Just north of Bamenda is the large Tikar community of Bafut, traditionally the most powerful of the Grassfields kingdoms. The fon's (local chief's) palace here is home to a 700-year-old dynasty and is a fascinating insight into traditional culture.
The palace compound consists of numerous buildings, including the houses of the fon's 150-or-so wives (not all of whom are presently in residence), and the sacred Achum building, which is off-limits to everyone except the fon and his close advisors. In front of the palace compound are several stones marking the burial sites of nobles who died while serving the fon, and the Takombang House which holds the fon's ceremonial drum.
The imposing colonial building above the palace is now a museum. It holds many interesting (and slightly scary) carvings, traditional costumes and weapons.
In late December, Bafut holds a huge four-day celebration to mark the end of the year's ancestor worship with masked dancing and drumming. Bafut also holds a large market every eight days (every 'country Sunday').
In most Fondoms of grass field Cameroon, the lineage for succession is based in one compound. Not so in Esu where the Fons alternate between the lower and the upper compounds of Wimeh. This paper explores the origins of this alternation and begins with a historical background of the Esus.
The Esu fondom is part of the larger Tikar ethnic group in Cameroon. Tikars rejected Arab or Muslim subjugation from Egypt their original homeland around the 10th century A.D., fled down south, across the Sudan during several hundred years of migration to settle around Ngaoundere (Tikar). Yet the Muslim Jihad wars caused them to continue to flee southwards until they got to Fumban where they spent several decades before migrating to Ndop. (Note that, Ndop (or Ndobbo) later became the capital of German Grass Field of Cameroon in 1884.) By 1400 A.D. the Nso, Bali, Kom (also Tikars) had settled in their present day locations. So too did Bafmeng, Bafut and Esu settle at Ndi’wung near present day Bafmen where Ngum and Fuh, were princes at the Ndi’wung Palace.
As the population exploded around Ndi’wung, Fuh and Ngum led fractions of the people out of Ndi’wung to separate destinations yet maintaining the traditions at Ndi’wung. This common origin explains why Esu, Bafut and Mmen all have the same traditional calendar days, same market day , similar names and same “country” Sunday. Fuh moved southwards to present day Bafut where they merged with some Widikum settlers of the other Bafut villages. All Fons of Bafut located at Mambu-Bafut, continue to trace their origin to Ndi’wung in Menchum. The present fon of Bafut, Abumbi II’s official wife is from Menchum.
Ngum shot a magical spear in the air and ordered his people to follow him to wherever it would fall. He promised to make that land their new home. This spear shot its way through the plains of Weh and fell at present day Utoh quarters. It can still be found at the spot where it fell around the 15th century. It is believed that the soil around this spot, considered holy grounds, is used to “cure women from infertility.”
Ngum and his followers followed the trails of the spear. Known for their bravery and warfare, the Usu quickly subdued their newfound land when they found the spear. People who occupied the land at this time, either accepted the Usu, left the land, or were completely destroyed. One such people who stayed were the children of Kah (Wekah quarter).
Ngum established his throne at Ukumughe quarter where the powers of the executive, the legislative (ntchu), the judiciary (kwifuah) and the spiritual (ukum) were seated. Ngum had two sons, Meh and Utoh after whom Wemeh and Utoh quarters were formed. Kedzeme quarter represented where ashes and dirt were thrown while Tengheghe quarter simply meant down the bush.
After several generations, then came a fon who passed away leaving no males or legitimate hires. As was the tradition in the fondom, the late fon gave the bufallo horn to her daughter to keep until a new fon was found. Because no hier was found before she got married to a son of Wimeh, she took the Nsuu (or buffalo horn) and the fon's stool (Tieke Batum) along to her husband's compound. She kept the Buffalo horn and throne until she had children of her own. Unexpectedly, the first female monarch was made in Esu when the late fon handed over the ensignia of power (Nsuu and Tieke Batum) to his daughter. It is not known exactly when this happened but a closer look at when the alternation process of selecting the Esu fon began indicates that this would have happened between the forth and fith Esu fons.
This only virtual female monarch who is rarely counted as a fon of Esu, had two sons who established the upper and lower compounds of the Wee Ngen Patriclan at Wimeh Esu . Because the two sons were born to a Wimeh father, the throne moved to Wimeh where it has remained until today. At that point, the Ntchu established that the throne would alternate between the compounds of the two brothers. The eldest son took the emblems of power from his mother and became the new fon of Esu.
The Ndaw-Ntsu was later transferred from Ukumuyeh to Wimeh when a new legislative house was constructed. This house, usually built in one day, was constructed with the entrance facing its place of origin; the Wee Meh Bih family where it came from. It should be noted that only the Wee Ngeng family and the Wee Meh Bih Families in Esu have a common grave for their leaders (Sai-Ibami). While the current royal family meets at the Ndaw-Ibami to select the new fon, the Wee Meh Bih family meets at the Ndaw-Ukum to hear the name of the new Batum of Ukumuyeh who is selected by the missing fon.
Executive and legislative power had through destiny left Ukumughe but spiritual (Ukum) and judiciary (Kwifua) authority remained there. Only the late “Kedong” of Ukumughe, Geh-ikum (1890-1981), has been credited for the decentralization of these two institutions. Today both Ukum and Kwifua exist in more than one quarter of Esu but the Usu have maintained one Ntchu and one Fon (Nfua) as is the case in most fondoms of Tikar origin where the “Kwifua”, the “Ntchu” and the throne are always together at the fon’s palace.
It is important to note here that further research is needed to understand why the female Natum is not listed in contemporary Esu Patriachal Dynasty when female rulers have existed in other Tikar societies such as the Bamun.
*Sources: Pa Timbong (Former Police Commissioner in Esu and traditional historian), Fon’s palace Esu, Fon’s palace Bafut, and other reliable sources in Esu.
Thomas Meh Chu (4/26/07)
http://www.batoufam.org/history.html
http://ndzem-usu.org/succession_alternation_in_esu_fondom.aspx
http://www.batoufam.org/about.html
http://kveeramah.bol.ucla.edu/Cameroon_field_trip_vids.html
