In the story Eyon, the Name Maker (book here), there’s a moment when the main character receives a sacred stringed instrument from the ancestors in a dream. That scene was inspired by a well known Fang-Beti legend in Cameroon. Oyono Ada Ngone and the birth of the mvet In Fang-Beti tradition, there is a legendary…
Some weeks ago, I was chatting with a friend. He likes to call me Prof, and I like to call him Dear Colleague. He started the conversation with: “Prof, there will be a street renaming in Berlin on August 23rd. Will you be around then?” I replied: “I will be, but probably trying to catch…
As a blogger exploring African legends, myths, and diasporic threads, my recent trip to Baltimore left a powerful imprint on me, not just as a traveller, but as someone seeking to tell connecting stories. The first people in Baltimore Long before the city’s skyline rose over the Inner Harbor, this land was home to the…
So, we already know that I come from Cameroon. And in Cameroon, most people are aware that the traditional symbol of the Bamoun* people is a two-headed serpent. However, in certain popular interpretations, this symbol is seen as a sign of betrayal or duplicity. People say, “the serpent has two heads because it deceives, it…
When you grow up in a Cameroonian city, traditional masks are something you don’t often come across. Maybe, hanging on a wall at an uncle’s house. In a craft shop. Behind the glass in a museum. Personally, as a child, I found them terrifying. I did everything I could to avoid looking at them for…
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