Diko Madeleine

Diko (Dikɔ́ɔ) Madeleine (c. 1910 – 27 January 2005) was the first wife of Chief Konaka of Somié and with him was one of the major actors negotiating the transition to Colonial rule and the introduction of Christianity among Mambila people in Cameroon.^[1]

Konaka is a variant of Kwunakal (pronounced kwúnákàl), personal name of many figures, including chiefs, in the history of the Mambilla Plateau and the Ndom Plain. Indeed, the particular Konaka discussed above is a descendant of other Kwunakals traceable to the Nyo Heights of the Mambilla Plateau before the descent to Ndom, and the name was successively replicated in the customary Mambilla patronymy. Much of what we know of Chief Konaka of Ndeba (Somie) comes from the writings of David Zeitlyn, although "Kwunakal" was discussed by a few highland-based habitues of Somie who met him in his lifetime.