Bafut is a town located in a modern commune in Cameroon, it is also a traditional fondom. It is located in the Mezam Department, which in turn is located in the Northwest Province.
Bafut is famous for having preserved its structure as a traditional kingdom (or "Fondom" ), under the leadership of the Fon of Bafut. Its traditional power structures operate in harmony with its modern local government council, which aims to turn Bafut into an eco-city.
History
The Bafut tradition traces its dynastic origins to the Ndobo or Tikari areas. From the reign of Firloo, the first Fon of Bafut, it has operated as a fondom or kingdom, using traditional power structures. Upon their arrival from Tikari at least 400 years ago, the Bafut people built the current "old palace" of Mbebeli, also known as Ntoh Firloo. It still contains the tombs of the first three Bafut kings Firloo, Nebasi Suh and Ambebi.
The Fon's palace, and thus the centre of Bafut's traditional power, was later moved to its current location, and by the time of the German colonisation of the Cameroons in the late 19th century, Bafut had roughly assumed its present make-up.
The Bafut Wars and German colonisation
The Bafut Wars resulted from German colonial intrusion into the Bafut fondom.
The German explorer Dr Eugen Zintgraff visited Bafut in 1889. He had earlier stopped in Bali Nyonga where he had received a warm welcome from Galega, the Fon of Bali Nyonga. However the Bafut Fon, Abumbi, received him with circumspection since Bafut was not on good terms with Bali Nyonga. Zintgraff is said to have committed two breaches of etiquette. He seized the drinking cup from the Fon's hand and drank from it and he insisted on calling Abumbi by his princely name 'Gualem'. This open display of disrespect was interpreted in Bafut as a deliberate attempt to belittle the Fon and it was assumed that Galega of Bali Nyonga was behind this.
Relations between Bafut and the Germans subsequently deteriorated to the point of armed conflict. In 1891 Bafut went to the aid of its neighbour and ally Mankon which had been attacked by a German-led Bali Nyonga force en route to Bafut. This force had been sent to avenge the death of two of Zintgraff's messengers sent to Bafut to demand ivory. On 31 January 1891 it attacked Mankon and burnt the town. As the attacking force retired, Mankon warriors, assisted now by their allies from Bafut, counter-attacked and inflicted heavy losses on their enemies. Ten years later the Germans, under Pavel, returned in full force. Bafut suffered a series of punitive raids in 1901, 1904–05 and 1907, at the end of which the Fon was arrested and exiled to Douala for a year.
In the meantime a military station had been established at Bamenda which served as the administrative headquarters of the district until the Germans were expelled during the World War of 1914–1918. The Bamenda garrison fell in October 1915.
British and French colonisation
After a brief period of joint administration Britain and France provisionally partitioned the territory and this, with only minor adjustments, was confirmed by the Milner–Simon agreement of July 1919. Bafut fell into the British sector which was constituted into the Cameroons Province and attached to the Southern Provinces of British Nigeria for administrative purposes. At least one Fon of Bafut, Achirimbi II maintained friendly ties with the British. When the British left part of Cameroon in 1961, the region had a choice of joining either the newly formed Cameroon or Nigeria. The Fon Achirimbi II is famously said to have remarked that it was a choice between the "Fire and the Deep Sea".
Post-colonial history
On 1 January 1960, French Cameroun gained independence from France, and on 1 October 1961, the formerly British Southern Cameroons (including Bafut) united with French Cameroun to form the Federal Republic of Cameroon.
The Bafut Council was created by a presidential decree on 23 November 1993 to promote local development and improve the living conditions of the region's inhabitants. The local government began operation in 1996, following municipal elections.
Since 2017, Bafut has become of battleground of the Anglophone Crisis, with an Ambazonian separatist militia known as Seven Karta setting up bases in the area. Operation Free Bafut in April 2020 saw heavy fighting in and around the village.
Geography and demographics
Bafut had a population of 80,305 in 2005, but is now estimated to have over 100,000 inhabitants. It is primarily an agrarian region.
Bafut is situated about northwest of Bamenda, in the Mezam Division, and covers an area of roughly 340 km2.