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or allegiance; but, because they are consequent on the succession of a new chief, they exist

between the clans and the chief himself, rather than with the royal clan.

  The woman’s father receives no bride-wealth in these circumstances, though being a

father-in-law of the chief is considered to be some compensation as it can bring its own

rewards.  Furthermore, there is the possibility that he might one day be the grandfather of a

future chief, thereby achieving a position of considerable prestige and influence.
  In historical traditions, the expression lã-Ndjuafhlç lã-Ndjuafhlç refers to the

confederation of peoples which, accepting the authority of consecutive chiefs of Ngambe,
migrated under the chief Mçndji-Djwã  Mçndji-Djwã to the present site of the capital.  With

respect to clans, its modern referent is the group which have estates in the vicinity of the
capital.13  The politically significant privilege accorded to commoner clans included in this

category is that they alone can provide the six  councillors of the chief (mèkyèmbwã) each of

whom, as well as being a member of one of these clans, should also be a son of a daughter of a

past or the present chief,  In other respects, these clans are not distinguished from other

commoner clans of the chiefdom.
  Those clans currently classed as lã-Ndjuafhlç lã-Ndjuafhlç are listed in my table, which

also indicates the titles of their leaders, but it should be emphasised that this list is liable to vary
with time because clans can move to new estates.  The SQlèndu  SQlèndu clan claims to have

moved to Ngambe village from Mboaga after the destruction of the latter by Tibati forces,

possibly in alliance with Ngambe forces, in 1888.  Both the Ya and the Nyindji clans moved to

the capital from locations on the other side of the River Kim within living memory: to judge

from the accounts of informants who participated in these moves, they occurred in the 1920’s.

  Some clans have a certain renown, or are noted for special services that only their

members can provide.  The ferrymen who take people in canoes across the River Kim at a point

directly south of Ngambe village, always come from the Mmha clan.  Another example is the Tã

clan which claims, and this claim is accepted by others, that their ancestors were the original

inhabitants of the area around the present Ngambe village, which was controlled by their leader,
Mgbè-Tã, until he was usurped by Mçndji-Djwã  Mçndji-Djwã when the latter settled with his

people at the present site of the capital.  The Tã clan possesses a cult called WQ-Tã whose

meetings are exclusive to its adult male members.  They are held as part of the funerary

ceremonies of clansfolk, and at the death of a chief of Ngambe.

  Though they consider themselves to be Tikar now, the people of the Mèmble clan state
that they have non-Tikar origins and that they joined the other peoples of lã-Ndjuafhlç lã-

Ndjuafhlç during the latter’s migrations.  When the leader of this clan, Munkamble, meets the


the past, it has lapsed.  The threat of it is certainly used as a device by fathers to coerce young
daughters to marry against their will, and it might be this value of the idea which keeps it alive.
13In other contexts, this same expression is used to refer to the population resident in the
village of Ngambe, and also to the entire population of the chiefdom, i.e. everyone under the
authority of the chief of Ngambe.


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