The History of Muea Market

by Mola Mbua Ndoko

culled from his blog

People from Kumba to Douala and beyond, visit the famous Muea market to buy high quality food. This is its story as narrated by a respected elder:

Traditional  Muea  Market  (Eluwa  Muea) existed as a major trading centre long before the advent of the White man in the lands of the Bakweri.  Markets existed also in Misselele, Tiko, Gbwenga, Liyengu Mboke (ie. Victoria/Limbe), Vatoke

The Wonjoku family in Muea was renowned for the manufacture of hoes, cutlasses, knives, chisels, spears, axes, brass bangles, brass spindles and tools for uprooting stumps of elephant grass.  At that time several persons from villages all over Bakweri lands visited homes of Wonjuku families frequently to buy hoes. 

Wonjoku manufactured tools were used by the Bakweri as weapons of war during the battle between Bakweri and the Germans in 1891. It is worth to note that the bakweri under the leadership of Kuv’a Likenye of Buea defeated the Germans in that 1891 war

As the number of persons who visited homes of Wonjoku families to buy hoes increased rapidly, particularly during planting seasons, it became necessary to set aside special days for the sale of hoes at a special place inside the village.  The days for the sale of hoes became known as Eluwa  MEEYA, that is, the market for hoes (meeya). 

Eluwa = a market.

Mwaa = a hoe. Plural, meeya

Eluwa  meeya = the market for hoes (meeya).

The name “Eluwa  Meeya” was eventually converted to “Eluwa  MUEA = Muea Market.

The Bakweri have continued to use the words Éluwa  Meeya (eluwa  Muea) to refer to Thursdays, the day for the purchase of hoes.

The Muea square for the sale of hoes eventually developed to an important market for the exchange of varieties of food – cocoyams for oranges and sugar canes; clay pots for honey/cocoyams/deer meat; young pigs (nguma ngowa) for goats; dried fish from Misellele, Tiko, Gbwenga for cocoyams, thatches (ngonja) for honey.  The market furthermore developed to a grand cultural and social centre and also as a place for making important announcements of public interest, such as dates and places of wrestling contests, Maale Dances, Eyuu ceremonies, maintenance of inter-village tracks.

During the hundreds of years of its existence Muea Market has been displaced four times.  From start Traditional Muea Market was operated inside the village.  The original location of the village is close to the spring of the stream known as “Weende”, about three hundred metres east of the now Molyko CDC Banana Boxing Station. 

In 1901 the German Colonial Administration in Buea forcefully pushed out the inhabitants of Muea from the Wende site, marched them south-east wards, and dumped them on a marsh on the banks of a seasonal lake (e-Liyo), an area that was infested with mosquito and crocodiles.  The original site of the village and beyond was then converted to WAPV Molyko plantation.  The market continued to be operated inside the village at the new site. 

As German plantation owners continued to use the market routinely as a centre for the purchase of large quantities of coco yams and plantains for their workers as well as a centre for the purchase of thatches for roofs of residential huts for plantation labourers, the German Colonial Administration transferred the market to a location about one mile north of the village, inside Muea village ancestral land that had then been converted to Molyko WAPV Plantation.

And for the convenience of plantation workers the Colonial Administration in Buea decreed that the market should operate on Sundays also, Sunday being a day that plantation workers were not expected to work.  From that time until today the market operates twice a week, on Thursdays, the traditional market days and on Sundays.

The new site of the market was at the terminus of a railway track from Bota to Wonya  Likombo (Mile 4), then to Wotutu, Saxenhoft, Meveyo, Molyko-Ekona.  WAPV built a big house that was used as shop and a residential bungalow near the market.  The cement pillars on which the floor of the shop rested on are standing erect up till today. 

Large numbers of plantation workers from Tole, Saxenhoft, Moliwe,Tiko, Likomba, Mpundu, Ekona and Molyko used to trek from their camps  to the market on Sundays, particularly on Sundays after pay day..  There were no transport vehicles at that time

By 1935-40 when a Customary Court and a Primary School were created in Muea, the market was transferred to a location about 150 metres from the customary court.  Then about 35 years ago the market was transferred to its present location.

Muea Market has continued to be one of the largest markets in Fako.  It now attracts traders from far away towns of Kumba, Douala, Edea

The traditional Bakweri names of days of the week are:
1.  Liwo  lo-ndo          = Tuesday. -
2.  Liwo  la  gbwa       = Wednesday.
3.  Eluwa  Muea.        = Thursday.
4.  Mesango.              = Friday.
5.  Satali.                   = Saturday.
6.  Sundi.                   = Sunday
7.  Monde                   = Monday.      

Lexicon:
Liwo  londo: literally = the market is “trekking” downwards to Tiko.  This is the day Bakweri women trekked downwards to Tiko to exchange their farm products with fish in Tiko Market

Liwo  la  gbwa : literally = the market is “trekking” upwards.  This is the day Bakweri women returned to their respective homes trekking upwards from Tiko.

Eluwa  Muea - the day of the market for the purchase of hoes.

Mesango = the day for litigations.  Fridays were reserved for litigations.

Satali, Sundi, and Monde are derived from the English words for Saturday, Sunday, and Monday respectively.

Njonja = thatches used for roofs of houses.

Eyuu = a grand festival in honour of a deceased person.

Oma Nanu
Imba Thomas Mbua Ndoko
Dallas Texas, USA

Comments

[oyes]

It is so easy to take a name like Muea for granted. Paa this is deep. Thanks.

[TAGRO]

A wonderful piece!

[Meshack]

Thanks for this historical update. I equally thank God for a "living encyclopedia" like Pa Ndoko. God Bless.
Meshack

[Yaounde]

Hmmn...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zXsWrbsTig

[UnitedstatesofAfrica]

Great piece...I doubt the President of the Country and his blockhead cabinet members know anything about the abandoned historical relics in Southern Cameroons like muea market, the now defunct Bismark fountain etc etc. It's truly a shame to witness a nation and its cultural significances waste away before your very own eyes...and worst of all, it is people of your own skin color and heritage in power. What a shame!

[elias sone ayuk]

Interesting historic information.Tell this story several times to as many more people as possible or even put it down into literature, so that even if mola is no more, the history of muea market will live on and every son of the land will thank you for your toil.