Duala people

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The Duala (or Sawa) are a Bantu ethnic group of Cameroon. They primarily inhabit the littoral and southwest region of Cameroon and form a portion of the Sawabantu or "coastal people" of Cameroon. The Dualas readily welcomed German and French colonial policies. The number of German-speaking Africans increased in central African German colonies prior to 1914. The Duala leadership in 1884 placed the tribe under German rule. Most converted to Protestantism and were schooled along German lines. Colonial officials and businessmen preferred them as inexpensive clerks to German government offices and firms in Africa.^[1] They have historically played a highly influential role in Cameroon due to their long contact with Europeans, high rate of education, and wealth gained over centuries as slave traders and landowners.

The Duala are related to several ethnic groups (or tribes) in the Cameroon Coastal areas, with whom they share a common traditional origin, and similar histories and cultures. These include the Ewodi, the Bodiman, the Pongo, the Bakole, the Bakweri (or Kwe), the Bamboko, the Isubu (Isuwu or Bimbians), the Limba (or Malimba), the Mungo, the Wovea and the Oroko (or Balondo), they are generally known as the SAWA PEOPLE.

The Batanga of the region of Kribi could be added to the preceding list as they claim they are descendants of Mbedi and they report some degree of mutual comprehension between their own language and Malimba.^[2]

Moreover, the Oroko language is classified as a Duala language, seems to be closely related to Bakweri (Mokpwe),^[3] which is a Duala language. Thus the Kundu, Lue, Mbonge, Ekombe, Londo ba Nanga, Londo ba Diko, Ngolo, Bima, Tanga and Koko are Duala(sawa)people. The Duala have dominated the others historically, and these other groups all profess some sort of kinship to them.

In addition, many other coastal ethnic groups such as Balong, Bakossi and so on – who are culturally and historically more or less related to the Duala – are under Duala influence, and most of these people speak Duala to some extent. Duala is also spoken by a great part of the Bakoko people. The word "Duala" may refer to the Duala "proper" or to the whole set of Duala-like tribes or even possibly to some "duala-ized" Bakoko or Manenguba tribes.