Nzime people
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| (Total: Fewer than 30,000 (2000)) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Cameroon | |
| Languages | |
| Koonzime | |
| Religion | |
| Christian | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Badwe'e, Bekwel, Bekol, Benkonjo, Bomwali, Konabembe, Mabi, Maka, Mbimu, Mvumbo, Njyem, Sso |
The Nzime are an ethnic group inhabiting the rain forest zone of southeastern Cameroon. The Nzime live along the road running south of Abong-Mbang, through Mindourou and Lomié, and forking to Zoulabot and Zwadiba. Their territory lies south of the Koonzime in Djaposten, east of the Badwe'e, north of the Njyem, and west of the Konabembe people, all related groups. The Nzime speak the Nzime dialect of Koonzime ("OZM"), one of the Makaa–Njyem Bantu languages.
The Makaa–Njyem-speaking peoples entered present-day Cameroon from the Congo River basin or modern Chad between the 14th and 17th centuries. By the 19th century, they inhabited the lands north of the Lom River in the border region between the present-day East and Adamawa Provinces. Not long thereafter, however, the Beti-Pahuin peoples invaded these areas under pressure from the Vute and Mbum, themselves fleeing Fulani (Fula) warriors. The Makaa–Njyem speakers were forced south. Nzime groups continued south past the Nyong River and settled on the Dja.
The majority of Nzime are subsistence farmers. Their settlements tend to follow existing roads, making the typical village a linear string of houses facing the road and backed by forest. Fields are typically very small, usually planted in clearings cut out of the forest with axes and machetes and then burned. Major crops include manioc, plantains, and maize, with bananas, cocoyams, groundnuts, and various fruits raised in smaller quantities. are typically small animals that may be left to roam unattended, such as goats, sheep, pigs, and chickens. A smaller number of Nzime have obtained financial success in the cocoa and coffee plantations of Cameroon's forest region.
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Wikipedia