The Moundang cultural festival, an annual event that reunites the Moundang people from Cameroon and Chad, has been organised this year for the first time in 10 years.
Moundang are a people of Central Africa living mainly in the South- West of Chad, also in the North and in the extreme North of Cameroon.
This year’s cultural festival ran from April 10 – 12 in Kaélé, Far North Region of Cameroon, after a 10-year break caused by insecurity from the Boko Haram sect.
The cultural festival, organised under the patronage of the Minister of Arts and Culture and the Minister of Tourism and Leisure, brought together Moundang people who are spread across Cameroon and Chad.
The festival was characterized by heritage dances, storytelling, athletic walks, musical performances, Moundang culinary art, and many other activities.
Speaking at the event, Chad’s Prime Minister represented by Aziz Ouarmaye Yanzoumbe, Deputy Director of Administrative, Financial and Material Affairs, called on the Moundangs to henceforth function as one.
He asked them to bear a single name, identity and to form a single cultural association with one president.
After his speech, a Moundang elite of Kaele in Cameroon’s Far North Region remarked:
“Today is a big step for the Moundang man. We want to be a united and strong people. I believe that the declaration of the Prime Minister of Chad, who is our fellow Moundang brother, is a capital choice for the good of all the Moundang sons and daughters from all over the world. We are one and we live the same culture and the same tradition.”
Moundang people were overjoyed attending their once vibrant cultural festival again after a 10-year break caused by insecurity and most recently the COVID-19 pandemic.
They raised over 24 million francs at the event, plus several donations, including agricultural equipment, which will certainly boost agricultural production in communities within the ethnic group.
By Amina Hilda
