Abong

Abong-Mbang lies on the South Cameroon Plateau, about 700 metres above sea level, where the Nyong River cuts a valley through the forest. The river forms the northern edge of the settlement and carries canoes downstream toward the coast. Swampy forests of raffia palm line its banks, while the surrounding ground is mostly secondary forest that has regrown after clearing. Streams running from the region feed the Boumba, Dja and Nyong systems, linking the plateau to a wide drainage basin.

Oral traditions among the Kwassio and Bakola describe Maka-Njem migrants who moved northwest from the Great Lakes region of the Congo River. They asked hunter-gatherers living in the forest to guide them through the country, and some of the newcomers settled on the Nyong at a spot they called Bung-Ngwang, meaning a bathing place in the river. Other migrants pushed west in search of salt, and their descendants became the Kwassio and Bakola of the Cameroon coast.