The rulers of the Duala are the headmen

Village head

The village headman or village chief is a central government post. The village headman is the person appointed to administer an area that is often a single village.The headman has several official duties in the village...

, chief

Tribal chief

A tribal chief is the leader of a tribal society or chiefdom. Tribal societies with social stratification under a single leader emerged in the Neolithic period out of earlier tribal structures with little stratification, and they remained prevalent throughout the Iron Age.In the case of ...

s, paramount chief

Paramount chief

A paramount chief is the highest-level traditional chief or political leader in a regional or local polity or country typically administered politically with a chief-based system. This definition is used occasionally in anthropological and archaeological theory to refer to the rulers of multiple...

s, and kings

Monarch

A monarch is the person who heads a monarchy. This is a form of government in which a state or polity is ruled or controlled by an individual who typically inherits the throne by birth and occasionally rules for life or until abdication...

 of the Duala people

Duala people

The Duala are an ethnic group of Cameroon. They primarily inhabit the littoral region to the coast and form a portion of the Sawa, or Cameroonian coastal peoples...

 of Cameroon

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...

. The earliest known Duala rulers, according to Duala oral history

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...

, were Mbongo

Mbongo

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...

 and his son Mbedi

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...

. From Mbedi's home at Pīti

Piti

Pīti in Pali is a mental factor associated with the concentrative absorption of Buddhist meditation. Piti is a very specific joy associated with a state of deep tranquillity...

, northeast of the modern city of Douala

Douala

Douala is the largest city in Cameroon and the capital of Cameroon's Littoral Province. Home to Cameroon's largest port and its major international airport, Douala International Airport, it is the commercial capital of the country...

, his sons migrated southward. Ewale a Mbedi

Ewale a Mbedi

Ewale a Mbedi was the eponymous ancestor of the Duala people of Cameroon . According to the oral histories of the Duala and related Sawa peoples of the Cameroon coast, Ewale hailed from a place called Piti. He and his followers migrated southwest to the coast and settled at the present-day location...

 settled on the Wouri River

Wouri River

The Wouri is a river in Cameroon. The river is formed at the confluence of the rivers Nkam and Makombé, northeast of the city of Yabassi. The Wouri then flows about southeast to the Wouri estuary at Douala, the chief port and industrial city in the southwestern part of Cameroon on the Gulf of...

 at the Bight of Bonny

Bight of Bonny

The Bight of Bonny is a bight off the West African coast, in the easternmost part of the Gulf of Guinea...

 (modern Douala

Douala

Douala is the largest city in Cameroon and the capital of Cameroon's Littoral Province. Home to Cameroon's largest port and its major international airport, Douala International Airport, it is the commercial capital of the country...

) and became the eponymous founder of the Duala people.

Over time, the Duala split into various lineage

Kinship

Kinship is a relationship between any entities that share a genealogical origin, through either biological, cultural, or historical descent. And descent groups, lineages, etc. are treated in their own subsections....

s. The earliest of these were the Priso sublineage, which established independence from the Bell lineage in the late 18th century. The Akwa lineage followed suit sometime in the early 19th century. Each of these families established a population centre along the banks of the Wouri. By the 19th century, Douala was thus divided into several of these residential areas, referred to as towns.

Beginning as early as the 18th century with Doo a Makongo

George (Duala king)

George or Joss, born Doo a Makongo or Doo a Mukonga, was a king of the Duala people in the late 18th century. Doo a Makongo was the son of Makongo a Njo. He lived at Douala on the Wouri estuary on the coast of Cameroon. By 1788–1790, Doo was a powerful ruler in the area...

, European traders began referring to the Duala rulers as chiefs and kings (kine in Duala

Duala language

Duala is the language spoken by the Duala people of Cameroon. The language belonges to the Bantu language family, and a subgroup of it called the Duala languages...

). A dichotomy emerged under which the rulers of Akwa and Bell were kings, while the leaders of smaller lineages were chiefs or prince

Prince

Prince is a general term for a ruler, monarch or member of a monarch's or former monarch's family, and is a hereditary title in the nobility of some European states. The feminine equivalent is a princess...

s. These rulers were often given Europeanised names, such as King George or King Akwa. Beginning with the colonial era, German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, and British

Great Britain

Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

 colonial governments designated various Duala rulers as paramount chiefs. During this era, Duala rulers were often deposed and even exile

Exile

Exile means to be away from one's home , while either being explicitly refused permission to return and/or being threatened with imprisonment or death upon return...

d for any perceived infraction against the colonial government. Traditions of royalty

Royal family

A royal family is the extended family of a king or queen regnant. The term imperial family appropriately describes the extended family of an emperor or empress, while the terms "ducal family", "grand ducal family" or "princely family" are more appropriate to describe the relatives of a reigning...

 have since ceased in some of these lineages, although in modern times, the royal line of some lineages has been reconstituted after an interregnum

Interregnum

An interregnum is a period of discontinuity or "gap" in a government, organization, or social order...

.

Early rulers

Reign	Common name	Duala name	Title(s)	Remarks
unknown		Mbengo/Mbongo Mbongo 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...	?
unknown		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 Pīti Piti Pīti in Pali is a mental factor associated with the concentrative absorption of Buddhist meditation. Piti is a very specific joy associated with a state of deep tranquillity... , the ancestral home of the Duala Duala people The Duala are an ethnic group of Cameroon. They primarily inhabit the littoral region to the coast and form a portion of the Sawa, or Cameroonian coastal peoples...  and other Sawa Sawa Sawa may refer to:*The Sawa peoples of CameroonLocations*Sawa, Nepal*The Sawa Defence Training Centre of Eritrea*Sawa, Lesser Poland Voivodeship Arts*SAWA, Japanese techno-pop singer*Devon Sawa, Canadian actor...  ethnic groups.
unknown		Ewale a Mbedi Ewale a Mbedi Ewale a Mbedi was the eponymous ancestor of the Duala people of Cameroon . According to the oral histories of the Duala and related Sawa peoples of the Cameroon coast, Ewale hailed from a place called Piti. He and his followers migrated southwest to the coast and settled at the present-day location...	?	Eponymous ancestor of the Duala (Dwala). Moved from Piti to Douala Douala Douala is the largest city in Cameroon and the capital of Cameroon's Littoral Province. Home to Cameroon's largest port and its major international airport, Douala International Airport, it is the commercial capital of the country... . May have had contact with European traders.
Early 17th century	Monneba Monneba Monneba, also spelled Moneba and other ways, was a local Duala leader on the Cameroon coast in the 1630s. Dutch sources from the 1660s say that Monneba ran a trading post on the Cameroons River at the present location of Douala. His people dealt primarily in ivory, with some slaves...	Mulabe/Mulobe a Ewale	?	Flourished c. 1630. Mentioned in Dutch sources. His name is the only known for the first 150 years of European contact with the Duala.Father of Mase and Ngie below.

Bonanjo/Bonadoo/Bell lineage

Reign	Common name	Duala name	Title(s)	Remarks
unknown		Mase a Mulabe	?
unknown		Njo a Mase	?
unknown		Makongo/Mukonga a Njo	?
Late 18th century	Joss or George George (Duala king) George or Joss, born Doo a Makongo or Doo a Mukonga, was a king of the Duala people in the late 18th century. Doo a Makongo was the son of Makongo a Njo. He lived at Douala on the Wouri estuary on the coast of Cameroon. By 1788–1790, Doo was a powerful ruler in the area...	Doo a Makongo/Mukonga	Senior chief, King	Flourished 1788–90. Was the senior chief of his time.
Early 19th century	Bell	Bele a Doo	King	Eponymous ruler of the Bell lineage. Born c. 1750. Adopted by Joss after seizing his mother. Birth father was a Mungo. Chosen as father's successor after Joss expelled for violent behaviour. Founded Bonaberi, which is named for him.
19th century	Bell	Bebe a Bele	King
?–1858	Bell	Lobe a Bebe	King	Young in 1842. Died 1858.
c. 1858–1897	Ndumbe Lobe Bell Ndumbe Lobe Bell Ndumbé Lobé Bell or King Bell was a leader of the Duala people in Southern Cameroon during the period when the Germans established their colony of Kamerun...	Ndumbe a Lobe	King, Paramount Chief	The famous King Bell who signed the 1884 German-Duala Treaty.
c. 1897–?	Manga Ndumbe Bell Manga Ndumbe Bell Auguste Manga Ndumbe Bell was a leader of the Duala people of southern Cameroon from 1897 to 1908 during the period after the German colonialists assumed control of the region as the Kamerun colony.-Background:...	Manga a Ndumbe	King, Paramount Chief
1908–1913	Rudolf Duala Manga Bell Rudolf Duala Manga Bell Rudolf Duala Manga Bell was a Duala king and resistance leader in the German colony of Kamerun. After being educated in both Kamerun and Europe, he succeeded his father, Manga Ndumbe Bell, on 2 September 1908. Manga Bell styled himself after European rulers, and he generally supported the colonial...	Duala Manga	King, Paramount Chief	Executed in 1914.
unknown	Alexander Duala Manga Bell	Alexander Ndumbe	King	Died 1966.
1950?–present	Lobe Bell	Bell	King, Paramount Chief

Bonapriso/Joss sublineage

Reign	Common name	Duala name	Title(s)	Remarks
Late 18th century	Preshaw, Preese, or Peter	Priso a Doo Priso a Doo Priso a Doo, also known as Preshaw, Preese, and possibly Peter, was a Duala ruler who lived on the Wouri River of the Cameroons in the late 18th century...	Chief	Eldest son of Joss, brother of Bell I. Seems to have lost his inheritance due to violent behaviour with European traders. Eventually came to dominate the town Bonapriso. He may have been known as Peter. Legend states he died at Bimbia Bimbia Bimbia was an independent state of Isubu people of Cameroon, in 1884 annexed by the Germans and incorporated in the colony of Kamerun.It lies in Southwest Region, to the south of Mount Cameroon and to the west of the Wouri estuary.-Origins:... .
		Doo a Priso	Chief
Late 19th century		Elame a Doo Elame a Doo Elame a Doo was a ruler of the Bonapriso sublineage of the Duala people who lived on the Wouri estuary of Cameroon in the late 19th century. He was the son of Doo a Priso and the grandson of Priso a Doo...	Chief	Signatory to the 1884 German-Duala Treaty.

Bonaberi/Hickory sublineage

Reign	Common name	Duala name	Title(s)	Remarks
unknown		Mbape a Bele	Chief	Son of Bell I.
Late 19th century	Lock Priso	Kum a Mbape	Prince, Chief	Signatory to the 1884 German-Duala Treaty.

Bonambela/Akwa lineage

This list omits several rulers who served but briefly and who were succeeded by brothers rather than sons.

Reign	Common name	Duala name	Title(s)	Remarks
unknown		Ngie/Mbela/Mbele a Mulobe	?	The Bonabele/Deido sublineage is descended through his son Kwane.
17th or 18th century		Mapoka a Ngie	?	Tradition holds that he travelled to Europe.
unknown		Kue/Kuo a Mapoka	?	May have been a slave and adopted son . May have been related to a Bassa Bassa (Cameroon) The Bassa are an ethnic group in Cameroon. These people, numbering approximately 230,000, are Bantu. Their language is the Basaa language.-History:...  group through maternal descent, marriage, or residence.
unknown		Kwa a Kuo	?
1814(?)–1846	Akwa	Ngando a Kwa	King	Eponymous ruler of the Akwa lineage. Flourished 1814. He claimed the Bonambela succession after the death of Ewonde and claimed equal standing with Bele. Died 1846.
mid-19th century	Akwa	Mpondo a Ngando	King
before 1879–c. 1905	Akwa	Dika a Mpondo	King, Paramount Chief	Was in power in 1879. Served five months hard labour for exploiting several oil wells in Bassa villages in 1905.
unknown	Ernest Betote Akwa	Betote	King, Paramount Chief	Died 1976.

Bonebele/Deido sublineage

Reign	Common name	Duala name	Title(s)	Remarks
Late 18th century	Quan or Angua	Kwane a Ngie Kwane a Ngie Kwane a Ngie, known in British records as Angua or Quan, was a Duala ruler from the Bonambela sublineage who flourished from 1788 to 1790 in Douala, Cameroon...	Chief	Son of Ngie. Flourished 1788–90. He seems to have been the most powerful Duala ruler during the time of Doo (King George).
Early 19th century		Ewonde a Kwane Ewonde a Kwane Ewonde a Kwane was a Duala ruler of the Bonambela/Akwa lineage who lived in Douala on the Wouri River . Ewonde was the son of the powerful chief Kwane a Ngie . Ewonde died early, causing a secession crisis in Bonambela...	Chief	Duala tradition states that his daughter Lesenge married into Isubu Isubu The Isubu are an ethnic group who inhabit part of the coast of Cameroon. Along with other coastal peoples, they belong to Cameroon's Sawa ethnic groups. They were one of the earliest Cameroonian peoples to make contact with Europeans, and over two centuries, they became influential traders and...  royalty and was the mother of King William I of Bimbia William I of Bimbia William I of Bimbia, born Bile, was the chief and king of the Isubu ethnic group, who lived in Bimbia on the coast of Cameroon in the mid-to-late 19th century. British traders recognised the sovereignty of William's Bimbia and titled him "king". William sold land to the British missionary Alfred... .
unknown		Enjobe	Chief	He was an Abo Abo Abo may refer to:* ABO blood group system, a human blood type and blood group system** ABO , enzyme encoded by the ABO gene that determines the ABO blood group of an individual* Abo of Tiflis , an Arab East Orthodox Catholic saint... captive or immigrant. Married Kanya, daughter of above.
unknown		Ebele a Enjobe	Chief	Eponymous founder of the Bonabele (Pidgin Cameroonian Pidgin English Cameroonian Pidgin English, or Cameroonian Creole, is a language variety of Cameroon. It is also known as Kamtok . Five varieties are currently recognised:... : Deido) sublineage.
before 1845–after 1874	Ned Deido	Ebule a Ebele	Chief
1876	Charley Deido	Eyum a Ebele	Chief	Younger half brother of Ebule. Executed in 1876.
1876–after 1884		Ekwala	Chief	Signatory of the 1884 German-Duala Treaty.
unknown		Epee	Paramount Chief
?–c.1900		Eboa	Paramount Chief
c. 1900–1949				Interregnum
1949–present		Ekwala II	?