Culture & Heritage
Culture & heritage
The Lela, the language, and the things worn only on the day
The Lela Festival
The one week the whole kingdom returns.
Lela is the annual festival of the Bali Nyonga people, held at the palace and observed over several days of procession, dance and the rites reserved for the Fon and the traditional councils. BCA-USA supports the festival each year and organises members travelling home for it.
For members in the diaspora, the cultural night at the national convention carries the same function: regalia is worn, the xylophones are played, and the younger generation sees it done properly.
Elders in procession, Bali Nyonga
Dress and regalia
Toghu, beadwork, and the cap that says who you are.
Rank, title and occasion are all legible in what a person wears. The embroidery is not decoration.
Toghu
Black cloth worked in crimson and gold, the geometry carrying meaning specific to the Grassfields kingdoms.
Beads and caps
Strings of beads and the embroidered fez mark title and standing within the traditional council.
Xylophone and drum
The wooden xylophone and hand drum set the pace of the procession and the dance that follows it.
Mungaka
The language of Bali Nyonga
Mungaka is spoken at chapter reunions and taught, unevenly, at home. A growing phrasebook lives here for the second generation, with audio recorded by members.
Tɔŋ sa’
Welcome
Bali Nyonga
The kingdom and its people
Fon
The traditional ruler
Lela
The annual festival
