Kingdom of Kom (page 1)
Origin and Brief History
The Kom tribe is one of the principal ethnic groups of Cameroon whose people traditionally speak Itanghi-Kom, meaning, “Kom language. Itanghi-Kom is a non-written language though aggressive efforts have been implemented in recent years to codify the language. Located in the Cameroon’s western grasslands of the North West Province, the tiny enclave consists of approximately 150,000 inhabitants and covers an area of over 300 square miles.
Kom topography is mountainous and traveling from one district to another is only possible by crossing fast flowing rivers and steep slopes. The fascinating landscapes, inspiring green mountain ranges, beautiful hillside farming beds, incredible spiral patterns and flatlands that stretch throughout the area are breathtaking.
Cameroon is remarkably heterogeneous and multilingual with distinct languages, culture and norms that have set them apart as a people. There are over 200 ethnic groups in Cameroon. Dr. Eugene Zintgraff was the first European to reach Kom in 1889.
Kom is traditionally divided into 43 villages. The villages make up the kingdom and compounds or homesteads make up the villages. The villages are grouped into traditional councils for administrative purposes with each village governed by a village Head appointed by the Fon.
The origin of Kom is not known but according to oral tradition, Kom people came to settle in their present day location after being led by a track of a python. Legends hold that the Koms migrated to Bamesssi and lived peacefully with Bamessi people until the Kom began to prosper and outnumber them. Then the local chief of Bamessi approached the Kom Chief and proposes a plan to build two houses to be used in killing older male population to eliminate excess people. The plan was agreed upon and one of the houses was designated for the Kom people and the other for Bamessi. The house designated for his people contained a secret escape tunnel but there was no such tunnel in the house designated for Kom people. Both houses were ordered burnt killing the majority of Kom male population but the Bamessi people had escaped through the underground tunnel. This was an act of trickery orchestrated by the Bamessi chief and his advisors due to jealousy. Some Kom people, however, were accused of complicity in the act and were castigated as “traitors.
Legends also hold that the Kom leader became furious and went to the Bamessi chief and “bashed him on the head with his native harp” and then promised to revenge the death of his people through a ritual suicide. Before he hanged himself to his death, he instructed his people to watch for the track of a large python. The track appeared and under a new leader, Nandong (female), the remaining Kom population left Bamessi following the sentimental python track, spirit of their deceased leader. The snake then led them to their first location and disappeared, the people settled and establish a look out for the track. The track reappeared and led them to their present-day location where it vanished forever. That sacred spot, Laikom where the snake was last seen is the epicenter of the Kom universe. Laikom is a small sleepy village precariously perched on a beautiful hillside, thus, nick named, “city on a hill.” It is where the Royal compound was built in the form of a human body to honor the Kom odyssey. All seven beautiful hills that make up Kom can be surveyed from Laikom with breathtaking views. It is estimated that Kom people reached laikom around 1740.
A mysterious lake rich and plentiful with fish was formed from where the Kom leader had hanged himself. The Bamessi people saw this lake as bountiful source of food and entered the lake in great numbers. The bottom of the lake collapsed killing the majority of Bamessi people, therefore, fulfilling the deceased leader’s prophecy.
It is possible that the Python trial may one day reappear? This subject has been intensely debated by the Kingdom’s elites and intellectuals. The overwhelmed consensus suggests that the python will one day reappear and that we must constantly watch out for it. In fact, a select group of people in the royal compound have been designated with the specific responsibility to look out for the reappearance of the python trail.
Kom Map
