with an irate husband.¹ The possibility of such a brawl was brought out rather cynically on one occasion when a woman who was a wiiy-o-tsheemin told her friend that she was thinking of leaving her husband. Her confidant advised her to wait until she had harvested her crops!

SYLVAN RESOURCES

Methods of cultivation and rights to disposal of crops will be discussed in detail in later chapters; but, before bringing our survey of land tenure in Nsaw to a close, some account must be given of control of kola trees and raffia. Like land, these are regarded as the property of the lineage, and their management is vested in the fai or she.² If a man plants kola or raffia trees he enjoys the fruits of his labour, but at his death they are taken over by the fai, and not by his own sons or brothers. This applies also when they have been planted on the land of another fai from whom, in the first place, permission must have been obtained. The landholder, in this case, would have no right to a gift of produce nor any right to the trees. There is, however, one minor exception to the rule of inheritance. A man or a woman may plant one or two kola trees and a small raffia stand in the name of a son, who is then assured of rights of usufruct to the produce. But when the son himself dies the trees are inherited by the fai. Women do not own kolas or raffia, but an exception is made for a Ya or Yewøng, who is often given a little raffia and a few kola trees by the Føn for her own use during her lifetime. At her death they are taken over by the Føn, who may entrust the care of them to her son.

A fai often superintends his own trees and plantations - weeding, gathering the nuts, tapping the wine, and cutting away the midribs. But he normally entrusts the care of some of his property to one of the members of the lineage; or, if it is in another village, then to a kinsman or friend living there. The man in charge (ngaaruu) is allowed to keep some of the wine, providing he supplies the fai with some on request. If he is entrusted with a few kola trees, he weeds them and gathers the nuts, receiving in return some of the small ones - a hundred or so. Much depends on the generosity of the fai. It is exceptional for a fai to manage all his sylvan resources; when this does occur, he is regarded as mean and selfish. In the gathering of the nuts, those present in the compound help the fai and, it must be admitted, help themselves to a few which they either conceal in their loin cloths if they are men, or which they rush to hide in a corner if they are women! The fai reaps the major monetary profit; but, on the whole, this is equitable since he usually has several wives and many children for whom to provide, as well as his other dependants in times of emergency. Nowadays, owing to the rise in the cost of living, some afai are tempted to skimp their responsibilities; but it should be recognized that the pursuit of new and relatively lucrative occupations has given some of the younger men a considerable measure of economic independence and security. This is particularly marked in areas outside Nsaw where regular marriage payments are made and where there is now less tendency for male dependants to look to their lineage head for assistance in this matter. In Nsaw, the general trader, carpenter, fruit-grower or coffee-planter often enjoys a larger income than many a fai. He is able to meet the needs of his own wife and children, besides helping poor relatives and even a financially embarrassed fai. But complications may arise over inheritance. The question is whether costly tools of trade or livestock such as pigs and cattle, or plantations of fruit

¹ The divorced husband does not relinquish his claims to the plots: he may allocate them among other wives, or allow them to revert to grassland until he acquires a new wife; or, more rarely, he may permit a younger brother's wife to make use of them.

² In the case of the compound (mentioned on p. 37) which for some years lacked a resident she, the produce of the kola trees was taken by the sub-clan head who lived in another village. But, once a new she was appointed in 1947, he had no further rights.

trees and coffee are to be placed in the same category as the other sources of wealth traditionally inherited by a fai; or whether they are to be regarded as personal property over which the owner has full rights of disposal. At least one coffee-planter expressed the fear that his sons would not be allowed to inherit his plantations, and he was anxious to know if he might make a will bequeathing them specifically to his children.

The problem is a difficult one and not confined to Nsaw. Both mixed farming and the cultivation of cash crops may well prove an important factor in raising the standard of living; but each entails some financial outlay, as well as expenditure of initiative, time, and labour. It seems only fair to those who are prepared to take the risk and branch out in new fields of economic enterprise that they should have some measure of security in regard to land tenure and the disposal of their property after death. Despite the strength of lineage ties and the fact that the lineage still functions as a corporate unit in many spheres of social life it is true to say, I think, that concern for the future of his sons and a desire to make provision for their welfare has become one of the dominant motives of the average Nsaw man.

But once the principle is recognized that the fai or she, by virtue of his office, has no claims to the inheritance of semi-permanent crops, then increased cultivation of coffee, or groves of orange, grapefruit, avocado pear, or mango trees may well create problems in the sphere of land tenure itself, since the land involved would, to all intent and purposes, become vested in the farmer and his heirs. Once a fai becomes aware of this possibility he may well refuse in the first place to grant permission for their cultivation, since he already exercises this right in regard to another permanent crop, namely raffia. No difficulty need arise so long as relations between the fai and the cultivator or his heirs remain amicable; but, if a quarrel occurs and the fai decides to resume control of the land, what is to happen to the crops ? A sale of the crops might take place; but, if the fai himself does not want to buy them, then any prospective purchaser would want security of tenure. Renting and sale of land were forbidden by Nsaw law but, granted the development of a system of leasehold, the way is open for an abuse of his privileges on the part of the fai unless explicit provision is made for the consultation and consent of the members of his lineage in any questions affecting a transfer of land. Moreover a fai himself might begin to cultivate permanent cash crops on lineage land: which was not allocated or which had been abandoned by its farmer users, with the result that the area for subsistence farming by his dependants would increasingly diminish. On the other hand, there is the possibility that members of a lineage might form a co-operative for the cultivation and ownership of cash crops, or for the rearing of cattle. These problems are not confined to Nsaw but are likely to arise also on much of the uplands and plains, since in none of these regions is there a system which approximates to individual tenure.

SUMMARY OF NSAW SYSTEM

I have discussed at some length the functioning of the Nsaw system of land tenure in order to show its flexibility and the degree of economic security which it affords to farmers under subsistence conditions; and I have also analysed the new problems that are arising from the development of permanent cash crops. In the mass of detail, however, the main features have perhaps become blurred and require some re-emphasis before we turn to other types of land ownership in Bamenda. In the first place, control of residential and arable land is vested in a number of patrilineage heads (a fai and a she): that is, in the last resort, the Nsaw court recognizes that the authority to allocate or withdraw rights of usufruct to farm plots and residential sites resides in such

men, as long as they remain in office. But, as the previous discussion has shown, a purely legalistic approach to ownership is inadequate for an understanding of the functioning of the system and the underlying attitudes. The concept of ownership has moral as well as legal connotations; it involves trusteeship and responsibility. From this; point of view it is just as misleading to speak of a fai as 'owning' the land as it would be to regard him as 'owning' his dependants. He is primarily a father to them (talaa), promoting their welfare, exercising his authority for the benefit of the group as a whole, and granting to its members the means necessary for their subsistence. Just as it is almost inconceivable to a Nsaw man that a father should deny food to a child while it remains under his care, so likewise it is opposed to Nsaw values that a fai should deny land for subsistence to any one of his dependants while such an individual remains under his protection and authority. According to ancient Nsaw custom (li o Nso feembi), a good fai keeps everything in order (nangsin vifa vidzëm). "He concerns himself with the building of houses for his 'children', and then accompanies them and encourages them."¹ Then, as one fai pointed out to me, "my 'children' will call me a good lineage head, because I know how to help them. I cannot sit down (doing nothing) because I am a lineage head (wøn veemi a lo a yøng mo fai o djunge, bifeeee m ki së awinni. Adzë la m yo a dzë'am dji mo fai)."

The system of land tenure is, apart from other considerations, of the utmost importance for an understanding of the persistence of the lineage as a corporate unit even under present day conditions, when the spread of Christianity and decisions in the Court in regard to marriage and the custody of children have done much to undermine the influence of the lineage head. Prestige is closely bound up with the number of families which live in a fai's compound as well as others which, through lack of building space, have been compelled to take up residence elsewhere but retain economic and other social ties with him. A compound in which the membership has gradually dwindled away and where houses are in a state of bad repair is referred to in terms of disparagement which reflect on the fai himself. A fai, then, does not wilfully drive away his male dependants even when they have become converts to Christianity. As long as they give allegiance in other than spiritual matters he is prepared generally, and is indeed willing, to grant them house-sites and farm land. They, on their side, are content to respect and obey him in affairs which do not involve any conflict with their religious principles. The advantages, from their point of view, are twofold: in the first place, there is the companionship of brothers and other close kin with whom ties of affection and common interest have been forged during early life; and, secondly, there are rights of usufruct to farm land. It is true, as we have seen, that in Nsaw no man need be landless: there are a number of alternatives for obtaining farm plots. But normally most of these are utilized in only a subsidiary degree, since a man's claims are strongest and most clearly defined in regard to the land of his own lineage. Apart from those areas which may be allotted to him specifically by his fai, he usually takes over, or expects to take over later, some of the more fertile and accessible plots cultivated by his own mother.

And this brings us to another feature of the Nsaw system. While in theory plots may be re-allocated at the will of the fai, in practice they tend to remain

¹ The above is a free translation of the Lamnso text given me by a fai. It ran as follows: "Keembiki wu ku tatini e wan laf. A yi lo kar wuiy, waa lei. Wu du fo, du a banri - 'veena kar wuiy tsher tsher!"

The fai concerned also said a woman describes a fai as a good man when " he buys salt, buys oil, buys a hoe, buys a stirring rod for porridge If her mother comes to visit, he cooks a good relish (fowl) and gives it to her. When she goes she finds something (that is a gift) has been put in her bag. Then she goes away rejoicing for a good lineage head (she 'eeri fee fai o djunge).

in the hands of the individual and the descendants of the individual to whom they were first granted. In short, the allocation of land to a member of the lineage (male or female) carries the implicit assurance of security of tenure. If a change is to be made the fai endeavours to obtain the consent of the erstwhile farmer. Furthermore, once a person no longer requires certain plots, he or she is often permitted to decide who shall take them over. The choice is confined to members of the compound or of the lineage living elsewhere; but, within these limits, there is scope for the play of preference for some individuals as against others.

Finally, as we have seen, a woman as a member of her lineage enjoys all the advantages of a man in respect to rights of usufruct throughout her span of life. Even after marriage her rights are nowise infringed and these, with her skill as farmer, give her considerable economic independence. Should she leave her husband or decide to leave his compound when she becomes a widow, she is able to obtain plots on the land of the lineages of either of her parents and grow the crops with which to support herself. As a wife or a daughter, she assumes full responsibility for the management of her farms and, in practice, she is free to lend sections to her kin and friends. When she decides to abandon them it is customary for her husband to give weight to her opinion on the issue of who is to take them over; if she is the wife of a fai the matter may be left in her hands.

As far as differential rights on the basis of rank and age are concerned, it should be stressed that these do not penalize, under present conditions, the newly-married woman or the woman of low status. Granted residence in the village of the lineage of the husband and amicable relationships between him and his fai, the main factors determining the total acreage farmed by a woman are her age, the size of her family, her good health, and energy. A Yelaa, a senior wife, or a wife who is a daughter or grand-daughter of the Føn, - all these derive some advantage from their rank, not in the amount of land which they cultivate but often in the possession of large fertile plots within easy access of the compound. As far as the fai himself is concerned, he usually has two or three farms (shu-sum), divided into strips, for each of which a woman or adolescent girl of the compound is responsible. The fai takes the best of the maize (sometimes the best of the guinea corn and finger millet when these are planted); but a woman has full rights to any tubers, gourds, greens, and legumes which she has sown on her strip.

It remains to point out how far the Nsaw system of land tenure may be regarded as typical for Bamenda. In the eastern and central areas my visits were brief and I only had time to make general inquiries among the Aføng, Village Heads, Councillors, and individual men and women whom I encountered in the compounds and on the farms. But among the Mbembe, the Bali, and most of the Tikar (Nsungli, Ndop, Mbem, Kom, Bum, and the villages of Bentsan, Mashi, Fang, Fungom and Esu in the Fungom N.A.), the general principles would appear to be similar to those operating in Nsaw: namely, titular ownership by the Føn or, in the less centralized forms of political organization, by the Village Head; de facto control of tracts of arable and residential land by lineage heads, or heads of extended families (as in some of the Ndop villages).¹ The majority of women work plots on land belonging

¹ The Bafut group would appear to differ from the rest of the Tikar tribes in that de facto control of tracts of arable land is vested in delegates of the Føn, who re-allocate plots among individuals after a period of fallow. (Vide, Bafut Assessment Report, 1926, para. 211).
My own superficial inquiries confirmed this account, but the week I spent in Bafut was one of illness rather than of fieldwork and I am inclined to discount their value. It is highly probable that the patrikin of a Føn's delegate have rights similar to those enjoyed by the patrikin of a lineage head in Nsaw; and that it is only matrikin and non-relatives, who hand over a basket of grain at harvest and who must seek permission to re-cultivate after a period of fallow.

to their husband's lineage ; but where these are inadequate for their needs they exercise rights of usufruct to plots belonging to their mother's lineage. In Kom, where lineages are matrilineal, the system of tenure is reversed in that the individual has a prior claim to the land of his own matrilineage, and a subsidiary claim to that of his father. There are grounds for assuming that, within the formal framework of lineage control, there is considerable flexibility in the functioning of such systems, and scope for play of individual preference in the management of plots and the transmission of rights of usufruct. Such data are, however, difficult to obtain in the Courts or from Court Records of land disputes, and herein lies the relevance of the detailed study and presentation of the Nsaw system of land tenure, since it may suggest lines of investigation elsewhere. Of especial importance are the following points:

(a) a clear definition of the responsibilities as well as the rights of lineage heads, and the bearing of this on the concept of land ownership and control;

(b) the considerable freedom enjoyed by the women in the running of their farms, in the granting of temporary loans of areas to kin and friends; and in the transmitting of their rights to close kin, once they have decided to abandon the plots permanently;

(c) the extent to which plots, once allocated to a man by his lineage head, are handed on to his sons and sons' sons, so that particular areas tend to become vested in the smaller segments of the lineage; and,

(d) the tendency for isolated plots and even outlying tracts of land to become permanently alienated, once they have been lent to non-kin and not reclaimed for the use of the lineage within the first generation.

OTHER TYPES OF LAND TENURE IN BAMENDA

There are two other types of tenure which differ in certain respects from the Nsaw type and which are confined to the west of the Province. The crucial factors would appear to be a looser form of lineage organization, in the sense that the lineage head has less authority over his male dependants; and, secondly, the relative scarcity or abundance of arable land. The Ngie type (see p. 30), in which de facto control is vested in married men, occurs in some of the Widekum, tribes of the west and south-west, where density of population is fairly high for Bamenda (between 70 and 100 to the square mile), and where the land is less fertile.¹ In the third or Ngwo type, which is found in the west and north-west, where there appears to be plenty of fertile land, the Village Head either allocates tracts of arable land among lineage heads, or leaves it to the women to farm where they will, only intervening in the event of a dispute.

NGIE TYPE

My information on de facto control by married males, that is, family heads, is most detailed for the village of Teze in Ngie, where I spent one month from March to April 1947. The country is mountainous and heavily forested in the narrow valleys, where the people build their villages. The yield from crops grown in the vicinity of compounds which are overshadowed by oil palm is poor, and the women go far afield, even to the hill-tops for most of their farm plots. Stretches of level ground are rare, and rough terraces of stone are constructed at intervals to prevent earth and plants from being washed

¹ The system obtains in Meta (Menemo) according to the investigations I made during a fortnight's stay in the village of Nyen; and also, according to the Mogamaw Intelligence Report, 1932, para. 83, in Mogamaw. It possibly extends to the Widekum-Menka N.A. in Mamfe. Unfortunately, I have no information at all on the Ngemba, who live on the uplands.

away in the rains. There is a patrilineage system but, unlike most areas of Bamenda, patriclans are localized in villages and not dispersed over tribal territory. A number of men belonging to a patrilineage occupy a group of neighbouring compounds in a clearing, which takes the name of the founder of the lineage, e.g. eku-Ebanek, eku-Etshebøiy or eku-Enyøku. Usually the lineage head, kum, lives in one of the compounds but, in some cases, either he or his predecessor has moved to another part of the village, leaving a brother or eldest son in charge of the ancestral settlement. But, at intervals, he returns to perform sacrifices.¹ The reasons for a change of residence are sickness, quarrels or, more frequently, a desire for better land for plantain groves which are cultivated within easy access of the compound. The kum acts as a mentor in matters affecting his group by virtue of his role as intermediary between it and the ancestors. But, as mentioned earlier he does not assist all his dependants in their marriage payments, and he has no deciding voice in the arrangement of marriages of women born to the lineage. In economic transactions his power is very limited: he has no lien on the services of his group; if he receives assistance, he is expected to make a specific return for it. For instance, there was a young man who occasionally carried palm kernels to Mamfe for his father's brother, but he did this as a favour and pointed out that he was permitted to be the lover of the girl betrothed to his uncle. It should be noted here that the Ngie women enjoy sexual freedom before and after marriage, but their lovers are expected to perform various services for the husband.

When a man marries, his father gives him a compound-site, some plots of arable land, and a few palm trees. The Ngie say that, if two married brothers continued to share the same compound and work the same palm trees and land, they (and their respective wives) would quarrel, and that to avoid this contingency they become, at marriage, economically independent not only in relation to each other, but also in respect of their father and the lineage head. A married man is free to pawn or sell his palm trees and his land to men of the same tribe, without any reference to the lineage head, though normally he would consult his father or his father's successor. Such transactions appear to be common: for, on the one hand, there are the heavy commitments of a large marriage payment which is rarely paid over in full before marriage; the provision of lavish feasts and gifts at the birth of a child; the payment of tax, and so forth. On the other hand, there are individuals (polygynists with many daughters, or men in government employment) who have a small surplus of cash or livestock and who are glad to avail themselves of the opportunity to increase their landholding or their number of palm trees by a loan or outright purchase. When a plot is pledged, the new farmer has no right to any palm trees growing thereon; but it is understood that he will have sufficient time to plant and harvest at least one season's crops. The pledge, in theory, is indefinitely redeemable; but, if many years have elapsed, there may be attempts at sharp practice, the farmer claiming that he originally bought the plot and did not receive it in pawn. Examples of this were found in the court records of land disputes.

It remains to consider what rights and what security of tenure the Ngie woman has under a system, in which de facto control is vested in family heads. Until her marriage, a girl works on her mother's farms, but sometimes she is allocated a strip by her father, or may be permitted to take over one of her mother's plots. Once, however, she goes to live with her husband, her father may bring pressure on her to surrender her claims if he requires additional land for a new wife or for a recently married son. It is true that she may threaten to apply ritual sanctions if evicted against her will; but such a step

¹ The man left in charge of the settlement is known as Wva-eku, a title which is also applied to men who have left the ancestral settlement and founded compounds elsewhere.

would entail drastic consequences in creating a permanent breach between her and her kin. And, in any case, her claim has no legal standing in the court. In this respect a Ngie woman is at a disadvantage as compared with a Tikar woman who, as long as she requires a plot, is not expected to cede it to a brother's wife or a father's wife. In Ngie, it is a woman and not a man who is expected to surrender a plot should the father require it. The man, in short, has privileges which are not granted to his sister, in that once he is married he may pledge, sell, or bequeath at will land allocated to him by his father.

The ritual sanctions which a Ngie woman may employ do not derive from her status in the lineage, but rather from the association between women and the fertility of the earth; and they may be regarded as a compensatory device whereby she strengthens her position in regard to land. On the larger farms are small heaps of stones (usually placed at the foot of an old tree), where offerings of food such as egusi, beans and oil, and a little water are made to the God of the Farm (Nyugë Bwøm) whose blessing is invoked on the crops before planting. Usually a woman who is a senior wife of the land-holder performs the rite; but sometimes she is his middle-aged married daughter, and she will eventually teach the ritual and grant the right of performance to one of his wives. It is left to her to make the selection, and in return she receives a gift of meat, plantains, and other cooked foods.

The power of a woman to render the land fertile or barren enters as a factor into transactions in land for, unless her consent is secured, any crops planted by the new cultivator will not prosper. This sanction is of particular importance in relations with her husband, since she may threaten to invoke it should he attempt to pledge or sell farm plots which she regards as essential to the subsistence of the household. Should he, despite her opposition, persist she has one further sanction, namely desertion. It is significant that, although a man allots to each wife a certain number of palm trees in the sense that she becomes responsible for the extraction of oil from their kernels, he is under no moral obligation to consult her if he decides to pawn or to sell them. It is true that she may be left without oil for cooking and for barter, but her opinion carries no weight. Palm trees are "a man's thing", and a woman cannot affect their productivity in the same way as she influences that of the earth by her ritual powers.

With the keen competition for accessible fertile land there is very little lending of plots, and certainly a woman may not, even in practice, grant temporary rights to a friend without the explicit consent of her husband. In this regard she has considerably less freedom to lend and to borrow than a woman of Nsaw and other Tikar tribes, Apart, then, from the purchase of additional plots by her husband or their holding in pledge, she has not many alternatives for obtaining extra land. There are certain boulder-strewn slopes which are so barren that anyone is free to cultivate them without requesting permission from their owner, once sacrifices have been performed. It is indicative of the shortage of land that some women are prepared to expend the labour of excavating stones from these slopes, in order to plant a few cocoyams and greens in the tiny pockets of soil. A mother and married daughter, or two married sisters, usually plant some of their crops on plots belonging to both, and then divide the harvest. The desire for companionship and assistance is satisfied through this arrangement and, at the same time, some insurance against the failure of the crops on the farms belonging to one of the women is provided.

When a woman is left a widow, she retains the plots allocated to her by her late husband, providing she remains in the compound. She also continues to express oil from the kernels of the palm trees, which were singled out for her use during his lifetime; but profits from the sale of surplus oil are put aside as

a contribution for her son's marriage payment. If there are no sons, her husband's successor (a brother) would take the money and assume complete control of palms and also arable land at her death. Needless to say, if she marries a man who does not belong to her late husband's lineage she forfeits all rights. Normally, inheritance of the compound is from a man to his eldest son, or failing issue then to his brother. In Meta, it is the unmarried son (even if he is the youngest) who inherits, on the grounds that married sons have already received compound-sites, palm trees, and allotments of arable land. If there are neither sons nor brothers, property goes to the lineage head, and never to a daughter or daughter's son. This practice reveals the residuary claims of the lineage head to property of male members of the lineage.

NGWO TYPE

The last category, the Ngwo type, differs from the Vgie type in two important respects: firstly, land cannot be pawned or sold; and, secondly, the Village Head exercises de facto control over arable land. But it should be noted that compound-sites, small adjacent kitchen gardens, and plantain groves are handed down, as in Ngie, from father to son, except in Kung village, where inheritance is matrilineal. In the allocation of arable land two methods are followed. In Esimbi, Beba and Befang (all northern Widekum) women living in the village farm where they like, usually having some moral claim to re-cultivate plots which have lain fallow. Disputes are settled by the Village Head or his senior wife. In Ngwo (also Widekum) and in the Fungom villages of Kung, Zhoaw and Munkap, the Village Head, in consultation with lineage heads, decides every few years or so which tract of bush is to be cleared. He then allocates strips among the lineage heads, and it is left to the wives and daughters of such men to demarcate the boundaries of individual plots. Mashi (in the Fungom N.A.) presents a slight variation of this pattern: it is alleged that the subdivision of tracts of arable land among lineage heads took place many generations ago; but the Village Head has some very large areas and, when one of these is to be brought under cultivation by his own dependants, he grants temporary rights to the other lineages on the grounds that large-scale clearing affords some protection against the ravages of wild animals and other pests. In Aghem, the Section Head (Batum) fulfils a role similar to that of a Village Head. He has under his control a large area of arable land and grants rights of usufruct to those resident in his Section. The actual demarcation of boundaries is, generally, a matter for arrangement among the women, sometimes under the supervision of a Natum (' Mother' of the Batum). Inheritance of houses and plantain groves is matrilineal; but, if the legatee fails to take up residence, they are taken over by the Batum.

Oil palms and raffia (where grown) are individually owned, and may be pledged or pawned in all the areas mentioned above, with the exception of Aghem, Beba and Esimbi.¹ In Beba there is an abundance of wild palms and each man is free to cut palm kernels where he pleases. In Esimbi, the same practice obtains with the exception of Benakemo Village where, two years ago, the Village Head and his council decided to allocate a certain number of trees to each compound-head for his own exclusive use. Men had complained that, with the increase in the cost of living, they could not always obtain sufficient palm kernels at certain times of the year, more especially when the tax fell due! In Aghem, all the Section Heads, with the exception of two who are of foreign extraction, have a monopoly of raffia.

¹ In Ngwo raffia is individually owned, but if a man wishes to plant raffia on outlying bush he must first obtain permission from the Village Head.