Inside Bantu Cultural Festival

By Pegue Manga

A festival to showcase the culture of the Bantu people of the Southwest and Northwest, Provinces took place at the palace of Chief Dr. Luma Manyaka in Mutengene, Tiko Subdivision.

Bakweri traditional dance group on display at the festival

The festival, which brought together choral and traditional dance groups from both Provinces, lasted two days. Organised by the newly created Bantu Foundation for Arts and Culture, BANFAC, the occasion was the first of its kind that brought together some 2000 people

Speaking during the occasion, BANFAC's Founder, Dr. Amos Namanga Ngongi, (Former United Nations Under-Secretary), said the Foundation put up the event to support the Bantu culture.

"I am not a man of culture but I have travelled around the world and seen other people enjoy their culture," Dr. Ngongi said. "I am now anxious too see my own culture," Ngongi continued.

He hoped that the festival would change the image people have of Mutengene as a hotspot for crimes. "I hope that in future people will not look at Mutengene in terms of the evil we hear on the radio but as a cultural town," observed Ngongi.

Speaking at the occasion, the Divisional Officer, DO, for Tiko, Confiance Ebune welcomed the idea of BANFAC. "I encourage Dr. Ngongi for the laudable initiative. Today we are discovering Mutengene as a junction town of culture, a place where cultures harmonise," Ebune remarked.

"Mutengene used to be a place of evil, but today it is a place to be, the climate and the people are all welcoming," he stated.Even though it started timidly, the festival gathered momentum as the day unfolded.

Things began taking shape when the Chief of Buea, Samuel Moka Endeley, arrived at the scene and was led to a sacred hut by the Ligombi dance group. Chief Endeley entered the hut and performed some rites before stepping out to take his seat.

He received plaudits when he stopped for a while and gyrated to the rhythm of the Ligombi dance.  Then there was a parade of the different choral and dance groups, including the elephant dance, Mbo Bakossi, chacha, and the Oku juju njang.

The most enthralling part of the festival was the Motio, a Bakweri traditional rite, requires decapitating the head of a goat. There was also traditional wrestling and a tug of war. A gala night at the Brasseries Club in Ombe gave the audience the opportunity to savour choral as well as pop music.

With a superb gastronomy and a potpourri of cultural display, the maiden BANFAC festival ended on a good note. The organisers hope to organise a more encompassing festival next year.

Comments

[Roland Ngong]

Cameroonians, like myself, still in the UN see Ngongi as an elder brother whose tenure and conduct we should emulate. He left an enviable record within the system that makes all of us proud.It is no surprise that he has carried that statesmanlike charisma back home after a superb career abroad. May the good Lord grease his elbows with many more years of hard work and contribution to the betterment of the lives of the underprivileged.

[DANGO TUMMA]

what a hell is BANTU CULTURE?

HEEEE, MY PEOPLE HAVE BEEN COMPLETELLY BRAINWASHED, BY THESE FRACOS.
ITS CALLED AMBAZONIAN CULTURE/SOUTHERN CAMEROONS CULTURE,
BANTU, IS TOO VAGUE, AND VERY DEGRADING,PLEASE, ITS A CULTURE
OF A SUB GROUP OF PEOPLE FROM SUDAN TO
MOZAMBIQUE, FROM MAURITANIA TO NAMIBIA
A TERM EUROPEAN USED TO DEFINE DARK SKIN
AFRICAN PEOPLE.

OH SHAM OH

[dango dango]

Dango tuma,you are a capital fool.Your name itself shows you are an illiterate.Go back to school and search in the lines of history,then you will better understand and acquaint yourself with the history of The Bantus.