Duala people
The Duala are related to several ethnic groups (or tribes) in the Cameroon Coastal areas, with whom they share a common traditional origin, and similar histories and cultures.
These include the Ewodi, the Bodiman, the Pongo, the Bakole, the Bakweri (or Kwe), the Bamboko, the Isubu (Isuwu or Bimbians), the Limba (or Malimba), the Mungo, the Wovea and Oroko, they are generally known as the SAWA PEOPLE.
The Batanga of the region of Kribi could be added to the preceding list as they claim they are descendants of Mbedi and they report some degree of mutual comprehension between their own language and Malimba.
The Duala trace their ancestry back to a man named Mbedi, who lived in an area called Bakota in what is today Gabon or the Republic of the Congo.
His sons, Ewale and Dibombo, migrated north and reached a place called Pitti on the Dibamba River.
Ewale moved to the mouth of the Dibamba with his followers and then northwest to the east bank of Wouri River estuary.
[6] The Duala had long kept and traded slaves, who lived in separate settlements and performed menial tasks such as cultivation.
The coastal Duala purchased goods and slaves from interior groups such as the Bakweri, Mungo, Bassa and Bakoko.
In turn, they sold these entities (including slaves) to the Europeans, typically aboard their ships (and later at mainland factories or stores).
The early missionaries learned the Duala language and invented a written form for it, as Bible translation was one of their earliest priorities.
Traders exploited this atmosphere and beginning in 1860, German, French, and Spanish merchants had established contacts and weakened the British monopoly.
In July 1884, however, German explorer Gustav Nachtigal staged a coup by signing land-cessation treaties with Kings Akwa, Bell, and Deido.
Years of contact with Westerners and a high level of literacy had allowed a literate upper class of clerks, farmers, and traders to emerge.
This class were familiar with European law and conventions, which allowed them to pressure the German colonial government with petitions, legal proceedings, and special interest groups to oppose unpopular or unfair policies.
[14] A series of these began in 1910, when the German administration initiated a new poll tax, attempted to seize lands in Douala township, and then tried to oust the native population from the town completely.
Though the French had largely stripped their kings of power, almost half of the ethnic group's 15–20,000 members were important traders, plantation managers or owners, chiefs, or clerks in the civil service by the 1930s.
[17] Individuals could opt to pay a fine to avoid the labour, however, which led to a dearth of workers from the wealthier areas.
The French thus encouraged people from the interior to move to the coast and work the plantations (settled well away from the influence of the Duala chiefs).
In 1937, the French expelled the Duala from Akwa town (an area of Douala), although they allowed them to maintain ownership of the land.
During World War II, the French and British showed favouritism toward white-owned plantations, and many Duala-owned farms became unprofitable .
For example, many Duala supported the pro-independence Union des Populations du Cameroun party (UPC) when it first formed.
Other parties that had either Duala founders or significant backing include the Bloc Démocratique Camerounais (BDC), and Action Nationale (AN).
[citation needed] The Duala are primarily concentrated in Cameroon's Littoral Province in the Moungo, Nkam, and Wouri divisions.
Chiefs and headmen sat at the pinnacle of this hierarchy in the past, though today such figures have very little power in their own right.
[22][23] In addition, individuals who have attended school or lived in an urban centre usually speak French, although English and German were more common in historical periods.
[22] At least until the German period, Duala men used a kind of "drum language", tapping out coded messages to communicate news over long distances.
[27] The sport reached its peak during the German colonial period, when organisers held races annually on 27 January (the Kaiser's birthday).
[27] Up to the late 1930s, a family on Jebale Island claimed to be able to summon the Miengu water spirits to help favoured participants.
Assemblies, secret societies, and other groups play an important role in keeping the Duala unified, helping them set goals, and giving them a venue to find solutions to common problems.
Notable Personalities: -Dany Priso -Jean Pierre Nsame -Christopher Wooh -Nicolas Elame -Dinos -Killamel -Mina Eyango -Engelbert Beleck Bell -Karl Etta Eyong -Felix Eboa Eboa -William Eyang -Eric Junior Dina Ebimbe -Gael Ebongue Makoube -Steve Mike Eyango -Kelly Anne Douala Edimo -Franck Dipita Njoh -Karl Toko Ekambi -Jacques Eyoum -Paul Roland Bebey Kingue -Blaise Eyong -Luderic Etonde -Henri Bedimo Nsame -Rose Mbenga Eyango -Nico Njalla -Marvin Elimbi -Karsten Ayong -Pierre Alexandre Douala Dipita -Prosper Mbongue-Muna -Thierry N'Joh-Eboa -Irene Bell Bonong -Cedric Doumbe -Alain Eyenga -Mike Priso -Henry Njalla Quan
