HISTORY OF NWA SUB-DIVISION (Also known as MANTUNG SUB-DIVISION; MANTUNG LAND)

Nwa Sub-Division (Mantung Land; Mantung Sub-Division; used interchangeably to represent the same location) is located in Northwest of the Bamenda Plateau. It is one of 5 Sub-Divisions that make up Donga Mantung Division in the Northwest Region of Cameroon. The Sub-Division which was created by Presidential Decree No. 63/DF/250 of 26th July 1963 got its name from its headquarters, Nwa. The name Nwa on its part originated from Bui-Nwah-Nwah (‘People of Nwa: direct English translation) which means Foresight or Foreteller. Nwa (Mantung) Sub-Division is the oldest Sub-Division in the country.

Today, there has been (rightfully so) a big push by the younger generation to re-name the area to Mantung Land or Mantung Sub-Division. Mantung is the main river that runs through the area and is a great source of “life”. Mantung Land is made up of three areas of almost equal sizes namely: the Mfumte area in the North (473 square kilometres), the Yamba area in the centre (491 square kilometres), and the Mbaw (aka Mbaw Plain) area in the South (490 square kilometres). According to the 1987 census (of which I was one of the census representatives), Mantung Sub-Division has a population of 52,896. While this census does not give a breakdown of the population of each of the tribes, the 1970 census indicated that Yamba tribe is estimated to be made up of 20,555 people. The Mantung people are characterized as hard working, productive, generous, peace makers / lovers, Obedient to the laws of the land but they are also noted for their sluggishness at taking quick and critical actions on key things.

STYLE OF GOVERNANCE

Before the coming of the western style of governance, the Mantung people had a governing body in place. Such a body comprised of the following:

• Mfoi: The chief; he was the head of the socio- political, cultural and religious system. He administered the people through njis. He was the the custodian of the culture and the chief priest of the community who acted as a liaison between the people and the gods, the government or other communities. The chief was often believed to have sacred attributes and will often perform rites whose main goals was to maintain peace, prosperity and fertility among the people.
• Nji: Quarter Head, was as the name implies the head of a quarter in each village. Just like the Mfoi, this post was hereditary. A Nji enjoyed a permanent seat in the palace (Chief’s residency) or the tranditional council and was the custodian of the quarter’s juju (sacred society)
• Maya: The Queen Mother was chosen as a virgin out of some of the young girls (njehgus) in the palace. She was charged with presiding over women related issues. While the Maya was not allowed to be married, she was never prevented from having children of her own. Her role was most noticeable during the disappearance (as Mfois do not die) of the chief and the coronation of a new Mfoi. In an event of the absence of the chief, she was consulted on all community matters.
• Dogari: The chief’s body guard aka right hand person. Chosen from the fighters in the community, he accompanied the chief to all places and will often announce the presence of the chief. He will be the one to serve the chief and will often test the chief’s wine or food before the chief could eat or drink to prevent any potential poisoning of the chief.
• The Sacred (Secret) Societies or Jujus: This “divine” class was made up of nwantap or ngomba, chimbi, soh and kayam and guru with nwatap as the oldest and exclusive club made up of red feathered men, njis and the chief. They were the supreme spiritual beings of the land and could only be seen by those that have been initiated to do so. It was highly believed that if you saw any of these without the proper initiation, death was eminent.
• The family unit: The family unit in Mantung land played a major role in governance and authority was vested on the father and/ or the oldest man person. The person was supposed to be consulted before any actions took place within the family. Both the immediate family and the extended family were instrumental in governance.
• The judiciary System: Law, order and peace within the Mantung community were paramount and were carried by the chief, the secret societies and the traditional council and court. The court system was presided by the chief (Village level) or the nji (at the quarter level) and matters were first tried at the quarter level before escalated to the palace unless these matters came with serious, inter quarter or inter village consequences. Offences related to witchcraft were handled by the nwantap and guilty consequences ranged from giving palm wine and goat to ex-communication depending on the severity of the offense.

The main economic activity of the Mantung person is agriculture, fishing, hunting, arts and craft, and animal husbandry. The following items were not most farmed cultivated in the area maize, coco yams, groundnuts, sweet potatoes and guinea corn (millet), vegetables (garden egg, huckleberry, cowpeas, egusi, tomatoes,) cassava, cocoyam, sugarcane, carrots and beans. These items were produced for family consumption with extras sold in the local market. Items that were produced (or reared) on a much larger scale and sold to other markets will include plantains, bananas, goats, chicken, cows, coffee, rice. Most of the listed farm products were farmed on a “ncheng”, whereby a virgin land was cut down in the dry season, left to get dry, arranged in ridges and burnt with the coming of the first rains. Mantung Landers also planted fruits such as mangoes, pears, oranges, guavas and pineapples around the house.

SOCIO-CULTURAL LIFE

Like most African communities, the socio-cultural life of the Mantung person was an intriguing one. Marriage was the primary means through which individuals demonstrated and defended maturity and wealth as well as procreation and the upbringing of children. Polygamy was the default marriage type and a man could exercise his economic worth or power by the number of wives and children he had. Once a woman was married to a family, she became a member of that family till death even after the death of her husband. Marriage arrangements were handled by the elders of the groom’s family and it was very common that the groom and the bridegroom knew little of each other prior to official marriage.

EDUCATION

Like most African communities, education in the Mantung Land was very informal or oratory and knowledge could be transmitted from older generation to the younger generation through knowledge, folktales, storytelling, riddles and jokes, norms and customs. Before the coming of the colonial masters, education was informal in nature. This was the means through which knowledge, norms and customs were transmitted from one generation to the other for continuity. Male children were taught activities like hunting, roofing, palm wine tapping, weaving, carving, blacksmiths, thatching, priesthood and herbalist while the females were taught by the women on things like child bearing, housekeeping, farming and grinding maize on the stone.

RELIGIOUS BELIEVES

The Mantung people were strong believers in the existence of a supreme being, Nwi (God) who was omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent and invisible. The Mantung person believed in life after here noting that where you spend eternity depended on your position or status on earth. The souls of any Red feathered man, the elders, njis or the chief went to be in the land of our ancestors, a land closer to the Supreme being (Nwi) while the sould of the commoner rested in the grace and had a second death after a while there.

HEALTH SYSTEM

The Matung person had a health system in place which relied heavily on leaves, tree backs and roots which were used to prevent or treat diseases. Certain families were endowed with some powers to be sole practitioners or custodians of certain medicines. The Mantung people depended so much on preventive medicine by encircling the borders of the village yearly with a powerful charm that kept bad things / people away, they made charms and amulets that made the people invincible to particular diseases and attacks by witchcraft and wizards and made some people so powerful it was believed that they were resistant to spears and gun shots. Traditional doctors were paid just a token, a fowl, a goat or with palm wine for their healing services and no one could charge more as it was believed that the gifts you had were to be used for communal good.

CULTURAL DANCES AND EVENTS

The Mantung person is so rich in cultural dances among which are
(i) Nkahngwi which is held every dry season around December and January to celebrate the guinea corn harvest, to invoke the god of fertility so it can visit the soil and the people, to thank the ancestral spirits for the abundance of the just ended harvest and to exorcise any evil spirit from the land. Nkahngwi is characterized by the charm dance, a dancing ritual that is said to bring abundance from the land of the ancestors.
(ii) Tajoh which is practiced at various times in the year as circumstances may demand. It is most noted for presenting a bride to the public for the first time after three months of being kept in doors and fed constantly when she is first brought to her new family. The Tajoh dance was an opportunity where young men and women easily started relationships that lead to marriage,
(iii) The Ndeng-ndeng or Nkalack which is danced with a carved piece of wood, which the women beat with a small baton and it produces a xylophonic sound. This is usually to danced is usually for relaxation purpose after farming season and before the first harvests,
(iv) The Soh and Kuru dance is strictly reserved for the men and was often danced only danced at night. Women who were not allowed to see this dance could partake in from their confines of their homes by singing. This dance was often enjoyed by both males and females as it always conveyed sentimental memories and tributes to departed loved ones.

CHILD BIRTH

The birth of a child is a great cause of celebration within Mantung Land. The magnitude of such celebration is conditioned upon a few things characterizing the birth namely a boy, first child, last child, the only gender or twins. A boy or twins are often given the most of the joyous celebration. After the birth of a child, his or her umbilical cord was cut off and buried under a young plantain tree in the backyard of the house. The naming ceremony also took on a festive mood and certain names were designated or reserved by default for specific children like twins. Names were also given based in passing down history hence it was common to give a child name based on a historical happening in the society. Mantung Landers also believed in re-incarnation and named children after a deceased person. While the birth of a child was accompanied with many celebrations, the death of a person was accompanied with sadness, cries and pain. The burial of such a person depended on his or status in the community.

LANGUAGES

There are five (5) main languages in the Mantung Land namely Yamba, Mfumte (aka nfu), Tumu and Mabilla. The Yamba people of the Yamba clan speak Yamba which is the most popular or most spoken language in Mantung Land thanks in part because of the Mbem dialect, the simplest dialect in Mantung Land); the Mfumte people of the Mfumte clan speak Mfumte or nfu and finally the Mbaw people of the Mbaw clan speak three (3) different languages namely Tumu, Mabilla and Yamba. Each village in Mantung Land has its own dialect. So far the New testament has been translated into some of the main languages spoken in Mantung Land.
The weekly calendar of Mantung Land is made up of 8 days and begins with the market days. Each day is name after a market of another village for example Njong (Nwa market day), Ntelack (Mbem Market day). A village uses its market day as the day the Chief will send out announcements for public consumption.

IN ADDITION...

May I add that one of the first primary schools in Donga Mantung was in Mantung Land (Cameroon Baptist Convention, CBC, Mbem) and that the first Minister (if I am not mistaken) and PhD in Donga Mantung was from Mantung Land (Dr. Nkergong Monie). It should also be noted that the first Cameroon Development Corporation was in Mantung Land (Ntem) by the Germans before it was later relocated to South West. Mbaw plains in Donga Mantung is one of two plains in the North West region that is so blessed with agricultural resources and can produce food that can be sold in Niger, Gabon, Chad, Nigeria and of course many parts of Cameroon. Mantung Land is also believed to be rich in palm oil, bauxite, ore, gold, iron and countless natural resources that are yet to be tapped.

By Reuel Mebuin PhD, CRA