The Diary Game Reconnecting with my Culture

A few days ago, I had the singular pleasure of reconnecting with my culture in a way that I haven't felt since I was 11 years old... and it was the greatest feeling I have had in a very looooong time...

If you, like me, are from any of the wimbum tribes of the North West Region of Cameroon, you probably are familiar with the fact that before the ongoing socio-political crisis in the English speaking regions of the country, every New Year's day was Mile 2 Day 😂😂😂

Anyways, growing up, the Wimbum cultural and Development Assocation (WICUDA) in Bamenda would always organize, on the 1st of January of every year, a grand cultural jamboree which will bring together all of the Wimbum people living in Bamenda town to WICUDA's hall around Mile 2 Junction (hence the name Mile 2) for lots of cultural displays, dancing, food and all round camaraderie. It was always such an amazing time that as children, we always used to look forward to New Year's day. I know that stopped after 2016 after the crisis began and I don't know if the event ever resumed.

However, this year, the current WICUDA executive of the North West Region decided to organize a Wimbum Cultural Festival with basically same objectives as what we used to have as Mile 2 and it turned out to be what we all needed.

I woke up around my usual 4 AM that morning, wrote a few lines of code on a project that I have been working on @yems.group for months now and then went ahead to prepare myself for the day.

Around 11AM, I rushed to the field, for a veteran game and then rushed home right after that to freshen up. Right after my bath, I saw a friend of my post about the then ongoing cultural festival on his status and that's when I remembered it was happening that day

I immediately put on my toghu and rushed over to Blue Pearl where everything was happening to join the festivities.

^{Dtube Video of Juju] captured by me at the festival}

Immediately I got there, I was greeted by the side of the road by one of the juju dances that were leaving the festival already. It was so exciting as it had been a while since I'd seen any juju here in town.

Already filled with so much excitement, I proceeded into the festival ground where fundraising was going on at the Blue Pearl Open Plaza. The first group to start dancing as I got there were the Mindu dance from the Ndu Fon's Palace.

Trust me, these images don't even begin to capture how amazing the atmosphere was.

After the Mindu Dancers made their rounds, the very famous Mbaya dancers came in and caught the crowd by storm. If you're not familiar with the Mbaya dance, the video below will give you a very quick intro into what it's all about.

^{Dtube Video of Mbaya Dance captured by me at the festival}

The very famous Mbaya dance known for it's high energetic displays, mostly performed by men is one of the most famous dance of the Wimbum people of Donga-Mantung Division in the North West Region of Cameroon. It can also be seen from the Nso people of the same region, and has been also been performed in some parts of the Northern region of Cameroon which is the origin of the Tikar people of which the Wimbum are descendants.

Looks exciting right?

One of the reasons why many of the wimbum people at the festival were so filled with energy is the fact that some of the fons of some wimbum villages were present. This really made the atmosphere feel like they were at home.

^{The Fons of Njap, Watt, Kup and Tarla... (if I remember correctly 😁)}

I also had a lot to drink as I met a friend of mine who's a journalist and so he and I joined the rest of the press crew to enjoy the goodies that had been reserved for them.

I can't fully capture all of the feelings that I was feeling that day. I still have jitters😁😁😁 but this was definitely the best day that I had all week.

I am seriously looking forward to more cultural festivals like these.