The Bamboko are a
Bantu
Bantu may refer to:
*Bantu languages, constitute the largest sub-branch of the Niger–Congo languages
*Bantu peoples, over 400 peoples of Africa speaking a Bantu language
* Bantu knots, a type of African hairstyle
*Black Association for National ...
ethnic group
An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...
of the
Republic of 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 ...
. They are part of the
Sawa Sawa may refer to:
Places
* Sawa, Nepal, a village development committee
* Sawa, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland, a village
* Saveh, sometimes transliterated Sāwa, Iran, a city
* Sawa Lake, Iraq
People
* Sawa (Hrycuniak) (born Michał Hrycunia ...
ethnic groups, those who live on the coast.
The Bamboko probably moved to
Mboko, the area southwest of
Mount Cameroon
Mount Cameroon is an active volcano in the South West region of Cameroon next to the city of Buea near the Gulf of Guinea. Mount Cameroon is also known as Cameroon Mountain or Fako (the name of the higher of its two peaks) or by its indigenous n ...
, in the early 17th century. Predominant
Bakweri
The Bakweri (or Kwe) are a Bantu ethnic group of the Republic of Cameroon. They are closely related to Cameroon's coastal peoples (the Sawa), particularly the Duala and Isubu.
Early survey discussion of these topics may be found in Ardener 195 ...
and
Isubu
The Isubu (Isuwu, Bimbians) are a Bantu ethnic group who inhabit part of the coast of Cameroon. Along with other coastal peoples, they belong to Cameroon's Sawa ethnic groups. They were one of the earliest Cameroonian peoples to make contact wit ...
traditions claim they originated from this area, which supports the peoples' long shared histories and similar languages. They currently inhabit the west and northwest of the mountain, beginning at the villages of
Sanje and
Mukundage and continuing to the sea. This territory likes in the
Fako
Mount Cameroon is an active volcano in the South West region of Cameroon next to the city of Buea near the Gulf of Guinea. Mount Cameroon is also known as Cameroon Mountain or Fako (the name of the higher of its two peaks) or by its indigenous n ...
and
Meme divisions of the
Southwest Province
The Southwest Region or South-West Region () is a region in Cameroon. Its capital is Buea. , its population was 1,553,320. Along with the Northwest Region, it is one of the two Anglophone (English-speaking) regions of Cameroon. Various Ambazonia ...
. Neighbouring the Bamboko to the east are the Bakweri and to the north are the
Bakole. The Bamboko are primarily
subsistence farmers who toil the volcanic soils of Mount Cameroon to cultivate
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 (''Colocasia esculenta'') - old cocoyam
* Malanga ('' ...
s,
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. Th ...
,
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 a ...
,
oil palm
''Elaeis'' () is a genus of palms containing two species, called oil palms. They are used in commercial agriculture in the production of palm oil. The African oil palm ''Elaeis guineensis'' (the species name ''guineensis'' referring to its co ...
s, and
plantain
Plantain may refer to:
Plants and fruits
* Cooking banana, banana cultivars in the genus ''Musa'' whose fruits are generally used in cooking
** True plantains, a group of cultivars of the genus ''Musa''
* ''Plantaginaceae'', a family of flowerin ...
s.
![Duala ethnic groups](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5b/Duala_ethnic_groups.png)
The Bamboko speak
Wumboko. The tongue is largely intelligible with
Mokpwe and
Bakole, and linguists sometimes classify Wumboko as a dialect of Mokpwe. All of these languages are part of the
Bantu
Bantu may refer to:
*Bantu languages, constitute the largest sub-branch of the Niger–Congo languages
*Bantu peoples, over 400 peoples of Africa speaking a Bantu language
* Bantu knots, a type of African hairstyle
*Black Association for National ...
group of the
Niger–Congo language family.
In addition, individuals who have attended school or lived in an urban centre usually speak
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 re ...
or standard
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
. Increasing numbers of
Anglophone Cameroonian
Anglophone Cameroonians are the people of various cultural backgrounds, most of who hail from the English-speaking regions of Cameroon (Northwest and Southwest Regions). These regions were formerly known as the British Southern Cameroons, being p ...
s are today being raised as first-language Pidgin speakers.
["Pidgin, Cameroon", ''Ethnologue''.]
Notes
References
* Fanso, V. G. (1989). ''Cameroon History for Secondary Schools and Colleges, Vol. 1: From Prehistoric Times to the Nineteenth Century.'' Hong Kong: Macmillan Education Ltd.
* Gordon, Raymond G., Jr. (ed.) (2005):
Mokpwe. ''Ethnologue: Languages of the World'', 15th ed. Dallas: SIL International. Accessed 6 June 2006.
* Gordon, Raymond G., Jr. (ed.) (2005):
Pidgin, Cameroon. ''Ethnologue: Languages of the World'', 15th ed. Dallas: SIL International. Accessed 6 June 2006.
* Gordon, Raymond G., Jr. (ed.) (2005):
Wumboko. ''Ethnologue: Languages of the World'', 15th ed. Dallas: SIL International. Accessed 6 June 2006.
External links
BakweriramaPeuple Sawa(in French)
{{Cameroon-ethno-group-stub