iforti ya kah

History Of Batibo Fon's Palace

 

The history of the Batibo Palace and Fondon is intractably linked to that of the entire Widikum tribe in the North Western Region of Cameroon. It dates as far back as to the mid 17th century, when lovebirds Tembeka and Akumaka defected from a wave of Bantu migrants and settled in Tegheben, in a quarter called Tad in todays Batibo, located two miles South of the current Batibo palace.

 

Tegheben is therefore the site of the first palace of the Batibo Fondom. Njei Tegha who succeeded Tembeka evacuated his father's compound and erected his own palace at Gowi quarters, located about a mile from North of Tegheben.

 

Njei Tifuh succeeded Njei Tegha and equally decided to vacate his fathers compound at Gowi and moved his palace to the current palace grounds, the specific site behind the current community hall. Fon Mba II subsequently moved the palace from this location to the present site. This move was still within the palace grounds.

 

Palace historian Prince Hansel Mba, the eldest son of Fon Mba II writing in a publication "A birds Eye View" published by the Batibo Rural Council, notes that so much animosity was often nursed against a named successor and his life was always threatened by his brothers. Consequently the successor had to change abode while retaining the fathers will making him Fon and successor. This explains some of the movements in the early days of the Fondom.

 

The explanation also resolves the lingering questions about Wore Tad and Wore Gowi which has led some conjectures that either a Wore Tad or a Wore Gowi would have formed the royal house hold for the Batibo Fondom. What is obvious is that while the successor vacated the fathers home for safety, one of his brothers always remained and governed the rest of the family as quarter head under the authority of the successor and Fon who lived apart.

 

Today, His Royal Highness R.A.M. Tebo II has engaged the Batibo community to embark on a massive modernization of the Batibo palace, building imposing new structures and upgrading some old ones. It is hard to drive on the trans-African highway through Batibo without recognizing the modern Batibo Fons Palace.

 

The Origin and evolution of the Batibo Fondom and its palaces nevertheless remains an interesting, all encompassing and compelling story, begging for more research to uncover more details and possibly some missing pieces that will make for a very exciting read. There is no question that as more research is done, more will be uncovered. This page will be updated as more details are gathered.