Unraveling Conflicting Narratives about the Origins of the Isubu of Bimbia

By Dibussi Tande

The Isubu (also known as Isuwu) like many other African peoples, have different and sometimes conflicting narratives about their origins. Although it is generally believed that the settlement of Bimbia was founded by Isuwu La Monanga, a native of Womboko, there are emerging alternative narratives which reject the Womboko connection. These alternative versions may be termed the “Duala narratives”, since they emphasize on real or imagined ancestral ties between the Duala and the Isuwu.

Bimbia in 1893: From Colonial Grandeur ...

Duala Narratives of Isubu Origins
According to the first Duala narrative, which was available on Wikipedia (the largest multilingual open access encyclopedia on the internet) as of January 2006,

The predominant Isubu belief tells of a man named Isuwu na Monanga who led their migration to the west bank of the Wouri estuary. When a descendant of Isuwu named Mbimbi became king, the people began to refer to their territories as Bimbia.

While this narrative still has Isuwu La Monanga as the ancestor of the Isubu, it nonetheless refers to an Isubu migration to the West bank of River Wouri in Duala territory.

Bimbia in 2000: ... to 21st Century Decline ...

There is a second Duala narrative which states that the Isubu trace their origins to the island of Jebale on the Wouri River, and that they first settled in Duala before moving to present-day Bimbia. In this narrative, the founder of Bimbia is Quan (Kwane) Ewonde.

In this second narrative, the Isubu have no ancestral ties with the Kpe-Mboko of the Fako hinterland, and Isuwu la Monanga is merely “a descendant of forest migrants” from present-day East Africa who settled at some point in Isubu country...

In this article, we will analyze the validity of the Duala narratives and compare them to Duala oral traditions/history and the historical records of European merchants who plied the West African coast in the pre-colonial days.

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Comments

[Rosemary Ekosso]

Hello Dibussi,

This is an excellent article. This is what I call scholarship. I have been somewhat confused, not to say irritated, by the conflicting accounts of the origins of constituent parts of the Bakweri nation. Your paper carries out the analysis that is so often lacking in historical reporting.

It seems to me that the time has come for us to sort through the morass of information and come up with a plausible, if not definitive, history of our people. The entry in Wikipedia on the Duala, for all that it is informative, skews the focus towards the Duala, a fact I find even more distressing that the misspellings and other inaccuracies. If this does not instill in one the need to set the record straight, I do not know what will.

It should be a project Bakweris should take to heart. It is becoming increasingly important for me to be able to define myself in terms of my history, and I'd be delighted to hear from anyone with the same interests.

Thank you for starting the work of setting the record straight. May it continue!

[peter manga]

thanks dibussi for the article but i would like to know if Bimbia (the isubus) is part of the bakweri nation or it is one of the ethnic groups that make up fako division like the bombokos, baloungs, moungos, woveas, bakweris as is reported in early historical works.
Once aagain thanks for the marvelous job you are doing for us all.
peter

[Mola Ikome willy,South Korea]

Hello mr Dibussi,thank you for the article.Just like Rosemary Ekosso said above,I have been somewhat confused, not to say irritated, by the conflicting accounts of the origins of constituent parts of the Bakweri nation. Your paper carries out the analysis that is so often lacking in historical reporting.So,i write to appreciate you for the article and to ask this question that is complete problem in my understanding of the Bakweri nation.
Is Bakweri a tribe,with clans that form the name Bakweri?For example,Bangwa is the name of a tribe with many clans like Bamumbu,esorta,etc,spread out in a large area in Lebialem division.
So if Bakweri is a tribe,does it mean Isubu,womboko,mungo[Tiko area]etc are part are clans of the Bakweri tribe?
If not,does it mean the womboko,isubu etc,are all tribes by themselves,especially the womboko that i think are Bakweri too?
Please kindly clarify us here.You may as want to also write to me....munafacig@yahoo.com