Balondo Civilization
The Balondo-ba-Konja 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.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.
Dowry is a way of validating marriage among people of Balondo society. The dowry comprises clothes and food items, but no money. It is a token of the parents’ effort in raising a suitable female child. At the time of betrothal, the child in past child marriages could not influence the dowry process because of her age, but a mature bride-to-be can influence the process even in contemporary times. There are five interrelated stages of Balondo marriages: courting, asking for a girl's consent, working through a middleman, test of bride's character, and paying the bride dowry.
Language
The Balondo language is called Londo by European linguists. Similar to the linguistic structures of European and American languages, Balondo language contains phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics. The Balondo language belongs to the Congolese and Efik linguistic groups. The development of the Balondo language has played a critical part in the transition from the historical oral tradition to the modern writing down of important local texts, beliefs and stories, and other social, legal, and political documents and correspondence.According to the World Classification of Languages Ethnologue, Londo is classified with Bantu, Lundu-Balong, Londo-Bananga, Londo-Badiko, and Oroko-West based on speculation. In Cameroon, it is popularly believed that Londo is linguistically associated with the Oroko dialect. However, the Londo alphabet and language is a different form in principle, fundamental structures, and is a fully developed language compared to most others.
Customs
The young Balondo-ba-konja boys and girls, usually at the age of five years, have to undergo unique body markings. These marks are generally elaborate body and facial designs. The markings include tiny cuts on both cheeks of boys and girls, which after healing create impressions on the skin.There are marital customs that the Balondo practice. These are Boluka wa Ndabo, Manyuke-nyuke, Ikumba Muna, and Nkhuo. Bolukawa Ndabo or house marriage is between cousins. Marriage normally begins with Manyuke-nyuke. It is when children partake in role-play of the family structure. Ikumba Muna is a tradition where the groom visits the girl's home to announce his intention in front of her parents. Nkhuo is the fattening room, which is a practice to keep a girl away from her family to prepare her for womanhood.
The Balondo people consider dance as a celebration of life, work, and spirituality. Malle, the Elephant dance, ekpe, the leopard dance, Jokei ewondo ya nwenya, or dancing on live burning coals, owasa njanga, stilt dancer, mondoa ria, dancing up a coconut tree. Other dancing forms include mosembe, amekoko, liyangi, ngomo ya betuli, and rokombe are mostly performed by women.