The Badwe'e (also ''Bajwe'e'';

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

''Badjoué'') are an

ethnic group An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, traditions, society, re ...

inhabiting the

rain forest Rainforests are forests characterized by a closed and continuous tree Canopy (biology), canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforests can be generally classified as tropi ...

zone of southeastern

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

. 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 Messamena (also spelled Messaména) is a town and Communes of Cameroon, commune in Cameroon. Location The town of Messamena is the capital of the ''arrondissement'' (commune) of the same name. They are located in the Haut-Nyong, Haut-Nyong Depart ...

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, 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 ...

History

The ancestors of the Badwe'e lived in the

Congo River basin The Congo River, formerly also known as the Zaire River, is the second-longest river in Africa, shorter only than the Nile, as well as the third-largest river in the world list of rivers by discharge, by discharge volume, following the Amazon Ri ...

or the present territory of

Chad Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North Africa, North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to Chad–Libya border, the north, Sudan to Chad–Sudan border, the east, the Central Afric ...

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 the western part of the Danubian Plain (Bulgaria), Danubian Plain of northwestern Bulgaria. A right tributary of the Danube, the river is 93 km long. Geography The river takes its source at an altitude of 2,100 ...

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 Center region of Cameroon. Though they separate themselves into several individual clans, they all share a common origin, history and culture. Estimated to be well over 8 million individuals i ...

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 crops on smallholdings to meet the needs of themselves and their families. Subsistence agriculturalists target farm output for survival and for mostly local requirements. Planting decisions occu ...

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

manioc ''Manihot esculenta'', common name, commonly called cassava, manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America, from Brazil, Paraguay and parts of the Andes. Although ...

, plantains, and

maize Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago from wild teosinte. Native American ...

, as well as smaller amounts of

banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large treelike herbaceous flowering plants in the genus '' Musa''. In some countries, cooking bananas are called plantains, distinguishing the ...

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 * Mala ...

s, groundnuts, and fruits. Small

livestock Livestock are the Domestication, domesticated animals that are raised in an Agriculture, agricultural setting to provide labour and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, Egg as food, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The t ...

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, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products (fur/hide (sk ...

with traps or, more commonly today,

firearm A firearm is any type of gun that uses an explosive charge and is designed to be readily carried and operated by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see legal definitions). The first firearms originate ...

s. The resulting

bushmeat Bushmeat is meat from wildlife species that are Hunting, hunted for human consumption. Bushmeat represents a primary source of animal protein and a cash-earning commodity in poor and rural communities of humid tropical forest regions of the worl ...

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

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

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