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Emmanuel Dibango N’Djocke- "Manu Dibango". The Lion of African Music.
Emmanuel Dibango N’Djocke popularly known as Manu Dibango was born in Douala on December 12, 1933. On the international scene, he is known as the Cameroonian saxophonist, pianist, vibraphonist and composer whose “innovative jazz fusions and wide-ranging collaborative work” played a significant role in introducing European and North American audiences to the sounds of West African popular music between the mid-20th and the early 21st century.
Dibango was born into a musical Protestant Christian household to parents who represented two Cameroonian ethnic groups historically known for rivalry. His mother was from Douala and his father was from Yabassi both from the LittoralRegion of the country. Dibango’s musical aptitude became evident at an early age through his singing at the local church.
Manu Dibango is Cameroon's, and perhaps Africa's, best-known jazz saxophonist. Starting in the 1950s, he became a globe-trotting musician, living and performing in France, Belgium, Jamaica, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Cote d'Ivoire, as well as in Cameroon. In 1960, Manu Dibango became one of the founding Members of the Congolese band African Jazz, with which he spent five years. World attention was turned to him with the release in 1972 of Soul Makossa, a work that actually had touches of the precious makossa sound.
Manu Dibango’s output was prodigious and multi-faceted. He worked with musicians from diverse backgrounds like the Nigerian legend Fela Kuti, Sly Dunbar, Robbie Shakespeare, Don Cherry, and the Fania All-Stars. In addition to being one of the leading jazz saxophonists of his generation, Manu Dibango also ran nightclubs, directed orchestras, and started one of the first African musical journals. A later release, Polysonikfeaturing English rapper MC Mello, Cameroonian singer Charlotte Mbango leading a choral section, and sampled pygmy flutes shows that Manu Dibango continued to flourish and to expand in challenging new directions.
It is almost impossible to find a fitting description for a musician such as Manu Dibango who made such an enormous contribution to African music as a whole. He was thesaxophonist, nicknamed 'The lion of Cameroon', from a track on The Very Best of African Soul album.
He was originally trained in classical piano and his musical career began in Brussels and Paris in the 1950s. 1960 found him in Congo as a member of African Jazz led by Joseph Kabasele(Le Grand Kalle)! He formed his own band in Cameroon in 1963 and moved to Paris in 1965. His international breakthrough came in 1972 with Soul Makossa.
Manu Dibango was extraordinarily versatile and played almost every style of music you care to mention: soul, reggae, jazz, spirituals, blues amongst others. Manu Dibango featured on albums by Angelique Kidjo from Benin, Anne-Marie Nziéfrom Cameroon, Frederique Meiway from Cote d'Ivoire and Kékélé Kinavana. On his Wakafrika album of 1994, many top African and international musicians contributed. In 1985 Manu raised funds for famine-stricken Ethiopia through his successful 'Tam-Tams for Ethiopia' project with Mory Kante and others.
Manu's first album was recorded in 1969 and in 1970 he accompanied Franklin Boukaka in a classic 12-track album. In the year 2000 he released two albums namely: Anthology, a boxed set of 3 CDs and Mboa' Su which included a new arrangement of Franklin Boukaka's track 'Aye Africa' (LeBucheron), made for the millennium celebrations on Robben Island in the presence of Nelson Mandela and Thabo Mbeki.
In 2000 Manu staged a concert in Cameroon after passing many years out of his native Cameroon and was given the honour of the Cameroonian of the Century together with football star Roger Milla. In 2002, an album with a difference was released entitled B Sides with most of the tracks re-mastered from recordings in the 1970s where Manu plays, not sax, but the marimba and vibraphone.
There are Rough Guides to the music of whole countries but Manu warrants one all to himself: the 13-track album The Rough Guide to Manu Dibango (2004) has the full range of his songs, classics and rarities .
Manu's autobiography was originally published in French in 1989 with the English translation, Three Kilos of Coffee, published in 1994. The book makes fascinating reading as Manu describes his experiences personally. In 1984 he originated the word 'negropolitain'.
Manu performed alongside Cuban Y Clave Guaguanco at the Barbican in London in 1999 and was in London again in April 2001 with the spectacular Afro-Funk Big Band including Richard Bona, Claude Deppa and Tony Allen. In 2003 he was on stage with Ray Lema at WOMAD. In September the same year Manu was in London with the Soweto String Quartet for an evening of songs of struggle and liberation.
To celebrate his 70th birthday Manu held a unique concert with special guests at London's Barbican in October 2004. Earlier in 2004 he was named as UNESCO's Peace Artist of the Year.
A major event for 2007 was Manu's celebration of his 50 years in music, coinciding with the release of a CD/DVD The Lion ofAfrica. Manu paid tribute to jazz composer and musician Sydney Bechet, who had been a powerful motivating force in his life, in an album Homage to New Orleans: Manu Dibangojoue Sydney Bechet (2007).
In 2011 Manu went on to collaborate with Wayne Beckford for a new version of 'Soul Makossa' as well as an album PastPresent Future. He was at the 2012 Kriol Jazz Festival in Cape Verde in which Cesaria Evora was honoured.
He has collaborated with many other musicians, including FaniaAll Stars, Fela Kuti, Herbie Hancock, Bill Laswell, BernieWorrell, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, King Sunny Adé, DonCherry, and Sly and Robbie. In 1998 he recorded the album CubAfrica with Cuban artist Eliades Ochoa.
MANU'S EARLY LIFE
Dibango was born in Douala, Cameroon. His father, Michel Manfred N'Djoké Dibango was a civil servant. The son of a farmer, he met his wife travelling by canoe to her residence in Douala. She was a literate woman who was into fashion designing, running her own small business. Both her ethnicity, the Douala, and his, the Yabassi, viewed this union of different ethnic groups with some disdain.
Emmanuel had no siblings, although he had a stepbrother from his father's previous marriage who was four years older than he was. In Cameroon, it is traditional for one's ethnicity to be dictated by their fathers, though he wrote in his autobiography, Three Kilos of Coffee, that he had "never been able to identify completely with either of his parents.
Manu Dibango's uncle was the leader of his extended family. Upon his death, Dibango's father refused to take over, as he never fully initiated his son into the Yabassi's customs. Throughout his childhood, Dibango slowly forgot the Yabassilanguage in favour of the Douala.. However, his family did live in the Yabassi encampment on the Yabassi plateau close to the Wouri River in Douala.
As a child, Dibango attended Protestant church every night for religious education. He enjoyed studying music there, and was a fast learner.
In 1941, after some education at his village primary school,hewas accepted into a Colonial School, near his village where he learned French. He admired the teacher, whom he described as "an extraordinary draftsman and painter." In 1944, the French president Charles de Gaulle chose this school to perform the welcoming ceremonies upon his arrival in Cameroon
His Albums amongst others include:Saxy-Party (1969), O Boso(1971), London/PolyGram Records, Soma Loba (1971), SoulMakossa (1972), Fiesta Records (France), London Records (UK and Canada), Atlantic Records (US), African Voodoo(1972), Africadelic (1973), Blue Elephant (1973), MakossaMan (1974) Atlantic Records released as Pêpê Soup on Decca Records ,African Funk (1974), Makossa Music (1975) Creole Records, licensed from Société Française du Son, AfricanRhythm Machine (1975), Countdown at Kusini O.S.T. (1975) D.S.T. Telecommunications, Inc., Manu 76 (1976)Decca/PolyGram Records ,Super Kumba (1976) Decca/PolyGram Records, The World of Manu Dibango (1976) Decca Records, Ceddo O.S.T (1977) Fiesta Records,L'HerbeSauvage O.S.T. (1977) Fiesta Records, Disque D'Or (1977), Al'Olympia (1978) Fiesta Records – a live double album, Anniversaire Au Pays (1978) Fiesta Records, Afrovision (1978) Mango/Island/PolyGram Records, Sun Explosion (1978) Decca/PolyGram Records, Le Prix De La Liberte (1978) Fiesta Records, Big Blow (1978) Derby Records – re-issue ofAfrovision with a track from L'Herbe Sauvage OST and the extended single version of the song Soul Makossa, Gone Clear(1979) Mango/Island/PolyGram Records, Ses Plus GrandsSucces (1979), Home Made (1979) African Records. Ambassador (1981) Mango/Island/PolyGram Records. WakaJuju (1982) Polydor/PolyGram Records. Mboa (1982) Sonodisc/Afrovision. Soft And Sweet (1983) Garima Records.Deliverance (1983) AfroVision Records. Surtension (1984). Electric Africa (1985). Celluloid
Afrijazzy (1986) Enemy Records. Négropolitaines, Vol.1 (1989). Deliverance (1989) Afro Rhythmes. Happy Feeling(1989). Stern's Rasta Souvenir (1989). Disque Esperance – a re-issue of Gone Clear & Ambassador (compilation). Polysonik(1991). Bao Bao (1992). Negropolitaines, Vol.2 (1992). Autoportrait (1992).
Live '91 (1994) Stern's Music. Wakafrika (1994) Giant/Warner Bros. Records. Lamastabastani (1996) Musicrama. Sax &Spirituals (1996). Papa Groove: Live '96 (1996). African Soul– The Very Best Of Manu Dibango (1997) Mercury (compilation. Manu Safari (1998). CubAfrica (Cuarteto Patria with Eliades Ochoa) (1998). Mboa' Su – Kamer Feelin' (1999). Collection Legende (1999). Anthology (2000) (compilation). The Very Best Of Manu Dibango: Afrosouljazz From The Original Makossa Man (2000) (compilation). Kamer Feelin'(2001). B Sides (2002). Dance With Manu Dibango (2002).Africadelic: The Very Best Of Manu Dibango (2003) (compilation). From Africa (2003) Blue Moon. Lion of Africa(2007) – live album including bonus DVD. African Voodoo(2008) from tracks recorded between 1971 and 1975 for cinema, TV, and advertising. Choc'n'Soul (2010) features Sly and Robbie. Afro Funk (2010). Afro Soul Machine (2011) (compilation). Past Present Future (2011) features "Soul Makossa 2.0" with vocals performed by Wayne Beckford.Ballad Emotion (2011) (mostly jazz standards). Africa Boogie(2013). Aloko Party (2013). Lagos Go Slow (2013).
CENTER FOR AFRO NEWS AND CULTURE
The Noni Story
Foreword
Noni is an Ethnic group (tribe) in Bui Division in the Northwest Region of Cameroon. The Administrative Headquarters of Bui Division is Kumbo. Bui Division like any other Local Government Administrative Unit is further divided into smaller Administrative Units called Subdivisions. Noni apart from being a tribe can conveniently be described as a Subdivision. This narrative therefore focuses on an ethnic group occupying a Subdivision called the Noni Subdivision. The Subdivision is made up of about six different villages but since the administrative head quarters of the Subdivision is the Nkor village, the local council is referred to as the Nkor-Noni Council.
An added ingredient to the Noni story is the fact that the ethnic group spills over into neighboring Donga Mantung and Menchum Divisions.
Origins
Noni people clearly do not have the same origins. Sometimes, even families have an account of how they migrated to eventually settle in Noni. Irrespective of their different origins, they have successfully lived together and blended into a people united by one Noni language albeit different dialects. Shey George Forgwei, retired Seniour Civil Servant and an Engineer with the Cameroon Ministry of public Works and former Regional Delegate for the same ministry for the Northwest Region and elite from Nkor-Noni traces the roots of some people in Nkor Noni including the roots of his own family to Kikaikilaki in Kumbo. Their forefather was a brother of the last but two Shufais (title given to the Head of a clan) of Kikaikilaki. This forefather was supposed to take over from their father but at the same time he was a trader. Once when he was away, their father died. He had gone to Nigeria to sell Cola nuts and to buy other items but before coming home, their father had passed on. His juniour brother was enthroned in his place and their mother was not happy with the situation. When she heard that her eldest son was returning home, she hurriedly snatched certain items that indicated the status of her son in Kikaikilaki and intercepted him on the way. She explained what had happened to him and handed him the items she had secretly taken from the Compound. The bewildered son who could not stomach the circumstances had to leave. Some of his loyal people followed him when he left and that’s how he travelled and settled in Nkor-Noni where they are called the Mnjeivu, meaning the people who came from Kikaikilaki. The Mnjeivus in Nkor make up a very big compound. This link is very evident today because compound heads of Kikaikilaki (ShuFai Fai Wo Kikaikilaki) are installed by the Compound head of Mnjeivu in Nkor Noni (BooFaa Wu Mnjeivu) and vice versa.
Still in Nkor-Noni, there are some people who came in from Nigeria especially in the Mbin Palace (One of the two palaces in Nkor). Talking about this segment of people who came in from Nigeria, Shey George Forgwei, intimated that they came from Takum in Nigeria, (a municipality in Nigeria which is very close to the Cameroonian border.) He explained that if you are traveling to Nigeria from Noni, the first place you reach is Misaje, in Donga Mantung Division. From there, you pass through Dumbu and cross into Nigeria. The first municipality on entering Nigeria via Dumbu is called Takum. That’s why people from Etakum in Nkor-Noni are said to have relatives in Takum in Nigeria.
People of the Nkochi Palace (the other Palace in Nkor) on the other hand migrated from the Wimbum land in the present Donga Mantung Division just like the people of Enteh in Tfuh(Mbinon) who are also known to have come from Wimbum land.
Noni villages include Djottin, Nkor, Laan(Lasn), Din, Tfuh(Mbinon), Din and Dom (Bvugoi).
This explains why the Enteh people in Tfuh still speak the Wimbum Language very fluently though this tendency is diminishing with passing generations. Realities on the ground point to the fact that these different groups from different places came and met people already settled who were speaking the Noni Language. As they came in, they settled down among the indigenes who were very open and welcoming. The land was available coupled with the fact that Noni people are originally not too populated. That’s why some Noni families, quarters and palaces have independent histories. When they came, the Noni people proved to be very tolerant and welcoming. They were given land on which to settle and eventually learnt and spoke the language.
This partially explains why in most Noni Villages there exist two Fondoms (Kingdoms).
In Mbinon (Tfuh) according to another Noni elite Mr. Wifoke Joseph, there exist three main groups of people. These are the Gii, the Ntfum and the Enteh. The peculiarity in Tfuh (Mbinon) is that while two of the authorities are called Nfons meaning Rulers, the third authority is referred to as the Kibai equally meaning ruler though with a contextual meaning attached to it. As a result, in Tfuh there are two Nfons and one Kibai.
The people in Tfuh just like in other Noni villages came in different groups and at different times.
The Gii, who are made up of many families were the earliest settlers. The next group of people to settle in Mbinon (Tfuh) was the Ntfum. The Bvutang or the Enteh came in last. This group migrated first to a place called Tarla in Wimbum land in Donga Mantung Division. From Tarla, there was a break away. The group moved to another Wimbum village called Taku. While in Taku, something abnormal happened. The ruler died and instead of enthroning the Crown Prince, his juniour brother was enthroned in his place. He became angry and left Taku taking along his followers and some princely objects. He eventually settled in Mbinon (Tfuh) at Enteh.
Back in Taku something curious happened. The younger brother who was enthroned as leader died. A second person was again enthroned but died shortly afterwards. The third one who was to be enthroned decided to go and look for his brother at Enteh in Tfuh in order to ask for his permission to be enthroned. The elder brother feeling comfortable in his new settlement relinquished his hold on the throne of Taku and crowned the new Nfon of Taku.
Having relinquished the title of Nfon he couldn’t refer to himself as Nfon in his new home. Instead of calling himself Nfon, he decided to refer to himself as a Kibai since had relinquished his title of Nfon.
A trend then developed whereby every time a Kibai of Enteh passed on, the Nfon came from Taku to enthrone the new Kibai. In a similar manner, every time the Nfon of Taku passes on, the Kibai of Enteh is the one who enthrones the new Nfon of Taku.
Initially, the people of Enteh had no problems with the other two groups that they met there but eventually, animosity grew between them and the others. This has however been managed to the extent that today there is relative peace in Tfuh (Mbinon). According to Mr. Wifoke Joseph, the Bvutangs in Noni are not found only in Tfuh(Mbinon) but also in Djottin. Efaa Kidji in Djottin is part of the Bvutangs. The Enteh in Tfuh(Mbinon) are equally Bvutangs. Bvutangs are also found in Laan (Lasn).
However, the socio-cultural and economic interactions between the people is responsible for the development of the language to the present level.
If the people continue to stay together as they are presently doing, the language will further develop and reduce the variants to a minimum. It is true that the variants of the Noni Dialects will always exist but they will be completely understood by all Nonians irrespective of where they come from.
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EFASA-MOTO
The god of Mount Cameroon!
The story of Efasa Moto; the god of Mount Cameroon is known and retold by almost everyone who was born and raised up in the areas surrounding this mountain located in Buea Headquarters of the Southwest Region of Cameroon.
To be specific, this mountain (also referred to as the chariot of the gods by early European explorers) which is the second highest peak in Africa after Mount Kilimanjaro is specifically located in Fako Division and that’s why it is also referred to as Mount Fako by the local folks.
A lot of stories have been recounted about the Spiritual force that is harbored in the mountain. These stories are very popular in the towns which surround this massive natural physical structure. The Cameroon mountain which is in Buea stretches right down to the tourist resort town of Limbe (formerly called Victoria) and actually ends up on the Atlantic Coastline.
Other towns from which this massive mountain can be viewed are Muyuka, Tiko Idenau and many other smaller clusters of settlements scattered around the sky scraping structure.
The source of this spiritual force in Mount Cameroon is the deity Efasa Moto and among the Bakweries or Bombokos; the indigenous ethnic group in Fako Division, Efasa Moto is actually the god of Mount Cameroon!
To most indigenous and non indigenous,Cameroonians living around the mountain, Efasa-Moto is an exotic fairy tale beyond their comprehension.
It is as such seen as a myth handed down from one generation to the next and is usually characteristically recounted by elderly village folks during storytelling sessions.
In these story telling sessions, which do not usually have a clearly defined structure and dominantly informal, Efasa Moto is seen to have many functions in the mountain. One of these functions is a protective role.
As such, any unexplained happening in the mountain is more often than not, linked to Efasa Moto.
The story of Efasa Moto was further fuelled by the onset of the popular annual sporting rendezvous; The Guinness Mount Cameroon Race presently referred to as the The Mount Cameroon Race of Hope since the sponsorship of the event was taken over by the Ministry of Sports and Physical Education of the Republic of Cameroon.
The earliest participants at the race were dominantly indigenous athletes with a sprinkling of some Europeans like the Catholic Priest Rev Father Stifter Walters who was one of the earliest non indigenous athletes to win the race.
The difficult terrain of the mountain at the time made it extremely difficult for the athletes especially the non indigenous athletes who were not used to the mountain and maybe not familiar with the spiritual undertone of the race.
While it is normal to attribute the tired Physical state of the athletes and the injuries sustained to the difficult terrain at the time, explanations linked to the spirituality of the mountain personified in Efasa Moto point to the fact that the god of the mountain was not unconnected to the difficulties encountered by the athletes. Yet to be confirmed accounts even state that Rev Father Stifter Walters; the first foreign athlete to win the race went up the mountain with a little container of Holy Water which he constantly sprinkled when he encountered unexplained difficulties on the mountain.
The mystery that these stories added to the sporting event made the rendezvous much more attractive bringing in more international participation and attracting more tourists to the event.
The event has however become increasingly demystified as non indigenous athletes from other regions of the country are increasingly winning the race. This however doesn’t mean that the existence of Efasa Moto is untrue!
One thing however remains certain; the Mount Cameroon Race of Hope and how it evolves will always be linked to the god of the mountain Efasa Moto.
Another occurrence that was linked to Efasa Moto was the October 1992 eruption of the Mountain. During this eruption, the lava emissions followed a path down to the Atlantic Ocean in Limbe (formerly called Victoria).
The narrative from the perspective of those who link this occurrence to Efasa-Moto states that the path down to the Atlantic Ocean was chosen by Efasa-Moto as a means of coupling with his wife, Liengu la Mwanja, the sea mermaid.
It is believed among the Bakweries (the main ethnic group in Fako Division where the mountain is found) that Efasa-Moto and his wife Liengu la Mwanja the mermaid are the greatest spiritual figures that the world has ever known. (The definition of the world here is of course limited to the immediate environment).
The physical description of Efasa-Moto presents a being which is a mixture of half human and half stone yet shaped in the form of a man. It produces the image of a goat standing on its hind legs!
On the flip side, the wife Liengu la Mwanja is presented as a very “beautiful woman with an oval-shaped face, an enchanting smile with a love gap-tooth, overflowing hair of dark wool resembling a beautiful Indian lady with high and well curved hips which depicts African beauty.”
It is believed that Efasa-Moto lives in the mountain alone and has a rich sugar cane farm from where his visitors can eat the sugar cane but cannot take anything away.
As earlier mentioned, Efasa-Moto is equally believed to be the spiritual protector of the mountain.
In the past, albinos were abandoned on the mountain as offerings to the god of the mountain to make sure that he continued to bless the inhabitants at the foot of the mountain.
Back to the Guinness Mount Cameroon Race, difficulties encountered by non indigenous athletes were attributed to the fact that they did not perform the traditional rites that were supposed to be carried out before embarking on a trip to the sacred mountain. These rites are carried out by custodians of the culture and tradition of the people.
Francis Ekongang Nzante
Center for African News and Culture
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