The Jengu ritual is the crown of this adult-only ceremony. Ngondo is a cultural festival in Cameroon which generally celebrates in December. The theme is Moto mô, Mboa pò, i.e. The Ngondo is a festival held by the Sawa ethnic groups in the city of Douala, Cameroon. The Ngondo is an annual water-centered festival held by the Sawa (coastal peoples) in Douala, Cameroon.The highlight of the festival is a ceremony of the jengu cult. The annual Ngondo Festival is a special occasion for Sawa chiefs to petition these spirits for prophecies and warnings and to communicate those messages to a gathered assembly. The ‘NGONDO’ is an annual cultural and traditional festival organized each year by the Sawa people of the Littoral region of Cameroon. The gathering of the Sawa people usually takes place within the first fortnight of December on the Wouri river banks in Douala and exhibits the culture of the Sawa, the country’s coastal dwellers. Also taking place in December, Ngondo is a celebration of one of Cameroon’s many ethnic groups. The The sawa people can also be identified through their mother-tongue which is known as the ‘Douala or Bantu’ language.
Ngondo Festival November-December For the majority of the Sawa, an ethnic group composed of various coastal peoples of Cameroon, guidance comes from the Jengu water spirits. It is organized in the first two weeks of December. The festivities include: traditional wrestling, dance processions, Miss Ngondo pageant and dugout canoe race. This traditional and mystical feast is a yearly ritual around water which is held by and brings together the Sawa ethnic groups who are defined, by name and relation, as the people from the coastal regions, in this instance, of Cameroon. The local beauties appear as part of the selection of the year’s Miss Ngondo, the celebration’s own pageant. Indeed, what better time it is to get a message for the year to come.Below is the announcement for the 2018 event, in French, that takes place from the 2nd of November to 2nd of December. Ngondo Festival. He dives into the Wouri river and is said to be able to stay there in apnea for a long time only to come back carrying the message, with his clothing as dry as if it had never touched the water.The celebration has been occuring annually since 1914 although after 1981, the ritual was banned by the authorities until it came back to life in 1991, swapping its 12th of July celebrations for the month-long period of November to December. They host each year their annual cultural and traditional festival called the ‘NGONDO’. One People, One Nation.We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. The entertainment fills the streets with music, sports, colours, dance, fashion, pageant, a blend of positively animated atmospheres and fun. Finally, showcasing the richness of the Sawa culture are the trade fair and the sports, including traditional wrestling matches and long canoe races along the Wouri river.Starting at dawn, the meeting takes initiates to perform the traditional practices to commune with the water spirits from the Wouri river that protect the groups. This year the Ngondo festival will take place from the 1 The Duala (or Sawa people) is an ethnic group of Cameroon who primarily inhabits the littoral and southwest region of Cameroon and form a portion of the Sawabantu or “coastal people” of Cameroon. Ngondo was banned by the government of Cameroon in 1981, but reinstated in 1991.
An initiate dressed in traditional clothings enters the water carrying sacred pots to collect the sacred message from the underwater Jengu (or plural Miengu) kingdom. During the event, the Cameroon people contest in Sawa fight, traditional dances and election of Miss Ngondo which are the combination of traditional and western standards. Held in the city of Douala, the festival’s main goal is to showcase the arts and culture of the Sawa people who mainly inhabit the region’s coastal areas. In: If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.You can revoke your consent any time using the Revoke consent button. The Ngondo is a yearly water-centric festival organized by the Sawa in Douala, Cameroon. The ‘NGONDO’ is an annual cultural and traditional festival organized each year by the Sawa people of the Littoral region of Cameroon. This unique event identifies itself as artistic, cultural, and mystical, as well as political. The most interesting thing about this festival is that one spiritual spectacle or performance undertaking by Jengu cult, that makes the event different from all other events in festivals celebrated in Cameroon.
The coastal fashion gets a full display, in particular, the loin cloth but also the Kaba, a traditional maxi dress from the Duala tribe dating back to the times of the British protectorate. The highlight of the festival is usually the point where the sacred vase is … Nov