Uncle Dibounjé, family celebrity

Uncle Dibounjé was one of the first non-immediate family members my spouse introduced me to upon my first visit to Douala. Uncle Dibounjé was otherwise known as Chief Dibounjé Cain Toukourou, the traditional chief of Bonendalé, a village about 20 km away from Douala over a bumpy road, crossing the bridge towards West Cameroon.
My spouse's relationship to him was through his paternal grandmother. Not exactly close blood ties, but my spouse and Uncle Dibounjé had been close on an intellectual level for many years. At the time, his grandchildren were all very young, but now we are in constant contact with his eldest grandson, who lives in France. When I asked him whether I could write about his grandfather, and use the photo I had available, he answered: "Why are you asking me? Do whatever you want: he's your family too."
Uncle Dibounjé was a local celebrity. In fact, he was one the the subjects of a book written by a French Jesuit priest, Père Eric de Rosny, who still lives in Cameroon.  At Présence Africaine, the publishing house and bookstore located in Paris, we were told that the book is a classic among students in ethnology.
Uncle Dibounjé  was said to possess great spiritual powers. Some went as far as to say he was a "sorcerer," which he refuted because of the evil connotations.
Being a chief doesn't pay the bills, so Uncle Dibounjé had a profession: pirogue (boat) builder, which he then rented out to local fishermen.
When I was taken to visit him, "fresh off the plane," as I was at the time, I was rather intimidated. This was the relative who had advised my spouse not to go abroad for his studies. Now, not only had he gone to France, he had also brought back a "white" wife, to top it all off. Of course, Uncle Dibounjé was charming with me, and offered me breakfast; grilled fish with boiled green plantains (one of my culinary cultural shocks: what, no bread at breakfast?).
In the year thereafter—I had returned to the United States for work—Uncle Dibounjé fell ill. On his deathbed, he asked my spouse to prepare his will, an enormous mark of trust. He passed away soon after.
The house shown is Uncle Dibounjé's old home. 
Dibounjé Cain Toukourou's tomb


Comments

Post a Comment

Please let me know your thoughts and questions. Also, if you feel that anything is incorrect, please let me know.
I need to moderate the comments, as in recent years there has been a spike in spam.

Popular posts from this blog

Recipe: Okra stew, adapted

Image
This is an adaptation of okra stew for Western kitchens. Okra is called "gombo" in Duala language (like "Gumbo" in the United States; the word arrived with the African slaves that were brought to the country). Fresh raw okra Ingredients Smoked turkey (drumsticks or wings) OR beef for stew   Onions, chopped Canned tomatoes (crushed) Bouillon cube 1-2 tbsp natural peanut butter (for example from health food store) with no added sugar Okra (fresh or frozen) – chopped, cap removed Salt/pepper If desired , scotch bonnet hot pepper, preferably red     Sauté chopped onions; add turkey or beef cut in pieces. Add chopped okra (part can be put in a blender with the tomatoes if preferred), crumbled bouillon cube, salt (not too much because of the bouillon cube and possibly salt in the turkey and peanut butter), pepper and some water; dilute peanut butter with some water and add to pot. Add hot pepper (whole) if desired. Cook over medium heat (after liquid boils) for a
Read more

Bibi Seck, Industrial Designer in New York City

Image
Ayse,  Bibi, and daughters  Bibi Seck is an industrial and product designer of Senegalese and Martiniquais descent,  introduced from afar by Fatimata Ly, a Senegalese ceramics designer I wrote about last year. As a matter of fact, I had been hearing about him and his spouse, Ayse Birsel, for a while already: the New York African design community is not that large, and especially an African married to a fellow Middle Easterner (Turks are Middle Easterners as well as Europeans, with literally a foot in both worlds; and of course we had the Ottoman Empire for six centuries!). Moroso-M'Afrique collection Bibi’s stools, made in Senegal, of recycled plastic, are currently exhibited at the Museum of Art and Design’s Global Africa show. I interviewed him last week to find out what his path had been to this point. Bibi was raised between Europe and Senegal.He had planned on studying architecture at first, but then found his true vocation in Industrial Design at the Ec
Read more

West Cameroon - festive traditional dress

Image
Women dancing in celebration, wearing matching "kabas" The neighborhood chief speaking to the community In December, I was invited to a weekend of festivities in Bamendjou, West Cameroon. The occasion was the honoring of my friend, Jeanne Ntopa, to the title of Mafeu. This title appears to have been the title for the Queen Mother, but as I understood it, can now be given to women who have done much good to their community and thus are elevated to Queen Mother status. Among the Bamileke from the region called the Grasslands by the German colonialists, there are many (related) languages. Thus the language spoken in Bamendjou is only barely understood by our Mafeu's own spouse, who is from the Dschang area. I understood nothing at all on the first day; however, I could sense the joy and pride during the Mafeu's neighborhood community celebration. On the second day, the Bamendjou traditional chief, in this title since over 60 years, spoke in French as he ackno
Read more