 |
| Secretary General at the Ministry of Arts and Cuture delivering keynote address. |
According to Chief Issoh Itoh it has
always been the wish of the Southwest people to identify themselves through
their culture. “It is culture which helps you to achieve and it can also be a
deterrent like you heard it all from our leader. That is why we want to
identify with a culture that is progressive and now that we have started we
should continue. Our leader lamented why it was started at one time and stopped
and encouraged that now that we have started we should continue so I cannot be
indifferent and I want to thank all the main actors who have made it possible
for us to be where we are, close to where we are coming from. Because we must
join the Head of State in his endeavours and we have identified culture as one
of the elements that will make us achieve; a culture that is development
oriented.
The Government Delegate to the Kumba
City Council Victor Ngoh Nkelle said the impact of the event was already being
felt considering the fact that a lot of people were enjoying Kumba. for the
first time. Many people he said were there to showcase their culture and that
is having an impact on everybody. “When you talk of culture, you talk of
people’s identities, what they feel, what they do, in all aspects so it’s a
great thing to see people showcase their culture in Kumba.” Using the
opportunity to delve in the history of the Bafaws and that of Kumba, he said “the
Bafaw man came from Maswi from the Mboh areas and settled in Kumba when he saw
the trees that were growing there.These trees are called Ekumba and from this
came the name Kumba. Species of this tree are still found behind the City
Council.
The Bafaw people have a rich cultural heritage and you see it in terms
of their feeding, their life style and in terms other heritages that were left
behind by the older generation like the Nfon’s Palace, where you will find
artifacts of the Bafaw man and how he lived in the past. We are still planting
the Ekumba tree because of the significant place it holds in the name of our
town. This tree is planted and protected so that the origin of the name should
not be dying. Our children should be told that the name Kumba came from this
tree.”
Fon Lekunze Andreas III of Bamumbu,
a First Class Chiefdom in Lebialem in the Wabane Sub Division said he was
highly elated with the turn of events and said like Nfon V.E. Mukete
highlighted, their concern was that this initiative should continue. He said
there was the National Festival of Arts and Culture and that it faltered but he
hoped that this initiative in the SW Region had come to stay. “Preservation,
promotion and transmission of our culture to our younger generations should be
the best approach towards sustainability. Revitalising our culture and
transmitting it to future generations was the theme of this festival and I
think it most appropriate considering our aspirations. We equally hope that
this initiative should affect the other regions of the country so that each
Region eventually has its own festival. This will provide an appropriate build
up to a National Festival and provide a platform for our culture to be sold. We
could meet our 2035 goal by selling our culture. We really salute the
initiative of Madame Grace Ewang Ngoh, the Regional Delegate of Culture for the
Southwest Region.
 |
| Pouring of Libations before the official opening of festival |
Grace Ewang, Regional Delegate of
Culture for the Southwest Region said the general feeling was that of
satisfaction. “It was a difficult road that we covered to reach this stage. I
however think that people have at last realised that such an event was needed
for the Southwest Region to come together and show the stuff that they are made
of. It’s just the tip of an iceberg and
I think there’s much more to be seen because most of the Region is made up of
enclaves. That’s why many of them could not come this year but next year with
more means, these enclaves will be visited and many more people made to
participate.”sThe occasion was graced by the presence of the Secretary General
at the Ministry of Arts and Culture and colourful Delegations came in from all
Divisions of the Southwest Region.
edevnews.blogspot.com/ Email: francoeko@gmail.com/edevnewspaper@gmail.com/ Tel;+237696896001/+237691755578/+237678401408/ +237661864369
No comments:
Post a Comment