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CULTURE
NGBE MANYU: AN ANTHOLOGY.
By Nfor Atem F. Momanyi.
INTRODUCTION:
Both the Manyu River (formerly Cross River) and the Calabar River confluence to form a major waterway that has long been an important conduit for cultural exchange in a tropical basin encompassing over 22,000 miles (56,980 square km) of Southwestern Cameroon (Manyu Division), and Eastern Nigeria (Cross River State). Four major ethnic groups, Anyang, Banyang, Ekwe/Ekoi and Ejagham call Manyu Division home. On the other hand, Calabar is also home to three major ethnic groups---the Efik, Qua, and Efut---who are in turn each closely related to other groups located throughout the basin, from the Ibibio and Oron in the south, to the Ejagham in the north.
The pan-regional Leopard Society (known variously as Ngbe among the Ejagham and Efut, Nkwo among the Banyang, Mgbe among the Qua, and Ekpe among the Efik, and Nyamkpe/Mutama among the Balundu and Oroko transcend potentially divisive ethnic and linguistic boundaries to harness a unifying influence within the Cross River basin.
Okumeh Ntchukanda.
By Nfor Atem F. Momanyi.
From Takwai in Upper Banyang country to Ekok in Keaka district, and from the Akwaya highlands to Ossing in kerup, Ntchukanda continues to be not only the legendary, but also, one of the most celebrated (okum in Ejagham or akoo in Kenyang) societies in Manyu land. Ntchukanda, though a teenage society, is perhaps the most primordial okum/akoo, which perpetually sits on a high pedestal in the cultural cathedrals of Ossidinge (Manyu) division.
Long before Nfor Ngbe and Sisuku, Dr. Obitabot Elliott aneh eket Ngbe (Ngbe lodge) Obitabot could recite, “Bekundi suhjay, Ohbvon suhjah, Nkanda suhjay, Ebvungu suhjah, Okongho suhjay, . . . “, he probably could recite the teenage rhyme of “Ntchukanda nami koko wayo” (Give presents to Ntchukanda), in his sleep.
Membership is automatic for every Manyu son between the ages of five and about twelve. Membership in Ntchukanda is considered the rite of passage for every Manyu son. This explains why every member who has attained the intermediary rank in Ngbe echelon first of all, acknowledges his membership into Ntchukanda before paying his respect to the other array of Ngbe societies, when performing the customary rituals.
The masquerade drapes the body in a flowing costume of both green and yellow palm fronds, plantain leaves, and carefully woven round three raffia bamboos tied together in a conical shape. It is crowned with a mask made out of calabash, and decorated with charcoal soot, camwood and white chalk.
Ntchukanda masquerade usually performs during funeral ceremonies. At such times, young boys dance from door to door-collecting food (usually fufu and soup) in the neighborhood where such funerals are taking place. At the end the performance, the food is distributed equitably amongst the performer and dancers. In all their endeavors, the boys try to mimic their adult counterparts and parents as they partake in adult societies.
Manyu Band/Belle Sumbu.
By ManyuExpo staff writer.
Unlike the ubiquitous secret Ngbe society, the formation of Associations, Cooperatives, and Clan Unions in Manyu Division are characterized not so much by the fact that, their introduction and spread are recent, but by a form of purpose which shows some adaptation of the traditional pattern of the association to meet specifically modern conditions.
In the early 1930s, an association which had a considerable success and spread rapidly through a considerable number of Manyu cities, towns and villages had the English name “Band” or its Manyu acronym, “Belle Sumbu.” In purpose recreational, its members bought and played European instruments to put on a public dance. These instrument include: large circular deeply resonant base drum, a medium sized circular side drum with a string tightly fastened across the surface to produce a rattling sound when played with two sticks, flutes, a whistle, and maraca-type rattles (sticks) which are played off the metal base of the base drum.
Dancing is performed in male/female pairs. Women dress in large over-flowing gowns (Kaba), while men are expected to wear white long sleeved shirts and trousers. The Mcee uses his whistle to control the dancing by whistling out orders and commands. Sometimes, he shouts out dancing style commands, and through a combination of sporadic singing and clapping the performers, dance in unison as the instruments are played in rhythm. Performances are mainly at night. Lately, the community or town best known and acclaimed for Manyu “Band” is Ashum in Upper Banyang sub-division.
Manyu Band/Belle Sumbu was the mother of all social extravaganzas in the thirties. Unsubstantiated accounts point to the fact that, during such events, the dancers morphed into lecherous sparrows. Consequently, promiscuity, adultery, and “unchristian” behavior ruled the evening skies of Mamfe Division. As a result, early missionaries as usual, misconstrued Manyu Band/Belle Sumbu as a pagan ritual and attempted to completely outlaw this social event, albeit failingly.
Missionary reports by both the Reverend A. Trub and von Rev. E. Peyer describe how its outwardly modern appearance is misleading. They remarked; “. . . There is nothing harmful in it.” Manyulanders also reminded the “morality” police that, “Everything is from you Europeans.” Furthermore, Manyu Band/Belle Sumbu also doubles as a political, cultural and socio-economic watchdog in the community. Most of its songs are commentaries of the prevailing conditions in Manyuland, Cameroon, society in general.
Life is Death and Death is Life in Manyu Society.
By Etup-Etup-Ntui Ashu James.
I once took along a friend to a compound where there was mourning. A prominent Manyu man had just died. There was crying, wailing and weeping where the corpse was laid in state; eating and drinking at another location; and singing and dancing in yet another section of the compound. This continued for more than the four hours we spent in that compound. When we left, my friend, who happens to hail from a different ethnic group, told me he felt embarrassed with what he witnessed in that compound that evening. I asked him why he was embarrassed. His answer was a question: “How can your people drink, eat, sing, and dance when a corpse is still lying in state?” I explained to my friend why we do so. The following write-up is an attempt to elaborate on my answer to my friend.
To Manyu people, life and death are cyclical. A person is born, dies, and is reborn, dies, is reborn, and dies… There is no end. Life is death and death is life. The one leads to the other. Without the one, the other does not exist. There are two principal events in a human being’s lifetime, birth and death.
Let us start with birth. A woman gets pregnant and carries a fetus in her belly for nine months. During the nine months the fetus develops into a human being. The woman experiences a lot discomfort and even pain. Those around her feel her discomfort and are also full of anxiety since nobody knows the outcome of the pregnancy. Finally, the woman gets into labor when the baby arrives. She feels pain, cries and even sheds blood sometimes. When the baby is born, there is joy. We eat, drink, sing, and dance. The reasons for these activities are obvious.
It is desirable to know how babies are made. This discussion does not consider the biology involved. It rather touches on an aspect of Manyu cosmology. Children come from the spirit world, some from old spirits, and others from fresh spirits. An old spirit is one that had occupied a human body in a previous lifecycle. A fresh spirit is a spirit that has never occupied a human body. What does all this mean? According to our cosmology, a spirit has neither form nor shape. It is invisible and has no gender. At conception, a spirit occupies the body of the fetus. It does not matter whether the fetus is male or female. An old spirit would normally be that of a departed relative. This leads us to our belief in reincarnation. According to this belief, after people die, their spirits come back and re-occupy new bodies. Numerous anecdotes abound to prove this belief, but that is a subject for a future discuss. That also explains why there is no difference, with few exceptions, in the names we give to our male and female children. The names are gender-neutral. When a person subsequently dies, the spirit and body are separated. The spirit returns to the spirit world and the body remains behind. So, why do we weep, eat, sing, and dance when a person dies?
We cry, weep, and wail when a loved one dies for a variety of reasons, most of them selfish. It is unavoidable when it dawns on us that the departed loved one would no longer be around to provide us with all the goodies he or she once did. We cry because of loss of companionship. In the case of young ones, we cry because of loss of anticipated benefits. Just as birth is accompanied with crying and rejoicing, we rejoice that the dead loved one’s problems on this earth are over. He or she would no longer feel pain, hunger or thirst. We rejoice that our departed loved one has gone to meet our ancestors in a better world than ours. There is also hope that the dead person will one day come back in the form of a new baby. Furthermore, Manyu people believe that spirits of dead relatives protect them in times of crises.
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Obasinjom Regalia
Emanyankpe
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