Mmuock Leteh
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Mmuock Leteh Fotang |
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From top (L-R): main market crop potato, Mandzong group performs, students of the St John Paul II college sing the national anthem, early morning traders at the local market, partial panoramic view of Ntemndzem
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| Etymology: lètǽ'lé (IPA: [lətɛʔlə]) (to be not quite agreed upon) | |
| Nickname(s): Leteh, Fotang, Bamock Fotang, Mmuock Fotang, Nkọolaq | |
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| Coordinates: 5°40′30″N 10°02′28″E / 5.675°N 10.041°ECoordinates: 5°40′30″N 10°02′28″E / 5.675°N 10.041°E | |
| Country |
 Cameroon
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| Division | Lebialem |
| Region | Southwest |
| Ethnic group | Bamilike |
| Founded | ca 1820 |
| Founded by | Nkemtang |
| Divisions | |
| Elevation | 2,496 m (8,189 ft) |
| Highest elevation | 2,740 m (8,990 ft) |
| Demonym(s) | Ŋeqleteh (IPA: [ŋeɣletɛʔ]), Mbaleteh (pl.) |
| Time zone | WAT (UTC+1) |
Mmuock Leteh (IPA: [m̩muɔk lətɛʔ]) is a village of the Mmuock tribe. Administratively, it is found in the Wabane subdivsion of the Lebialem Division in the Southwest Region of Cameroon. Located at 5.675°N/10.041°E, it is the last village on the northwestern border with the West Region of the country. The colonial administrators called it Fotang after the name of the traditional ruler. As a result, the village is today alternatively known as Fotang, and that name is retained on some administrative maps of Cameroon and on satellite imagery.
At 2740m asl, it has one of the highest peaks in Cameroon located in Maleta. The climate can be termed temperate, with night temperatures occasionally falling below 10 °C and the lower regions characterised by fog during the day.
Mmuock Leteh is part of the Mmuock tribe and hence, shares the same early history with the other Mmuock villages.
Not much is known about the Mmuock people prior to the 18th century. According to oral history, they at one point settled at a place called Bezeq Foka (IPA: [bəzəɣ fɯka]) in the present-day Menoua division of the Western Region. Thence, they migrated to a locality which today lies in Bafou and is called Fem Mmuock (meaning ruins of the abandoned location of Mmuock) by Mmuock people, and "Femock" by Bafou people . Eventually, the people split into two groups of two factions each, and each group went off in a different direction. One group included followers of a man called Nkemtang. They moved northwards and settled at a place today called Fem Leteh (IPA: [ʔə.fəm lətɛʔ]), meaning ruins of the abandoned location of Leteh. There, they founded the village of Mmuock-Leteh. Nkemtang, who was the group's leader, was renamed Fotang (IPA: [fɯtaŋ]) and became the village ruler. (In the Mmuock language, the prefix Nkem (IPA: [ŋkəəm]) denotes a notable of high rank; Fø (IPA: [ʔə.fɯ]), on the other hand, is the highest rank and signifies a ruler.) As the Nkemtang faction had been the largest, Leteh was known amongst the other Mmuock communities as Nko'olaq (IPA: [ŋkɔʔɔlaɣ]) (meaning the larger section).
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