"How Derogatory is the Word Nyangi?"

Nyangi is a misnomer and a derogatory term. This is a word that is used even on Beti, Bassa, or any girl whose lifestyle is loosed or mimics promiscuity. Those that argue that the term Nyangi is not derogatory argue that the word was not found in any British document. Indeed not all research is worth recognition. Partially fabricated and spurious history by swivel chair historians are inherited history from colonizers whom themselves had the agenda of exploitation. So how does a third party account (written history) become more authentic than a first hand witness (oral tradition)? If one needs a special empiricism to justify the disparaging nature of the term Nyangi they just need to be in touch with the people. In Yaoundé, Douala, Limbe, Buea, Mvog Meka and Besongabang even flies know that the word is not a compliment because not even an East Cameroonian man would compliment their female friends: “Nyangi you don do fine”.

While there is nothing like Banyangi or Banyangue because they are all orthographic errors from poor ortheopy, Nyangi is an abbreviated traducement from the former.
While Manyang is a singular term for Bayang in loose context it becomes a macrocosm of the entire tribe. On the contrary, Moh (singular) and Boh (plural) are the adverbs denoting number in Moh Manyang (singular) and Boh Manyang (plural). In that context Manyang has the same strength like Moh Manyang and Boh Manyang for Bayang. I love this stuff!

The Ba in front of Bayang is a prefix for /son of/ like you have Mc in McDaniel in the West. That is why you see Bakossi, Bakweri, Bassa, Bakkundu, Balundu, Bafaw etc. Bayang: meaning was a son of Yang that migrated from Kanea Borneo from the Bantustan clan.

The Bayang people are Batustans and Bantustans hail from Kanem Borno. The Kanem Borno Empire was around Chad and Nigeria and Bantu languages are spoken around this same area. So it would not be wrong to link both together? Most clans were on their fourth to fifth migration before history was recorded. Furthermore, languages evolve as much as the people migrate the reason for which we have people in the Sudan Basin, Congo Basin and Chad Basin speaking either with the same accent, intonation or just plain speaking the same language.

As there were many breakups each called themselves by the name of their leader while trying to maintain their relationship to the main clan by adding the prefix Ba. It is alleged that he had a son called Yang. As such, the people speaking his language in that vicinity called themselves Bayang meaning children of Bayang. Then as time went on the nomenclature led to the appellation boh Manyang to denote increase in number. With more migrations and contacts, people began misspelling the word to Bayangue, Bayangi from which the misnomer Nyangi came from to denote most of the women who were doing prostitution.

Therefore, with respect to the Bayang people, while Bayangi and Bayangue will be variations due to word evolution and misspellings, Nyangi will be more derogatory to use. It is just like the word Nigger that evolved from the word Negro. Yet the word Nigger is still very popularly employed by those who want to hurt the feelings of the Dark Skinned American.

Villages were not started by people; they were founded by an individual and that individual identified himself with the clan of his forbear. The “people of” comes as an expansion with the development of the clan, tribe or village. Take for instance my Town: Ntenako (the cleanest town in Manyu Division), was founded by Chief Tanyi Mbi who left and went back to the congregation to call the rest to follow him. That is why we are called Boh Tanyi Mbi. But abinitio the prefix went with moh Tanyi Mbi which is “son of Tanyi Mbi”.

Nyangi is never used for males and no Cameroonian uses it as a compliment. Today the term is employed not only on Banyang girls but on any woman whose behavior looks sluttish. Even the term “Graffi” though referring to people from the Grassfield is still disparaging.

Perhaps we may revisit the illustration of Coffee Bang Feng. "Coffee Bang Feng” has always been derogatory. The denotative meaning of this phrase is that: “Coffee is ripped here (from the Banso language)” but the connotative meaning in social circles is ascribed to “we have a Mugu or na mbut man dis (simpleton)”. A girl that is called Coffee Bang Feng in Cameroon could be called Gold Digger in The US. Can a Banso man use Coffee Bang Feng to compliment a girl rather than asperse her character? Never!

The fact is Nyangi is derogatory. We do not need research to know if a term is derogatory. Not all oral tradition is bunkum. David Irving: a British historian denied there was no holocaust until he was jailed and then later confessed. Perhaps he is right because he wrote it down. Before anything is recorded it gets transmitted from one generation to another through oral tradition and not through foreign postiches.

Until then, never use the word for it is disparaging.

Prince & PA Hamilton Ayuk

Comments

[Anon]

We all know the notoriety of Banyangi women when it comes to prostitution...the term stems from that fact,deny it you may.

[SIXTUS]

YOU ARE ENTITLED TO YOUR OPINION,BUT I THINK YOU HAVE EXAGERRATED YOUR SENTIMENTS IN CONNECTION WITH THE USAGE NYANGI.

[Danny Boy]

Ha ha ha,
just been listening to Awillo-a protege of Lapiro de Mbanga! In one of his tunes, him say; "Bali marry Banso, them go born na Banyangi pikin!"
Read into this what you want.

[Oyez]

Pastor I agree with you about the derogatory use of the word "nyangi" and I promise never to let it cross my lips. I have only one question about your facts. The only use of the word bantustan that I am aware of, are the artificial settlements created by the apartheid state to confine black people. I have checked and seen no other use of the term.

[PETER WUTEH VAKUNTA]

It is certainly a misnomer to refer to the Bayang people of Cameroon as Bantutans!Bantustans are 'designated lands set aside for black Africans in South Africa during apartheid'. The term 'homeland' is synonymous with 'bantustan'.I believe Prince (and PA Hamilton) Ayuk was was thinking of the Bantu people who are associated with bantu languages: The Bantu languages (technically Narrow Bantu languages) constitute a grouping belonging to the Niger-Congo family. This grouping is deep down in the genealogical tree of the Bantoid grouping, which in turn is deep down in the Niger-Congo tree. By one estimate, there are 513 languages in the Bantu grouping, 681 languages in Bantoid, and 1,514 in Niger-Congo.[1] Bantu languages are spoken largely east and south of the present day country of Nigeria; i.e., in the regions commonly known as central Africa, east Africa, and southern Africa. Parts of this Bantu chunk of Africa also have languages from outside the Niger-Congo family (see map).

The word Bantu was first used by Wilhelm Heinrich Immanuel Bleek (1827-1875) with the meaning 'people', as this is reflected in many of the languages of this group. A common characteristic of Bantu languages is that they use a stem form such as -ntu or -tu for 'person', and the plural prefix for people in many languages is ba-, together giving ba-ntu "people".
ITS INTERESTING HOW MANY TRICKS WORDS CAN SPRING ON US EVEN WHEN WE FLAUNT ERUDITION.
Peter Wuteh Vakunta, PhD