The Ewondo, also known as Yaunde, are a rain-forest-dwelling, agro-fishery people who speak the Kolo language. They are part of the larger Beti-Pahuin ethnic group of Bantu origin and primarily live in and around Yaoundé, the capital city of Cameroon — a city that actually takes its name from them.

The wider Beti-Pahuin or Beti-Ekang peoples are indigenous Bantu communities inhabiting the rainforest regions of Cameroon, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and São Tomé and Príncipe. Though divided into various clans, they share a common ancestry, culture, and history.

The Beti-Pahuin are traditionally grouped into three main clusters:

• The Beti, which includes the Ewondo (Kolo), Bane, Fang (M'fang), Mbida-Mbane, Mvog-Nyenge, and Eton (or Iton).
• The Fang, comprising groups like the Ntumu, Mvae, and Okak, with territories stretching from southern Cameroon to Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.
• The Bulu, who make up about a third of all Beti-Pahuin in Cameroon, and include subgroups such as the Fong, Zaman, Yengono, and Yesum.

Several smaller communities, like the Manguissa, Bamvele, and Baka, have been gradually assimilated by their Beti-Pahuin neighbours.

The Ewondo mainly live in Cameroon's Centre Province (Mefou, Mfoundi, and Nyong-et-So divisions) and parts of the Ocean division in the South Province. Historically, the Beti-Pahuin migrated northward from forests south of the Sanaga River, crossing rivers and plains to escape attacks by other groups and pressures from Fulbe (Fula) conquests in the early 1800s. Waves of migration dispersed the Bulu and Fang southward toward Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, while the Ewondo and other Beti settled further north.

The Ewondo are renowned for their Bikutsi dance music, which means “beat the earth.” Originally performed with energetic foot-stomping, Bikutsi became popular in the 1940s through artists like Anne-Marie Nzie and evolved with electric guitars and keyboards thanks to musicians like Messi Me Nkonda Martin. Modern Bikutsi stars include Lady Ponce, K-Tino, Racine Sagath, and Natascha Bizo, who often use their music for social commentary and women’s empowerment.

Bikutsi even influenced Western artists, like Paul Simon on his album Rhythm of the Saints. The traditional Nkul drum, a wooden slit drum, is another cultural symbol — earning the Ewondo the nickname “People of the Drum of God.”

The Ewondo (or Kolo-Beti) speak Ewondo, a Bantu language in the larger Niger-Congo family. It’s also used as a trade language and has many dialects (such as Badjia, Bamvele, Beti, and Fong). Ewondo Populaire, a Beti-based pidgin, is commonly spoken around Yaoundé.

1. Colonial Encounters
   The arrival of Europeans profoundly impacted Ewondo society. Initially acting as trade middlemen, the Ewondo later faced forced labour and exploitation under German and French colonial regimes. Resistance was met with harsh repression and the installation of puppet chiefs, like Charles Atangana in 1911. Despite this, the Ewondo and other Beti-Pahuin groups became politically influential after independence, with the Fang now dominating politics in Equatorial Guinea.

Economy
Today, most Ewondo lead agrarian lives, cultivating cassava, maize, plantains, yams, and groundnuts (in fact, "Ewondo" and "Yaoundé" both mean “groundnut”). They supplement their diet with forest products and small livestock. Fishing and bushmeat hunting also provide income, especially near urban areas like Yaoundé. While traditional crafts like woodcarving and mask-making have declined, some artisans continue to produce items for the tourist market.

The arrival of Europeans profoundly impacted Ewondo society. Initially acting as trade middlemen, the Ewondo later faced forced labour and exploitation under German and French colonial regimes. Resistance was met with harsh repression and the installation of puppet chiefs, like Charles Atangana in 1911. Despite this, the Ewondo and other Beti-Pahuin groups became politically influential after independence, with the Fang now dominating politics in Equatorial Guinea.

Today, most Ewondo lead agrarian lives, cultivating cassava, maize, plantains, yams, and groundnuts (in fact, "Ewondo" and "Yaoundé" both mean “groundnut”). They supplement their diet with forest products and small livestock. Fishing and bushmeat hunting also provide income, especially near urban areas like Yaoundé. While traditional crafts like woodcarving and mask-making have declined, some artisans continue to produce items for the tourist market.

The Ewondo and their other Beti-Pahuin relatives` migrations also coincided with the apex of European trade off the Cameroonian coast. The newly claimed jungle and near-coastal territories of the Beti-Pahuin allowed them to ensconce themselves into a lucrative role as middlemen; in exchange for European goods, they provided items such as kola nuts, ivory, and slaves. After the establishment of a British naval presence in 1827 to hinder the West African slave trade, Beti-Pahuin merchants widened their operations to include such products as palm kernels and rubber (though slaves continued to be sold secretly).

Beginning in 1887, German colonisers penetrated Beti-Pahuin territory to search for individuals to enslave on their coastal plantations. They also stopped the coastward migration of the peoples. Meanwhile, the French stopped further Fang penetration into their colony at Gabon, though the Fang of Equatorial Guinea continued unimpeded toward the sea and began using copper and iron money introduced by the Spanish.

In time, the Germans expanded their Cameroonian plantations inland, and the Beti-Pahuin formed the easiest and most accessible source of enslaved labour to work them, to build the accompanying road network, and to serve as sexual prisoners for the German overseers. The Germans also outlawed or tried to suppress native customs that they deemed "barbaric" or unsavoury, such as the sacrifice of a chief's wives after his death and the sso initiation rite.[citation needed] Among these alleged barbaric practices the Germans were to outlaw, slavery and sexual exploitation at the hands of the Germans was not one of them.

It was not long before the Beti-Pahuin showed resistance. The Bulus revolted first, in 1891. Their main complaint was that the coming of the Germans had stripped them of their profitable position as traders. The rebellion was squelched in 1895. Later that year, Ewondo chiefs of the Mvog Betsi clan were deemed "disruptive" and whipped before their village. In response, the villagers killed the men who did the whipping, and the Ewondos rose up over the insult. This rebellion lasted less than a year before the Germans suppressed it. Elements of the Bane and Mbidambani also led rebellions.

In response to these aggressive actions, the Germans instigated a policy of removing uncooperative chiefs from power and propping up puppet rulers and paramount chiefs in their places. The most well known example of this is the 1911 appointment of the German-sympathiser and interpreter Charles Atangana, a member of the Mvog Atemenge sub-lineage, as paramount chief of the Ewondo and Bane. The Bulu feared that their trade relations and autonomy would be threatened by Atangana's appointment. Martin-Paul Samba led an uprising in 1912, but it was quelled.

French colonial rule of Cameroon began in 1916 and largely followed in the German mold. Plantations multiplied and expanded as the French concentrated chiefly on cocoa. Meanwhile, the Beti-Pahuin continued to supply a significant source of free labour. The French also maintained a system of indoctrinating and installing handpicked tribal rulers. However, as France granted increasing levels of self-rule to its African holdings, the Beti-Pahuin were quick to seize upon it. An early example was the Bulu tribal union, a group of representatives from all clans who met to establish common tribal policies.

Since the end of the colonial period in the 1960s, the Beti-Pahuin have succeeded in making themselves politically important in both Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea. Likewise, the Fang make up some 80-90% of the population of Equatorial Guinea, which has allowed them to become politically dominant in that country. The large number of Beti-Pahuin involved in lucrative enterprises such as cocoa and coffee farming also lends them a strong economic influence.

The Ewondo people, part of the larger Beti-Pahuin family, are among the many Central African communities whose ancestors were directly affected by the transatlantic slave trade. During the centuries of European coastal trade, people from regions around present-day Cameroon — including Ewondo and other Beti clans — were captured or sold into slavery and transported to the Americas and the Caribbean.

As a result, many Afro-descendants in the Americas have ancestral roots that trace back to the Ewondo and related groups, even if those specific ethnic connections were obscured by time, colonial renaming, and displacement.

Today, this link is being rediscovered. Through DNA testing, oral history, and cultural reconnection projects, more people of African descent are learning about their possible Beti/Ewondo origins. By connecting with Ewondo communities in Cameroon and the Diaspora, Afro-descendants can reclaim cultural practices, traditional music like Bikutsi, language, culinary traditions, and values that survived despite forced migration.

In this way, the Ewondo people serve as an important bridge for Afro-descendants seeking to reconnect with their ancestral identity, celebrate shared heritage, and build new relationships across continents.