I know little about Cameroon other than what
I’ve heard from the lips of the Afropean hip-hop/R&B duo Les
Nubians. The French singing pair come from a half French and Cameroonian background and most of their songs are in
French, a language which I understand nothing really. So in that case my knowledge of Cameroon is shrinking even further. The last time
I mentioned the country I touched on their annual marathon up
Mount Cameroon, but mentioned little about the Bakweri people and their culture. Pilot Guides has an excellent country
guide and points reader to an enormous amount of information including traditional Bakweri wrestling an event that
happens every Sunday during Feb. and March.
Overall the Bakweri people have an extremely fascinating
culture. They are known in history to be territorial people and fierce fighters. A good wrestling match draws the
traits from the ancestors, physical endurance and great competitive spirit are among two of them. The event is quite a
spectacle. Contestants wear skimpy sarongs and battle it out in a large grassy wrestling pitch. Drummers play on
elevated stages setting an atmosphere already enhanced by the background that is Cameroon’s landscape. You can learn
more about the matches and other events like the one pictured above that few non-Bakweri people get to attend head to
Pilot Guides and
afterwards this through site on the culture, Bakwerirama.