Talk:Duala people

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Africa: Cameroon

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1911 Encyclopedia Britannica article[edit]

I just merged some this article, once located at Bakweri, to the Duala peoples article. Much of this is racist or flat-out wrong, however (are we talking about human beings or Ewoks?), so I left much of it out. BrianSmithson 18:00, 21 July 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Bakweri, a Bantu nation of German Cameroon, West Africa. According to tradition they are migrants from the eastward. The "Brushmen," for that is the meaning of their name, are grouped in about sixty separate clans. They are a lively intelligent people, brave fighters and daring hunters, and in their love of songs, music and elocution are superior to many negro races. Their domestic affections are strongly developed. Their chief physical peculiarity is the great disparity between the size and complexion of the sexes, most of the women being much shorter and far lighter in colour than the men. The Ba-Kwiri are generous and open-handed among themselves; but the law of blood for blood is mercilessly fulfilled, even in cases of accidental homicide. Their religion is ancestor-worship blended with witchcraft and magic. They believe in good and evil spirits, those of the forests and seas being especially feared. In common with their neighbours the Duala the Ba-Kwiri possess a curious drum language. By drum-tapping news is conveyed from clan to clan. Slaves and women are not allowed to master this language, but all the initiated are bound to repeat it so as to pass the messages on. The Ba-Kwiri have also a horn language peculiar to themselves.

This article was originally from the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica. As such, it may not yet be properly adapted to Wikipedia. For example, they seem to be known as "Bakweri" now.

Refocusing article[edit]

To explain the cuts and changes I made to the article: I had originally attempted to make this article about all ethnic groups who speak one of the Duala languages. However, I now realize that this was a mistake. None of my sources lumps them all together, so it is unfair to do so here. There is more than enough information to write long, fully fleshed-out articles about the Duala, Isubu, Bakweri, Mungo, etc. Thus, I've refocused this article to be about the people who, in the previous incarnation of this article, were referred to as the "Duala proper". I will spin the cut material off into articles on the other ethnic groups soon. My apologies, — BrianSmithson 15:59, 5 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Reverts[edit]

I've reverted some changes by User:Esimo. The changes added some unsourced images (good images, but ones for which the source and copyright status were not given), added some language that violates the neutral point of view policy (calling the Bamileke "invasive" and Rudolf Duala Manga Bell a "patriot"), removed random mentions of the Limba people and their language (mentions that were backed by sources), and added a link to a blog, which is against our external links policy. I hope Esimo will check out the policy pages I've linked to for further information. — BrianSmithson 22:45, 23 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Neutrality[edit]

The German colonial period is simply described as bad - without any evidence, while the article advocates the French and British colonial rulers. The sections about the history give a very superficial impression. For example, there is no proof that the majority of the Duala people wanted the British back. As I heard in various media, many Cameroonians want the Germans to come back and rule the country again. In addition to that, many of them see the French colonial period as much worse than the German one. The article seems to be disinforming.--77.4.221.248 (talk) 08:15, 21 December 2011 (UTC)[reply]

This has been unadressed since 2011. I have now removed all statements marked "citation needed", because clearly nobody has worked on this page for five years. I have not removed the cleanup template, because this in no way eliminates the problem. --dab (𒁳) 09:47, 5 August 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Images from the reference section[edit]

I removed these two images from the reference section.
[[File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Model van een kano met roeiers koloniaal werk TMnr 6153-1a-1.jpg|thumb|right|Model of a canoe with rowers, colonial era between 1884 and 1914]] [[File:Carved_Duala_stool_belonging_to_a_chief.jpg|thumb|right|Carved Duala stool belonging to a chief{{sfn|Grenfell_Johnston|1908}}]]
I can't see where they should be in the article, so I've moved the details here. -- LCU ActivelyDisinterested ∆transmissions∆ °co-ords° 13:27, 1 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]