The Njyem (or Njem or Ndjem) 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 southern
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 northern
Republic of the Congo. In Cameroon, the Njyem live along the road running south from
Lomié Lomié is a town in the Lomié District in the Upper Nyong division of the East Province of Cameroon. An article in the ''Mail & Guardian Online'' describes it as having "no telephone connection to the outside world, and a single access road that ...
, passing the government center of
Ngoyla and going as far south as
Djadom. From there, footpaths extend to
Souanke in northern Congo. Their territory lies south of the
Nzime people and north of the
Bekwel, both related groups. Ngoyla is the largest Njyem center. Souanke is equally important, but is a center shared with the
Bekwel. They speak
Njyem ("NJY"), one of the
Makaa–Njem Bantu languages.
History
The Makaa–Njyem-speaking peoples entered present-day Cameroon from 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 modern
Chad between the 14th and 17th centuries. By the 19th century, they inhabited the lands north of the
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 ...
in the border region between the present-day East and
Adamawa Province
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 ...
s. Not long thereafter, however, the
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 ...
peoples invaded these areas under pressure from the
Vute
Vute is a Mambiloid language of Cameroon and Gabon, with a thousand speakers in Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, i ...
and
Mbum
Mbum Proper (also Mboum, Buna, Mboumtiba and Wuna) is a Adamawa–Ubangi language of Central Africa. It is spoken by about people in Cameroon and the Central African Republic.
History
The Mbum language is spoken by the Mbum people who inhabit ...
, themselves fleeing
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. ...
(Fula) warriors. The Makaa–Njyem speakers were forced south.
Some groups remained in the vicinity of the
Nyong
The Nyong (formerly german: Yong) is a river in Cameroon. The river flows approximately to empty into the Gulf of Guinea.
Course
The Nyong originates east of the town of Abong-Mbang, where the northern rain forest feeds it. The river's leng ...
and
Dja rivers, while others continued their migration. This latter group included the Njyem.
The Njeme people and the Njyem are ethnically one, but they were separated by the Badwe'e and the Nzime. The Njeme are located on the road from Abong Mbang to Lomie, beginning after the last Mekaa village and extending as far as Mindourou. Other Njeme villages are in Adjela and Lomie. The Njeme speak a dialect of
Koonzime. The Njyem, although being ethnically one with the Njeme, speak a distinct language. They are found south of the Dja River where it passes Zoulabot.
Lifestyle and settlement patterns
The majority of Njyem are
subsistence farmers. Their settlements tend to follow existing roads, making the typical village a linear string of houses facing the road and backed by forest. Fields are typically very small, usually planted in clearings cut out of the forest with axes and machetes and then burned. Major crops include
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 ...
,
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, 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. The ...
, with
bananas,
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 veg ...
s,
groundnuts, and various fruits raised in smaller quantities.
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 animal ...
are typically small animals that may be left to roam unattended, such as
goat
The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the a ...
s,
sheep
Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated ...
,
pig
The pig (''Sus domesticus''), often called swine, hog, or domestic pig when distinguishing from other members of the genus '' Sus'', is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is variously considered a subspecies of ''Sus ...
s, and
chicken
The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adu ...
s. A smaller number of Njyem have obtained financial success in the
cocoa and
coffee
Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world.
Seeds of ...
plantation
A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...
s of Cameroon's forest region.
Hunting
Hunting is the 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, bone/tusks, horn/antler, ...
is another common pursuit, especially in the smaller villages.
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 are the primary tool employed, though
firearms are increasingly used today.
Bushmeat caught in this way is becoming an important, if unsustainable, source of income for many people.
Some Njyem groups share a codependent relationship with Cameroon's
Baka pygmies
In anthropology, pygmy peoples are ethnic groups whose average height is unusually short. The term pygmyism is used to describe the phenotype of endemic short stature (as opposed to disproportionate dwarfism occurring in isolated cases in a pop ...
. The Njyem trade manufactured goods and cultivated crops for pygmy-supplied forest game.
The traditional Njyem house is a rectangular structure made of leaves folded over a raffia branch and pinned in place with a small twig. Alternatively, strips of bark could be used for the sides. The A-shaped roof is covered in raffia palm leaves. Present-day houses are made of vertical poles with raffia strips lashed horizontally inside and out. Mud is packed between the poles and held in place by the raffia strips. The roofs continue to consist of thatches made of raffia palm leaves, although aluminium roofing is also being used when finances permit. Wealthier Njyem and those living in larger villages and towns often live in houses employing mud-blocks or concrete-blocks.
Social organisation begins with the family, which consists of a man, his wife or wives, and his children. Several related families often live together to form a village. At the next level are several villages that claim common ancestry to form a
clan. In the past, these clan identities were of the utmost importance, determining one's friends, lineage, and potential spouses. This clan identity is much weaker today, however. Each clan is headed by a
chief, though the modern chiefs are little more than figureheads.
The vast majority of Njyem practice at least nominal
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 ...
. Vestiges of their native
animism
Animism (from Latin: ' meaning ' breath, spirit, life') is the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct spiritual essence. Potentially, animism perceives all things— animals, plants, rocks, rivers, weather syst ...
still persist, however, especially in the realm of
traditional medicine
Traditional medicine (also known as indigenous medicine or folk medicine) comprises medical aspects of traditional knowledge that developed over generations within the folk beliefs of various societies, including indigenous peoples, before the ...
. Folk
superstitions also remain, such as belief in
witchcraft
Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have ...
.
Notes
References
* Gordon, Raymond G., Jr. (ed.) (2005):
Makaa–Njem (A80). ''Ethnologue: Languages of the World'', 15th ed. Dallas: SIL International. Accessed 7 June 2006.
* Gordon, Raymond G., Jr. (ed.) (2005):
Njyem. ''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.
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