Mbum Proper (also Mboum, Buna, Mboumtiba and Wuna) is a
Adamawa–Ubangi language of
Central Africa
Central Africa is a subregion of the African continent comprising various countries according to different definitions. Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo ...
.
[ It is spoken by about people 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 ...
and the Central African Republic
The Central African Republic (CAR; ; , RCA; , or , ) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the southeast, the DR Congo to the south, the Republic of th ...
.[
]
History
The Mbum language is spoken by the Mbum people who inhabit Cameroon, the Central African Republic, and Chad. While their origins are unclear, some believe that the Mbum were one of the earliest ethnic groups of the Adamawa Region
The Adamawa Region (french: Région de l'Adamaoua) is a constituent region of the Republic of Cameroon. It borders the Centre and East regions to the south, the Northwest and West regions to the southwest, Nigeria to the west, the Central Afr ...
. The Mbum of Tibati claim to be ancestors of the Tikar people, who may have once been known as the ''Mboum'' people. However, this belief is disputed by some historians, linguists, and anthropologists who believe other groups attached themselves to the Tikar and Kirdi people as a political move to provide legitimacy to their claim of dynastic lineage.
Professor and social anthropologist David Zeitlyn studied the theories of Tikar origin put forward by several historians, including Eldridge Mohammadou. Exploring those origin theories, Zeitlyn stated that "The main question at issue is the origin of the founders of the dynasties and the palace institutions of the different Tikar-speaking groups. How much credit is to be given to claims of Mbum origin? To answer this, a variety of evidence must be considered, including oral tradition and historical linguistics."
The Mbum people have such a close relationship with the Dii people, and one which has persisted for so long, that outsiders often have a hard time distinguishing them. In the early nineteenth century, both groups came under the rule of the Fulani
The Fula, Fulani, or Fulɓe people ( ff, Fulɓe, ; french: Peul, links=no; ha, Fulani or Hilani; pt, Fula, links=no; wo, Pël; bm, Fulaw) are one of the largest ethnic groups in the Sahel and West Africa, widely dispersed across the region. ...
Muslims, who they are said to have intermarried in large numbers. Despite this, the Mbum and Dii peoples still managed to hold on to their traditional spiritual beliefs until the twentieth century. The Mbum converted to Islam, while the Dii converted to Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
.
Varieties
Mbum is a complex dialect continuum
A dialect continuum or dialect chain is a series of language varieties spoken across some geographical area such that neighboring varieties are mutually intelligible, but the differences accumulate over distance so that widely separated varie ...
consisting of several varieties. ''ALCAM'' (2012) considers ''Mbum'', ''Larang'', ''Pana'' and ''Gbata'' to be four distinct but closely related languages. Pana (also spoken in Chad), Karang, Kali-dek and Kuo are eastern varieties that may be separate languages.
To the south, ''Gbata'' is spoken in the northern part of the arrondissement of Bélabo
Bélabo is a town and commune in Cameroon, lying on the Yaoundé – N'Gaoundéré railway line. Near the town lies the Sanaga-Yong chimpanzee rescue centre.
Transport
The town has a railway station served by Camrail, and lies on the San ...
in Lom-et-Djerem department, Eastern Region. There, it is spoken in Woutchaba and Deng-Deng, located to the west and east of the Sanaga River
The Sanaga River (formerly german: Zannaga) is the largest river in Cameroon located in East Region, Centre Region and Littoral Region. Its length is about from the confluence of Djérem and Lom River. The total length of Sanaga-Djérem Rive ...
, respectively. Blench (2006) considers Gbete (Gbata) to be a separate language.
The LiMbum is spoken to the South West especially in the Donga Mantung and around the Nkambe and Ndu Sub Divisions.
Distribution
Mbum is spoken in:
*Adamaoua Region
**Vina department
Vina Department is a department (''département'') of the Adamawa Province in Cameroon.
The department covers an area of 17,196 km and as of 2001 had a total population of 247,427. The capital of the department lies at Ngaoundéré.
Subd ...
(Ngaoundéré
Ngaoundéré, or N'Gaoundéré (Fula: N'gamdere 𞤲'𞤺𞤢𞤥𞤣𞤫𞥅𞤪𞤫𞥅) is the capital of the Adamawa Region of Cameroon. It had a population of 152,700 at the 2005 census. According to the film ''Les Mairuuwas – Maitre de l' ...
and Mbe communes)
** Djerem department ( Ngaoundal and Tibati
Tibati (Fula: Tibati 𞤼𞤭𞤦𞤢𞤼𞤭) is a town and commune in Djérem, Cameroon. The town and region are reigned by a local monarch, the Lamido.
The most notable economic activity in the region is the fishery industry. The fish comes fr ...
communes)
**Faro-et-Déo
Faro-et-Déo is a department of Adamawa Province in Cameroon.
The department covers an area of 10,435 km and as of 2001 had a total population of 66,442. The capital of the department lies at Tignere.
Subdivisions
The department is div ...
department (Tignère
Tignère is a town and commune in Cameroon.
Climate
Tignère has a tropical savanna climate
Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categori ...
communes)
*North Region
**Mayo-Rey
Mayo-Rey is a department of North Province in Cameroon. The department covers an area of 36,529 km and as of 2001 had a total population of 242,441 . The capital of the department lies at Tcholliré.
Spillover of CAR War
According to the ...
department (Touboro
Touboro is a town and commune in North Region Cameroon.
Refugees
An April 10, 2014 report says:
"Thousands of refugees, fleeing the violence of armed groups (Séléka and Anti-balaka) are concentrated in the towns of Mbaimboum and Touboro, on t ...
commune)
** Faro department (Poli __NOTOC__
Poli can refer to:
Food
* ''Puran Poli'', a poli made up of wheat flour and puran (sweet cooked gram paste)
* A Marathi name for ''chapati'', a bread made up of wheat flour
Organisations
* FC Timişoara Romanian first league football c ...
commune)
* North West Region*
Limbum is spoken in the Donga Mantung Particularly in Ndu and Nkambe Subdivisions.
References
*Roger Blench, 2004
List of Adamawa languages
(ms)
External links
A rapid appraisal survey of Gbete
by Jason Diller & Kari Jordan-Diller, 2002. SIL Electronic Survey Reports SILESR 2002-050.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mbum Language
Languages of Cameroon
Mbum languages