Introduction

Mbule (also referred to as Dumbule, Mbure or Mbola) is spoken only in the village of Mbola by an estimated 100 persons (Boone 1992b; Lewis et al. 2013). In personal communication with residents, the population figures were given as 112 persons in 34 households for the four quarters of Mbola (Nikoyo Charles Dieudonné, catechist p.c. 13 Feb. 2009). The quarters of Mbola are Bougnabog, Cade, Kidjo and Tané-Mos. There appears to be no variation in the language between the various quarters.

Mbure is referred to in only a couple of works, notably Scruggs’ 1982 linguistic survey of the Bokito region (including approximately 180 terms), and Boone’s (1992b) survey of Mbule (including approximately 100 terms). Only seven vowels are identified in these works.

The Mbure people consider themselves to be originally from the District of Sanaga‑Maritime, south of the Sanaga. Due to war with the Basaa and Bati, they fled north across the river. Massamatila is one of the ancestors of Mbola, the founder of the village. The Mbure acknowledge that they are related to the Bogando (Elip) and Batanga (Yangben) and Bongo (Baca).