Oroko people

• Balondo ba Diko
• Balondo ba Nanga
• Balue
• Bakoko
• Bakundu
• Batanga
• Bima
• Ekombe
• Mbonge
• Ngolo

Early Oroko history is hard to find in written sources and so relies mostly on oral historical accounts that have been handed down from generation to generation. While many Oroko do not claim their origins to a common ancestor, most Oroko trace their ancestry to a man named Ngoe,[2] son of Nebongo (or Nambongo or Mbongo). Some versions of this history claim that Ngoe originally lived in Bakota, present-day Gabon and migrated with his brothers Mbedi and Ngasse to a place called Piti in Cameroon. Mbedi's sons, Ewale and Dibongo would later found the Duala and Malimba nations and Ngoe's son's would found the various tribes occupying the slopes of Mount Cameroon towards the Rio del Rey and Rombi Hills.

Another version of this narrative holds that Ngoe appeared on the Mount Cameroon and founded the town of Batokki or Batekka. While on the mountain, Ngoe's descendants co-existed with the Boobees (today in Equatorial Guinea) and were forced to migrate towards the sea due to an eruption of the mountain. It is important to note that Ngoe appears in other origins narratives of the Bakossi people as having appeared on a mountain after a global deluge. It is possible that Ngoe, like his supposed father Nebongo, is a mythical figure, as opined by Ardener.[3]

The various tribes (sub-ethnicities) of the Oroko ethnic group are, according to these versions of oral history, descended from the sons and grandsons of Ngoe, including Mokundu (father of the Bakundu), Muma (father of the Bima) and Elume (father of the Balue).

Another version of oral history, which seems more plausible, is that the Oroko are primarily descended from an earlier Batekka people who later became known as the Batanga. These Batanga were settled in areas close to present-day Isangele in the Bakassi peninsula. Probably in the 15th century, tensions between the Batanga and their Efik neighbours began to heighten over trade, leading to what has come to be known as the Batanga Wars. The aftermath of this war saw seven families of the Batanga, from the Balondo clan, migrating into Efik territory in what is today Calabar, Nigeria. That faction is now known as the Efut people of Calabar. Successive waves of migration took place in small family groups, beginning probably with the Bima, then the Bakundu, Batanga, Ngolo, Balue and Balondo. It is believed that the Balue are directly descended from the Batanga and that the Ekombe and Mbonge are directly descended from the Balue.[4] At least seven out of fifteen Balondo ba Nanga communities were founded by the Balue and the Ngolo, making the Balondo a plausible offshoot of their more populous Ngolo and Balue relatives. A list of about 250 Oroko villages and towns was published by the Oroko Cultural Association, USA on their website.

The Oroko occupy a region historically known as the Kingdom of Biafra. If one turns to Knut Knutson's 1888 memoir, which recounts his experiences with the people around the Cameroon Mountain,[5] the possibility of a historical connection between the ancestors of the Oroko and the founders of the Kingdom of Biafra becomes clear. It is also probable that the ancestors of the Oroko were the same as either the Kalbongo or Ambozees, described by early European explorers like Samuel Blommaert, O. Dapper, and John Barbot.

Whatever the version, all Oroko sub-clans agree that their most ancient migrations began from places around Mount Fako from where they migrated into the creeks of the Rio del Rey, following the routes of the Moko, Massaka and Meme rivers. After establishing several Batekka settlements, the people again migrated from the creeks back into the interior, following the Ndian, Moko, Massaka, and Meme rivers.

The Oroko occupy the Ndian and Meme mangrove plains as well as the most part of the Rumpi Hills towards the Bakossi Mountains to the northeast and the Ejagham forest to the northwest. The Ndian and Meme rivers, together with the Massaka and Makunge rivers form the major watersheds of the Cameroonian coast, northwest of the Cameroons River. All rivers played significant roles in the migration and settlement of the Oroko people. There are currently 250 known Oroko towns and villages, the largest semi-urban center being Ekondo Titi and the largest indigenously settled community being Dikome Balue.

Very few Oroko communities are urban or semi-urban. Hence, the majority of Oroko people live in rural areas with usually large villages of over 3000 people. So much of Oroko culture is shared with the ethnic groups that surround them. The Oroko claim to have founded the Ekpe secret society, a type of masonic organization which traditional kept the peace in the Bight of Biafra, and its secret writing system, Nsibidi. The word, nsibidi, is possibly derived from the Oroko word, njibidi, which means "violence" or "chaos". Today, Ekpe has been popularized by the Ejagham and Efik-speaking peoples of Cameroon and Nigeria, as well as their diasporic communities in the Caribbean, in the form of Abakua. Apart from Ekpe, the Oroko also share several cultural traits with, especially, the Bakweri and Bamboko. The Malle (or Elephant cult) and the Nganya are some of their most visibly shared cultural heirlooms.[6]

Traditional Oroko society was organized according to social castes. At the helm of the society were the Konja or freeborn natives. They possessed the right to own land and participate fully in the affairs of the community. Following that rank were the bafa (sing. mofa), who were either foreigners living among the Oroko or descendants of formerly enslaved people. At the bottom of the social rung were the enslaved, also known as baboďeďi (sing. moboďeďi. Slaves were usually incorporated into their owners family and it was the duty of the master to provide, land and spouses for their slaves.

Traditional Oroko society was organized in various institutions of administrative, legal and judiciary importance. Most important among these institutions was the Etana (literally, the gathering). The Etana served as the parliament for the deliberation of matters that affected the land and for the proposition of laws. In more organized communities like Bafaka Balue there was, in addition to the Etana, a Council of the oldest men, known as makōrō na manei (or the Four Age Groups). This is still the ultimate law-making body of the society.

At the judiciary level was the Ekpe. The head of the Ekpe was ultimately the head of the community, and, in most cases, the oldest man in the society. He was also, in most cases, the Nganga Molimi (or Priest of Molimi). He was therefore, the natural Sango' a Mboka[12] (or patriarch of the community). In consultation with the Etana, the Sango' a Mboka directed the administrative, judicial and legislative affairs of the land.

Leading together with the Sango' a Mboka was the Nyango' a Mboka (or matriarch of the community), her most important honorific being Nyangerômô. She was the head of the Besambe (or Mosembe), a council of women who held the same status as Ekpe men. Among the Balue, this remains the only title inherited by people of the same lineage, usually, of the Bareka clan.

Everyone in the society was also a member of an age group. These age groups ensured the smooth functioning of the community through collaborative work. Younger age groups usually ran errands for the community that demanded energy. Older age groups involved in intercommunal diplomacy with other villages and ethnicities.

The economic activities of the Oroko have always been diverse. The production of oil from palms (mostly Elaeis guineensis) is an age-old economic activity of the Oroko people. For those dwelling on the coastal plains, the other economic activity has traditionally been artisanal fishing. For the Oroko who live in the forested highlands, the traditional economic activities centered around the cultivation of cocoyam, plantain, banana, and the gathering of forest products, including game. In recent times, the cultivation of cocoa, as a cash crop, has taken center stage among the Oroko.

• Nakeli wa Embele,[13] chieftain, resistor of German rule in Cameroon[14]
• N. N Mbile,[15] statesman and founding father of Cameroon[16]
• Churchill Mambe Nanje,[17] tech guru, businessman and philanthropist
• Blessed E. Ngoe,[18] scholar, novelist and publisher
• Lobe Ekwelle Nwalipenja,[19] former statesman and educator[20]
• Joshua Osih, politician and businessman