PASSING THROUGH THE WORLD

My father died on 2 February 1981 after a brief illness. He did not know his exact date of birth. His death certificate stated that he was ‘born around 1890’. He lived most of his life in Victoria as it used to be called in those days (the name has since changed to Limbe), returning to Ndungated later in his prime to settle down as a family man. I have heard from several stories that when he was about fifteen or so, the German colonialists invaded the Bangwa land, and although our people put up a fierce resistance, the Germans ultimately won—thanks to their sophisticated guns and killing ability—and renamed the land as Fontemdorf. They went on to institute a reign of terror, forcing everyone, big and small, to dance to their whims and caprices. My father escaped into the wilderness for safety rather than submit himself to the brutal white regime. The Germans were defeated in Kamerun during the First World War by the French and the British. While the French colonial regime administered the lion’s share of the country, the British contained themselves with just 20 per cent of the former German colony, including the Bangwa land. The change in the white power structure was more cosmetic than substantial, as the brutality on the villagers remained basically the same. That probably explains why my father never bothered to return to Ndungated until a decade or so prior to Cameroon attaining independence. On arriving at Ndungated, my father acquired a large, isolated parcel of land on the next to the last hill at the foot of the village (the Bangwa land is in fact probably one of the hilliest regions of Cameroon). It is here that he constructed four broad roofs with sun-dry bricks, facing one another in a semicircle. The mightiest of them all, facing the mouth of the compound, contained the ndindi (parlour) and Dad’s two private rooms. It is in this area that he conducted all business and entertained his guests. It is also here that his wives took routines on various days to comfort and take care of him. At either end of the ndindi building were two of his wives’ houses—Hor-Hor’s to the left and Nata’s to the right.