Dog Star - "My Sweet Bamenda" (2014 Song About The Northwest Region Of Cameroon & Comments About The Ongoing Conflict In Bamenda)

Dog Star Oct 3, 2014

Music video by Dog Star performing My Sweet Bamenda Produced By Gajo Music

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Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post presents information about Bamenda in the Northwest region of Cameroon and showcases two videos that feature the 2014 song "My Sweet Bamenda". 

Selected comments from the discussion thread for the first embedded video are also included in this post.

The content of this post is presented for socio-cultural purposes.

Thanks to Dog Star for this music. Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post, and thanks to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.
-snip-
I pray for peace in Bamenda and in all of Cameroon.

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VIDEO #2

Lord Focho, August 7, 2016

A montage of clips from the Mecuda convention London and Weston-Super-Mare in 2015 to My Sweet Bamenda song by Dog Star

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INFORMATION ABOUT BAMENDA
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bamenda
"Bamenda, also known as Abakwa and Mankon Town,[2] is a city in northwestern Cameroon and capital of the Northwest Region. The city has a population of about 2 million people and is located 366 kilometres (227 mi) north-west of the Cameroonian capital, Yaoundé. Bamenda is known for its cool climate and scenic hilly location.

Colonial era

The origins of the city are related to the settlement of the Tikar people who culturally forged and maintained relations with the Kingdom of Bamum in the 1700s.[3] In 1884, the city was colonized by Germany until 1916 when it became a colony administered by Great Britain and France.[4] In 1919, the administration of Northwest Region and thus the city of Bamenda became only British. In 1961, the region joined the Cameroon.[5]

[...]

Many of the city's inhabitants are English-speaking, and Cameroonian Pidgin English is the main language spoken in the shops and on the streets of Bamenda.

[....]

For over four years, there has been an insurgency due to political tussles created by secessionist faction known as the Southern Cameroons Liberation Council, a united front consisting of separatists aiming for an independent Ambazonian state.[6]"...
-snip-
Click https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/4/1/violence-in-cameroon-anglophone-crisis-takes-high-civilian-toll for an April 1, 2021 article entitled "Violence in Cameroon’s Anglophone crisis takes high civilian toll".

The caption after that title reads "Experts warn country on verge of backsliding to ‘fragile state’ status, as conflict between Anglophone separatists and government forces increasingly affecting civilians."

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SELECTED COMMENTS 
From the discussion thread for the first video that is embedded in this post.

Numbers are added for referencing purposes only.

1. Arrey Elvis Ntui, 2009
"Great song. This will probably hang on for a very long time. I cannot stay seated anywhere this track is playing - bar, cabaret, night club, even in a taxi. I must shake and gyrate for the love of my beautiful Bamenda. This song is too much!"

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2. Jacinta Lino, 2012
"Be proud of your self and keep up😍😍🌹🌹"

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3. velma black, 2015
"MI LOVE DAT SONG SIR PROUDLY BAMENDA I MISS THE PLAC

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4. D WEALTH, 2018
"I love you bamenda"

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5. baiye roberto, 2018
"super j'adore cette chanson surtout quand je veux me sentir in courage mon frère"
-snip-
Google translate from French to English
"Great I love this song especially when I want to feel in courage my brother"

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6. Cynthia Akwar, 2019
"Oh God bless my homeland. Despite what happens"

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7. Leon Nelepa, 2019
"Still here watching God  look in to our Bamenda is a bless land destroy all the evil pple at work"

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8. Benita-Martha Tamajong, 2019
"i know Bamenda, the land of bravery"

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9. keith jackson, 2020
"Great song my brother, I plan on visiting Cameroon where I have 35% of my dna!    Bamenda is the city where i plan on making my visit! Would love to meet you there! Can’t wait for my first return to the home of my ancestors! This son separated from home by slavery is headed home can’t wait visit is later this year 2020!"

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Reply
10. Fonde Collins, 2020
"You're always welcome"

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Reply
11. didiash, 2020
"Not the best time to visit...pish it as far as possible"

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12. Aliah Atonji Anyam, 2020
"Bamenda was razed to near ashes after the 1990 elections. Nobody knew Bamenda would boom again but business thrived there wonderfully before the crises started. After the Ambazonia War of Independence and Covid19, Bamenda would certainly be better. These too shall pass away. My sweet Bamenda will definitely bounce back. Thanks Dogstar for the thrilling piece. Proudly Bamenda."

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13. jumneh baby, 2020
"I feel like I'm on exile in a strange land, how I wish I could go back home to bda and not fear for a thing😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭"

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Reply
14. Brita Tessoh, 2020
"December, we can’t travel back home cos of fear of the unknown. God please help us."

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15. Griffy Koagne, 2020
"I'm not from the north west less still from southwest but everytime I follow this song, the tears of pain flow and my heart breaks😭😭😭😭🙏💔💔"

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16. Nchumulu Germaine, 2020
"My sweet Bamenda, a great place."

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17. Nchumulu Germaine, 2020
"Crisis has crumbled, the sweet Bamenda. God safe Bamenda."

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18. Ambanaku Raymond, 2020
"Bamenda in my hearts for ever. No leave no transfer."

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19. Pauline Efi
"They have finally destroyed that sweet bamenda. I feel like crying right now though I'm from mamfe but I schooled in bamenda n it was  just the perfect  to study."

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20. Ambo Bebe, 2020
"Proud to be from bamenda but tears in my eyes for what our motherland has become ..... I pray God touches our land for it has a bright future and brings fought future leaders of Cameroon...proud of Bamenda"

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21. N.H. Jefferson, 2020
"Our Bamenda has become something else dealing with two crises: the Ambazonia conflict and coronavirus. God will see us through."

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22. Nsalle Eseh Delphine, 2020

"God bless you Dog star

God bless Bamenda and restored back all that the enemies have stolen from this beautiful blessed Land Bamenda .May God Almighty eradicate all the enemies out of this Land Bamenda in Jesus christ mighty name amen."

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23. nyam syoya mah, 2020
"bamenda yi go better someday hopefull

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24. Cyntia Pavelle, 2020
"I ´m still here in 2020. Bamenda😭😭😭"

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25. nkimih mbeb, 2021
"It's good to be here in 2021.. Much love 4 home land B'da"

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26. afumbom terence, 2021
"God forgive us our sins and bring us back together"

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27. Acharich Speaks, 2021
"🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾"

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28. Chefu Clovis, 2021
"Proud of you my bamenda aka abakwa. De land flowing with milk and honey. I miss home"

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29. Idriss Nwagoum, 2021
"As a  Francophone, I really miss the old Bamenda. God bless!"

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30. Achiri Cristel keng, April 10, 2021
"I can never stop listening to this music I pray n hope one day my Bamenda will be more beautiful than before n there won't be any fear to go home I enjoy the peace of home."

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31. Moses Abi, April 12, 2021
"Bamenda Is Under Serious Prunning In Other For The Best Of It To Blossom Like Never Before."

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Visitor comments are welcome.

Five Videos Of Mbaghalum Traditional Dancing From the Northwest Region of Cameroon, Central Africa

Edited by Azizi Powell

Latest Update: April 15, 2021

This pancocojams post presents information about the Northwest region of Cameroon and showcases five video examples of the traditional Mbaglum (mbaghalum) dance in the north western area of Cameroon, Central Africa.

Selected comments from the discussion threads for some of these videos are also included in this post.

The content of this post is presented for cultural and aesthetic purposes.

In addition to the dance, I'm also interested in highlighting the traditional musical instruments that are being played and the clothing that the performers wear.

Thanks to all those who are featured in these videos, thanks to all those who are quoted in this post, and thanks to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.

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INFORMATION ABOUT MAKON
From http://www.macudaamerica.org/
...”The Mankon Fondom (kingdom) represents one of the oldest monarchies of the grass field people of the Northwest Region of Cameroon and is ruled by a Fon HRH Fo’o SAN Angwafo III. The sons and daughters of Mankon constitute a vibrant community of hardworking men and women who make up a large part of the Bamenda metropolitan population. Mankon is the largest group in the Ngemba tribe with a population of over 180,000 inhabitants. 

History has it that they migrated from the Tikar region around the 14th century through hostile terrains before settling in present day Mankon. On the origin of the name, one of the skillful leaders (Fo Ndehmagha IV) was unaware that the crowd or wave of people following him had grown tremendously along the way and so when he turned and looked behind him and saw the huge following that formed a wave behind him, he proudly exclaimed ” Weh Mankuung eh” referring to its enormous tail and so the people became known as Mankon. Some have translated Mankon to mean big tail or big wave and the sub-groups, clans or families under Mankon are referred to as Nkon (small tail or wavelets). The big wave has continued expanding and merging with other cultures while retaining its DNA and allegiance to the original source."...
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I reformatted this quote to enhance its readability.

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INFORMATION ABOUT BAMENDA (CAMEROON)
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bamenda
"Bamenda, also known as Abakwa and Mankon Town,[2] is a city in northwestern Cameroon and capital of the Northwest Region. The city has a population of about 2 million people and is located 366 kilometres (227 mi) north-west of the Cameroonian capital, Yaoundé. Bamenda is known for its cool climate and scenic hilly location.

History
The origins of the city are related to the establishment of the Tikar people who joined the Kingdom of Bamum in the 1700s. [3] In 1884, the city was colonized by Germany until 1916 when it became a colony administered by Great Britain and France. [4] In 1919, the administration of Northwest Region and thus the city of Bamenda became only British. In 1961, the region joined the Cameroon. [5]

Today, many of the city's inhabitants are English-speaking, and Cameroonian Pidgin English is the main language spoken in the shops and on the streets of Bamenda.

[...]

Nicknames: Abakwa, which of date is made of three villages Mankon, Bamendankwe and Nkwen Bamenda presently contains the highest number of English speaking Cameroonians."...
-snip-
Added April 15, 2021 from that same Wikipedia article:

Many of the city's inhabitants are English-speaking, and Cameroonian Pidgin English is the main language spoken in the shops and on the streets of Bamenda.

For over four years, there has been an insurgency due to political tussles created by secessionist faction known as the Southern Cameroons Liberation Council, a united front consisting of separatists aiming for an independent Ambazonian state.[6]"...
-snip-
Click https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/4/1/violence-in-cameroon-anglophone-crisis-takes-high-civilian-toll for an April 1, 2021 article entitled "Violence in Cameroon’s Anglophone crisis takes high civilian toll"
The caption after that title reads "Experts warn country on verge of backsliding to ‘fragile state’ status, as conflict between Anglophone separatists and government forces increasingly affecting civilians."

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SHOWCASE VIDEOS
Video #1: Mbaghalum - John Minang



atehndin, Published on Mar 22, 2008

African music
-snip-
Here are two comments from this video's discussion thread, with numbers added for referencing purposes only:
1. Wananyoh Mefebe, 2012
"This is the sound that resonates to the depths of your soul and takes you home if you are from the Northwest Province." 

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2. eyoumwonje, 2012
"i like very much folk dancing from north west cameroon especially from bamenda"

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Video #2: MBAGHALUM BY NGWA- AH NKANG



Kingsley Nkimbeng, Published on Nov 16, 2011

HIT ZONE ENTERTAINMENT BAMENDA
-snip-
I removed the phone number from this summary.

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Video #3: Mbaghalum - John Minang -macuda



Aray LUC, Published on Mar 20, 2012

enjoy mankon
-snip-
Here are two comments from this video's discussion thread, with numbers added for referencing purposes only:
1. Wendy Ambo, 2017
"Any mankon person to translate what he says pls???"

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REPLY
2. Terese Tess, 2018
"Wendy Ambo I'll translate the intro...so long.
Time has come to give the woman to her husband. Tell all Cameroonians....
Why do people enjoy drinking (palm wine), but don't like to go through the pain of tapping(fetching) it? They complain that there is dew on the road to the palm wine bush.
Has someone ever gone to a medicine man to find out why he /she is successful?
When you are sick, you know who loves and loves you you not....

The rest of it is so long and a mixture of pidgin English that I can't keep up, but I hope it gives you an idea. It's a bunch of wise sayings put together some what coherently."

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Video #4: Dancing To The Mankon Legacy - Men Dance 2009



lorolose, Published on Dec 24, 2014

Exhibition of Men Dance Groups in Mankon-Bamenda, Cameroon [1 hour 08 minutes]

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Video #5: Mbaglum Ntene for I Nkwen Bamenda 24.06.2015



Manunga Studio 2, Published on Jul 3, 2015

On the occasion of the canonical erection of the St. John The Baptist Quasi-Parish at Foncha Street Nkwen to a full parish there were some traditional dances to grace the occasion, amongst them the Mbaglum Dance of Ntenefor I from Nkwen in Bamenda.
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The summary for another video of this dance that was published by Manunga Group reads "Mbaglum is a popular traditional dance from the Bamenda neighbourhood. here we watch a group from Nkwen performing their own Mbaglum."

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