Traditional Politics in Nsaw

Introduction While I was doing fieldwork in the Tikar chiefdom of Nsaw in Bamenda (Southern Cameroons) for short periods during 1945–6, 1947–8, and again in 1958, one of the main topics of conversation was the long-standing dispute between the Fon (Chief) of Nsaw and a succession of men who had held the title of Fai wo Ndzendzef. Fai wo Ndzendzef is the most senior of the state councillors ( vibai ; sing. kibai ), and may be described as the Great Councillor. By virtue of his office he is the most senior man in his own patrilineage and acts as lineage head. His title is vested in his lineage which forms part of a clan said to have originated a number of generations ago from Mbot, in what is now the Nkambe Division to the north of Nsaw.