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Batibo is a name that refers to a town and a subdivision inCameroon, Africa. It is located along theTrans-African Highway, 27 miles west ofBamenda and about 100 miles east ofNigeria. Batibo is the economic, social, political and cultural heartbeat ofthe Moghamo speaking people as well as the GreaterWidikum tribe. Batibo, formerly referred to as Aghwi, is home to a people including farmers, traders, and craftsmen.
Batibo is the capital of Batibo Sub Division or Batibo Council and is located 40 kilometers southwest of Bamenda in the northwest region of Cameroon, along the Bamenda - Mamfe road. It is located between latitudes 575 and 590 north of the equator,[1] longitudes 975 east of the Greenwich meridian,[clarification needed] and at the transition between theequatorial forest in the south and thesavannah to the north.
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Batibo comprises the following villages:[2]
Batibo experiences two seasons, therainy and thedry seasons and the average number of rainy days is 165 within acalendar year, with annualrainfall recorded at approximately 2500 mm.
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Batibo culture portrays itself in rhythmic music, traditional outfits, artwork, and folklore and traditional rites.[3] Batibo is sandwiched between the savannah and the tropical forests. The transitional climatic and vegetation zones have endowed the people withsubsistent and cash crops. Crops include yams, beans, corn, peanuts,cassava, potatoes, tomatoes,bananas andplantains. Also cultivated in Batibo are perennial trees that produce palm nuts, plums, cashew nuts, kolanuts, coffee and cocoa. Fruits and vegetables grown include pineapples,passion fruit,guava,sugar cane, monkey kola, berries,okra, Bitter leaf, leeks, oranges,avocados,water melon andpawpaw.
Batibo and its catchment area of Moghamo is thepalm wine capital of the world. The sweet white wine is tapped from theraffia palm tree. The white wine locally referred to as Fitchuk is a staple at all occasions including birth celebrations, engagements (knock-door), weddings, funerals and others. The wine is exported to all the other nine regions of Cameroon with areas as far asYaounde andDouala. Fitchuk hardens with age and has actually been frozen and shipped to Europe and the USA where it is used to grace birth and marriage celebrations.
Nang-cheuppi is a pourish[check spelling] made of coco-yams, and vegetables. Huckle Berry vegetable (Njama Njama) and cocoyams is a frequent meal. The over twelve types ofyams are cooked with meat, fish, chicken, vegetables and spices. Other foods consumed by the Batibo people include: rice,fufu, ndole, eru, achu, miyondo, koki, garri. One of the special meals eaten by the batibo people is a type of cocoyam called "Nang Kon" with a soup known as "abanwa" (leaves of a certain tree, these leave regulate the blood pressure of most people having high blood pressure) with tadpoles inside the soup.
The inhabitants of Batibo engage in animal husbandry. Animals raised in Batibo and Moghamo includegoats,sheep,cows,rabbits andpigs. Pigs are commonly eaten on social events. In addition to those animals,chickens are also raised both in poultries and as free range.
It is an inhabitant of Batibo who originated the quote "Music is the fruit of life's creative and rhythmic juices".[citation needed] A visit to any cultural occasion in Batibo will reveal the rhythmic culture. The Batibo inhabitants and their catchment area of Moghamo have a culture that is full ofmusic,folklore, anddance. The traditionaldances include the Tiwara, Nchibi, Mareway, Ambolo, Njang, and Ngo, Fongwa not forgetting the Royal dance and the Nere.The Nere dance is an annual festival dance celebrated during the Xmas vacation. This annual festival dance brings most of the Batibo people both in the country and abroad back home to celebrate the festival.
