By Etienne Mainimo Mengnjo
Sons and daughters of Nso land in Bui Division, Northwest Region of Cameroon, have celebrated the announcement of the 2024 Ngonnso Festival as a significant step towards peace and reconciliation in the land.
The news was shared in a communiqué released by the executive committee of the Nso Development and Cultural Organization (NSODA), signed by the Paramount Fon of Nso, HRH Sehm Mbinglo I and the President General Shey Tadze Adamu Mbiydzela.
“I’m overjoyed to witness this moment,” said Samson Kpuyuf, an indigene of the land. “The return of the Ngonnso festival is a monumental step towards restoring peace and reconciliation in Nso land.”
Shey Nathan Fai echoed this sentiment, noting that the festival’s return is the most significant event in the Nso land history, especially given the ongoing crisis that began in late 2016.
“I commend our Fon and the leaders of NSODA for this great initiative, which I believe will bring much-needed peace and reconciliation to the land,” Fai stated.
Emilia Tirnyuy expressed similar enthusiasm, saying, “Nso people, both within and outside the land, yearn for peace. I’m proud and happy that as a Nso woman, we’re taking steps towards that goal. The return of the Ngonnso festival is a giant leap forward.”
Many sons and daughters of the land have praised the leaders of Nso for their efforts to restore peace and reconciliation in a land deeply affected by the ongoing socio-political crisis in the Northwest and Southwest Regions of Cameroon.
The Ngonnso Festival, the largest cultural event in Nso, is making a triumphant return after a seven-year break. The festival was suspended in 2017 due to the socio-political crisis in the Northwest and Southwest Regions.
This year’s edition, themed “The Culture of Peace and Reconciliation,” will take place from November 26 to 30, 2024.
The Ngonnso Festival commemorates Ngonnso, the mythical founder and mother of the Nso people. In the 1950s, Nso residents began an annual cultural week to celebrate this Nso hero, warrior, and founder. Yaya Ngonso, as she is also known, was the first Fon (head) of Nso.
During the Ngonnso Festival, Nso people showcase their rich cultural heritage through traditional dances, art exhibitions, and crafts. The Nso people are people of the Bamenda Grass fields in the Northwest Region of Cameroon.
One of the festival’s objectives is to preserve and promote the Nso people’s cultural heritage. This heritage is evident in their arts, crafts, and historical sites.
Ngonnso, the founder of the Nso Dynasty, migrated from Rifem in the Adamawa Region in 1394. While her siblings; Nchare and Mfoomban founded Bamoun and Mbam (in Bafia) dynasties, Ngonnso established the Nso Dynasty.
In honor of this influential woman, the Nso people, under the leadership of their Fon, named their cultural festival after her. The Ngonnso Cultural Festival is a celebration and promotion of Nso culture to the world.