The Bakole (Bakolle, Kole) are a

Bantu Bantu may refer to: *Bantu languages, constitute the largest sub-branch of the Niger–Congo languages *Bantu peoples, over 400 peoples of Africa speaking a Bantu language * Bantu knots, a type of African hairstyle *Black Association for National ...

ethnic group An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, traditions, society, re ...

of the Republic of Cameroon. They belong to the

Sawa Sawa may refer to: Places * Saveh, sometimes transliterated Sāwa, a city in Iran * Sawa Lake, Iraq * Sawa District in Gunma Prefecture, Japan * Sawa, Nepal, a village development committee * Sawa, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, a village in Polan ...

, or Cameroonian coastal peoples. The Bakole speak a language of the same name. According to

Duala Duala or Douala can refer to: Relating to Cameroon * Duala people, an ethnic group in Cameroon * Duala language, part of the Bantu languages * Douala, the largest city in Cameroon, founded by the Duala people * Rudolf Duala Manga Bell (1873–1914), ...

oral history Oral history is the collection and study of historical information from people, families, important events, or everyday life using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews. These interviews are conducted with people who pa ...

, the Duala, Bakole, and Limba come from a single ancestor named Ewale. From Piti, northeast of

Douala Douala is the largest city in Cameroon and its economic capital. It is also the capital of Cameroon's Littoral Region (Cameroon), Littoral Region. It was home to Central Africa's largest port, now being replaced by Kribi port. It has the country ...

, Ewale migrated to the coast to the east bank of

Wouri River The Wouri (also Vouri or Vuri) is a river in Cameroon. The Wouri forms at the confluence of the rivers Nkam River, Nkam and Makombé River, Makombé, northeast of the city of Yabassi. It then flows about southeast to the Wouri estuary at Douala ...

. The Bakole probably splintered from the Duala proper at some point and made their way west to their current territory. Today, the inhabit the coast directly north of the

Bamboko The Bamboko are a Bantu peoples, Bantu ethnic group of the Republic of Cameroon. They are part of the Sawa (ethnic group), Sawa ethnic groups, those who live on the coast. The Bamboko probably moved to Mboko, Cameroon, Mboko, the area southwest ...

people, along the

Rio Del Rey The Rio del Rey (also called Rio del Ray) is an estuary of a drainage basin in West Africa in Cameroon. It is located in the eastern area of the Niger River system.

and south of the Meme estuary in the Ndian division of the

Southwest Province The Southwest Region or South-West Region () is a region with special status in Cameroon. Its capital is Buea. , its population was 1,553,320. Along with the Northwest Region, it is one of the two Anglophone (English-speaking) regions of Cameroo ...

. Today, the Bakole farm the fertile volcanic soils of

Mount Cameroon Mount Cameroon is an active volcano in the Southwest Region of Cameroon next to the city of Buea near the Gulf of Guinea. Mount Cameroon is also known as Cameroon Mountain or Fako (the name of the higher of its two peaks) or by its indigenous ...

to raise

cocoyam Cocoyam is a common name for more than one tropical root crop and vegetable crop belonging to the Arum family (also known as Aroids and by the family name ''Araceae'') and may refer to: * Taro (''Colocasia esculenta'') – old cocoyam * Mala ...

maize Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago from wild teosinte. Native American ...

manioc ''Manihot esculenta'', common name, commonly called cassava, manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America, from Brazil, Paraguay and parts of the Andes. Although ...

oil palm ''Elaeis'' () is a genus of palms, called oil palms, containing two species, native to Africa and the Americas. They are used in commercial agriculture in the production of palm oil. Description Mature palms are single-stemmed, and can gro ...

s, and plantains. Duala ethnic groups

The Bakole language is part of the

group of the Niger–Congo language family. The language is at least partially intelligible with Mokpwe, the language of the

Bakweri The Bakweri (or Kwe) are a Bantu peoples, Bantu ethnic group of the Republic of Cameroon. They are closely related to Cameroon's coastal peoples (the The Sawa peoples of Cameroon, Sawa), particularly the Duala people, Duala and Isubu. Early surve ...

. Individuals who have attended school or lived in an urban centre usually speak

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 ...

or standard

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

. In fact, growing numbers of

Anglophone Cameroonian Anglophone Cameroonians are the people of various cultural backgrounds, most of who hail from the English language, English-speaking regions of Cameroon (Northwest Region (Cameroon), Northwest and Southwest Region (Cameroon), Southwest Regions). T ...

s today grow up with pidgin as their first tongue.

Notes

References

* 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.

External links

Bakwerirama

Peuple Sawa
(in French) Bantu peoples Ethnic groups in Cameroon Indigenous peoples of West Africa {{Cameroon-ethno-group-stub