Lomié, and forking to Zoulabot and Zwadiba. Their territory lies so ...

History

The ancestors of the Badwe'e lived in the

Congo River basin The Congo River ( kg, Nzâdi Kôngo, french: Fleuve Congo, pt, Rio Congo), formerly also known as the Zaire River, is the second longest river in Africa, shorter only than the Nile, as well as the second largest river in the world by discharge ...

or the present territory of

Chad Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Repub ...

before moving into the present territory of Cameroon between the 14th and 17th centuries. Along with the other speakers of Makaa–Njyem languages, they lived along the northern

Lom River The Lom ( , ) is a river in northwestern Bulgaria, a right tributary of the Danube flowing into it 1 km east of the town of Lom. The river takes its source from the foot of Midzhur (2,168 m), the highest peak of western Stara Planina, on t ...

near the present-day border between the Adamawa and East provinces. Under pressure from migrating

Beti-Pahuin The Beti-Pahuin are a Bantu ethnic group located in rain forest regions of Cameroon, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and São Tomé and Príncipe. Though they separate themselves into several individual clans, they all share a c ...

groups (themselves fleeing the

Vute Vute is a Mambiloid language of Cameroon and Gabon, with a thousand speakers in Nigeria. The orthography was standardized on March 9, 1979. Noted dialect clusters are eastern, central, and Doume. Phonology Consonants Consonants in Vute are ...

and Mbum), the Makaa–Njem-speaking groups moved farther south. The Badwe'e eventually settled south of the Bekol and west of the

. During the colonial period, they created villages to the north of the Nzime, beginning at Djaposten and extending to Mindourou. This was to assist them to receive medical treatment against sleeping sickness.

Lifestyle and settlement patterns

Most Badwe'e live as

subsistence farmers Subsistence agriculture occurs when farmers grow food crops to meet the needs of themselves and their families on smallholdings. Subsistence agriculturalists target farm output for survival and for mostly local requirements, with little or no su ...

and live in linear villages oriented toward the roads through their region. They grow crops such as

manioc ''Manihot esculenta'', commonly called cassava (), manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively cultivated ...

, plantains, and

maize Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn ( North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. ...

, as well as smaller amounts of

banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry (botany), berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa (genus), Musa''. In some countries, Cooking banana, bananas used for ...

cocoyam Cocoyam is a common name for more than one tropical root crop and vegetable crop belonging to the Arum family (also known as Aroids and by the family name ''Araceae'') and may refer to: * Taro Taro () (''Colocasia esculenta)'' is a root ve ...

groundnut Groundnut may refer to: * Seeds that ripen underground, of the following plants, all in the Faboideae subfamily of the legumes: ** ''Best Basketball Player'', Obinna Udunni ** ''Arachis villosulicarpa'', a perennial peanut species ** '' Vigna subt ...

s, and fruits. Small

livestock Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to anima ...

that does not require much care forms another part of the diet. Other Bajwe

hunt Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...

with

trap A trap is a mechanical device used to capture or restrain an animal for purposes such as hunting, pest control, or ecological research. Trap or TRAP may also refer to: Art and entertainment Films and television * ''Trap'' (2015 film), Fil ...

s or, more commonly today, firearms. The resulting

bushmeat Bushmeat is meat from wildlife species that are hunted for human consumption, most often referring to the meat of game in Africa. Bushmeat represents a primary source of animal protein and a cash-earning commodity for inhabitants of humid tro ...

has become an important source of income for some people. Most Badwe'e profess

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesu ...

as their faith. A New Testament in Badwe'e is in use. Over 60 Badwe'e villages border the Dja Biosphere Reserve. Most of these are relatively small, with fewer than 113 inhabitants.Seme.

Notes

References

* Gordon, Raymond G., Jr. (ed.) (2005):
Koonzime
. ''Ethnologue: Languages of the World'', 15th ed. Dallas: SIL International. Accessed 7 June 2006. * Gordon, Raymond G., Jr. (ed.) (2005):
Makaa–Njem (A80)
. ''Ethnologue: Languages of the World'', 15th ed. Dallas: SIL International. Accessed 7 June 2006. * Neba, Aaron, Ph.D. (1999) ''Modern Geography of the Republic of Cameroon,'' 3rd ed. Bamenda: Neba Publishers. * Ngima Mawoung, Godefroy (2001) "The Relationship Between the Bakola and the Bantu Peoples of the Coastal Regions of Cameroon and their Perception of Commercial Forest Exploitation". ''African Study Monographs'', Suppl. 26: 209–235. * Ngoh, Victor Julius (1996) ''History of Cameroon Since 1800.'' Limbé: Presbook. * Seme, P. M. (August 1998).

. ''Canopée: Bulletin sur l'environnement en Afrique Centrale''. Accessed 21 June 2006. {{authority control Bantu peoples Ethnic groups in Cameroon Indigenous peoples of Central Africa Indigenous peoples of West Africa