Journal Research in Peace, Gender and Development (JRPGD) Vol. 4(4) pp. 63-69, July, 2014
DOI: http:/dx.doi.org/10.14303/jrpgd.2014.003
Available online http://www.interesjournals.org/ JRPGD
Copyright © 2014 International Research Journals
Review
Intercommunity Relations and the Politics of Identity in
the Nso Chiefdom, Bamenda Grassfields, Cameroon
Joseph Nfi
University of Buea, Cameroon
E-mail: nfi.joseph@ubuea.cm
ABSTRACT
Based largely on archival sources, this paper examines the changing intercommunity relations that
resulted from attempts to create a single polity or administrative unit out of people who had formed
separate entities with different languages and customs but who entertained various relations between
themselves in pre-colonial times. The paper reveals that the politics of identity in the Nso State
fluctuated from cooperation when the Noni and Nso communities tended to stress on similarities and
respect for each others privileges and to conflict when customs and interests clashed and when
differences were real. The study concludes that the solution to the conflict had to be the recognition
of the different Noni cultural identity
Keywords: Politics, Identity, Intercommunity, Nso, Noni, Bamenda and Grassfields
INTRODUCTION
What used to be the Nso State, our area of study, is
today represented by Bui Division in the North West
Region of the Republic of Cameroon. It is 2,300 square
kilometers in area. In 1953, it had a population of over
50.000, according to the colonial census of that year. In
1971, the population was about 105,000. The 1976
national census of Cameroon put the population of Bui
Division at 142,000 (Chem-Langhëë, 1989:6). Today the
division has about 800,000 people.
The Nso State was a composite polity. It comprised
the Nso Fondom or Nso proper, which was the core and
founder of the state; the fraternal chiefdoms of Oku and
Mbiame to the south east and east of the state
respectively, said to have been founded by Nso princes;
the refuge chiefdoms of Nse to the north, and of Ndzeen
and Kiluun to the south, completely surrounded by some
villages of Nso proper, said to have joined the Nso State
in exchange for protection against Bani, Wiya, Fulani or
Bamum raids; and the conquered chiefdoms of Nkar to
the south, also completely encircled by the villages of
Nso proper, and of Djottin, Din, Mbinon, Dom, Nkor and
Lassin to the west and northwest (Ibid:7).
This study is focused on the changing relations with
the Noni community (the Village Chiefdoms of Djottin,
Din, Dom, Mbinon, Nkor and Lassin) which maintained
its separate identity (language, culture and socio-political
institutions) in the Nso State and whose attempt to
assert independence during the colonial and postcolonial
periods led to a political crisis of considerable proportion.
This crisis inevitably led to competition for prestige and
position that characterized relations between the two
communities during the colonial and postcolonial eras.
The Nso State was chosen for this study for one
reason. During the colonial period, and for some time
into the postcolonial period, it formed one polity or
administrative unit. This situation, which was largely a
making of the colonial regime, was predicated on the
assertion of similar identity, a principle derived from a
truncated political reading of the history of the peoples
by the German and British colonial authorities. The Nso
made the colonial administrators to believe that the Noni
Village Chiefdoms were culturally and institutionally part
of Nso and that Noni history started with the Nso
conquest just like the colonialists believed that African
history started with European presence on the continent.
It was also later dictated in part by the British need to
create Native Authority units within the Indirect Rule
framework. This was because the British effective
occupation of British Cameroons required a form of
governance with which the Cameroonians would comply
willingly, rather than coercively. It was this imperative
that led to the indigenization of the colonial state through
the adaptation of the system of Indirect Rule. The
postcolonial regime continued with this policy, albeit in a
modified form until 1966 when the Noni Customary Court
Area was created as recognition of the separate Noni
64 J. Res. Peace Gend. Dev.
identity.
An understanding of the history of Nso and Noni
communities in the Nso State will help in the
understanding of the changing intercommunity relations.
The Nso state was situated in the area known in
Cameroon ethnographic literature as the Cameroon
Grassfields. This appellation was derived from the
savanna vegetation that covered the western highlands
of Cameroon. Before colonization, it was inhabited by a
mosaic of centralized political units ranging from small
chiefdoms of around a thousands persons to petty
conquest states like Nso, Bafut, Kom, Bali-Nyonga and
Bali-Kumbat which could number several tens of
thousands (Nkwi and Warnier, 1982). A majority of the
states claimed Tikar (such as Kom, Bafut, Bum and Nso)
or Chamba (such as Bali-Nyonga and Bali-Kumbat)
origins.
The Nso claimed Tikar ancestry as they are recorded
to have migrated from Bankim or Refum to Mbo-Nso and
Ndzen-Nso before arriving Kovviferm under their leader
Ngounso and finally to Kimbo where they settled. They
were part of the great migration from Refum palace led
by Nshare Yen (prince), Mfoumban (prince) and
Ngounso (princess) The Noni also claimed Tikar origins
without a specific departure point. According to records
and their oral history, they were part of the great Bum
migration which passed through Tang, Nkor, and Djottin,
Din and then Bum. The villages of Lassin, Mbinon and
Dom are said to be offshoots of Nkor, Djottin and Din.
Other sources gathered by MDW Jeffreys hold that the
first settlers in Noni were part of the Njukuns who
migrated from the Wukari Division, Benue Province of
Northern Nigeria. (Jeffreys, 1945) This school of thought
is buttressed by the Noni dual chieftaincy institution and
their language that is radically different from other Tikarrelated languages in the western grasslands especially
lamnso, the Nso language. However, what is certain is
that Noni and Nso had different ancestors, histories of
migration, languages, customs and socio-political
institutions at the time Nso warriors invaded Noni.
Pre-colonial Relations
Nso-Noni relations started on a hostile note .This was
because of the insecurity that reigned in the Bamenda
Grassfields and the Nso desire to subjugate
neighbouring weaker groups in order to prevent these
communities from falling under the control of rival states
like Kom and Bum. Nso leaders also needed vast land
and man power to withstand Fulani, Wiya, Chamba,
Bamum and Bani raids that were threatening the
fondom. Nso country had many outcrops of granite and
basalts and they invaded Noni in search of fertile land.
They were also out in search of slaves either to use as
palace retainers or sale to slavers from the Adamawa
Emirate. With these objectives, Nso leaders especially
Sembum1, Tamanjo and Sembum111 invaded the Noni
Village Chiefdoms between 1850 and 1880 (Nfi, 1988).
The invasions took the form of sporadic nocturnal raids
during the dry seasons. Djottin oral tradition talks of nine
years of Nso raids corresponding to nine dry seasons
(Budji, 1983: 214) Due to these raids, the Noni Village
Chiefdoms gradually became part of the Nso State
variously through subjugation, conquest, submission and
treaties of cooperation. Whatever the method of
integration, the Noni village chiefdoms became part of
the Nso State as vassals or tributary chiefdoms and had
to cooperate with Nso proper and with the Kimbo
authorities.
Noni chiefs recognized the paramountcy of the Fon
(Tikar word for King) of Nso and accepted to pay
tributes. Tributes were paid in several ways. They
greeted the Fon through the traditional Tikar method of
hand clapping and sat on stones in the Nso palace. Like
other sub chiefs (to use the colonial term), Noni chiefs
also made annual payment in maize, guinea corn, palm
wine, groundnuts, and bamboos to their overlord (
Chilver and Kaberry, 1960). The quantity of the tributes
or gifts varied from chiefdom to chiefdom depending on
the wealth of the donor, but it generally amounted
annually to about a tenth of the value of the subchiefs’
personal farm produce. According to Hawkesworth
(1922), the chief of Nkor, Kochi palace paid twenty bags
of corn and some palm wine every year.
The Noni chiefs also surrendered all big games caught
in a hunt to the Fon. Annual hunting expeditions were
therefore organized and all leopards, lions, tigers and
hyena (predators) caught were taken to Kimbo. No Noni
chief therefore had right to leopard or tiger skin because
these were royal monopolies in Tikar customs. This flow
of gifts from Noni had the connotation of submission and
as master, the Fon of the Nso State provided palm oil,
salt, caps, clay pipes, guns, cloths and other rare goods
to the Noni chiefs.
The payment of tributes to the overlord was
understood by the Noni to mean much more than
submission. It was compensation for protection or
defense which the Nso militia provided to the weak
communities within the state. Noni needed this defense
pact because they were exposed to Nsungli, Kom and
Bum aggressions. The Nso State was also threatened by
Wiya, Bani and Fulani raids. Fulani raiders were
particularly feared because of their possession of
formidable horses, charms and bow and arrows. The
Fulani were also noted for looting enemy villages, child
theft and the capture of slaves.
Apart from tributes in commodities, Noni chiefs were
expected to link with the headquarters of the state
through marital alliances. Each village community
provided the Fon with a wife if the Fon did not recruit one
by force. In return, the Fon handed some princesses to
the Noni chiefs who had proven their loyalty and
submission to Nso. The marital alliances between Nso
and Noni consolidated friendship and mutual
understanding between the communities. These royal
Nfi 65
wives also served as diplomats in the intercommunity
relations within the state.
Diplomatic relations between the communities were
also enhanced by the regular and routine visits of the
Noni chiefs to Kimbo, the centre of the state. These visits
usually on Kimbo market days enabled the Fon to
interview the chiefs on security issues at the peripheries
of the state. The chiefs also presented their grievances
and needs to the overlord. Inorder to facilitate the task of
the visitors who did not understand lamnso or master
Nso customs, the Fon appointed some state councilors
to serve as intermediaries for the Noni chiefs. Shufai
Ndrendrev was in charge of visitors from Djottin and Din,
Shufai Mbiingiy in charge of visitors from Mbinon and
Dom, Shufai Ghamkui responsible for those from Nkor
and Shufai Tankum for those from Lassin.(Bridges,
1934: 24)) The duties of these diplomats vis-à-vis their
guests included; the provision of food and lodging for the
visitors, enquiring the reasons for the visit, informing the
Fon as to the identity of the person wishing to interview
him and on the nature of the subject proposed for
discussion (Ibid: 25) These state councilors were also
responsible for the suppression of revolts in these wards
and the regular payment of tributes by the chiefs under
their jurisdiction. In fact the Noni villages became
“colonies” for these Nso councilors to exploit as they are
said to have often asked for more tributes than required
by the Fon.
As part of Nso, Noni people had to contribute to the
defense of the state. Mfuh and Manjong houses (war
clubs) in Noni were therefore supervised from Nso. The
Djottin warriors are known to have played a key role in
the Nso-Bamum war of 1885-1888. Oral sources claim
that Djottin warriors provided the bamboos that were
used to build bridges across the mutes dug by Bamum
soldiers (Budji, 1983: 45). It was after this war that the
Djottin warriors who beheaded Bamum soldiers were
authorized to set an independent mfuh in KinengtiDjottin.
The payment of tributes and the establishment of
diplomatic relations did not mean assimilation or the lost
of identity. Noni Village Chiefdoms remained on their
ancestral or original sites, retained their hereditary
dynasties and socio-political institutions and were
allowed the management of local affairs except in the
matter of war and capital punishment (Chilver and
Kaberry, 1960: 10). The Noni language, socio-political
institutions and customs therefore survived Nso
imperialism. This was not the case with the captured
Nkar chiefdom and the refuge chiefdoms that were part
of the Nso State. This was the state of relations between
the Noni and Nso communities on the eve of European
colonization.
Colonial Ethnography and Administrative Practices
The Germans arrived in Nso in 1906, few decades after
the integration of the Noni Village Chiefdoms into the
Nso state. The Nso-Din war is said to have protracted
until the Germans forced Din to accept Nso over
lordship. Din resistance led to the famous lamnso
expression Mu Nso yik koh Din which means ‘as the Nso
returned from Din’ an indication that the retreat from Din
was difficult. In fact the Nso-Din war was the most
difficult in Nso military history.
The Germans consolidated the paramountcy of the
Fon of Nso over the Noni communities and Noni chiefs
were imposed new forms of tributes. They had to recruit
labour for German plantations and serve the Fon and his
German allies as tax collectors. Labour recruitment and
tax collection (Tax was introduced in Nso in 1908 at 6
marks and increased to 10 marks in 1913) under the Fon
of Nso overworked the Noni chiefs who had to move
from quarter to quarter to convince their subjects to pay.
These chiefs hitherto venerated and regarded as demigods, became servants or slaves for the Fon of Nso and
his allies. It should be noted that because of the10
percent tax rebate paid to the Fon, he forced Noni chiefs
to pay for non-existing people. Noni chiefs who could not
meet up with the tax money were persecuted. This was
the case with chief Lambi of Djottin who was jailed in
1912 for alleged embezzlement of tax money (Nfi,
1988:67).
Apart from tax collection, Noni chiefs also became
labour recruiters from 1906.They assisted the Germans
in the recruitment of labour for the plantations. The
labour came from slaves, tax defaulters, criminals and
other unwanted people of the society. Such labour was
largely recruited from the Noni Village Chiefdoms
because the Noni were considered and treated as virtum
or strangers within the state. However compensation for
the labour was paid to the Fon of Nso and not to the
Noni chiefs whose subjects were recruited.
With the defeat of Germany in Cameroon during the
First World War, German rule in Nso ended in 1916.
Britain and France partitioned Cameroon and the Nso
State became part of the British administered Mandate
territory of the Southern Cameroons. The British decided
to introduce the policy of Indirect Rule in the Southern
Cameroons following the successful implementation of
the policy in adjacent Northern Nigeria. But, unlike
Northern Nigeria where indigenous systems of political
organization were characterized by large, populous,
hierarchical state system under the command of Muslim
war lords, communities in the Southern Cameroons and
especially in the composite Nso state were diverse in
terms of socio-political organizations (Yenshu Vubo,
2001: 170). In the Bamenda Grassfield in general, the
indigenous socio-political units varied in terms of
population size, land area and socio-political
organizations. Most of these communities lived in
relative independence and in some cases as sovereign
micro-states within a system of economic and political
exchanges which ensured local balance. These socio-
66 J. Res. Peace Gend. Dev.
political units of the Bamenda Grassfield were for the
most part composite units, sometimes grouped around
intrusive dynasties or built by conquest or by slow
adhesion of migrating groups in favoured areas. This
was the case with the Nso State.
In the absence of large state structures, the British
decided to secure the confidence, loyalty and support of
the most influential and powerful chiefs, such as the Fon
of Nso and construct the system of Indirect Rule around
them. Such recognized local chiefs were accorded
considerable powers in the administration of their areas.
In this connection, and in the Nso case, colonial
administrators were assigned to carry out ethnographic
studies on the Nso State. Lord Lugard requested that
“care should be taken to write a concise historical and
ethnographical account of the people” (Lugard, in Niba,
1995:68). In 1922, Hal Cadman was appointed from
Northern Nigeria as the assessing officer for the
Bamenda Division. His task was to prepare a report on
the pre-colonial history and models of political
organization in the region as a guideline for
administrative officers (Ibid). Hawkesworth, the Assistant
District Officer (ADO) for Bamenda was sent to Nso to
investigate the Nso area traditional society in order to
discover the people’s socio-political institutions on which
native administration could be based (Che-Mfombong,
1980:95). This was a painstaking exercise involving a
study of the people, their origin and migrations, the main
features of political and economic organization, the
demarcation of their political areas, their kingship
system, customary laws and the system of land tenure.
Hawkesworth’s findings were documented in his 1922
Banso District Assessment Report.
Unfortunately, Hawke’s worth (1922) hastily
concluded that the Nso state was vast and
homogeneous and could function as a Native Authority
Area. His report even claimed that “the loyalty of the
subchiefs (including Noni chiefs) is extraordinary and in
many cases their attitude is even more Banso than that
of the Bansos”. This was not true for the Noni community
that maintained its language, culture, socio-political
institutions, ancestral sites and autonomy in the
management of local affairs within the Nso State.
Surprisingly, Hawkesworth in the same report confirmed
the autonomous status of the Noni Village Chiefdoms in
the Nso State as he stated that the degree of selfgovernment enjoyed by Noni chiefs was “in pleasant
contrast to that allowed by the Balis”. Indirect Rule could
not therefore have the same level of success in the Bali
and Nso State because the self-governing Noni chiefs
were to question some of the new functions of the Fon of
Nso.
Based on the Banso (Nso) District Assessment
Report, and in line with the British policy of securing the
confidence and loyalty of prominent groups, the Banso
Native Authority Area was created to include the Noni
Village Chiefdoms with the Fon of Nso as the sole Native
Authority. Consequently, the Banso Native Court (grade
D) set up on September 13, 1921, was gazetted as
Native Authority in June 1924. The Fon of Nso was the
sole president of the court and its deliberations were in
lamnso-a language used only by Nso people. Cases
were also handled according to Nso laws and customs.
From 1926 the chairman of the court was placed on a
stipend of £100 per annum plus his 10 percent dash for
tax collection (Che-Mfombong: 96). In 1928 the court
was raised to grade C (to enable it handle more cases)
with more advantages for the chairman, the Fon of Nso.
The court handled claims for land, debts, damages and
criminal cases like assault, defamation, stealing, killing,
tax evasion, adultery and seduction. The Fon of Nso
therefore got involved in the management of local affairs
in the Noni Village Chiefdoms through the Banso Native
Court. This was not the case during the pre-colonial
period.
As Native Authority, the Fon of Nso was also the sole
tax collector for his area but in practice, taxes in the Noni
Village Chiefdoms were collected by the Noni chiefs for
the Fon. Metal disc were issued by the British officials to
the Fon who distributed to the Noni chiefs. Five percent
of the taxes collected were paid to Noni chiefs as rebate
or compensation for work done. In 1928, taxation by
Lump Sum Assessment was introduced in Nso. Under
this system, the whole district was assessed at a ‘lump
sum’ based on an estimate of the average yield of the
area under cultivation and the yield from other sources
such as livestock or wage earning. A cash value was
assigned to the gross resources of each assessed unit,
and a percentage of not more than 10 percent of the
total gross value was taken to be the ‘lump sum’ to be
paid in the form of tax.(Ibid: 111) The Fon of Nso
apportioned its quota proportionately to Noni chiefs. He
asked more from them to still have a balance for himself.
In 1933, it was replaced by poll tax.
The Nso position of paramountcy over Noni was
further elevated through the institution of the Jangali tax
(grazing fee) dash in 1928. The dash was paid to the
Fon of Nso as the owner of the land used for grazing.
The jangali tax dash was 5 percent of the Jangali tax
collected from grazers in the Nso state. Half was for the
Fon and half for the appointed collectors. The District
Officer for Bamenda maintained this situation until 1961
because according to him, the claim of the Noni to their
land was not yet established. The Fon of Nso claimed
that Noni land belonged to him by conquest and
prescriptive right and thus he could not share the jangali
tax dash with the Noni chiefs (Jeffreys, 1960). This claim
was never made before the introduction of the Jangali
tax and the Fon did not question the ownership of their
ancestral sites or even attempt to carryout sacrifices or
libation on Noni land.
Another feature of the Banso Native Authority was the
use of the Dongaris or messengers by the Fon of Nso.
The Dongaris for police duties was introduced in the Nso
State in 19239 (Che-Mfombong: 93). They maintained
Nfi 67
law and order and particularly harassed Noni people who
were refusing to pay taxes or supply labour. Dongaris
constantly invaded Noni villages in search of tax
defaulters and runaway labourers. The Dongaris
therefore increased the influence and prestige of the Fon
in Noni.
In 1949 another colonial administrative reform divided
Bamenda Division into four federations with the aim of
bringing administration closer to the people. Nso was in
the South East Federation with the Fons of Bafut and
Nso having permanent seats in the Council. The
remaining 36 were elected 12 from each clan area with
one-third of the members retiring each year. Only chief
Ngam of Djottin represented Noni in this federation.
When elections were introduced in 1952, he lost his seat
to Michael Wamey and Philip Nfi (NAB, file no 206/146).
The delegates from Noni were considered inadequate.
Again they did not succeed to convince the federal
council to carry out some socio-economic or
development projects in Noni. This reform did not
therefore benefit the Noni clan. The Nso were blamed for
this.
Apart from the purely colonial imposition of the Nso
over lordship, the Catholic Church also ignored Noni
language, history and culture. This was done through
religious teachings and vernacular schools which
functioned in lamnso since 1922. Since then, religion
was taught in Noni in lamnso by devoted catholic clergy
and teachers such as Paul Verdzekov who later became
a bishop. No effort was made to use the Noni language
in evangelization. Indigenous catechists were from Nso
and did not want to learn the Noni language. Colonial
rule therefore impacted the politics of identity in the Nso
State as Noni-Nso relations moved from cooperation to
conflict due to a series of colonial reforms that blurred
the Noni identity, ignored their language, and deprived
them of their right over their land and autonomy over the
management of their own local affairs.
Noni Resistance
Despite the new findings of W.M.Bridges documented in
the 1934 Re-assessment Report indicating that the Noni
ethnic group was different from Nso with a different
history of origin and migration, language and culture, the
British went ahead to consolidate Nso domination over
the Noni Village Chiefdoms. The composite and
heterogeneous nature of the Nso State was ignored and
this resulted in Noni resistance.
The first problem was the increasing disrespect for Noni
chiefs who were autonomous given their possession of
kwifon and other symbols of authority. The conflict
started in about 1922 when the Fon of Nso seized the
chieftaincy title bugles of chief Ndikingang of Nkor and
sued him in the Banso Native Court for the unlawful
possession of royal property. The bugle was a royal
monopoly and according to the Fon, Noni chiefs had to
surrender such to him. Nso State councilors (Vibai) also
refused to greet Noni chiefs in the same manner they
greeted the Fon of Nso claiming that they were their
equals in state protocol. This disrespect for Noni chiefs
paved the way for conflicts and the search for full
autonomy by the Noni chiefs.
The Nso Clan Court set up by the British was another
source of conflict. First the presidency of the court was
reserved for the Fon of Nso. Secondly Noni chiefs were
not adequately represented in this court. From 1935, the
Djottin chiefs sat in the court six times, Nkor chiefs, four
times while the other villages were never represented in
the court. Besides, court sessions were in Lamnso-a
language not understood by the Noni delegates. Judicial
matters were handled according to Nso laws and
customs which were different from Noni laws and
customs. For example, while the Nso customs prohibited
the payment of dowries, Noni traditions permitted the
payment of dowries. Due to these differences in customs
and language, very little attention was paid to cases from
Noni (Che-Mfombong: 65). Such cases accumulated
pending trial because the chief-judge (Fon of Nso) did
not understand the Noni language and also because
Noni customs were different. For these reasons, the
Noni Improvement Union petitioned the UN Visiting
Mission in 1949 asking for the creation of a Noni Clan
Area separated from Nso and federated to the Ndop
South East Federation.
Taxation also provoked tension between the Noni
chiefs and the Fon. When the Germans and later the
British introduced taxes in the Nso state, the Fon was
placed on ten percent tax rebate and five percent jangali
tax dash as the father of the ‘nation’ and the owner of the
grazing land. In1934 Bridges remarked that from 1934
the Fon stopped paying five percent tax rebate due the
chiefs who carried out tax collection on the field. From
1938, all the five percent jangali tax dash went to him.
Not a penny went to the sub chiefs. When the Fon
stopped paying tax rebate and jangali dash to the Noni
chiefs, they too gradually ended the payment of tributes
to the Fon. This eroded the authority of the Fon in Noni
and increased the desire for greater autonomy amongst
the chiefs.
In 1952, the Noni Group Council sent another petition
to the British colonial authorities requesting for
emancipation and or separation from the Nso Clan Area.
The petitioners, Thaddeus Mabuh, William Kiya, Patrick
Kofon, Abanda Jam and Che Calixtus identified the
following Noni grievances in their petition;
Noni was not adequately represented in the
South East Federation at Ndop,
there were no Native Authority schools,
dispensaries and roads in Noni,
the Fon of Nso did not want to share tax
rebates with Noni chiefs
Jangali tax dash to be paid to Noni chiefs
who were the owners of the land and the conflict of
68 J. Res. Peace Gend. Dev.
customs within the Nso Clan Area also warranted
secession (NAB, file no206/146)
The Catholic Church was also blamed for this demand
for secession. The church divided Noni into two. The
villages of Nkor, Lassin and Mbinon were placed under
the Tang Parish in Nkambe while Djottin, Dom and Din
were under Shisong in Nso. The Fon of Nso criticized
the decision to balkanize Noni and blamed the Parish
Priest of Tang Rev. father Joseph for promoting Noni
secession and the ‘Join Nchanti Movement’ (Jeffreys,
1960). The leaders of the Join Nchanti Movement were
graduates from the Roman Catholic Mission School
Tang who were also influenced by their stay in Tang. It
should be recalled that the Nso used the vernacular
schools and Lamnso to maintain loyalty in Dom, Din and
Djottin. This was not possible in the other villages under
the Tang Parish.
Apart from the grievances above, the historical and
cultural links between the Noni and the Nchanti of
Nkambe also guided the secessionists. They argued
correctly that the Noni had historical, linguistic and
cultural ties with the Nchanti in Nkambe and it was better
for them to join the Nchanti rather than stay with the Nso.
The villages of Nkor, Lassin and Mbinon were already
under Nkambe in church administration and did not see
why they should not join their “brothers” (Nchanti) under
Nkambe in colonial or political administration (Ibid). It
was for this reason that the Noni secessionist group
came to be called the “Join Nchanti Movement.”
In April 1952, a commission led by the Assistant
Divisional Officer(ADO) for Bamenda Mr. Sprilyan and
the Fon of Nso went to Noni to see whether the agitation
by these people to join Nchanti was unanimous or
spontaneous or by a few. Sprilyan inquiry tour started in
Djottin on April 28, 1952 and ended in Lassin on April 23,
1952. The team visited six villages (Dom was not visited
and the quarters of Mbin and Kochi in Nkor were
considered as two separate villages). Out of the villages
visited, Lassin, Mbinon and Mbin were for separation.
Although three villages out of six represented half, the
Fon and ADO concluded that the call for Noni secession
was unpopular (Sprilyan, 1952).
After concluding that the movement to join Nchanti
was unpopular, the administration paid little attention to
the Noni case. The newly formed Noni Group Council
decided to by-pass the local administration and
presented a petition to the UN Visiting Mission in
November 1955. The Nso authorities did every thing to
prevent a meeting between the UN team and the group
in the Nso palace but Calixtus Che smuggled the petition
into the hands of the UN team (Kwi, 1968: 43). On
November 19, 1957, the Noni chiefs wrote a letter to the
commissioner of the Southern Cameroons appealing for
the separation of Noni from Nso. On October 6, 1958
Noni chiefs meeting in the Nso palace requested for the
demarcation of the Nso-Noni boundary.
While the Noni Group Council was struggling at home to
realize the demarcation of the Nso-Noni boundary and
secession, the UN was examining the Noni case. The
UN Trusteeship Council session of August 7, 1959 to
June 30, 1960, examined the Noni case, took decisions
and recommended them for implementation by the local
Cameroon authorities. The UN requested J.N.Foncha,
the Prime Minister of the Southern Cameroons to
demarcate the borders. Unfortunately for the
secessionists, 1959, 1960 and 1961 were characterized
by national issues such as elections, plebiscite,
independence and reunification making it difficult for
Foncha to handle the Noni identity or minority problem.
Again Foncha was greatly in need of Nso votes during
the plebiscite and could not afford to annoy a greater
part of the electorate over the boundary. (Ibid: 47) The
Southern Cameroons therefore gained independence
when Noni was still under the Nso State.
At independence, the Noni Elite and their chiefs
continued the search for Noni identity and
independence. Chiefs Nforyah of Nkor and Philip Ngam
of Djottin continued to deny paying homage to the Fon of
Nso. In 1963, Fon Mbinkar Mbinglo introduced the
matter in the Nso Native Court. This case (case no
528/63 Nsaw Native Court) was handled on September
27, 1963 and the chief of Nkor was found guilty. He was
sentenced for 3 months with hard labour or pay 15.000
CFA Francs as fine. The handling of the case in the Nso
Native Court was bias for at least two reasons. The Nso
Native Court functioned according to Nso laws and
customs and not Noni laws and customs. The Fon of
Nso was the chairman of the court and the courts’
language was Lamnso which was hardly understood by
the Nkor delegation. Chief Nforyah therefore appealed
the case and the Divisional Officer for Bamenda, Mr.
V.C.Nchami moved the case to Bamenda a neutral
venue. Mr. Robert Fondze represented the Fon for the
case in Bamenda. Answering the DO’s question on why
the Noni chiefs should continue to pay homage before
the Fon of Nso, Fondze said;
We cannot say now that the Noni people are civilized
and law-abiding enough to be left on their own. So they
must remain subjects to Nso until a time that we the Nso
people shall consider them civilized and law-abiding
(Nforyah, 1982; 3).
This statement from a Nso notable indicated that the
Nso had a civilizing mission in Noni which was still to be
completed. This was quite strange in 1963 when
Cameroon was just out from colonial rule. In an answer
to the DO’s question why Noni chiefs were refusing to
pay homage to the Fon of Nso, chief Nforyah said;
We just did not like paying homage any more. We
could not continue to do this because those who were
bought and sold as slaves have long been set free. (Ibid)
He also reminded the DO that since Cameroon had
gained independence, every nook and corner of
Cameroon had a right to independence. With these
arguments, the DO decided in favour of chief Nforyah.
As if to finalise the struggle for Noni identity, the West
Nfi 69
Cameroon government created the Noni Customary
Court Area by decree no 66/DF/432 OF August 1966.
The creation of the Noni Customary Court Area was
recognition of the fact that the Noni ethnic group was
different from Nso with their culture, history, language
and socio-political institutions. The decree therefore
ended the dispute over the notion of Noni in the Nso
State. In 1994, the Noni Subdivision was created pulling
the Noni group out of Nso and Oku. Noni resistance to
Nso domination imposed largely by the colonial masters
ended even if the boundaries of the Subdivision are still
to be demarcated.
CONCLUSION
Relations between Noni and Nso proper within the Nso
State and later Bui Division fluctuated from cooperation
and collaboration to conflict because of the socio-cultural
differences between the two groups. The British
attempted to impose Nso domination in a polity where
the Nso proper, founders of the state, had allowed some
degree of autonomy to the subgroups because of their
different identity. This administrative innovation based on
the struggle to successfully implant Indirect Rule gave
the Fon of Nso more powers over his sub chiefs and
they lost their self-governments and authority over land.
The out come was intercommunity conflicts of interest
and authority and the politics of identity. The struggle to
save the Noni language, customs, socio-political
institutions and administrative or political autonomy (Noni
resistance), yielded fruits when the postcolonial
government created the Noni Customary Court Area in
1966 and the Noni Subdivision in 1994. Since then, there
has been peaceful co-existence between the two
communities however with sporadic border skirmishes
and land disputes.
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