Bakoko, Basoo in Cameroon

Introduction / History

The Bakoko, also called Basoo, people have lived along the western coast of Cameroon for centuries. In their secluded environment, numerous rivers fed by heavy rains continue to expand the deltas, which flow into the Gulf of Guinea. Many of the swamplands are covered with mangrove trees and other vegetation. From the coastal flats, the Bakoko can see the plains gradually rise upward to inland plateaus.

What Are Their Lives Like?

The Bakoko are mainly subsistence farmers. They occasionally raise goats and sheep, but their cash crops include rubber, oil palms, coffee, tea, cocoa and bananas. Their main staples are cocoyams, cassava, maize and plantains. They eat dried and fresh fish and meat when available. They also enjoy tropical fruits.

The men normally wear Western-style clothing. The women wear both Western-style clothing and African wrappers (skirts) with a colorful head tie. Their homes are usually rectangular and made from wattle and daub (clay and cow dung mixed together). They also used sunbaked bricks. For those who can afford it, cement blocks are replacing the mud bricks.

Overlapping boards split from tree trunks, or sheets of corrugated tin, form the framework for their homes. Thatched roofs are gradually being replaced by tin.

What Are Their Beliefs?

Well over half of the Bakokos are officially Christian, and they also have Bible believing Christian Believers among them.

What Are Their Needs?

They do not have a written language or a complete Bible.

Prayer Points

Pray for a complete and accurate Bible translation into the Bakoko language.
Pray for the Holy Spirit to move mightily in Bakoko churches, bringing peace, joy and reconciliation.
Pray for the Lord to give them a record harvest as a testimony of his goodness and power.

Text Source:   Joshua Project