Historical Background of the Bakundus
Bakundu oral tradition traces the people to the great ancestor Ngoe and Sumediang. Their lineage is associated with a wider ancestral family connected to many communities of the Mungo area, including Aboh, Bafaw, Balong, Bakossi, Balondo, Bakem, Baneka, Muamenam, Mwangel, Mbo, and Miamilo. Tradition places Ngoe around the Muaneguba lakes, from where his descendants later migrated to the lands they occupy today. Mukundu I, remembered as one of Ngoe’s sons, migrated and settled around the Ngolo area at Boama near the Ndian River. His descendants included Ngoe, Mukundu II, Balue, Batanga, Ngolo, Mbonge, and others. Mukundu II later settled in Itoki, and the present-day Bakundu people are understood as descendants of Mukundu II.
Lukundu: The Voice of the People
The Bakundu language is known by its speakers as Lukundu. It is spoken with variations among upper and lower Bakundu communities. Pronunciation, consonants, vowel quality, and vocabulary may differ between villages, but the dialects remain largely mutually intelligible. Tone is one of the more stable features of the language and helps preserve continuity across dialect variation.
Chieftaincy, Community, and Livelihood
Bakundu society is organized around the chief, who works with a traditional council and remains central to community life. Traditional authority is respected, yet ordinary social life is shaped by family responsibility, respect for elders, and community cooperation.
Economically, Bakundu life has long been agricultural. Cash crops such as cocoa, coffee, rubber, and palm oil are cultivated alongside food crops such as plantains, cocoyams, cassava, and yams. Hunting and fishing also form part of the traditional economic setting, with fishing especially practiced by women in groups.
The Bakundu Tribe
The Bakundus are a Bantu people found mainly in Meme Division of Cameroon’s South West Region. They are part of the wider Oroko-speaking cultural environment and are historically connected to neighboring groups such as the Mbonge, Ngolo, Balung, Bassosi, Barombi, and Bafaw. Their identity is held together by common ancestry, language, tradition, and a continuing commitment to cultural preservation.
Bakundu Villages
Bakundu villages are found in Meme Division in the South West Region of The Republic of Cameroon. They are precisely in three clusters, namely Konye Subdivision, Mbonge Subdivision and in Kumba I Subdivision.
The villages found in Konye Subdivision are Kokaka Bakundu, Ndoi Bakundu, Konye Town, Mbakwa Supe, Kumbe Bakundu, Wone Bakundu, Dipenda Bakundu, Koba Bakundu, Ibemi Bakundu, Sambaliba Bakundu, Mbu Bakundu, Itoki Bakundu, Mwangale Bakundu, Masaka Bakundu, Mosanja Bakundu, Mbiaka bakundu, Mambaba Bakundu, Bosaka Bakundu, Mandongo Bakundu and Mokwalibe.
And in Kumba I Subdivision are Kake Bongwana (Kake I) and Kake Bokoko (Kake II)
In Mbonge Subdivision we have the following villages along the Kumba–Buea road: Bombe bakundu, Banga Bekele, Banga Ngonge, Bopo. And along the Kumba-Mbonge road we have: Kombone Miso, Kombone Bakundu, Boa Bakundu, Marumba Botondowa, Marumba Bowa, Pete Bakundu,Foe Bakundu, Kwakwa Bakundu, Nake Bokoko, Nake Bongwana, Bole I, Bole Dipenda, Bole Botondowa, Ngongo Bakundu, and Mabonji Bakundu.
Mbu Bakundu
Chief Nakomo John
KonyeItoki Bakundu
Chief Ebenezar Ande
KonyeIbemi
Chief Itie Joseph
KonyeKoba Bakundu
Chief Bolo
KonyeMwangale
Chief Njemo
KonyeSambaliba
Chief Martin Mokundu
KonyeDipenda Bakundu
Chief Bekindaka Lucas
KonyeMosanja
Chief Andreas Unda Botame
KonyeMasaka
Vacant / Unknown
KonyeKokaka Bakundu
Chief Mosima Divine
KonyeWone Bakundu
Chief Nelson
KonyeKumbe Bakundu
Chief Mokanya Lucas
KonyeMbakwa Supe
Chief Honourable Motase David Ngoh
KonyeKonye Town
Chief Mediko John Mediko III
KonyeNdoi Bakundu
Chief Andreas Mouango
KonyeMbiaka Bakundu
Vacant / Unknown
KonyeMambaba Bakundu
Vacant / Unknown
KonyeBosaka Bakundu
Vacant / Unknown
KonyeMandongo Bakundu
Vacant / Unknown
KonyeMokwalibe
Vacant / Unknown
KonyeKake I (Bogwana)
Chief Ndoh Obase Oscar
Kumba IKake II (Bokoko)
Chief Dr. Ndome Samuel
Kumba IBombe Bakundu
HRH Chief HRH Chief Justice Benjamin Motanga Itoe
MbongeBanga Bekele
Chief Bebe Dikabo
MbongeBanga Ngonge
Chief Itua Itoe
MbongeBopa Bakundu
Chief Mukete Otte
MbongeKombone Miso
Chief Modika Felix Moka
MbongeKombone Town
Chief Sakwe Eric Dosa
MbongeBoa Bakundu
Chief Esoe Boldwin
MbongeBoa Marumba
Chief Mukete John Malle
MbongeMarumba Botondoa
Chief Mbonjo John Mosima
MbongePete Bakundu
Chief Ndedi Simon Penda
MbongeFoe Bakundu
Chief Motanga Frederick
MbongeKwakwa Bakundu
Chief Tukwa Simon
MbongeNake Bokoko
Nofuru Nofuru Ivens Disome
MbongeNake Bongwana
Chief All For God
MbongeMabonji Bakundu
Chief Ngoe Jacob Ngoe
MbongeBole Bakundu
Chief Misodi Oponde Graham
MbongeBole Dipenda
Chief Namata Maurice Njenja
MbongeNgongo Bakundu
Chief Ekebe Niongo
Mbonge