This study sets out to identify the narratives of Balondo Migration and settlement and their implications to identity construction and ethnic cohesion among the people. it adopted the qualitative research design and within it, the historical research method which privileges the use of archival materials and oral interviews as major sources of data collection. The findings revealed that there are two major incongruent narratives of Balondo migration and settlement. While a significant proportion of the people talk of migrating from the Congo to Nigeria before settling in their present sites in Cameroon, others hold that they migrated from the Congo, settled in Cameroon before a band moved to Calabar in Nigeria. The study ascertained that the basis of this incongruent narratives has been the presence of the Efut people of Nigeria in both narratives of Balondo Migration who are said to be originally of Balondo stock. However, from archival sources, oral traditions and secondary sources, the majority of the evidence privileges the Congo-Cameroon-Calabar Connection. The major source of the Congo-Calabar Cameroon narrative comes from oral sources and a single secondary source. This notwithstanding the existence of variant narratives has implications on identity and ethnic cohesion amongst the Balondo. These different narratives had divided the Balondo into two opposing groups with each group holding firm to its narrative as the original version of Balondo history. It also shows the weaknesses of oral tradition as a historical source in the (re)construction of the history of pre-literate African societies.
Keywords: Migration, variant narratives, identity, ethnic cohesion, the Balondo.