Meta People Start Going Back to their Roots

Some Meta Fons that Attended the Festival 

Indigenes of the Meta clan in Mbengwi central subdivision, Momo division of the North West Region of Cameroon have begun going back to their roots after donkey years of a near cultural abandonment and potential extinction. This they did through a cultural festival dubbed "Mɨchi Əbeŋ" whose maiden edition took place on Saturday April 15 2023 in the palace of Guneku village. 

The ceremony that was first of its kind was unique in that communication through out the event was strictly in the Meta language, every attendee was compelled to dress only traditionally to gain access into the ceremonial ground, ancient works of arts and craft were brought for exhibition and during refreshment, all ate only traditional meals from wooden bowls or plantain leaves using only their fingers and drank only palm wine from calabashes and horns.

Refreshment

Exhibition of Ancient Arts & Craft

H.R.H Dr. Fomuki Ticha IX, Fon of Guneku village is the initiator of Mɨchi Əbeŋ. Speaking at the start of the event via WhatsApp from Bonn, Germany, he first appreciated all who financially supported the realisation of the festival willfully and mostly on anonymity, people from across several walks of life at home and abroad. He affirmed from the onset when the plan was nursed over a year ago, it was earmarked to be a small gathering but towards the tail end as the d-day approached, it turned out to be a grand event in which many sons and daughters of Meta origin from around the globe developed an interest in. 

Fon Fomuki also beckoned on Meta parents to never relent their efforts in bringing up their children to first master their mother tongue before any other secondary language irrespective of where the parents live or where the children were born. He cited the example of the late statesman, Solomon Tandeng Muna who despite his position at that time made sure all his children grew up mastering their mother tongue. 

Mbengwi Mukonge Xylophonists Dressed in Animal Skin 

Barakwe Mukonge Dancers Wearing Shoes Made Ouf of Plantain Ropes and Pal Fronds

Guneku has a library furnished with thousands of books. "We are planning to introduce Meta language classes and traditional dance courses plus arts and craft lessons like carving and weaving to interested persons especially youths in the library" revealed the Fon. He ended his speech by appreciating his colleagues for the recent success achieved in reorganising the Meta Cultural and Development Association (MECUDA) and pleaded on the Meta Fon's Union (MEFU) to also hasten up with its own reorganization.

13 Meta fons and 6 Fon's Representattives attended the cultural festival whose main activity of the day was a Mukonge Dance Competition, the first of its kind too that saw six competitors, that is Barakwe, Sang, Mbemi, Kai, Bome and Mbengwi challenging one another to showcase their mastery of the dance. Each group was accorded seven minutes to perform all what it knows in terms of playing instruments, coordinated changing of dancing styles, singing of meaningful songs and other aspects. 

Meneme, Mukonge Dancer from Sang Intimidating their Opponents with his Dressing Style, Like a Talisman

Mɨchi Əbeŋ Organising Committee Members 

The competition was preceded by speeches, graduation of some students that had completed a one year training course at the Guneku Royal Library, award of traditional titles to some meritorious villagers for their great contributions through selfless sacrifices to the growth of the village and donation of farm inputs to some selected farming groups in the Guneku fondom. The handing over of the certificates, titles and tools was done by some of the Meta Fons present.

Fongoh p. Ayeh headed the five man committee that organised Mɨchi Əbeŋ, made up of Amamuki Jonathan, Tebo Julius, Ndingwan Primus and Bandeh Godwill. In presenting the genesis of the festival, the committee head said it is a project he wrote and submitted to the Fon of Guneku for funding over a year ago and all this while, arrangements had been going on backstage till the 15th of April that the project was effectively realised. 

Attendees Seated Under a Traditionally Made Canopy 

General Dancing on the Dancing Arena 

As a staunch Meta culturalist, he appreciated the Fon of Guneku for using him despite being a native of another village to realise such a mega cultural event in the Guneku palace. The organising committee head told attendees "There is just no single excuse a Meta couple that know their vernacular can give as to why their kids are being brought up with no knowledge of their mother tongue."

He will then progress into pricking the minds of the attentive audience by asking them "Have we ever seen any Mbororo child that doesn't speak Fufulde despite growing in this supposed android age? Have we become too modern than the Bafuts, Mankons, Balis and Nsos that are still very much glued to their culture?"  The answers to these questions were left in the minds of every listener. 

Wooden Bowls in Which Fons Were Served their Food

Branded Fibre Bags

To Fongoh p Ayeh, "In the yesteryears, we bore mostly our Meta names like Ticha, Ngwe, Anwi, Tibah, Endah but today if a child is not called Junior, Precious, Marvelous, Blessing then something is wrong. In the yesteryears we cooked and ate mostly traditional dishes like porridge cocoyams but nowadays, Meta women don't even farm makabo cocoyams again, families stay for over half a year without ever cooking porridge cocoyams at home. Instead, what one sees at almost every occasion these days is salad, rice, water fufu and erro. Before, people enjoyed palm wine at ceremonies but today, nearly everyone prefers canned drinks, beer, wines and whiskies and the worst of it is the practice of carrying food and drinks home"

These are some of the weaknesses in the Meta culture that Mɨchi Əbeŋ has come to address. While many these days out of ignorance hold the view that their children should be brought up in English language so as to be intelligent in school and fit in the world, in reality, most of the best speakers of the Meta language round the globe nowadays are also superb when it comes to English and even other languages. It is for this reason that attendees were encouraged not to only dress traditionally, eat traditional meals, dance traditional dances and speak only Meta for the cameras to capture but to make this a daily routine in their various homes because it's actually good to keep one's roots. 

H.R.H Dr. Fomuki Ticha IX, Fon of Guneku, Initiator of Mɨchi Əbeŋ 

A Guneku Youth Dressed as it was in the Yesteryears

Before coming for the festival, each of the participating dance groups had been offered financial subventions for their transportation, refreshment and fortification of their instruments. After the competition, they were again given some financial remuneration on equal basis plus wooden bowls and fibre bags for the group presidents. At the start of the competition, the dancing arena was launched by the Kwem Dance Group of Guneku and closed by a special Mukonge Dance group known as Fɨtəkɨ Mɨkoŋgə rə Tondig. The performance of this special group was as in the days of old when Mukonge had no uniformity during dancing and no dressing code plus it wasn't played using the xylophones we have today but a portable type in the form of a small wooden box. 

Institutions like Abbi Fall Resort, the best touristy site in Mbengwi and ANS3 Immigration, a law company specialized in Canadian immigration partnered with the Fon of Guneku to realise the festival. The latter had her marketing agents on the event ground to give proper directives to potential immigrants on the genuine process to follow and obtain a study or work visa in Canada. Following this prospection, at press time, we learnt at least two Meta youths will soon be flying to Canada after fulfilling the requirements that were given by ANS3 Immigration. 

ANS3 Immigration Team that was Present at the Festival

Refreshment Time

Prof. Njoh Oliver, the President General of MECUDA in making an appraisal of the event said "For the past six years we've not been able to do things like this thus leaving our culture virtually in the cold till now that we are trying to warm it up." He furthered that "the Meta culture is absolutely very very rich and it is in our interest to preserve it and pass it to the generation to come."

The Fon of Guneku was represented at the festival by Ni Mbakwa Bernard. Quizzed on the push factor for the organisation of such a cultural festival, he said "The idea came up when the Fon saw the way the Meta culture was being jeopardised and so we sat in a team and agreed to revive all of what had been thrown in the dustbin through a competition so as to attract many participants who happily came because of the desire to grab something at the end."

Ni Mbakwa Bernard, Guneku Fon's Representative

Prof. Njoh Oliver, MECUDA P.G

On Saturday the 23rd of March 2024, the second edition of Mɨchi Əbeŋ will take place still in the Guneku palace and will involve Kwem Dance Groups in Meta competing like Mukonge did for the first edition. The announcement was made by Fon Fomuki at the close of the ceremony. For the sake of fair play the judges at the end of the competition declared that all the groups won, an announcement that was highly appreciated since in reality each wanted to be declared winner. 

The difference will be that unlike the Mukonge competition that had no openly declared over all winner, all the competing dance groups in the second edition of the Festival will be ranked and results proclaimed on the event ground. Preparatory activities towards a successful organisation of the second edition of Mɨchi Əbeŋ have begun and there are hopes that attendance on that day will double or triple compared to the pioneer edition.