Ngoya the Great

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King Ibrahim Mbouombouo Njoya, born in 1876, was the 17th Mfon (King) of the Ncharé Yen dynasty.  King Ibrahim Mbouombouo Njoya was King of Bamun from 1886 until his death in 1933. Njoya was a pacifist ruler of many talents, who managed to maintain the autonomy of his kingdom at a time when the German Empire was imposing itself in West Africa, in present-day Cameroon.

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Early Life

King Njoya was born in 1876 in Foumban (West of Cameroon). His mother was Ne Njapduke and his father King Ibrahim Nsangu. His father, King Ibrahim Nsangu, passed away when he was 4 years old. As he was still minor, his mother ascended to power and resigned on his behalf with the council of Gbetnkom Ndombu, until he became of age. When he ascended to power, Gbetnkom Ndombu showed no willingness to leave him any power. Between 1892 and 1895 a power struggle took place in the country of Balmum. King Ibrahim Njoya managed to retain power thanks to the support of Omaru of Banyo, a Fulani chief. King Njoya later converted to Islam and became a sultan.

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Achievements

King Njoya was a philosopher, innovator and writer. In 1915, he created a religion that was inspired by Islam, Christianity, and traditional beliefs. The principles of "njoyaism" were transcribed in the book, "Nkuet Kwate" (pursue and achieve). The book is written in "a-ka-u-ku", a writing system derived from the shü-mom language and developed by Njoya himself. The script contained 80 characters and its name derives from the first letters of the alphabet. In addition, Njoya wrote fifteen books all using the Bamum alphabet (including romance novels and the "History and Customs of the Bamum People") and an encyclopaedia on traditional pharmacopeia.King Njoya developed close ties with the German colonists. In 1906, the Bamum people allied with the Germans during the war against the Banso Kingdom. In 1908, King Njoya gifted a beaded throne to the German Emperor, which can be found today in the Ethnological Museum of Berlin. King Njoya established schools in his kingdom where children were taught German and Bamum culture. Children learned to read and write using the Bamum alphabet.

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King Njoya also created many maps. In 1912 and 1920, he ordered that surveys be taken of his kingdom. Officially, these were intended to resolve land disputes. One of these surveys, which involved assessing distances and the names of different points of interest, took 52 days to complete. The result of the survey was to develop the kingdom's standards in mapping settlements, natural elements and boundaries. Rivers are purple, mountains are green and two disks (representing the sun) define the map orientation. All descriptions on the maps were written in Bamum characters.

King Njoya's political clout weakened as German West Africa was transferred to the French after the German defeat in the First World War. The French colonists stripped him of any political power over his kingdom and forced him into house arrest in the capital of the colony, Yaoundé, in 1930. King Njoya died three years later, in 1933.

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Legacy

The Ncharé Yen line survives to this day. The 20th Mfon, Nfonrifoum Mbombo Njoya Mouhamed Nabil a descendant of King Njoya, ascended to the throne in 2021.