(Part One)
A KEY NOTE SPEECH
PRESENTED BY H.R.H CHIEF FORCHENMBIN CHARLES ABESSOH 1,
ON THE FIRST ANNUAL NDUNGATED CONVENTION ORGANISED BY NDUCUDA – U.S.A FROM JULY 18TH THROUGH JULY 20TH 2014. HOSTED BY NDUCUDA U.S.A – WASHINGTON D.C. METRO AREA.
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The Royal Highnesses, Notables, Doctors, Professionals, Medical practitioners, Academicians, Reverends, Economic operators, Cultural promoters, Custodians of Tradition, youths, Dear invitees, Distinguished guests, Humble Ladies and respectable gentlemen. You are enthusiastically and joyously welcome to the first ever annual Ndungated Convention organized here in Washington D.C. Metro Area – United States of America. It is a great honour for me to address you as a Key Note Speaker in this history making event organized by hard working, peace loving and United Ndungated sons and daughters under the canopy of NDUCUDA – U.S.A and CANADA.
It has become customary that Lebialem Community in the United States identified in their different Fondoms, organize yearly assemblies to rally their elite and make them know their ancestral link back home. To remind them where their umbilical cord was buried and what it all means. While the elite in the U.S. describe this come together as a Convention, at home it is known as the cultural week. They all have the same objectives ; cultural revival, cultural projection embedded with the paramount issue – Development. Ndungated Fondom being an integral part of Lebialem Division, we have the obligation to join in promoting our cultural and traditional values in the U.S.
Dear invitees, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, because of your curiosity and inquisitive nature, you can still remember the theme of this convention;
‘’Together to Educate, Promote and Preserve our Culture’’. The Togetherness or Unity in the Chiefdoms and quarters of the Ndungated Fondom is reflected in NDUCUDA – U.S.A/ CANADA. Their interests and Love of the Fondom, their material and financial support to make this convention a success. Look at it for your selves it is only togetherness that can make a massive mobilization of this nature.
To borrow from the definition of a renown British Anthropologist Edward Taylor, ‘’Culture is a full range of studied human behaviour patterns which includes knowledge, beliefs, skills, law, morals, values, customs and other habits acquired by man during enculturation as a member of a given society.’’ One of the greatest challenges we are facing today is Cultural Transmission. How can we pass on our culture and tradition from one generation to the other and as original as our ancestors handed to us?
My attempt of the answer to the question is, through learning and promotion in multiple cultural weeks , annual conventions, massive mobilization of elite, cultural promoters and custodians of our tradition. Since culture is a powerful human tool for survival and at the same time very fragile, constantly changing as a result of the influence of other aggressive cultures, it must be regularly revived by the people who identify themselves with it. Not other than the sons and daughters of Ndungated.
The visit of the Fon of Ndungated, H.R.M. Fon Foto Felix ASONGNA 11 to The United States in 2012, was timely in consolidating the Unity among the Ndungated sons and daughters, he laid emphases on our cultural identity and traditional values. He made a strong appeal to redress the deteriorating situation and re- affirm our position in the World of mixed and competitive cultures. Special thanks goes to the Lebialem Chiefs and notables who gave him a hectic welcome.
When I received the invitation for The First Annual Ndungated Convention, I told the Fon I would have to witness things for myself, and to pass a message to the Ndungated community in America and Canada. I said good bye to our ancestors who cleared all the obstacles on my journey, The Fon poured his blessings from the Fondom`s shrine for complete ancestral protection, the last night I spent in my palace, I dreamt that I was flying like a bird, in the first steps of my journey I hit my good foot, a flying bird dropped its excrement on me, the first person I met on my way early morning was a lady, I saw a mouse crossing the road from right to left and there were a few drops of rain that suddenly ceased. I turned to my third wife and remarked to her, ‘’ This my journey would be successful one’’. Those are our beliefs and our way of thinking part of our culture. The greatest was still to come, little did I know that I would be a key note speaker in the First ever Ndungated Convention in America.
Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished guests, I know you share with me the astonishment that here in America men wear ear rings and women put rings on their nose and other private parts of the body. In our cultural practices rings are put on the nose of pigs to prevent them from destroying a fence. Worse still marriage has drifted from the traditional biblical type of man and woman, to women and women, man and man. We must sand up as one person to fight against these malpractices which are a threat and a taboo to our tradition and culture. Our ancestors are keeping a close eye on us and their vengeance and curse is eminent for those who deviate. If you ask me the question, which of the two marriages I prefer, same sex marriages or polygamous marriage? I will proudly choose Polygamous marriage, for four reasons:
1) I am a product of polygamy
2) I practice polygamy as a custodian of tradition and culture handed down by our ancestors.
3) I prefer polygamy for several generational continuity.
4) Many children from polygamy is pride, strength and the leaders of tomorrow.
Adults and children have to be educated about their culture, so that they can live it, practice it, speak about it, promote it, identify themselves with it, be proud of it and stop promoting other cultures which are a constant threat to our culture. The United States of America is a cross road of mixed cultures, a world market of cultures. We are lucky to be on that world market of cultures – so let`s sell our own culture and traditional values from Ndungated.
We cannot educate the present generation of Ndungated sons and daughters on the promotion and preservation of our rich culture and tradition without teaching our children and adults how to express themselves in the Nweh dialect. Many parents here in the U.S. Continue to train their children to be tri-lingual in English- French- Spanish, to the detriment of our dialect. I asked one of the U.S. born children to give me water to drink in the Nweh dialect, the child told me I was crazy, that he neither learned such a language in school nor from his parents. The parents must sacrifice time to teach the Nweh dialect to our children as a tool to promote and preserve our culture. It is not our culture for a child to call 911 for the police to arrest one of the parents because of strict disciplinary measures aimed at molding the child up.
How do you explain the fact that one Mr. John got married to Mary as husband and wife they left Cameroon to settle in America. They immediately change their names to become babies. In our culture baby refers to a newly born child, in America it also refers to husband and wife. It is time Ndungated sons and daughters in The United States and Canada learn how to play the gongs and drums to produce our own traditional dances and learn to dance to the rhythms of such captivating music . We also promote our culture by dressing in traditional robes. One Mafua of a Traditional Ruler refused to dress in traditional regalia her reasons being that she looked too old in it. Such mentalities must be changed.
I am dressed in traditional out fit but my 25 years of age are still reflected in my attire. Ask many people why they came to the U.S. Many will say for studies, others to work and earn money. But I differ with them because I came principally to promote culture and traditional values, even though if I see a job I will work to earn money for development and to buy the cultural artifacts for posterity. Let`s copy the good aspects from other cultures and reject those that are detrimental to us.
The Moderator of Ndungated blog would like to thank Scott Blunk for his services to Ndungated village during his tenure as Peace corp in Cameroon.
