Bakweri words of wisdom Waa yo-ngi, aseene liwondo.

Bakweri words of wisdom.
13. Waa yo-ngi, aseene liwondo.
(The owner of a hut in which he lives will of
course refer to the hut as a house).
liwondo = a hut; a small structure in a farm used
as shelter from rain and sun.
Njoku/Njoke/Njoka Nyame = an elephant.
muu-tu = a cluster of a climbing plant.
la soole = to go under.
ndava veka-i-seli = a court of law.
efo-to-to = dilapidated.

Yasi nanu:
In the course of running after a child
he was about to punish, Njoka Nyame accidentally
knocked down two poles that supported a "liwondo"
in which Njombe a Nyame and his family lived. The
"liwondo" collapsed. Consequently,
Njombe became desperately in need of a new liwondo
to accommodate him and his family. He then asked
Njoke to offer him assistance towards the
construction of a new "house".
In response Njoke said:
"Njombe,
ovi lo-nyo-le veeya.
"liwondo" ndi li-kpwe-li;
seke te "ndavo";
oso-ki isoni,
loova oma,"
anga tena enge "efo-to-to" eki,
ovele oma ndavo,
wondi o-liya o-teni na monde-nge mwango.
Imba nau, kpo !
nasa tane na tanga enge "efo-to-to" a
"liwondo".
o-lingani te,
o-nendene o-ndava veka-i-seli;
o-teni ndi ini jovi i-ku-we-ya".
(Njombe !
You are exaggerating.
It is a hut that has collapsed; not a house. You
should be ashamed to state that you and your
family lived inside that dilapidated structure.
What you claim to be house was a hut that was
supported by ropes from a cluster of climbing
plants and by two poles. I will never pay for
that useless structure. You may take me to court
if you care).
In court Njoke maintained that he would never pay
for the useless structure that Njombe was talking
about. On inspection of the site on which the
collapsed structure was standing the court
observed that:
(i) there three stones (masoso) that supported
pots in which food was cooked; some of the pots
contained recently prepared food.
(ii) there was a shelf (wokao) above the fire
place.
(iii) a clay pot (liva-nya) of palm oil and a clay
jug (itenge) of water were broken.
(iv) there were four beds (manongo; singular,
linongo).
(v) the structure had walls and a roof.
In the light of the observations the court
concluded:
(i) that the structure was the place in which
Njombe and his family lived;
the structure could not therefore be considered as
being useless.
(ii) that the word "house" is a general reference
to a structure in which people live. Njombe was
therefore correct to refer to his structure as a
"house":
waa yongi, aseene liwondo;
Nanu ndi ese eveli.
(The owner of a hut will of course refer to his
hut as a house;
this how the world is).
Continuing, the court mentioned other instances:
moo-nda, mo tuu-wa, to mo-lo-wa, ave-leve
ndi moonda.
(a place where food is cultivated is called a
farm; it may be a small or a big farm.
kooto, eve ndi ya vee-yee, to ya vee-ke;
ave-leve ndi kooto.
(Fences whether built of sticks, cement blocks or
iron rods, serve the same purpose. They are known
as fences).
Judgement was in favour of Njombe. The court then
ordered Njoke to pay for the collapsed structure
at once. Njombe was awarded damages for the
inconveniences he and his family were suffering as
a consequence of the collapse of the structure in
which they lived.
Oma nanu.

Mola Mbua Ndoko
P.o Box 38 Buea, South West Province
Cameroon, West/Africa
Tel/Fax: 332-25-35
Mobile/Cell: 986-24-61

Note:
Bakweri traditional society is legalistic and well regulated by traditional law and custom. Well-structured arguments are highly respected in this society. The Native Court or Bakweri Traditional Court in Buea, was the venue for similarly entertaining and instructive intellectual jousts. The outcomes of the cases were respected and observed by both parties. To occupy themselves in pre-television days, senior citizens often walked to Buea Court to observe cases.

Comments

[kenneth monono]

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