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Bafut people, also known as Fut or Bufu people are a Grassfields ethnic group located in the Bafut Subdivision of the
According to local ethnohistories collected by British colonial administrators, Bafut people arrived around 300 years ago from the area to the east-northeast of their present site. However, some researchers consider that the Bafut people area a composite community of several groups of different places.
At the end of the nineteenth century, Bafut fought against
Bafut people, also known as Fut or Bufu people are a Grassfields ethnic group located in the Bafut Subdivision of the North West Province
North West ( ; ) is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Mahikeng. The province is located to the west of the major population centre and province of Gauteng and south of Botswana.
History
North West was incorporated after the end of ...
, Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...
.
Language and Literacy
Around 134 000 Bafut people speak theBafut language
The Bafut language, ''Fut'', is an Eastern Grassfields language of the Niger–Congo languages, and related to Bamum. Oral tradition traces dynastic origins to the Ndobo or Tikari areas. It is spoken by people of Bafut Subdivision, Tuba, in ...
, an Eastern Grassfields language of the Niger-Congo languages. Thirty percent of the Fut people read and write the language. Expanding Literacy in Fut language is supported by ten schools and thirty churches.
Bafut people were once multilingual. Most of the upper Bafut can speak the Bafut language and Cameroonian Pidgin English
Cameroonian Pidgin English, or Cameroonian Creole (, from West Coast), is a language variety of Cameroon. It is also known as Kamtok (from 'Cameroon-talk'). It is primarily spoken in the Northwest Region (Cameroon), North West and Southwest Regio ...
. Also, in a minor degree, they can speak local languages such as Mankon
Mankon (historically spelled ''Mankong'') is a geo-historic community constituting a large part of Bamenda in Cameroon, formed as an amalgamation of about five different ethnic groups. The (kingdom) represents one of the oldest monarchies of the ...
, Meta', or Mungaka.
Religion
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...
is the predominant religion between Bafut people, accounting for 74% to 95% of the population. A minor group still follows their ancestral religion. Bafut Christians divide between Roman Catholic, Protestants, and other independent churches.
The New Testament
The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...
has been translated to the Bafut language and gospel recordings can be also heard.
History
According to local ethnohistories collected by British colonial administrators, Bafut people arrived around 300 years ago from the area to the east-northeast of their present site. However, some researchers consider that the Bafut people area a composite community of several groups of different places.
At the end of the nineteenth century, Bafut fought against Germans
Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution of Germany, imple ...
and their allies in the Bafut wars.
Social organization
TheFon of Bafut
The Fon of Bafut is the fon or Mfor (traditional ruler) of the town of Bafut and its adjoining areas in the Northwest Province, Cameroon, which comprise the erstwhile Fondom of Bafut. At present, the Fon of Bafut is still a local ruler, but un ...
is appointed directly by the prime minister of the Republic of Cameroon, and it's considered a civil servant. Bafut people divide traditionally between the court and the commoners. The fon, their wives, the princes, and the princesses made up the court and they concentrated in the fon quarter. Main families of commoners participate in the management of polity to counterbalance fon's potentially absolute power.
References
{{Authority control Cameroonian people