Mbongo
Encyclopedia
Mbongo is the common ancestor of the Sawa peoples of Cameroon
according to their oral traditions
. Sawa genealogies
usually place Mbongo at the head of the lineage. Mbongo's son, usually given as Mbedi a Mbongo
, lived at Piti on the Dibamba River
. From there, Mbongo's grandsons migrated south toward the coast to found the various Sawa ethnic groups. Some stories make these migrants Mbongo's sons rather than grandsons.
Mbongo does not seem to be an historical figure. Rather, he is a symbol
of the ancient past and an inhabitant of a mythological
age. Edwin Ardener
calls him a "shadowy" figure and ascribes him to a "proto-tradition" of the coastal peoples. Edwin Ardener and Shirley Ardener place Mbongo in the "legendary or mythical stratum" of Sawa oral histories.
The Sawa highly esteem descent from Mbongo as a marker of ethnic inclusion. A Bakweri honorific
, mokpel'anembongo, translates as "free-born and descended from Mbongo". Edwin Ardener proposes that the names of many of Cameroon's coastal ethnic groups historically derived from the name Mbongo. For example, in 1668, a Dutch writer named O. Dapper, drawing from the records of Samuel Blommaert
, described a people called the Kalbongos at the Rio del Rey: "The people who live higher up the river [from a coastal trading settlement], by them called Kalbongos, are bold men, but villainous rogues." Dapper also recorded names such as Kalbanges, which may also derive from some form of Mbongo's name. A later writer, John Barbot, wrote, The name of Old Calabar, known as Calborch to the Dutch, may also derive from Calbongo, and ultimately Mbongo.
Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...
according to their oral traditions
Oral history
Oral history is the collection and study of historical information about individuals, families, important events, or everyday life using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews...
. Sawa genealogies
Genealogy
Genealogy is the study of families and the tracing of their lineages and history. Genealogists use oral traditions, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinship and pedigrees of its members...
usually place Mbongo at the head of the lineage. Mbongo's son, usually given as Mbedi a Mbongo
Mbedi a Mbongo
Mbedi a Mbongo is the common ancestor of many of the Sawa coastal ethnic groups of Cameroon according to their oral traditions. Stories say that he lived at a place called Piti, northeast of present-day Douala. From there, his sons migrated south toward the coast in what are known as the Mbedine...
, lived at Piti on the Dibamba River
Dibamba River
The Dibamba River is in the Littoral Region of southern Cameroon, emptying into the Cameroon estuary near the city of Doula.-Location:The Dibamba river has a length of and a catchment area of...
. From there, Mbongo's grandsons migrated south toward the coast to found the various Sawa ethnic groups. Some stories make these migrants Mbongo's sons rather than grandsons.
Mbongo does not seem to be an historical figure. Rather, he is a symbol
Symbol
A symbol is something which represents an idea, a physical entity or a process but is distinct from it. The purpose of a symbol is to communicate meaning. For example, a red octagon may be a symbol for "STOP". On a map, a picture of a tent might represent a campsite. Numerals are symbols for...
of the ancient past and an inhabitant of a mythological
Mythology
The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...
age. Edwin Ardener
Edwin Ardener
Edwin Ardener was a British social anthropologist and academic. He was also noted for his contributions to the study of history. Within anthropology, some of his most important contributions were to the study of gender, as in his 1975 work in which he described women as "muted" in social...
calls him a "shadowy" figure and ascribes him to a "proto-tradition" of the coastal peoples. Edwin Ardener and Shirley Ardener place Mbongo in the "legendary or mythical stratum" of Sawa oral histories.
The Sawa highly esteem descent from Mbongo as a marker of ethnic inclusion. A Bakweri honorific
Honorific
An honorific is a word or expression with connotations conveying esteem or respect when used in addressing or referring to a person. Sometimes, the term is used not quite correctly to refer to an honorary title...
, mokpel'anembongo, translates as "free-born and descended from Mbongo". Edwin Ardener proposes that the names of many of Cameroon's coastal ethnic groups historically derived from the name Mbongo. For example, in 1668, a Dutch writer named O. Dapper, drawing from the records of Samuel Blommaert
Samuel Blommaert
Samuel Blommaert was a Flemish/Dutch merchant and director of the Dutch West India Company from 1622 to 1629 and again from 1636 to 1642...
, described a people called the Kalbongos at the Rio del Rey: "The people who live higher up the river [from a coastal trading settlement], by them called Kalbongos, are bold men, but villainous rogues." Dapper also recorded names such as Kalbanges, which may also derive from some form of Mbongo's name. A later writer, John Barbot, wrote, The name of Old Calabar, known as Calborch to the Dutch, may also derive from Calbongo, and ultimately Mbongo.