Global Journal of Human Social Science, D: History, Archaeology and Anthroplogy, Volume 23 Issue 3

Source: The Bafut Tikars succeeded in establishing their hegemony over these people. It happened that Source: Customs and Traditions of Bafut, p. 37. Fig. 6: The Bafut Palace in 1889 The Bafut group came to Ndop after leaving Tikari. Following the death of their leader, a succession dispute, arose between two sons, Nkenjoh and Aghanjoh. Aghanjoh left with his group of supporters towards what is today Bafut (Niba, 1981: 12). On arrival, Aghanjoh was received in the village of Mbebeli by Nibachi, the Chief. After staying with him as a guest for some time, Aghanjoh won over Nibachi’s subjects by his lavish generosity, because Nibachi was a selfish and crafty ruler. Consequently, the council of elders conspired with Aghanjoh and urged him to depose their chief and seize the throne. The newcomer did so in a cleverly conceived plan of stepping on Nibachi’s foot in public, a sign of deposition. The deposed chief subsequently committed suicide. Later on, one of Aghanjoh’s successors moved the palace from Mbebeli to its present site at Bujong in Mumalaa. Then the immigrants subdued the Bukari and Buwe people, who, apparently along with the Mbebeli people were the autochthonous inhabitants of Bafut. The expansion of the Bafut fon dom from its original nucleus to its present size was due to both internal and external factors. One important external factor was the incursion of the Bali Chamba into the Bamenda area at the beginning of the nineteenth century. This incursion greatly affected the balance of power in the area. It brought them into conflict with the bigger chiefdoms and drove the smaller chiefdoms to seek refuge under the bigger ones. After initial clash with the Chamba, Bafut became a rallying point for refugees from the south and southwest of the Ngemba area (Tweed, 1926:6). Some of them eventually returned to their areas after the danger was over but others who stayed were the Mambu and Mankanikong who claimed the same area of origin, namely Mberewi (Chilver and Kaberry, 1967:19). These chiefdoms became tributaries of Bafut through voluntary submission. The expansion of the Bafut fon dom northwards into the Mentchum valley after the Chamba incursion, in the middle of the nineteenth century was dictated by land hunger as well as by a desire for tribute (resources). In a series of raids, the Bafut subdued some of the peoples of the area, such as the Otang, Buwi, Bugri and the rest of them (Mbekong, Manta and Butang) had to voluntarily submit. Another area which the Bafut brought under their control was Banji (Njimuya – across the Mezam River) with its rich savannah farming and hunting grounds. They subdued the inhabitants and forced them to pay tribute. The Bafut also began to settle there (File NW/QF/1933/1, 1933). Thus, on the eve of the German annexation of Cameroon in the last quarter of the nineteenth century, the Bafut fon dom had expanded to its present size, and assumed her present composition. It was a heterogeneous fon dom, ruled by an immigrant dynasty and prepared to defend her territory and sovereignty as a conquest state. This is what gives the Bafut Tikars and leader the strong legal argument that none of these subaltern chiefs can succeed in creating an autonomous state within Bafut. However, Aletum discards this argument by intimating that the problem or conflict began when the Tikar leader usurped the throne from the indigenous chief, Nibachi. From then, the central chiefdom developed the tendency of setting the chiefdoms against each other in order to weaken their regional authority, thereby gaining through a conflict situation the ability to enforce its central authority. Aletum made reference to the fact that it was not easy for some of the chiefdoms such as those of Bawum and Mambu to © 2023 Global Journals Volume XXIII Issue III Version I 13 ( ) Global Journal of Human Social Science - Year 2023 D The Concept of ‘States within a State’ Amidst Conflict and Peace Building Ventures in Bafut, Cameroon