The Nzime are a Bantu ethnic group inhabiting the rain forest zone of southeastern Cameroon. The Nzime live along the road running south of Abong-Mbang, through Mindourou and Lomié, and forking to Zoulabot and Zwadiba. Their territory lies south of the Koonzime in Djaposten, east of the Badwe'e, north of the Njyem, and west of the Konabembe people, all related groups. The Nzime speak the Nzime dialect of Koonzime ("OZM"), one of the Makaa–Njyem Bantu languages. History The Makaa–Njyem-speaking peoples entered present-day Cameroon from the Congo River basin or modern Chad between the 14th and 17th centuries. By the 19th century, they inhabited the lands north of the Lom River in the border region between the present-day East and Adamawa Provinces. Not long thereafter, however, the Beti-Pahuin peoples invaded these areas under pressure from the Vute and Mbum, themselves fleeing Fulani (Fula) warriors. The Makaa–Njyem speakers were forced south. Nzime groups continued south past the Nyong River and settled on the Dja. Lifestyle and settlement patterns The majority of Nzime are subsistence farmers. Their settlements tend to follow existing roads, making the typical village a linear string of houses facing the road and backed by forest. Fields are typically very small, usually planted in clearings cut out of the forest with axes and machetes and then burned. Major crops include manioc, plantains, and maize, with bananas, cocoyams, groundnuts, and various fruits raised in smaller quantities. Livestock are typically small animals that may be left to roam unattended, such as goats, sheep, pigs, and chickens. A smaller number of Nzime have obtained financial success in the cocoa and coffee plantations of Cameroon's forest region. Hunting is another common pursuit, especially in the smaller villages. Traps are the primary tool employed, though firearms are increasingly used today. Bushmeat caught in this way is becoming an important, if unsustainable, source of income for many people. The Nzime groups share a codependent relationship with Cameroon's Baka pygmies. The Nzime trade manufactured goods and cultivated crops for pygmy-supplied forest game. In recent years, the Nzime have increasingly exploited their pygmy neighbours, however, both for cheap labour and as a sort of living tourist attraction. The traditional Nzime house is a rectangular structure made of leaves folded over a raffia branch and pinned in place with a small twig. Alternately, strips of bark could be used for the sides. The A-shaped roof is covered in raffia