 In 1925 , the French reduced the number of Beti chiefs to 40 and removed the chiefs of Yaoundé from Atangana 's direct control . However , in 1928 the Yaoundé chiefs were deemed quarrelsome and incompetent , and Atangana was once again placed over them . In 1929 , he wrote a work on traditional Beti society in which he tried to hide his unremarkable childhood by taking the title of " King " and claiming descent from a fictitious line of Ewondo royalty . By the end of the decade , he was the head of perhaps 130 @,@ 000 people , the chief of Mvolyé village , and the supervisor of eight sectional chiefs and 72 village chiefs . In reality , his position was one of prestige but little actual power . 
