The Balondo-ba-Konja (pure Balondo) are a central West-African people whose civilization is situated along the southwest maritime coast of Cameroon. Their origins can be traced back to the early civilization along the banks of the Nyanga and Luapula rivers in the modern Democratic Republic of Congo. The local social structure is matriarchal with extended family support. Their language is Londo, part of the Congolese-Efik linguistic group. They practice a creationist religion in which the supreme being and creator is Ovase Loba.
People
The people identify themselves as Balondo or Balondo-ba-Konja, meaning pure Balondo. In their language, one Balondo person is a Morondo. They separate themselves from other ethnic groups by giving them specific names. Bafah Balondo refers to non-Balondo people of the Oroko region, while all others are classified as Bato (people).
Balondo are often also misunderstood as Bantu, Oroko, Balondoba-Nanga, and Balondoba-Diko. Wilhelm Bleek, a German linguist, used the term Bâ-ntu or Bantu, meaning people or humans, to classify and group people with linguistic and cultural similarities in his 1862 publication of A Comparative Grammar of South African Languages. The Balondo are a separate people based on the distinction of their language and ethnic origin compared to other groups included in Bleek's classification of Bantu people. The Balondo are a coastal people, unlike the Oroko who are a hill tribe, whose history can be traced back to Rumpi Hills in Ndian and Kupe Hills in Meme divisions. The people of Balondo do not recognize Balondo ba-Nanga and Balondo ba-Diko as part of their ethnic group because both names were used in stories by a Ngolo fiction writer who had never come into contact with the Balondo people in person.
Culture
The Balondo society comprises families and people living together in a close community structure. It includes parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, and neighbors. The communities are matriarchal, which means they are matrilineal, and inheritance is traced to the mother's side, which is called Nwana a Timbaka O Mbusa Nyange in their language.
Societal issues are dealt with and arbitrated by a committee of elderly men and women called Batina-ba-Moki. The central chief is usually an elderly man called Muli, who manages the issues of the entire community, while the female chief called Muli-wa-Balana primarily manages women's affairs.
New year
The traditional version of the Balondo-ba-Konja new year is called Litangua-la-Moki. It is marked by a festival to celebrate Ovase Loba, the supreme being, and Bawu-ba-Balondo, their ancestors. The festival opens with chants, incantations, and praises to God, and the ancestors, Bawu-ba-balondo, followed by invocations and pouring of libations to the ancestors. The purpose of the festival is to cleanse the communities of bad luck and make way for good fortune.
Marriage
Marriage between a brother and a sister is forbidden in the Balondo homeland. Boluka-wa-Ndabo or House Marriage is the practice of cousin marriages. Marriage normally begins with Manyuke-nyuke. It is when children participate in the role-play of the structure of a family when playing house. The Manyuke-nyuke is followed by the actualization of marriage when the children grow into adults. Prior to the actualization of marriage, Ikumba-Muna takes place. It is the Balondo custom where the groom with his kinsmen visit the house of the bride to meet the parents and announce his intention.
The betrothing process is long and ceremonious. There is a long waiting period, which is the period for the bride-to-be to attain puberty. This practice of child marriage has been abolished. In case both the bride and groom are of the same age, the waiting period is brief.
Nkhuo, or the “fattening room,” is an ancient marriage practice in Balondo society. It is the practice where girls are prepared for womanhood. Girls are taken to the room during puberty, and acceptance in the room is a demonstration of virtue, sexual purity, and proven virginity. While in Nkhuo, girls have to live without their families and are trained by older women of the community. They are given heavy meals to make them gain weight as in ancient times being fat was a sign of prosperity, fertility, and beauty. The Nkhuo period lasts for one month, after which the girl's family would present her to the groom and his family, well-wishers, and the community at large.