ABSTRACT
Introduction In this chapter I examine another angle of the British pro-cattle policy in the Southern Cameroon grasslands of Bamenda – the colonial administration’s attempt to establish a Native Authority (NA) and a Native Court (NC) for the Fulani in the region. Both institutions were designed to indigenize, stabilize and elevate the status of the Fulani, the owners of cattle wealth and the sustainers of the economy of the region through their contributions in cattle taxes. But the establishment of such separate institutions in a region where they were considered strangers, constituted a minority, were sparsely populated and scattered in more than a dozen grazing areas within village-communities was a difficult and daunting task. I argue that the idea of creating a Native Authority for the Fulani in the region – a concept that they themselves recognized as untenable – would have abnegated the entire notion, purpose and function of NAs; the hurdles were many and the idea was abandoned. On the other hand, the issue of establishing a Native Court was more reasonable and was welcomed by all parties – the Fulani, indigenous chiefs and colonial authorities. There are two sections to the chapter. The first examines the functioning of NAs in the region and its inapplicability to the Fulani situation and the second interrogates the merits of a court system – the Alkali court – for the Fulani. The chapter ends with some conclusive remarks.
