Glossary


A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P R S T W Y Z

Select the first letter of the word from the list above to jump to appropriate section of the glossary.


- A -

abitek
pl. quarterheads, village-heads
abeboen
Heads of large compounds occupied by members of a lineage. Alt. abebin
Achain
Achan (see also Kom), neighbouring community
acisendasu
pl. palace retainers (see also Cinda)
agum
Bum term for bark-cloth.
Aghoem
North-west Grassfields confederacy; Wum, Aghem
Ajung
Neighbouring community (see also Saf)
Akun
Group within Bum, formerly matrilineal
Alung
The 'royal' or founding dynasty of the Bum
Ankermann
German ethnographer and collector
Ardo'en
pl. Fulani chiefs, sing. Ardo.
asutshisëndaso
Recruited retainers to Kwi'fon - almost certianly a variant of acisendasu
asugwe
pl. 'spies'
atshinawüt
Commoners (literally 'outsiders', i.e. not of the Alung group). Alt. acinawut, atshinaghoet., sing. cinawut, tshinawut
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-B -

babe
Kwi'fon officer in charge of the masks and instruments of kwi'fon
Babungo
Ndop Plain chiefdom noted for iron production
Bafut
Major Grassfields chiefdom
Bafum
Term used by northern traders to refer to Bum and its neighbours
Bala
Term applied to 19th century raiders penetrating the Grassfields
Bali
(-Nyonga) Major Grassfields chiefdom composite of Western Grassfields, southern Bamum and Chamba elements. Early allies of German colonial forces
Bamenda
Administrative centre of North-West Grassfields. German military station established in 1902
Bamum
Largest and most centralised of all Grassfields polities
bark-cloth
Oral traditions indicate that bark-cloths preceded resist-dyed cottons. (see also agum)
Bem
Village of Misaje group
Benue valley
Region (Nigeria) to north of Grassfields
Bikom
Chiefom of Kom
Biimbo
Nso' cinda sent to establish trade/exchange relations with Bum Fon
bundu
Pidgin term see camwood
Bum, (H.H. the Fon) John Yai
The Fon of Bum, died 1997
Buwabuwa
Village community
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- C -

camwood
red dye from wood of Baphia nitida tree.Termed bundu in Pidgin.
Chamba
In the early 19th century northern Chamba elements were at the core of mixed raiding parties that entered the Grassfields seeking slaves and loot. A number of 'Bali' chiefdoms claim succession from these Chamba elements
Chan
see Nchan
chaplet
a garland or band worn around the head
Cioekoe
'Sister' of Fon of Bum)
cinda
Palace retainer (Chinda)
Cob
'Kob' (Adenota kob) medium-sized antelope
coe
Bum senior male staus category
compound
European term for an African dwelling or homestead comprising more than one inhabited building
cong
Women's association
Constitutional Conference
A meeting took place in London in November of 1958 to determine constitutional change in Cameroon
cowries
The cowry is a small white sea-shell that was used as a form of currency as well as for decoration and prestige
cry-die
Pidgin term for mortuary rites and death celebrations
Chunji
Village in Nchanti area
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- D -

Dane-guns
Smooth-bore flintlock guns, as much for prestige as for warfare
Din
Village of Noni group. Alt. Iden
D.O.
Colonial District Officer, (A.D.O. Assistant District Officer)
Domfuwan
Cinda sent to Ibbi (British) trading station at end of 19th century
Doma
cloth type reserved to Fons
Dowry
Dowry is used here to refer to bridewealth payments made to the family of the wife.
Dr Endeley
First Premier of S. Cameroons during transition to independence.
Dumbo
Village area N.E. of Bum
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- E -

Esther
'Sister' of Fon of Bum
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- F -

Fang
Village chiefdom, palm-oil producer
Federal Native Authority Council
Councils created by colonial administration
finti
A clairvoyant and predictive power ascribed to the leader of the nda-asugwe and derived from a local herb
Fio
(see also Fiyo, Shuo)
Fon
Grassfields chief
Fon's strangers
It is customary for Grassfields chiefs to provide hospitality for visiting dignitaries (including anthropologists!)
Fonfukka
Main village settlement of Bum. Alt. Fofuka, Fonfuka
Fulani
Major group of West African pastoralists linked to raids into the Grassfields from the north in the late 19th century. Settlement of Fulani graziers in the Grassfields since early nineteen hundreds
Ful Mwancum
Senior Bum titleholder
fum
'Royal' grave or tomb
fumbain
Society
Fungom
Village area in north of Grassfields. Alt. Funggom
Fuwang
See 'Fang'
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- G -

Gilbert Schneider
Baptist Missionary and promoter of Grassfields arts
gongs
Clapperless iron bells were important items of the sacra of local Regulatory Associations (Kwi'fon)
Griffin
District Officer for Wum Division
gwe
See asugwe
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- H -

Hans Glauning
German colonial military officer
Hausa
Major ethnic group in West Africa, centred in N. Nigeria, active in long-distance trade
Hewby
Head of Ibi station of Royal Niger Co. (see below)
House of Chiefs
In 1958 Southern Cameroons became a distinct region within Nigeria with its own elected Assembly and House of Chiefs and a regional status within the Ngerian Federation
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- I -

Ibbi
Royal Niger Company trading post. Ibi in eastern Nigeria on Benue river
ibin ilume
Dry-season annual festival
Iden
see Din
ifinti
See finti
isa'oenda
Lineage, pl. sahinda
Isu
Village chiefdom. Alt. Bafum Katse, Esu
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- J -

Jos
The tin mines at Jos in Nigeria attracted Grassfields male labour
Jottin-Noni
Village of Noni group
juju
Pidgin term for 'medicines' covering all kinds of transformative agencies including ancestral stones, herbal medicines and masquerades (ie associations, societies, etc.)
Jukun
Benue valley people linked to ancient state of Kororofa and trade links with Northern Grassfield elements
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- K -

Kamine
Neighbouring palm oil producing community
Kentu
German (and later British) colonial administrative post to north of Bum
kibay
Nso' senior councillor title
Kibo
Village of Misaje group
Kicusi
'Sister' of Fon of Bum
Kijëm Kegu
Chiefdom. Alt. Big Babanki
King-Pikin
Pidgin term for 'prince', i.e. son of the Fon
kiroesi
Nso' term for easy chair or resting place of a Fon or notable
kisheer
Nso' term for lineage or clan segment
Kitu
'Nobleman' with trade links to Jukun in 19th century
Kola
Kola (cola) nuts are widely traded and consumed in West Africa - the Grassfields variety was much sought after by Hausa traders
Kom
Large chiefdom. Alternatively: Bikom, Bekom
Koshin
Neighbouring palm oil producing community
Kumbi
River. Alt. kimbi
Kun
alt. Kunu
Kwangga
Fon of Bum who preceded Fon Yai
Kwe
Village on kola trade route to Takum
kwi'fon
Regulatory association
kwo'
Mortuary society
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- L -

Lagabum
Capital of Bum following Fulani raids at end of 19th century
langa
Society
Lam Nso'
Language of Nso'
Limbum
Dialect cluster including War, Tang and Wiya groups to north of Nso'
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- M -

Mandibile
Village in Funggom area
Manggoe
Kwi'fon title
manjong
Formerly warrior associations of local males (presently do public works)
Mankon
Chiefdom
Matrilineal Descent
Descent traced through females
Mawes
Volcanic crater lake linked in myth with dispersal of Ring language (central) Grassfields groups
Mbamelo
Small Bum sub-chiefdom. Alt. Mbamlu
mbashua
Society
mbatsha
See mbashua
mbeng
Society
Mbesinaku
Small chiefdom located between Oku and Kom. Alt. Besinaku
Mbirribo
Lake site linked in myth with dispersal of Wimbum, a large north-eastern Grassfields group
Mbot
Wimbum chiefdom from which ruling Alung dynasty claims descent
Mbororo'en
Cattle-herding Fulani (including Aku and Jafun groups)
Mbuk
Small sub-chiefdom of Bum
Mbuli
A cinda at Fonfuka, Mbuli played an intermediary between the Hausa and the Bum
Mbunggwe
Late Fon of Mbot
menang
Society
Mendaboeli
See Mandibile
M.D.W. Jeffreys
Colonial officer and anthropologist
mfu'
Nso' military society; also a distinct Bum masquerade society
Misaje
Language group
Mmeng
Village chiefdom. Alt. Mme, Bafmen
Modelle
Village group on western margins of the Grassfields. Alt. Ide
Moseley
Agent of the Royal Niger Company exploring Northern Grassfields at end of 19th century
Msa
An otherworld containing all desirable things. Elsewhere Sawi (Kom), Mse (Funggom), Wumsa' (Nso')
Mukan
Peace treaty
mukong
Society (mekong)
Munggong
Bum sub-chiefdom
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- N -

Nanambang
'Sister' of Fon of Bum
nantang
Society
Nchanti
Neighbouring group
nda-asugwe
Warrior lodge withinkwi'fon
ndacum
see Kwi'fon and nda-tshum
nda' mfu'
mfu lodge
nda-tsham
Village war lodge. Alt. ndacam
nda-tshum
Meeting place for Kwi'fon and the second council of state
nda-tut
Meeting place for Ntul (Tut)
Ndifon Bala
Major informant, elderly councillor and 'step-father' to Fon. A.k.a. Ndifoba
ndong
Society
Ndu
Wimbum chiefdom
nesugwe
Inner lodge of nda-asugwe Lit. mother of asugwe
Nfat
Small sub-chiefdom of Bum)
nggam
Burrowing, hairy spider - used in divination
nggambe
Pidgin term for diviner
nggili
Prince's association
Nggong
Village sub-chiefdom on kola trade route to Takum. Alt. Munggong
nggun
Guinea-corn medicine (farm medicine)
Ngunabum
First capital of chiefdom of Bum
Nggunakimbi
Bum quarter
ngwonji
Princes' association
njang
Bum women's dance association
nji
Title
Nji Banga
Senior Kwi'fon elder at end of 19th century
Njito
Bum Fon's trusted adviser, also acts as king-enstooler
Njul
Group within Bum, formerly matrilineal
nkem
woven cane-basket
Nkom
Kom language group
Nkor
Village of Noni group. Alt. Nkol
nkwo'
see Kwi'fon. Alt. ngkwo'
Nsanguf
Bamum chief "Nsa'ngu" killed in battle with Nso' in late 1880s, prior to arrival of German colonial vangaurd
nsëm
Institution most closely corresponding to tut in sub-chiefdom of Saf
Nso'
Large chiefdom
Noni
Ethnic group including villages of Nkor, Jottin-Noni and Din, eventually within Nso'
ntok
Palace (Bum term)
ntul
Principal cultic society maintaining reproduction of humans, planted crops and hunted animals
Nyos
Village chiefdom on hills overlooking Lake Nyos crater lake. Population wiped out in 1986 by catastrophic release of carbon dioxide from the crater lake. In popular estimation this was not a natural catastrophy but rather the West testing out a neutron bomb
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- O -

O'Kelly, Elizabeth
Education Officer and Key figure in women's development projects in the region
Oku
Central chiefdom noted for production of ironware and powerful medicines
Oliphant
Ivory horn
Omer Sitan
Steward to Kaberry and Chilver
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- P -

Pastor Dom
Local Baptist clergyman
Peter Banga Lengga
Baptist School Teacher
Phyllis Kaberry
Eminent British anthropologist, friend and collaborator with Sally Chilver
Plebiscite
The United Nations Trusteeship Council held a plebiscite in 1961 in respect of reunification of Southern Cameroons (anglophone) with the newly independent Republic of Cameroon (francophone). Southern Cameroonians voted by more than two to one to reunify with the Republic See DeLancey 1989, pp 41-43.
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- R -

Rest-House
Basic standard of accommodation set aside for visiting Colonial Officers and others
Royal Niger Company
British colonial trading enterprise, established at Ibi in 1883, performing certain basic governmental functions in advance of organised colonial administration
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- S -

sacra
Sacred objects
Saf
Sub-chief of Bum
Sala
Cinda at end of 19th century involved in dealings with Germans
Sally Chilver
Eminent Oxford historian and ethnographer of the Cameroon Grassfields
Sawe
Fon of sub-chiefdom of Sawe
Su-Bum
Area of bum
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- T -

Tabenken
Village chiefdom of north-eastern Grassfields Tang group. Alt. Tameken or Tang-Mbo
taakibu'
Nso' term for enclosed audience court of palace where the Fon met notables privileged to attend
Takum
Kola entrepôt to north-west of Grassfields
Tam
Early Fon of Bum
tanto'
Palace (kwi'fon) official
Tanto' Wanke
Kwi'fon title.
tie-tie bridge
Rope bridge (Pidgin term)
Tikar
The Tikar lie immediately to the east of the Grassfields in Francophone Cameroun. The origin myths of some Grassfields chiefdoms, including Bamum and Nso', claim dynastic ties with the Tikar kings. The idea of a Bamenda-Tikari identity began to spread amongst the new elite of teachers and others precisely at a time when the question of re-unification between Anglophone and Francophone zones was being hotly debated
Tiko
Major coastal town in south-west Province; Tiko Tea Plantation
Tongla'
Kwi'fon title.
tshesu tshumsu
Inner council of Kwi'fon
tshesu tutsu
hereditary officers of tut
Tumabu
Cinda sent to Ibbi (British) trading station at end of 19th century
tut
Society. Alt. Ntul
T/R
Steelman tape-recorder
tshong
Women's association. Alt cong
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- W -

Waa Ba
Local cinawut compound-head married to Fon's 'sister', important figure in kwi'fon
Wallace
First head of Ibi Royal Niger Company
War
Wimbum group
Wimbum
Related groups including War, Tang and Wiya to north of Nso'
Wiya
Wimbum group
Wum
Grassfields chiefdom of an originally confederal character. Alt. Aghem, Aghoem
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- Y -

yaa
Title, Queen Mother. Pl. ayaa
Yangsi
Quarterhead of Fonfuka
ye-gong
Institution most closely corresponding to tut in sub-chiefdom of Mungong
Yibuwa
Senior Cinda involved with peace negotiations with Kom
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- Z -

Zintgraff, Eugen
First German explorer to reach and enter the Grassfields at the end of the 19th century
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For further information contact Ian Fowler