Connecting with ones cultural roots has always been a great challenge that needs a participative effort. It’s from this perspective that Pr Felix-Steve Belinga and his wife Mireille Gracia Belinga founded the Belinga Foundation and the Bio So Mengong Festival some years ago.
As for the festival, this year 2024 marks its third year of existence. And the theme of this edition being Unity and diversity call upon a diverse set of activities to give strength to the theme. The Bia So Mengong festival is becoming a great philanthropic initiative that deploys day by day strategies to identify and codify diverse cultural heritage. Many activities contrubute to this : story telling, proverbes, village evening, conferences and seminars on cultural heritage…
In this perspective, the day of July 22, 2024 allowed the festival goers to visit the Ekouk caves in Alop. According to history, thosebcaves served as a place of refuge for the Ekouk ancestors, during the world wars and even the bloody war of independence in Cameroon. It is a tourist place and a place of memory at once. However, the site is not serviced. To get there, you have to undertake an obstacle course by following a path that branches off between the cocoa trees and the thickest bush. Far from the village by some 5 kilometers if not more, the route imposes on the visitor a long walk there and back because no means of transport other than walking can help getting there. During the trip, the visitor is cut off from the so-called modern world to be introduced into a moment of communion with nature.
Another activity of this 22nd is that of Edan Yevol, that is to say the presentation of the genealogy of the Ekouk. Followed by the NKouane Minkana and the Nkanane Minkana, respectively the proverbs and the Tales. The visit to the local art stands brings another color, in particular with the presentation of a sculpture stand and a device for brewing a craft drink called « odontol ». There is no shortage of culinary art. We have snail skewers (mbekoï), enam ngone (pistachio dishes), Mbome Kouem ( a Dish made with cassava leafs), Angomo (chicouagne), banana (afjoi) and Ndomba…
The day ends with the presentation of a set of prizes and popular celebrations.
Preston Kambou
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