A Fon is a

chieftain A tribal chief or chieftain is the leader of a tribal society or chiefdom. Tribe The concept of tribe is a broadly applied concept, based on tribal concepts of societies of western Afroeurasia. Tribal societies are sometimes categorized a ...

king King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen regnant, queen, which title is also given to the queen consort, consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contempora ...

of a region of

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the ...

, especially among the Widikum,

Tikar The Tikar (also Tikari, Tige, Tigar, Tigre, Tikali) are a central African people who inhabit the Western High Plateau in Cameroon. They are known as great artisans and storytellers. Once a nomadic people, some oral traditions trace the origin of ...

, and

Bamiléké The Bamileke are a Central African people who inhabit the Western High Plateau of Cameroon. Languages The Bamileke languages belong to the Grassfields branch of the Niger-Congo language family, which is sometimes labeled as a " Bantuoid lan ...

peoples of the Bamenda grass fields (the

Northwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each s ...

West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

Region) and the Lebialem of the South West Region. They were a creation of German colonial rule to facilitate their governance. Many legitimate traditional rulers were replaced those who collaborated imposed and made Fons, while the British and French consolidated them as administrative traditional Chiefs an still considered as auxiliaries of the administration. They were only once independent family heads because the ethnic groups had cultural traditional leaders who weren't called Fons. For instance, the Tikars had Belaku for their original female traditional leaders of their kingdoms called Ngoung (Belaka) for the male leaders. Germans created and brought most Fons under German rule or military subjugation during the

colonial Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 au ...

period and it has remained so till date. Following the defeat of Germany in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, the Fons of

British Cameroon British Cameroon or the British Cameroons was a British mandate territory in British West Africa, formed of the Northern Cameroons and Southern Cameroons. Today, the Northern Cameroons forms parts of the Borno, Adamawa and Taraba states of Ni ...

came under British rule, and the Fons of

French Cameroon French Cameroon or French Cameroons (french: link=no, Cameroun) was a French mandate territory in Central Africa. It now forms part of the independent country of Cameroon. History Beginnings The area of present-day Cameroon came under German ...

came under French rule. Since Cameroon's independence in 1961, the Fons are under the jurisdiction of the

Government of Cameroon The Republic of Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; ...

. However, they maintain semi-autonomous union councils and jurisdiction over their hereditary land. Some of the historically significant Fons of the Northwest are: * Doh Gahnyonga II (Fon of Bali Nyonga) *

Fon Angwafo III of Mankon Fon Angwafo III of Mankon (1 May 1925 – 21 May 2022) was a Cameroonian traditional ruler. Life Fon Angwafo III was born in French Cameroon, on 1 May 1925. He attended the Aggrey Memorial College Arochuku, in eastern Nigeria, from 1945 to 195 ...

* Fon Asanji II of Chomba * Fon of Anong-Timah Bamtie * Fon of Ashong * Fon of Awing * Fon of Kung HRM. Fon KUM Gilbert * Fon of Bali-Gansin * Fon of Bali-Gashu * Fon of Bali-Gham * Fon of Bangwa * Fon of Batibo * Fon of Bessi * Fon of Bum * Fon of Zang Tabi * Fon of Guzang * Fon of Mendankwe * Fon of Bafut * Fon of Nso * Fon of Bafanji * Fon of Oku. HRM Fon Ngum IV In the Southwest region, only Lebialem division has Fons, the most notable of them being The Fon of Fontem. * Asabaton Fontem, Fon of Fontem * Lekunze, Fon of Bamumbu * Fotabong Achenjang, Fon of Lewoh * Fonjumetaw, Fon of Nwehbetaw * Nicasius Nguazong, Fon of Fossungu Nguazong

List of incumbents

This table provides a list of current Fons in

References

* *{{cite web , title = Lebialem Fons Conference , work = Journalducameroun.com , publisher = N/A , url = https://www.journalducameroun.com/en/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/STATEMENT-OF-LEBIALEM-FONS-CONFERENCE-1.pdf Government of Cameroon