Monday, June 20, 2005

moving on

On Thursday morning, I will be leaving Douala for Bangangte in Cameroon's West Province. The West Province is considered to be the location of "Bamileke Country". As such, my research will be done there, maybe even in Bangangte: we'll see. Other ethnic groups - such as the Bassa - also dominate the West Province. The primary goal for the next 3-4 months is to find a tutor, or better yet, classes in the indigenous language of Bangangte and surrounding villages. It's known variously as Medumba, Bamileke-Bangangte, or Bamileke-Medumba. Bangangte is the home of an organisation whose purpose is to encourage the use of this language. My secondary goal is to find opportunities to make music. The 'telegram' (mentioned in a previous post) and the kalimba, or thumb piano, are the instruments I'd most like to learn. I will be living in Bangangte with the sister of my host in Douala. Also, I'm happy to be leaving behind the heat and polluted air of Douala. I haven't spent very much time in the West Province yet, so most aspects of life there are a question mark to me.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

small world. Alex bought a thumb piano in Colchester,UK, the week before we left for the USA and was playing it for us. I managed to "un-tune" it when I pulled one of the prongs. So beware. Hope you're well, we are following your progress,
Your favourite Uncle Al & Viv

Anonymous said...

small world. Alex bought a thumb piano in Colchester,UK, the week before we left for the USA and was playing it for us. I managed to "un-tune" it when I pulled one of the prongs. So beware. Hope you're well, we are following your progress,
Your favourite Uncle Al & Viv