Bassa (Cameroon)
Encyclopedia
The Bassa are an ethnic group
in Cameroon
. These people, numbering approximately 230,000, are Bantu. Their language is the Basaa language
.
This happened six thousand (6,000) years ago.
A man by the name of Ham, son of Banbo, called his son Kush one day and explained how their people came to be where they were. "O Kush i Ham i Banbo, do not squander the blood, sweat, and tears of those who paved the way for you," he continued, "but rather pave the way for those to come after you." Kush remembered his father's words and grew in importance so much that the whole region came to bear his name. But he and the Um Um, the initiates of Um of old, referred to the area as Aks i Um (known as Axum), which means Joyous Abode of Um. The first shrine he built, he called Um Usuda (or Um Nsuda) which can be translated by Energy-That-Renders-The-Erection-of-Um-Possible.
The Bassa called their experience at Kush Adna i Bassa (or Ad i Bassa, or AdBassa), which means Bassa Union. "Ad i Bassa" is the root of the word "Abassania". This happened two thousand and five hundred (2,500) before Um, son of Nyobe.
AdBassa grew quickly to become a power that was to determine the history of the Nile Valley from the first Cataract to beyond Khat i Um (Khartum, modern-day capital of Sudan) which means Dividing-Power-Of-Um for no less than a thousand (1,000) years. This power, called the kingdom of Napata and Meroe, is the holy kingdom of Kush.
The history of Kush is divided in two periods: 1) The Napatan Period lasted until 2178 before Um Nyobe; and 2) the Meroitic Period which existed until the fall of the kingdom toward the year 1588 before Um.
This division is based solely upon changes in socioeconomic and political structure of the kingdom, for which we have as yet the following evidence: 1) the transfer of the royal cemetery from Napata to Meroe; 2) the replacement of Khemitic as the only written language by Wai Meroitic, both language and script of the people who had achieved political dominance from the beginning of the kingdom; and 3) the gradual advance of indigenous cultural traditions and modes of perception which in the past had found practically no expression in official religion and art.
Napata and Meroe are not only two periods in Kush history, they were two centers. Napata was built at the foot of Gebel Barkal, the Alesed Rock of the origin, Rock-Of-Our-Fathers, known to the Khemitic people as the Holy Mountain. The cemetery of the Napatan kings were located nearby.
Following the transfer of the royal cemetery from Napata to Meroe, Meroe turned its political interests more to the southern part of the kingdom, particularly to the region of the Island of Meroe, known today as (the) Butana, in a country named Put, land of the AdBassa people. The reason for this sudden transfer is simple: AdBassa, word which had been corrupted into Abassania, then Abyssinia, controlled the whole region.
Aks i Um, the original kingdom, first received a strong contribution from all the peoples and cultures living within its borders; but with its center in present-day Tigrae, it was established on the route of the great caravan trade of which Meroe had long been the focal point.
Um was long in the river.
Put, land of AdBassania, was part of the world of "Put and frankincense" in that venerable time when the ships of Hiram, king of Tyre, plied up and down the Red Sea and brought the wealth of Ophir into (the) Israel of the origin, the Israel of King Solomo, whose son, Manilik I, stole the Ark of the Covenant while visiting his father and, followed by Judean noble youths and companions, transported it to AdBassa, modern-day Ethiopia.
Kebra Nagast, a book that chronicles the glory of the kings of Ethiopia, contends that Manilik I and his successors are descendants of holy men. Since Solomo was one of a series through whose bodies had passed a "pearl" first placed by God in the first man, it was intended finally, having entered the body of Hannah, to be the essence of her daughter, Maria. Yeshuia, being the son of God and Manilik a kinsman of Christ, the kings of Adbassania and all the descendants of Manilik are of a divine line.
Aks i Um was the creation of the Bassa, a number of Semitic immigrants, and other Kushitic peoples who pushed the natives farther inland. The mixed population of AdBassa and Semites slowly built a novel and distinctive civilization, founded the Axumite kingdom, and provided the forebears of present-day Bassa people of another historical landmark.
Aks i Um's power, which emerged nineteen centuries before Um Nyobe, was based largely on the relatively superior cultural contributions of the Bassa of AdBassa of the origin. Ezana, the greatest king of the Axumite period, reigned sixteen centuries before Um Nyobe, playing the lute. But it's a man called Xa Bako who took Um upnorth when he forced recognition of himself as pharaoh throughout Khemit and established the XXVth dynasty. Still a lad, Xa Bako was growing a plant in the middle of his hut when he noticed that it was dying. "Place it by the window," Mom suggested one day. "Expose it to the sun." The young man did as instructed and lo, before long, the plant grew into a tree. So Xa Bako proclaimed: "Who wishes to profit from the beneficial influence of the sun should expose himself to the sun. Who wishes to increase the gift of second sight must turn East, for there the sun rises. And who wishes to improve his hearing, and his gift of communication with the Ancestors, and the spirit world, must also turn East, and bow often, for there the star of day comes to life." Xa was the first to refer to himself as "Son-Of-Man".
To exercise power the Bassa way is "to play Um" or "to play the lute".
Bassa people like a ruler who is pious. When Xa accessed the throne of Khemit, he took Nepherit, as his king name. Nepherit means "Great-One-Who-Is-Prosperous-Because-He-Is-Generous-To-The-Gods-The-Temples-And-The-People".
Xa Bako played Um fourteen (14) years and passed the baton to his successor Xe Biko. Xe Biko played Um twelve years and passed it on to Ta Hatka. Come now and hear how Ta Hatka, son of the gods, plays the lute. His lute is one of clear sounds, but also of tumult and strife. Ta Hatka played the lute twenty six (26) years and the giant, raising a leg, slept on his right ear. Like an elephant.
The kingdom collapsed. Things fell apart.
Elder Mbem, son of Soye, forty-second Ancestor in the line of succession, took Um in his hand and led his people to Lake Chad; but it was Dikukame, son of Dikukame, fifty-second Ancestor, who directed Um to the Adamawa Heights where the Bassa settled and built three successive empires: Rif Um, Kororafa, and Adbassa.
This AdBassa empire lasted three centuries. The Hausa confederations, the Mandara kingdom, and the Bornu empire, existed in the North; the Yoruba nation flourished in the West, and Bako, who call themselves Jwi Ejwi, and whom strangers refer to as Pygmies, reigned in the South.
When this latest AdBassa empire collapsed, migratory movements went in all directions. Bassama, son of Put, held Um and headed East. His chief military officer was Nge, son of Simba. They established a community called Bassa-Nge. It is still in existence in modern-day Nigeria.
Other groups went in other directions: (Those who today call themselves) Bassa'r settled in modern-day Togo; the Bassa-ri in Senegal, Sierra-Leone, and Guinea; the Bassa-la-Mpasu settled in a region called Kasai, in the Congo. The most interesting group is the Bassa of Liberia who were led in the area by Hanabo, son of Wenang, whose war name was Hana-Mbak, son of Wenang, With-Um-In-His-Hand. Hanabo was a master lute player. At the end of a rope that he had tied around his waist, this man suspended a hook which dangled behind him on the ground. "Wherever this hooks sticks, there we settle," he warned his family members. As they moved westward, they reached the coast line of the "Grain Coast", in modern-day Liberia's Grand Bassa County, as it is known today. There, the hook stuck in the ground. Turning to his followers, he said: "It is I, Hanabo Wenang, who speak here today. My running is over. Who is with me must put down his burden and unpack, for I am settling here. Who wishes to continue his journey is free to do so." The Bassa offered a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the supernatural for their protection and blessing, and watched as the sun rose the next day.
O people, I ask you but one question: How to call this warrior extraordinaire? Do we call him Hanabo? Or do we call him Hana Mbak Wenang, son of Thunder, With-Um-In-His-Hand? Does it matter? Hanabo played the lute twenty-seven (27) years and developed a strong culture that latter brought forth a system of writing called Vai Bassa. The Bassa people of Liberia remembered the Ancestor princeps of Bakeke and called themselves Baah Sooh Nyombe, which means progeny, descendance, of Baah Sooh. They flourished as they traded in ghana (gold), kumbi (silver), and kalak (charcoal)...
In the vanguard of the Kwa were the Bassa. In the rearguard of the Kru, sub-subfamily of the Kwa, were the Bassa. In the middle of the Kwa were the Bassa, with Um. This spot where Hanabo's hook stuck, right in the middle of the dispensation, indicated where to begin as a center. From there the segment later called Maah Bahn, in honor of their Elder Maah, son of Bahn, the most advanced of the group, moved further westward and crossed Dyabain (in today's Liberia) to establish settlements and close ranks with the Mande sub-family of Gola-Kpelle-Mandingo-Vai. This push began the expansive process of the Bassa. It reached its height only a few centuries ago.
One morning, in the AdBassa of Bassa Nge, the land of Bassama ba Put and Nge Simba, in modern-day Nigeria, strange warriors on horsebacks appeared, sabers drawn, ready to cut and sever. The things they proclaimed, the Bassa did not know. The lessons they taught, the Bassa did not want to learn. The Bassa fought the horsemen from the dust and sand. A battle of male men. The Elders met at night and chose Nanga, son of Nanga Nkuu Mbog, to play diversion. Nanga was a Nge Nge of the best vintage. He was to take his lineage with him and attempt to flee in the cover of night. When the sun was high in the sky, Nanga left. The enemy followed. Nanga fought and ran. The enemy fought and chased. Nge Nanga Nge stopped, fought and ran. The enemy fought back and chased. O horsemen from the desert of dust and sand, do you know what it is to fight a Nge Nge? Don't you know the forest is a friend of the Bassa? In the forest, every bush is your greatest handicap. In the forest, a fly puts horses to sleep, so to speak. This is the one who will stop you. No matter what you do, you will not move fast, if at all. One day, having taken distance, Nanga entered the cave of Ngok Lituba, the Alesed Rock that looks like Gebel Barkal, and a spider wove a web at its entrance. When the horsemen arrived, they continued their pursuit, saying to themselves that had the "infidels" entered the cave, they'd have destroyed the web. To this day, if Cameroon Bassa people ask their children to respect spiders, it is because of this event. A spider saved our Ancestors from a sure death.
One man, Nanga, entered Ngok Lituba, Um in his hand; but nine Elders exited the Rock. They were: Ngok, Mbog, Njel, Mbang, Mban, Ngaa, Nsaa, Bias, Buwe, sons of the Rock; and their wives, respectively: Kiwom, Kindap, Kinun, Kihek, Kinom, Kinyemb, KiHisi, Kindok, and Kiyikii. They settled in the area known today in Cameroon as Mbog Liaa, AdBassa in the tradition initiated by the Rock, maintained by the Rock, and projected into the future by the Rock. They met with Bako, masters of the land, and organized propriatory rites. "What's your belief? What's your power? What's the source of both?" asked Matimbo ma Matimbo, son of his father, Elder of the Jwi Ejwi. That day, before the community assembled, Ngok, son of the Rock, proclaimed the beliefs of the Bassa people with only one thing: He explained the meaning of the word Hilolombi.
The word Hilolombi means "Greatest-Because-Eldest". It is the Very, Most, Sacred Name of He who created Heaven and Earth. It is a word used by the Creator to effect Creation, bringing it to existence. It comprises two roots: the verb iloo, to surpass, and the gerund nlombi, ancient. It is the play of these two words, that is, the addition, juxtaposition, and transposition, of these two roots that created heaven, earth, water, grass, the forest... The play causes changes, ties nodes and frees knots, reversing what was settled, bringing forth new creations... Who understands the word Hilolombi shall do the same. In his hand is the scepter of great power. With this power, he expresses the prototype, brings it to life, along with the Idea that operates the entire chain of the living. The word Hilolombi is the most sacred word among the Bassa. The transposition of the ideas contained in it are countless streams of existence. The word Hilolombi is the whole, the entire, holy language used by the Creator to bring the universe(s) to being.
That day, from the Jwi, Bassa Elders received Hond i Bako, the scepter of power, which recognizes them as rightful, lawful, occupants of AdBasaa, Cameroon's Basaa land. That day, Bassa Elders put Um in the river.
Um is in the river.
Ethnic group
An ethnic group is a group of people whose members identify with each other, through a common heritage, often consisting of a common language, a common culture and/or an ideology that stresses common ancestry or endogamy...
in Cameroon
Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...
. These people, numbering approximately 230,000, are Bantu. Their language is the Basaa language
Basaa language
Basaa is a Bantu language spoken in Cameroon. It is spoken by about 230,000 people in Centre and Littoral provinces.-Vowels:-Consonants:...
.
History
Bakeke, The Migrations of Basaa People Kaboha Basaa, near the Ngorongosa Mountain in modern-day Mozambique, is the point of origin of the Bassa Nation. Literally, Kaboha Bassa means Land of Hard-Working People. It is a man called Baah, son of Sooh who, taking Um in his hands, initiated the movement upward. He called his first settlement Put (Punt in modern-day Somalia). He invited family and friends once he established himself, and they too, later, invited kin and friends from home. Before long, Um was in the river.This happened six thousand (6,000) years ago.
A man by the name of Ham, son of Banbo, called his son Kush one day and explained how their people came to be where they were. "O Kush i Ham i Banbo, do not squander the blood, sweat, and tears of those who paved the way for you," he continued, "but rather pave the way for those to come after you." Kush remembered his father's words and grew in importance so much that the whole region came to bear his name. But he and the Um Um, the initiates of Um of old, referred to the area as Aks i Um (known as Axum), which means Joyous Abode of Um. The first shrine he built, he called Um Usuda (or Um Nsuda) which can be translated by Energy-That-Renders-The-Erection-of-Um-Possible.
The Bassa called their experience at Kush Adna i Bassa (or Ad i Bassa, or AdBassa), which means Bassa Union. "Ad i Bassa" is the root of the word "Abassania". This happened two thousand and five hundred (2,500) before Um, son of Nyobe.
AdBassa grew quickly to become a power that was to determine the history of the Nile Valley from the first Cataract to beyond Khat i Um (Khartum, modern-day capital of Sudan) which means Dividing-Power-Of-Um for no less than a thousand (1,000) years. This power, called the kingdom of Napata and Meroe, is the holy kingdom of Kush.
The history of Kush is divided in two periods: 1) The Napatan Period lasted until 2178 before Um Nyobe; and 2) the Meroitic Period which existed until the fall of the kingdom toward the year 1588 before Um.
This division is based solely upon changes in socioeconomic and political structure of the kingdom, for which we have as yet the following evidence: 1) the transfer of the royal cemetery from Napata to Meroe; 2) the replacement of Khemitic as the only written language by Wai Meroitic, both language and script of the people who had achieved political dominance from the beginning of the kingdom; and 3) the gradual advance of indigenous cultural traditions and modes of perception which in the past had found practically no expression in official religion and art.
Napata and Meroe are not only two periods in Kush history, they were two centers. Napata was built at the foot of Gebel Barkal, the Alesed Rock of the origin, Rock-Of-Our-Fathers, known to the Khemitic people as the Holy Mountain. The cemetery of the Napatan kings were located nearby.
Following the transfer of the royal cemetery from Napata to Meroe, Meroe turned its political interests more to the southern part of the kingdom, particularly to the region of the Island of Meroe, known today as (the) Butana, in a country named Put, land of the AdBassa people. The reason for this sudden transfer is simple: AdBassa, word which had been corrupted into Abassania, then Abyssinia, controlled the whole region.
Aks i Um, the original kingdom, first received a strong contribution from all the peoples and cultures living within its borders; but with its center in present-day Tigrae, it was established on the route of the great caravan trade of which Meroe had long been the focal point.
Um was long in the river.
Put, land of AdBassania, was part of the world of "Put and frankincense" in that venerable time when the ships of Hiram, king of Tyre, plied up and down the Red Sea and brought the wealth of Ophir into (the) Israel of the origin, the Israel of King Solomo, whose son, Manilik I, stole the Ark of the Covenant while visiting his father and, followed by Judean noble youths and companions, transported it to AdBassa, modern-day Ethiopia.
Kebra Nagast, a book that chronicles the glory of the kings of Ethiopia, contends that Manilik I and his successors are descendants of holy men. Since Solomo was one of a series through whose bodies had passed a "pearl" first placed by God in the first man, it was intended finally, having entered the body of Hannah, to be the essence of her daughter, Maria. Yeshuia, being the son of God and Manilik a kinsman of Christ, the kings of Adbassania and all the descendants of Manilik are of a divine line.
Aks i Um was the creation of the Bassa, a number of Semitic immigrants, and other Kushitic peoples who pushed the natives farther inland. The mixed population of AdBassa and Semites slowly built a novel and distinctive civilization, founded the Axumite kingdom, and provided the forebears of present-day Bassa people of another historical landmark.
Aks i Um's power, which emerged nineteen centuries before Um Nyobe, was based largely on the relatively superior cultural contributions of the Bassa of AdBassa of the origin. Ezana, the greatest king of the Axumite period, reigned sixteen centuries before Um Nyobe, playing the lute. But it's a man called Xa Bako who took Um upnorth when he forced recognition of himself as pharaoh throughout Khemit and established the XXVth dynasty. Still a lad, Xa Bako was growing a plant in the middle of his hut when he noticed that it was dying. "Place it by the window," Mom suggested one day. "Expose it to the sun." The young man did as instructed and lo, before long, the plant grew into a tree. So Xa Bako proclaimed: "Who wishes to profit from the beneficial influence of the sun should expose himself to the sun. Who wishes to increase the gift of second sight must turn East, for there the sun rises. And who wishes to improve his hearing, and his gift of communication with the Ancestors, and the spirit world, must also turn East, and bow often, for there the star of day comes to life." Xa was the first to refer to himself as "Son-Of-Man".
To exercise power the Bassa way is "to play Um" or "to play the lute".
Bassa people like a ruler who is pious. When Xa accessed the throne of Khemit, he took Nepherit, as his king name. Nepherit means "Great-One-Who-Is-Prosperous-Because-He-Is-Generous-To-The-Gods-The-Temples-And-The-People".
Xa Bako played Um fourteen (14) years and passed the baton to his successor Xe Biko. Xe Biko played Um twelve years and passed it on to Ta Hatka. Come now and hear how Ta Hatka, son of the gods, plays the lute. His lute is one of clear sounds, but also of tumult and strife. Ta Hatka played the lute twenty six (26) years and the giant, raising a leg, slept on his right ear. Like an elephant.
The kingdom collapsed. Things fell apart.
Elder Mbem, son of Soye, forty-second Ancestor in the line of succession, took Um in his hand and led his people to Lake Chad; but it was Dikukame, son of Dikukame, fifty-second Ancestor, who directed Um to the Adamawa Heights where the Bassa settled and built three successive empires: Rif Um, Kororafa, and Adbassa.
This AdBassa empire lasted three centuries. The Hausa confederations, the Mandara kingdom, and the Bornu empire, existed in the North; the Yoruba nation flourished in the West, and Bako, who call themselves Jwi Ejwi, and whom strangers refer to as Pygmies, reigned in the South.
When this latest AdBassa empire collapsed, migratory movements went in all directions. Bassama, son of Put, held Um and headed East. His chief military officer was Nge, son of Simba. They established a community called Bassa-Nge. It is still in existence in modern-day Nigeria.
Other groups went in other directions: (Those who today call themselves) Bassa'r settled in modern-day Togo; the Bassa-ri in Senegal, Sierra-Leone, and Guinea; the Bassa-la-Mpasu settled in a region called Kasai, in the Congo. The most interesting group is the Bassa of Liberia who were led in the area by Hanabo, son of Wenang, whose war name was Hana-Mbak, son of Wenang, With-Um-In-His-Hand. Hanabo was a master lute player. At the end of a rope that he had tied around his waist, this man suspended a hook which dangled behind him on the ground. "Wherever this hooks sticks, there we settle," he warned his family members. As they moved westward, they reached the coast line of the "Grain Coast", in modern-day Liberia's Grand Bassa County, as it is known today. There, the hook stuck in the ground. Turning to his followers, he said: "It is I, Hanabo Wenang, who speak here today. My running is over. Who is with me must put down his burden and unpack, for I am settling here. Who wishes to continue his journey is free to do so." The Bassa offered a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the supernatural for their protection and blessing, and watched as the sun rose the next day.
O people, I ask you but one question: How to call this warrior extraordinaire? Do we call him Hanabo? Or do we call him Hana Mbak Wenang, son of Thunder, With-Um-In-His-Hand? Does it matter? Hanabo played the lute twenty-seven (27) years and developed a strong culture that latter brought forth a system of writing called Vai Bassa. The Bassa people of Liberia remembered the Ancestor princeps of Bakeke and called themselves Baah Sooh Nyombe, which means progeny, descendance, of Baah Sooh. They flourished as they traded in ghana (gold), kumbi (silver), and kalak (charcoal)...
In the vanguard of the Kwa were the Bassa. In the rearguard of the Kru, sub-subfamily of the Kwa, were the Bassa. In the middle of the Kwa were the Bassa, with Um. This spot where Hanabo's hook stuck, right in the middle of the dispensation, indicated where to begin as a center. From there the segment later called Maah Bahn, in honor of their Elder Maah, son of Bahn, the most advanced of the group, moved further westward and crossed Dyabain (in today's Liberia) to establish settlements and close ranks with the Mande sub-family of Gola-Kpelle-Mandingo-Vai. This push began the expansive process of the Bassa. It reached its height only a few centuries ago.
One morning, in the AdBassa of Bassa Nge, the land of Bassama ba Put and Nge Simba, in modern-day Nigeria, strange warriors on horsebacks appeared, sabers drawn, ready to cut and sever. The things they proclaimed, the Bassa did not know. The lessons they taught, the Bassa did not want to learn. The Bassa fought the horsemen from the dust and sand. A battle of male men. The Elders met at night and chose Nanga, son of Nanga Nkuu Mbog, to play diversion. Nanga was a Nge Nge of the best vintage. He was to take his lineage with him and attempt to flee in the cover of night. When the sun was high in the sky, Nanga left. The enemy followed. Nanga fought and ran. The enemy fought and chased. Nge Nanga Nge stopped, fought and ran. The enemy fought back and chased. O horsemen from the desert of dust and sand, do you know what it is to fight a Nge Nge? Don't you know the forest is a friend of the Bassa? In the forest, every bush is your greatest handicap. In the forest, a fly puts horses to sleep, so to speak. This is the one who will stop you. No matter what you do, you will not move fast, if at all. One day, having taken distance, Nanga entered the cave of Ngok Lituba, the Alesed Rock that looks like Gebel Barkal, and a spider wove a web at its entrance. When the horsemen arrived, they continued their pursuit, saying to themselves that had the "infidels" entered the cave, they'd have destroyed the web. To this day, if Cameroon Bassa people ask their children to respect spiders, it is because of this event. A spider saved our Ancestors from a sure death.
One man, Nanga, entered Ngok Lituba, Um in his hand; but nine Elders exited the Rock. They were: Ngok, Mbog, Njel, Mbang, Mban, Ngaa, Nsaa, Bias, Buwe, sons of the Rock; and their wives, respectively: Kiwom, Kindap, Kinun, Kihek, Kinom, Kinyemb, KiHisi, Kindok, and Kiyikii. They settled in the area known today in Cameroon as Mbog Liaa, AdBassa in the tradition initiated by the Rock, maintained by the Rock, and projected into the future by the Rock. They met with Bako, masters of the land, and organized propriatory rites. "What's your belief? What's your power? What's the source of both?" asked Matimbo ma Matimbo, son of his father, Elder of the Jwi Ejwi. That day, before the community assembled, Ngok, son of the Rock, proclaimed the beliefs of the Bassa people with only one thing: He explained the meaning of the word Hilolombi.
The word Hilolombi means "Greatest-Because-Eldest". It is the Very, Most, Sacred Name of He who created Heaven and Earth. It is a word used by the Creator to effect Creation, bringing it to existence. It comprises two roots: the verb iloo, to surpass, and the gerund nlombi, ancient. It is the play of these two words, that is, the addition, juxtaposition, and transposition, of these two roots that created heaven, earth, water, grass, the forest... The play causes changes, ties nodes and frees knots, reversing what was settled, bringing forth new creations... Who understands the word Hilolombi shall do the same. In his hand is the scepter of great power. With this power, he expresses the prototype, brings it to life, along with the Idea that operates the entire chain of the living. The word Hilolombi is the most sacred word among the Bassa. The transposition of the ideas contained in it are countless streams of existence. The word Hilolombi is the whole, the entire, holy language used by the Creator to bring the universe(s) to being.
That day, from the Jwi, Bassa Elders received Hond i Bako, the scepter of power, which recognizes them as rightful, lawful, occupants of AdBasaa, Cameroon's Basaa land. That day, Bassa Elders put Um in the river.
Um is in the river.