Chapter Two: The Bali Nyonga People
2.4. Community Life
2.4.3. Language
depending on the qualities of the successor. It must be observed that all succession in Bali is patrilineal and only when there is no patrilineal heir can the sister's son succeed.
There is the Ngumba that is said to have "its roots in the suppressed Kwifon societies of the Banten allies"32 According to Kaberry and Chilver: "the role of Nggumba [sic] was confined to apprehending evil-doers and administering the sasswood in cases of witchcraft."33 This was done at the orders of the Fon. Zintgraff reportedly saved a lot of deaths when he visited Bali in 1892. There was an epidemic outbreak, which led to witch hunting through the administration of sasswood poisoning. This increased the death toll until he asked the Fon to stop. He then introduced sanitation measures, which the Fon accepted and asked his subjects to follow. The deaths stopped.34
Besides, all the Fonte that have been named above, each of them has their own fonte. The insignia for all dignitaries are the copper bangle, caps with cowries sewn on , a bangle made out of elephant tusk and a red feather [from the Banaman Turaco bird] affixed to the cap.
There are the Gweis who now act as palace clowns, but played the role of scouts in time of war. The tsinted are the palace attendants who run errands for the palace, and there are other office holders who carry out special religious rite. These institutions and lesser ones are important for our study, as we shall see in a subsequent chapter.
Vielhauer as stating, "mungaka is a Semi-Bantu language modified by many languages of the Sudanic group."36 He goes on to say that Ba'ni appear to be ethnologically of Sudanic origin because the main features of their original language, mubako, are Sudanic modified by Semi-Bantu influences. The mungaka on the other hand is a Semi-Bantu language with Sudanic modifications. Mubako is the language spoken by the other Bali fondoms that we have met above.38 The Bali Nyonga now speaks Mungaka. Mungaka simply means mu=
'me' nga= T say' [conjugated], ka= 'affirmative particle\- literally this means ' me I say'.39
Mungaka is in greater part the language of the Ti people, a group we have already met who allied with Gawolbe and later with Fonyonga against the Bamum. Lima Adolf Sema states that some scholars contend that either Galega adopted the language as a military strategy or its simplicity offered an opportunity for uniting his empire. Lima however argues that whichever way we view it, it is evident that it must have been an evolutionary process.41 On the eve of colonialism the Bali Empire wielded great influence in the region, it was a booming trade centre such that most other people spoke mungaka. This includes people of the Bamileke province.42
When the Basel Missionaries entered the Grassfield they recognized it as a valuable medium of instruction in vernacular education and evangelization. The first grammar of
36 M.D.W.Jeffreys, The Bali ofBamenda, p. 112.
37 M.D. W.Jeffreys, The Bali ofBamenda, p.l 12.
38 In Bali Nyonga the language has become court language only, even before the arrival of ZintgrafT. The Lela songs are sang only in mubako since in Lela songs, the Ba 'ni recount their past glories. Until recently names were usually in mubako. Also when the Fon appoints a Nkom he is given a mubako title. The present Fon has gone back to his roots by using the prefix 'Ga' to his throne name instead of the mungaka 'Fo'.
9 Lima Adolf Sema, "The Mungaka Language - Its Development, spread and use", in TitaNji et al., An introduction to the study of Bali Nyonga, p. 112.
4U Although scholars generally agree that mungaka is the Ti language indigenous speakers may not quite agree.
This researcher's findings seem to come to the same conclusion. For example, the fruit plum is called dzom in mungaka and the same in mubako.
41 Lima Adolf Sema, "The Mungaka Language - Its Development, spread and use", in TitaNji et al., An introduction to the study of Bali Nyonga, pp. 115-119.
42 L. Dugast,"Inventaire ethnique du Sud-Cameroun". Memoires de 1'IFAN, no.l, 1949, p.l 17, in Bali Oral History, p. 13. Committee
mungaka was published in 1906. Subsequently many publications followed. The Basel Mission adopted mungaka as the Synod language for the region.
Mungaka however did not serve the missionary interest for long. Earlier on, the Basel Mission stated in their formal application that they intended to use Cameroonian languages for educational and evangelistic purposes. Though the Government approved of it she later turned against the use of these languages for political reasons. Fonyonga soon had considerable power, which made the German colonial authorities afraid of his influence. To reduce his power and his dominance the Government asked that the Basel Mission should not teach mungaka outside of Bali Nyonga. The colonial Government also encouraged the villages that paid taxes to Fonyonga to seek autonomy. To this effect the new school policy of 1910 stated "...in native schools no other language is to be tolerated as a medium of instruction and as a subject except German and the actual dialect which is spoken by the people..."43
Conclusion.
In this chapter we have traced the history of the Ba'ni from when they left their homeland of Koncha. Through wars and alliances they absorbed other groups into their system so that by the time they settled in the Grassfied region of Cameron they were an agglomeration of various ethnic groups united under one traditional ruler. In order to consolidate his empire Galega abandoned the mother tongue of the Ba'ni for the mungaka language, which he considered as a means of fostering national unity. We have also considered the Bali concept of life from birth to death. We also looked at the traditional political organization of a settled Bali community. All these are helpful for us to understand the people whose religious life we are discussing. In the next chapter we will look at the religion of the Bali.
4J Basel Mission Archive, 1910, Education Committee, in Gwanfogbe, Changing Regimes and the Development of Education in Cameroon, p. 183.