The Fulani and the Political Economy of the Bamenda Grasslands, 1940-1960

Abstract

For nearly half a century after the First World War, the political economy of the Bamenda Grasslands was dominated by the pastoral activities of the Fulani and the development of the cash crop economy based on the cultivation of coffee and tea. This paper is about the Fulani pastoral activities. It highlights the issues that were involved in integrating the cattle economy in the predominantly farming societies of the Bamenda Grasslands and the impact of the marketing of Fulani cattle. Integrating the cattle economy was itself a significant aspect of indigenisation of the Fulani in the Bamenda Grasslands after the passage of the 1927 Land and Native Rights Ordinance which declared the Fulani aliens. The importance of the cattle trade lay in the fact that its parameters stretched beyond the Grasslands and it was an early integrative factor for the Grasslands and forest zones of British Cameroons. Bamenda Grasslands cover the entire present day Northwest Province of the Republic of Cameroon with an area of over 7000 square miles. They are situated between latitude 5°40' and 7° north and longitude 9°45' and ll°10' east. The conditions for grazing cattle and growing cereals were good. The vegetation is mostly grass. During the rainy season, the area is covered with green grass which continues to flourish in the lowlands even during the dry season months (November to March). The climate is also suitable for cattle rearing. It makes trypanosomiasis infection practically non-existent or easy to eliminate and sustains pasture on the highlands for up to eight months of the year.1 One of the most important attractions for the Fulani to come to the Bamenda Grasslands was the presence of natural salt springs, especially those at Sabga, Babungo and Bamessing. The history of the cattle industry in the Bamenda Grasslands dates from 1919 when the Fulani started settling in the region. They came principally from Nigeria and former German Adamawa accompanied by herds of cattle.2 These Fulani were distinctly pastoralists because cattle rearing was their principal economic occupation as well as a way of life. They continued to migrate into the region because their pastoral needs were being satisfied. Their small settlements {rugas) were scattered in many parts of the Bamenda Grasslands. They were labeled nomadic since the cattle drovers moved from place to place, sometimes far from their bases, to graze their cattle. Politically each settlement was subjected to a local village head who would in the first instance have granted permission for the Fulani to stay in his territory. However, the day to day administration of the Fulani settlements was left in the hands of Fulani leaders (Ardo'en sing. Ardo) who enforced laws according to Fulani customs (Pulaku).