Ewale a Mbedi
Encyclopedia
Ewale a Mbedi was the eponym
ous ancestor
of the Duala people
of Cameroon
(named for a variant spelling of his name, Dwala). 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 of Douala
. The area was inhabited by the Bassa
and/or Bakoko, who were driven inland by the new arrivals. Meanwhile, Ewale and his followers set up trade with European merchant ships.
Historians and anthropologists find Ewale's existence and major deeds to be mostly plausible. The stories lack overt mythological
elements, and the genealogies
of the rulers of the Duala
place Ewale at a feasible distance before historical Duala chiefs and kings. The most reasonable estimation places the migration from Piti in the late 16th century. Although many of the stories ascribe this move to a desire to trade with Europeans on the coast, a more likely reason may be that Piti had simply become too crowded. Driving away the Bassa and Bakoko is believable in that these peoples were farmers, not traders or fishermen, so a coastal homeland was not a necessity for them.
of the Duala
and other Sawa
ethnic groups in the Cameroon littoral, the details of which vary greatly from story to story. According to some narratives, Ewale travelled north from the Bakota
region of the lower Congo
. He had reached the lower Sanaga River
when a fight with family members drove him yet farther north to Piti
. However, other stories make this migration to Piti the work of Ewale's father, Mbedi
.
All tales agree that Ewale travelled from Piti to the present location of Douala
on the Cameroon coast. However, the impetus for this move varies from source to source. One common reason given is that Ewale hoped to set up trade relations with European merchants on the coast. Alternately, Ewale may have wanted to trade fish with the coastal Bakoko. Another variant states that Ewale and members of his family had a dispute. Depending on the tale, this was over something as simple as a chicken and a canoe prow to a fight with Ewale's uncle, Ngasse, whose daughter Ewale married against his uncle's wishes. This led to war, during which all of Mbedi's offspring were driven from Piti. Yet another story says that Ewale fought with his father over cloth imported from European coastal traders. A version from Lungassi near Piti claims that the inhabitants of that village drove the Duala from Piti. Various Sawa coastal ethnic groups claim descent from Ewale's siblings, whom they claim accompanied him on his trek.
The tales state that Douala was then home to the Bassa
and/or Bakoko ethnic groups. According to most versions of the story, Ewale settled among these peoples and somehow drove them away through non-violent means. This feat is often attributed to various ruses. For example, one tale says that Ewale and his followers hid their true numbers as they settled the area only to take control through their trading activities. A Bassa version of the story says that Ewale tricked the Bassa into believing he was a sorcerer, scaring them inland. A Bakoko variant says that Ewale and his followers sneaked into the area and killed the Bakoko in their sleep.
Trade with Europeans features prominently in the Ewale narratives, a development that is said to have split the early Duala settlers. According to many of the stories, Ewale and his brother, Bojongo a Mbedi, rowed over how to react to the European traders. One version says that Bojongo tried to fight them, while Ewale traded instead; according to another, the Europeans killed Bojongo. A Duala proverb sums up the Bojongo tales: "Bojongo found the Europeans, Bonambela [Duala] took them over." The Ewale/trade connection is also present in several tales about Ewale's son, Mapoka, who is said to have travelled to Europe. The more traditional accounts place Mapoka several generations later than Ewale, however.
, Ralph A. Austen, and Jonathan Derrick suggest that the Ewale narrative is "quite plausible because it is not very pretentious in either chronological or ideological terms." The gap between Ewale and the first Duala leaders corroborated in European sources is logically sound and does not suggest a great deal of mythology
. Nor is Ewale an obviously mythologised hero
ic figure. Nevertheless, Ewale occupies a nebulous position between history
and myth, meaning that he may have been several generations further into the past than modern Duala oral histories place him.
Dutch
traders reached the Cameroon coast in the early 17th century. They traded with a leader named Monneba, whom Ardener and others equate with Ewale's son from the Duala genealogy
, Mulobe a Ewale
. Based on this inference, Ewale's migration from Piti may be dated to the late 16th century, a point just prior to the first European explorers reaching the coast of Cameroon.
Many tales give the reason behind Ewale's migration as his desire to trade with the Europeans. Ardener and Ardener do not dismiss this hypothesis, and Ewale may very well have encountered European merchants and become the first Duala leader to establish trade ties with them. However, Austen and Derrick doubt that trade was the motivation for Ewale's exodus from Piti. No traders had yet begun operations on the Cameroon coast in the late 16th century. Instead, Ewale's move from Piti may have been prompted by population pressures; Piti is the site of only a small creek, from which a fishing people such as the Duala would have had a difficult time feeding many mouths. This view finds support in the versions of the tale that ascribe Ewale's departure from Piti to a row with his family, although this reasoning may only be a recasting of the later split of the Duala into the rival Bell and Akwa lineages to a more ancient time.
As for the driving off of the Bassa and Bokoko, these peoples were not fishermen. They were farmers, so getting them to leave the coast and major rivers for the interior would presumably not have been too difficult. The Bassa and Bakoko would have avoided conflict by doing so, and they would be better able to farm in the interior anyway.
Eponym
An eponym is the name of a person or thing, whether real or fictitious, after which a particular place, tribe, era, discovery, or other item is named or thought to be named...
ous ancestor
Ancestor
An ancestor is a parent or the parent of an ancestor ....
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...
(named for a variant spelling of his name, Dwala). According to the oral histories
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...
of the Duala and related 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...
peoples of the Cameroon coast, Ewale hailed from a place called Piti
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...
. He and his followers migrated southwest to the coast and settled at the present-day location 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...
. The area was inhabited by the 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:...
and/or Bakoko, who were driven inland by the new arrivals. Meanwhile, Ewale and his followers set up trade with European merchant ships.
Historians and anthropologists find Ewale's existence and major deeds to be mostly plausible. The stories lack overt 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...
elements, and the 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...
of the rulers of the Duala
Rulers of the Duala
The rulers of the Duala are the headmen, chiefs, paramount chiefs, and kings of the Duala people of Cameroon. The earliest known Duala rulers, according to Duala oral history, were Mbongo and his son Mbedi. From Mbedi's home at Pīti, northeast of the modern city of Douala, his sons migrated southward...
place Ewale at a feasible distance before historical Duala chiefs and kings. The most reasonable estimation places the migration from Piti in the late 16th century. Although many of the stories ascribe this move to a desire to trade with Europeans on the coast, a more likely reason may be that Piti had simply become too crowded. Driving away the Bassa and Bakoko is believable in that these peoples were farmers, not traders or fishermen, so a coastal homeland was not a necessity for them.
Narratives
Ewale a Mbedi's life and ancestry are known only from the oral historiesOral 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...
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 in the Cameroon littoral, the details of which vary greatly from story to story. According to some narratives, Ewale travelled north from the Bakota
Bakota
The Bakota are a Bantu ethnic group from the northeastern region of Gabon. The language they speak is called iKota, but is sometimes referred to as Bakota, ikuta, Kota, and among the Fang, they are known as Mekora. The language has several dialects, which include: Ndambomo, Mahongwe,...
region of the lower Congo
Congo River
The Congo River is a river in Africa, and is the deepest river in the world, with measured depths in excess of . It is the second largest river in the world by volume of water discharged, though it has only one-fifth the volume of the world's largest river, the Amazon...
. He had reached the lower Sanaga River
Sanaga River
The Sanaga River is a river of South Province, Cameroon, Centre Province, Cameroon, and West Province, Cameroon. Its length is 890 kilometers.The Sanaga River forms a boundary between two tropical moist forest ecoregions...
when a fight with family members drove him yet farther north to Piti
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...
. However, other stories make this migration to Piti the work of Ewale's father, 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...
.
All tales agree that Ewale travelled from Piti to the present location 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...
on the Cameroon coast. However, the impetus for this move varies from source to source. One common reason given is that Ewale hoped to set up trade relations with European merchants on the coast. Alternately, Ewale may have wanted to trade fish with the coastal Bakoko. Another variant states that Ewale and members of his family had a dispute. Depending on the tale, this was over something as simple as a chicken and a canoe prow to a fight with Ewale's uncle, Ngasse, whose daughter Ewale married against his uncle's wishes. This led to war, during which all of Mbedi's offspring were driven from Piti. Yet another story says that Ewale fought with his father over cloth imported from European coastal traders. A version from Lungassi near Piti claims that the inhabitants of that village drove the Duala from Piti. Various Sawa coastal ethnic groups claim descent from Ewale's siblings, whom they claim accompanied him on his trek.
The tales state that Douala was then home to the 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:...
and/or Bakoko ethnic groups. According to most versions of the story, Ewale settled among these peoples and somehow drove them away through non-violent means. This feat is often attributed to various ruses. For example, one tale says that Ewale and his followers hid their true numbers as they settled the area only to take control through their trading activities. A Bassa version of the story says that Ewale tricked the Bassa into believing he was a sorcerer, scaring them inland. A Bakoko variant says that Ewale and his followers sneaked into the area and killed the Bakoko in their sleep.
Trade with Europeans features prominently in the Ewale narratives, a development that is said to have split the early Duala settlers. According to many of the stories, Ewale and his brother, Bojongo a Mbedi, rowed over how to react to the European traders. One version says that Bojongo tried to fight them, while Ewale traded instead; according to another, the Europeans killed Bojongo. A Duala proverb sums up the Bojongo tales: "Bojongo found the Europeans, Bonambela [Duala] took them over." The Ewale/trade connection is also present in several tales about Ewale's son, Mapoka, who is said to have travelled to Europe. The more traditional accounts place Mapoka several generations later than Ewale, however.
Historicity
Historians and anthropologists such as Edwin ArdenerEdwin 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...
, Ralph A. Austen, and Jonathan Derrick suggest that the Ewale narrative is "quite plausible because it is not very pretentious in either chronological or ideological terms." The gap between Ewale and the first Duala leaders corroborated in European sources is logically sound and does not suggest a great deal of mythology
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...
. Nor is Ewale an obviously mythologised hero
Hero
A hero , in Greek mythology and folklore, was originally a demigod, their cult being one of the most distinctive features of ancient Greek religion...
ic figure. Nevertheless, Ewale occupies a nebulous position between history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
and myth, meaning that he may have been several generations further into the past than modern Duala oral histories place him.
Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
traders reached the Cameroon coast in the early 17th century. They traded with a leader named Monneba, whom Ardener and others equate with Ewale's son from the Duala genealogy
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...
, Mulobe a Ewale
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...
. Based on this inference, Ewale's migration from Piti may be dated to the late 16th century, a point just prior to the first European explorers reaching the coast of Cameroon.
Many tales give the reason behind Ewale's migration as his desire to trade with the Europeans. Ardener and Ardener do not dismiss this hypothesis, and Ewale may very well have encountered European merchants and become the first Duala leader to establish trade ties with them. However, Austen and Derrick doubt that trade was the motivation for Ewale's exodus from Piti. No traders had yet begun operations on the Cameroon coast in the late 16th century. Instead, Ewale's move from Piti may have been prompted by population pressures; Piti is the site of only a small creek, from which a fishing people such as the Duala would have had a difficult time feeding many mouths. This view finds support in the versions of the tale that ascribe Ewale's departure from Piti to a row with his family, although this reasoning may only be a recasting of the later split of the Duala into the rival Bell and Akwa lineages to a more ancient time.
As for the driving off of the Bassa and Bokoko, these peoples were not fishermen. They were farmers, so getting them to leave the coast and major rivers for the interior would presumably not have been too difficult. The Bassa and Bakoko would have avoided conflict by doing so, and they would be better able to farm in the interior anyway.