Duala people
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{{Ethnic group|
|group=Duala
|image=
|poptime='''Total:''' 87,700 (1982)<ref>This is the estimated number of first-language speakers of the Duala language according to Ethnologue. This includes the Mungo ethnic group as well, so this number is inflated for 1982.</ref>
|popplace=
[[Cameroon]]<br />
|langs=[[Duala language|Duala]]
|rels=Predominantly [[Christian]] and/or [[ancestor worship]]pers
|related=[[Bakole people|Bakole]], [[Bakweri]], [[Bamboko]], [[Isubu]], [[Limba people (Cameroon)|Limba]], [[Mungo people|Mungo]], [[Wovea]]
}}
The '''Duala''' (or '''Douala''') 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. They have historically played a highly influential role in Cameroon due to their long contact with Europeans, high rate of education, and wealth gained over years as [[merchant|trader]]s and [[property|land owner]]s.
The Duala are related to several ethnic groups (or [[tribe]]s) in the Cameroon littoral, with whom they share a common traditional origin, and similar histories and cultures. These include the [[Bakole people|Bakole]], the [[Bakweri]] (or Kwe), the [[Bamboko]], the [[Isubu]] (Isuwu or Bimbians), the [[Limba people (Cameroon)|Limba]] (or Malimba), the [[Mungo people|Mungo]], and the [[Wovea]]. The Duala have dominated the others historically, and these other groups all profess some sort of kinship to that people.
==History==
===Early population movements===
Early Duala history may only be conjectured from [[oral history|oral traditions]]. The Duala trace their ancestry back to a man named [[Mbedi a Mbongo|Mbedi]], who lived in an area called [[Bakota]] in what is today [[Gabon]] or the [[Republic of the Congo]]. His sons, [[Ewale a Mbedi|Ewale]] and [[Dibongo a Mbedi|Dibombo]], migrated north and reached a place called [[Pitti]] on the [[Dibamba River]]. Here, the brothers parted ways after a row. Ewale moved to the mouth of the Dibamba with his followers and then northwest to the east bank of [[Wouri River]] [[estuary]]. Meanwhile, Dibongo and his companions migrated southeast to the [[Sanaga River]] and then split up, some heading upstream with Dibongo and others moving downstream with a man named Elimbe. Ewale's people became the Duala, and Dibongo's the Limba.<ref>Fanso, ''History'', 49-50, 52.</ref>
According to Duala traditions, the [[Bakoko]] and [[Bassa (Cameroon)|Bassa]] ethnic groups occupied the Wouri estuary when the Duala arrived. The Duala then drove them inland, a displacement that likely occurred in the late 17th or early 18th century.<ref>Fanso, ''History'', 50-1.</ref>
===European contacts===
[[Image:King Akwa photo.jpg|thumb|right|225px|King Akwa, 1875]]
[[Portugal|Portuguese]] traders reached the Wouri estuary in 1472. There they encountered a people they called the "Ambos" or "Ambozi". It is unclear whether these were the ancestral Duala, or perhaps the Bakoko or Bassa, whom the Duala later displaced. The Portuguese described the Ambos as a [[fishing]] people who supplemented their diet with small-scale [[hunting]] and [[farming]].{{Fact|date=February 2007}}
Over the next few decades, more adventurers came to explore the estuary and the rivers that feed it, and to establish [[trading post]]s. The Duala provided [[ivory]], [[kola nut]]s, and [[capsicum|peppers]], but [[slavery|slave]]s proved one of the more lucrative commodities. Most of these ended up working the growing [[plantation]]s on nearby islands such as [[Annobon]], [[Bioko|Fernando Po]], [[Príncipe]], and [[São Tomé]]. The Duala had long kept and traded slaves, who lived in separate settlements and performed menial tasks such as cultivation. Slave owners could only trade their slaves to other Duala, however, and owners were responsible for paying their slaves' debts and arranging their marriages. With the Europeans providing such a hungry market, however, these customs gave way.<ref>Fanso, ''History'', 68.</ref>
The Duala emerged by the 16th century as the leading traders on the Cameroonian coast, though the Isubu and Limba did not trail far behind. The earliest Duala merchants were likely [[Tribal chief|chief]]s or [[headman|headmen]].<ref>Fanso, ''History'', 73.</ref> The main Duala villages soon grew into a prospering township named [[Douala]] for the people who lived there. The coastal Duala purchased goods and slaves from interior groups such as the Bakweri, Mungo, Bassa and Bakoko. In turn, they sold these items to the Europeans, typically aboard their ships (and later at mainland factories or stores). In exchange, the Europeans provided alcohol, gunpowder, guns, mirrors, shoes, textiles, and tools.
Europeans traders did their best to support friendly chiefs against their rivals, adulating them with titles such as ''King'', ''Prince'', or ''Chief''. In exchange, these indigenes offered trade [[monopoly|monopolies]] to their patrons and sometimes ceded land.{{Fact|date=February 2007}} In this way, [[Ndumb'a Lobe]] of the Bell [[lineage]] propped himself up in the 19th century as King Bell. Heads of rival sub-lineages soon rivalled him, including the self-styled King Akwa ([[Ngando Mpondo]]) in 1814, King Deido ([[Jim Ekwalla]]) of the Deido (an Akwa splinter group), and Prince Lock Priso ([[Kum'a Mbape]]) of the Bonaberi.
By the mid-19th century, the [[Great Britain|British]] had taken the lead in trade with the Duala. This coincided with the [[abolition]] movement, and the Crown employed the traders to end slavery in the [[Gulf of Guinea]]. On [[10 June]] [[1840]] and [[7 May]] [[1841]], Akwa and Bell became the first to sign anti-slavery treaties. In exchange, the Europeans provided these rulers with annual gifts of alcohol, guns, textiles, and other goods.<ref>Fanso, ''History'', 73.</ref> In addition, the rulers outlawed practices the British viewed as barbaric, such as [[human sacrifice|sacrificing]] a chief's wives upon his death.<ref>Austen and Derrick 66.</ref>
The British also wanted to mould the Duala to their own concepts of civilization. This meant educating them in Western learning and converting them to [[Christianity]].<ref>Austen and Derrick 67.</ref> [[Alfred Saker]] opened a mission in Douala in 1845. By 1875, numerous missions and schools sprung up in Douala and other settlements. The early missionaries learned the [[Duala language]] and invented a written form for it, as Bible translation was one of their earliest priorities. [[Cameroonian Pidgin English]] began to develop at this time.
[[Trade]] dramatically altered Duala society. European goods became [[status symbol]]s, and some rulers appointed Western traders and missionaries as advisors. A high proportion of Duala grew wealthy through the new trade, and tensions arose between the haves and have-nots. Competition escalated between coastal groups and even between related settlements. Traders exploited this atmosphere, and beginning in 1860, German, French, and Spanish merchants had established contacts and weakened the British monopoly. The Duala had gained a virtual hegemony over trade through the Wouri estuary.
In response to the threat from foreign merchants, the British put pressure on the Duala kings to request British annexation. In 1879, King Akwa sent such a request; Bell followed suit in 1881 (some historians believe that these documents were faked, however).<ref>Ngoh 57.</ref> When King [[Pass All]] of the Limba ceded his territories to the French, British traders expressed the urgency of annexing the Duala territories to the Crown. In July 1884, however, German explorer [[Gustav Nachtigal]] staged a coup by signing land-cessation treaties with Kings Akwa, Bell, and Deido. The British arrived too late and on [[28 March]] [[1885]] ceded Victoria to Germany.<ref>Fanso, "Trade", 68-80.</ref>
===German administration===
[[Image:Rudolf Duala Manga Bell portrait.jpg|thumb|left|Rudolf Duala Manga Bell, hanged for high treason for opposing German land expropriations]]
Opposition to German rule followed the annexation. Prince Lock Priso still favoured the British and staged a [[rebellion]] in December 1884. Around this same time, King Bell faced off against his own people, who were largely opposed to the German rule. Bell then found himself up against the other Duala chiefs in the [[Duala War]], which was fought over the killing of a Bonaberi Duala and Bell's alleged refusal to share his profits with the other sub-lineages.<ref>Ngoh 102.</ref> Germany stopped the conflict when one of its nationals was killed. Bell survived, but his power had diminished significantly. Realising that the Duala would never again follow the rule of a single king, the Germans instead played the competitors against one another. They supported the weaker King Bell to counter the powerful King Akwa.<ref>Ngoh 75.</ref>
Despite the unrest and small land area, Duala territory became the economic and political nexus of Kamerun.{{Fact|date=February 2007}} The Germans initially ruled from Douala, which they called Kamerunstadt, but they moved their capital to the Bakweri settlement of Buea in 1901. Constant shipping traffic along the coast allowed individuals to move from one plantation or town to another in search of work. The coastal groups intermingled like never before, particularly the Duala and Bakweri.{{Fact|date=February 2007}}
German arrival on the mainland meant that the coastal peoples' monopoly on trade had ended. Most Duala turned to [[subsistence farming]] or fishing to survive.{{Fact|date=February 2007}} Years of contact with Westerners and a high level of literacy had allowed a literate upper class of [[clerk]]s, farmers, and traders to emerge. This class were familiar with European law and conventions, which allowed them to pressure the German colonial government with petitions, legal proceedings, and [[special-interest group]]s to oppose unpopular or unfair policies.<ref>Derrick 107.</ref> A series of these began in 1910, when the German administration initiated a new [[poll tax]], attempted to seize lands in Douala township, and then tried to oust the native population from the town completely. King Bell's successor, King [[Rudolf Duala Manga Bell]] tried to rally resistance by sending emissaries to visit the leaders of inland groups. [[Ibrahim Njoya]] of the [[Bamum people|Bamum]] tipped the Germans off, and Bell and his collaborators were executed in 1914 for high treason.<ref>Austen and Derrick 138.</ref>
===British and French administrations===
In 1918, Germany lost [[World War I]], and her colonies became mandates of the [[League of Nations]]. France became the new steward of Duala territories.
The Duala continued to prosper. Though the French had largely stripped their kings of power, almost half of the ethnic group's 15-20,000 members were important traders, plantation managers or owners, chiefs, or clerks in the civil service by the 1930s. The rest of the people were fishermen and farmers. By the 1940s, many Duala had attained prominence as [[construction|builders]], as well, servicing the growing cities of Douala and [[Limbe|Victoria]].<ref>Derrick 108.</ref>
The new colonials maintained the German policies of ousting uncooperative rulers and of impressing workers for the plantations.<ref>Derrick 133.</ref> Individuals could opt to pay a fine to avoid the labour, however, which led to a dearth of workers from the wealthier areas. The French thus encouraged people from the interior to move to the coast and work the plantations (settled well away from the influence of the Duala chiefs). These immigrants were primarily [[Bamileke]]. The newcomers grew numerically and economically dominant over time, leading to ethnic tensions with the indigenes. By the early 1930s, the Duala were a minority in the town named for them.<ref>Derrick 123.</ref>
By this time, the Duala had lost most of their reverence for Europeans. They did not hesitate to oppose new taxes and to demand their [[independence]].{{Fact|date=February 2007}} On [[19 December]] [[1929]], for example, four paramount chiefs sent a petition to the League of Nations asking for independence for the Cameroons. Their largest concern, however, was the return of seized Duala lands. This [[Duala land problem]] reached a head in 1925 when the French sold lands on the Joss Plateau that the Germans had appropriated. In response to pressure from the Bell clan, the French offered other territory in compensation. The Bells initially refused, but the [[Great Depression]] eventually prompted them to accept the French compromise. The Bells gained land in [[Bali]] district, and the French promised not to take any of the Akwa or Deido clans' holdings.
In the late 1930s, [[Alexandre Duala Manga Bell]] had emerged as the unofficial leader of the Duala proper. The French grew more hostile toward these Duala elites, whom they considered "precociously developed".{{Fact|date=February 2007}} In 1937, they expelled the Duala from Akwa town (an area of Douala), although they allowed them to maintain ownership of the land. During [[World War II]], the French and British showed favouritism toward white-owned plantations, and many Duala-owned farms became unprofitable.<ref>Derrick 132.</ref> Meanwhile, other Cameroonian ethnic groups had caught up to the Duala's lead in education and Westernisation. Over the next two decades, peoples such as the [[Beti-Pahuin]] and Bamileke came to rival the Duala's position.{{Fact|date=February 2007}}
At war's end, the [[United Nations]] set in motion the [[decolonisation]] of Africa. The Duala remained important in this process. For example, many Duala supported the pro-independence ''[[Union des Populations du Cameroun]]'' party (UPC) when it first formed. Other parties that had either Duala founders or significant backing include the ''[[Bloc Démocratique Camerounais]]'' (BDC), and ''[[Action Nationale]]'' (AN).
==Geography==
[[Image:Duala ethnic groups.png|thumb|left|325px|Map showing the location of the various Duala ethnic groups of Cameroon]]
The Duala are primarily concentrated in Cameroon's [[Littoral Province (Cameroon)|Littoral Province]] in the [[Moungo division|Moungo]], [[Nkam division|Nkam]], and [[Wouri division]]s. Their settlements lie largely along the coast or just inland. The Wouri estuary, where the Wouri, Mungo, and Dibamba Rivers empty, forms the centre of Duala country. Douala is their traditional capital, and many Duala live in and around the city, although today it has come to reflect the diversity of Cameroon as a whole.
==Culture==
The Duala today are divided into the urban and rural. Those who live in the cities, particularly Douala itself, earn a living at a number of skilled and unskilled professions. Many Duala still own parts of the city, allowing them to live off rents and development. The rural Duala, in contrast, work as fishermen and farmers, mostly at the subsistence level. Fishing is the trade of choice.
Traditional Duala society was divided into three strata. At the top were the ''Wonja'', native Duala, with full rights of land ownership. The next tier consisted of the ''Wajili'', either non-Duala peoples or the descendants of slaves. Finally, the ''Wakomi'', or slaves, made up the bottom rung. Chiefs and headmen sat at the pinnacle of this hierarchy in the past, though today such figures have very little power in their own right. Instead, such individuals are more likely to own property and to have inherited wealth. [[Council of elders|Councils of elders]] and [[secret society|secret societies]] allow communities to decide important issues.<ref>Ngoh 26, 28.</ref>
===Language===
The Duala speak a [[Duala language|language of the same name]]. The tongue is closely related to other [[Duala languages]], which may represent a [[dialect continuum]].{{Fact|date=February 2007}} For example, [[Malimba language|Malimba]] speakers have little difficulty understanding Duala.<ref>"Malimba", ''Ethnologue''.</ref> Duala is part of the [[Bantu languages|Bantu]] group of the [[Niger-Congo languages|Niger-Congo]] language family.
Duala is used as a [[trade language]]s, due largely to the spread of the tongue by early missionaries. This is particularly true among the neighbouring [[Wovea]], many of whom speak Duala in lieu of their native tongue, and the [[Isubu]], many of whom are bilingual in Duala.<ref>"Duala" and "Isu", ''Ethnologue''.</ref>
In addition, individuals who have attended school or lived in an urban centre usually speak [[French language|French]], although [[English language|English]] and [[German language|German]] were more common in historical periods. The rate of [[literacy]] is relatively high among the Duala, though this is for reading and writing European languages.<ref>"Duala", ''Ethnologue''.</ref>
At least until the German period, Duala men used a kind of "drum language", tapping out coded messages to communicate news over long distances.<ref> Stern, T. Drum and whistle "languages": an analysis of speech surrogates. ''American Anthropologist'', ''59'', ''3'', 487-506</ref>
===Marriage and kinship patterns===
Duala [[inheritance]] is [[patrilineal]]; upon the father's death, his property is split among his male heirs. The Duala have traditionally practiced polygamy, although with the introduction of Christianity, this custom has become rarer.<ref>''Guide touristique'' 94.</ref> The Duala have never barred marriage between sub-lineages of the same group, nor have they ever put much restriction on inter-tribal marriage. In fact, today, such unions have grown increasingly common, particularly in urban centres like Douala. Children of such marriages become full members of their father's ethnic group.{{Fact|date=February 2007}}
===Religion===
The Duala have been mostly Christianized since the 1930s. [[Evangelicalism|Evangelical]] denominations dominate, particularly the [[Baptist]] church. Nevertheless, remnants of a pre-Christian [[ancestor worship]] persist. As might be expected for coastal peoples, the sea also plays an important role in this faith. For example, Duala belief holds that their ancestors live in the sea. In this worldview, demi-human water spirits known as Miengu (singular: [[Jengu]]) live in the waters and mediate between worshippers and God. Other, evil sprits live in the forests and the sea, and many Duala believe that [[witchcraft]] holds a malign influence on everyday life.{{Fact|date=February 2007}} Traditional festivals held each year serve as the most visible expression of these traditional beliefs in modern times.<ref>''Guide touristique'' 126.</ref>
===Arts===
[[Image:Carved Duala stool belonging to a chief.jpg|thumb|Carved stool belonging to a Duala chief]]
A lively heritage of music and dance most visibly expresses the Duala's colourful culture.<ref>''Guide touristique'' 94.</ref> [[Ambasse bey]], a style of folk music marrying guitar with found-object percussion, developed in the 1950s in the Mungo area. [[Makossa]], a popular musical style in West and Central Africa, originated with the Duala around this same time. The style mixes [[jazz]], [[highlife]], and [[soul music|soul]] with [[music of Africa|African traditional music]].{{Fact|date=February 2007}} [[Manu Dibango]] popularised it in the mid-1970s with ''[[Soul Makossa]]'', also a pioneering [[Disco]] album.{{Fact|date=February 2007}} [[Salle John]] followed with a rejuvenation of both makossa and ambasse bey.
Duala dances serve a number of purposes. The Abélé dance is performed after a wedding to accompany the newlyweds to their home. Other dances are purely for enjoyment, such as the maringa and the ashiko, which arose in the 1930s, and the makossa and ambasse bey dances that accompany those musical styles.{{Fact|date=February 2007}}
The greatest venue for Duala music and dance is the yearly [[Ngondo]], held each December. This is a traditional festival of the Duala, although today all of Cameroon's [[Sawa]] coastal peoples are invited to participate. It originated as a means of training Duala children the skills of warfare. Now, however, the main focus is on communicating with the ancestors and asking them for guidance and protection for the future. The festivities also include armed combat, [[beauty pageant]]s, [[pirogue]] races, and traditional [[sport wrestling|wrestling]].<ref>''Guide touristique'' 126.</ref>
===Sports===
[[Image:Duala war canoe.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Duala war canoe, 1884.]]
[[Pirogue racing]] has traditionally been the most important sport among the Duala.<ref>Derrick 118.</ref> The sport reached its peak during the German colonial period, when organisers held races annually on [[27 January]] (the Kaiser's birthday). Under the French, they became biannual, occurring on [[14 July]] ([[Bastille Day]]) and [[11 November]] ([[Armistice Day]]). A typical Duala racing pirogue is 20-28 metres long with no keel and a bow carved with intricate designs. A team of 40-50 canoeists, mostly men who make their livings as fishermen, mans each vessel. In the past, [[divination|diviners]] used the results of these races to predict the future, but today a Christian priest presides instead.<ref>Derrick 118.</ref> Up to the late 1930s, a family on Jebale Island claimed to be able to summon the Miengu water spirits to help favoured participants.<ref>Derrick 118.</ref>
Beginning in the 1930s, [[association football|football]] has grown to eclipse other sports in popularity.
==Institutions==
Assemblies, secret societies, and other groups play an important role in keeping the Duala unified, helping them set goals, and giving them a venue to find solutions to common problems.<ref>Ngoh 28.</ref> Chief among these is the [[Ngondo]], an assembly of important chiefs. Another of these is the ''muemba'' (plural: ''miemba''), a grouping of all Duala of a certain age range or tribal clan. The ''miemba'' serve to let their members network and socialise. Other secret societies include the Ekongolo, Jengu, Losango, and Munji.<ref>Ngoh 28.</ref>
==Classification==
The Duala are [[Bantu]] in language and origin. More narrowly, they fall into the Sawa, or the coastal peoples of Cameroon.
===Subgroups===
In addition to the tribal distinctions already noted, the Duala further sort themselves into a number of lineages or [[clan]]s. Among the Duala proper, these are the Bonanjo (including the Bonapriso), the Bonaku, the Bonabela, and the Bonaberi. These names represent the principal families in each clan: [[Njo family|Njo]], [[Priso family|Priso]], [[Akwa family|Akwa]], [[Deido family|Ebele-Deido]], and [[Bell family|Bell]], respectively. In addition, the Duala sometimes include the Bodiman, Pongo, and Wuri among their ranks, but not as sub-lineages.
==Notes==
<references/>
==References==
{{commonscat|Duala people}}
* Austen, Ralph A., and Derrick, Jonathan (1999): ''Middlemen of the Cameroons Rivers: The Duala and their Hinterland, c. 1600–c.1960''. Cambridge University Press.
* Chrispin, Dr. Pettang, directeur. ''Cameroun: Guide touristique.'' Paris: Les Éditions Wala.
* DeLancey, Mark W., and DeLancey, Mark Dike (2000). ''Historical Dictionary of the Republic of Cameroon''. 3rd ed.
* Derrick, Jonathan (1990). "Colonial élitism in Cameroon: the case of the Duala in the 1930s". ''Introduction to the History of Cameroon in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries.'' Palgrave MacMillan.
* Elango, Lovett Z. (1990). "Trade and diplomacy on the Cameroon coast in the nineteenth century, 1833–1879: the case of Bimbia." ''Introduction to the History of Cameroon in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries.'' Palgrave MacMillan.
* Fanso, V. G. (1989). ''Cameroon History for Secondary Schools and Colleges, Vol. 1: From Prehistoric Times to the Nineteenth Century.'' Hong Kong: Macmillan Education Ltd.
* Fanso, Verkijika G. (1990). "Trade and supremacy on the Cameroon coast, 1879–1887". ''Introduction to the History of Cameroon in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries.'' Palgrave MacMillan.
* Gordon, Raymond G., Jr. (ed.) (2005): "[http://www.ethnologue.org/show_language.asp?code=dua Duala]". ''Ethnologue: Languages of the World'', 15th ed. Dallas: SIL International. Accessed [[6 June]] [[2006]].
* Gordon, Raymond G., Jr. (ed.) (2005): "[http://www.ethnologue.org/show_language.asp?code=szv Isu]". ''Ethnologue: Languages of the World'', 15th ed. Dallas: SIL International. Accessed [[6 June]] [[2006]].
* Gordon, Raymond G., Jr. (ed.) (2005): "[http://www.ethnologue.org/show_language.asp?code=mzd Malimba]". ''Ethnologue: Languages of the World'', 15th ed. Dallas: SIL International. Accessed [[6 June]] [[2006]].
* Ngoh, Victor Julius (1996). ''History of Cameroon Since 1800.'' Limbe: Presbook.
==See also==
* [[Rulers of the Duala]]
==External links==
* [http://www.peuplesawa.com/fr/index.php Peuple Sawa] (in French)
[[Category:Bantu]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in Cameroon]]
[[Category:Indigenous peoples of West Africa]]
[[fr:Douala (ethnie)]]
[[ru:Дуала (народ)]]
[[sh:Duala]]