Ewale a Mbedi (abt. 1580)

Born about 1580 in Piti, Cameroon

Descendants

Died [date unknown] in Duala, Cameroon

Biography

Ewale a Mbedi is Notable.

In the oral histories of the Duala people of present-day Cameroon, Ewale (also known as Dwala) was the eponymous founder & ancestor of the Duala people. In the oral traditions, Ewale hailed from a place called Piti, & migrated to the location of the Duala villages (which would become the City of Douala). The reason for this migration differs from story to story.

Though only attested in folk histories, scholars including Ardener, Austen, & Derrick, have come to the conclusion that Ewale's existence is plausible, as the traditional genealogies roughly match the timeframe established in documentation by European explorers, & the histories are mostly lacking in overtly mythological elements. As such, the migration from Piti to Duala likely occurred in the latter part of the 16th Century.

Sources

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ewale_a_Mbedi

• Austen, Ralph A, and Jonathan Derrick. Middlemen of the Cameroons Rivers. Cambridge University Press, 21 Jan. 1999.

• Wikipedia Contributors. “List of Rulers of the Duala.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 9 Nov. 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_rulers_of_the_Duala. Accessed 20 June 2023.