Journey to the Southwest Region of Cameroon 🇨🇲

The history of the Oroko people in Cameroon.

A summary from Knutson and Valdeau's accounts.

The Oroko people are the indigenous occupants of Ndian and Meme divisions in the southwest region of cameroon and the southern part of calabar, Nigeria.

They are believed to have built the kingdom of biafra which collapsed around 1755-1760 due to internal fightings and famine. The collapse of the kingdom of biafra contributed greatly to the collapse of the Rio del Rey district as a major trading post in Ndian and in cameroon.

The Oroko were very skilled at producing Iron weapons like swords recorded in Meme(an ancient Oroko town). They also produced iron coins in the shape of a roachfish stamped with three holes which they used to carry out trade. They're probably the only tribe in Africa that used iron coins for trade and how they got that ability is still a subject of research. The last of such coins was seen at itoki.

The Oroko created a leopard government called Matame/Ekpe which contributed in maintaining peace. Another way they remain attached to their leopard culture is through the leopard names they give to one of every twin born in their land and the leopard-man ancestral figure of some Oroko tribes.

They also built a hieroglyphics system of communication called nsibidi, which was recorded in Iloani in the 1800's. This system was mainly used in the matame society but some symbols are allowed for common use. These symbols also gave rise to the camwood body paintings commonly seen on the bodies of Oroko people. The body paintings are meant to transmit coded messages.