Urban Names and Territories, Traditional Chiefdoms and Identity among the Bamileke in Cameroon
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This study focuses on the issue of autochthony, specifically on the stakes of power and on the identity linked to the denomination and territoriality of cities with multiple chiefdoms in the Bamileke country. The analysis is based on Bafang city, capital of Haut-Nkam department. In its current structure, the department has three large chiefdoms : the two first degree chiefdoms of Bana and Banka, and Bafang, a second degree chiefdom which benefits from a special stature because of its role of capital of the department and of the district of the same name. Bana, like Bafang, is a district capital. As being promoted in the administrative order is the sine qua non condition for a municipality to be equipped with modern facilities, most Banka consider that their group occupies a peripheral position as compared to Bafang and Bana. This frustration is exacerbated by the fact that Bafang, as department and district capital monopolizes the administrative logo although a large part of this city falls, from a territorial perspective, under the jurisdiction of the Banka grouping. This frustration has fuelled the will of the Banka to obtain from the central government the recognition of their territorial grouping as an administrative unit. Since 2007, Banka has become a district capital.
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