Oku
Juju Dance (Cameroon)
Trend : Traditional music and dances
This fabulous
ballet is from the Oku region, a very fertile cultural melting
pot area which is part of a province in the north western part
of Cameroon. The ballet is very famous for the extraordinary
choreography of the masks, inspired by the forest, the fauna
(juju) and its mysteries.
These masks
represent various wild animals (lions, leopards, elephants,
buffaloes, etc.), as well as extraterrestrial beings (dracula,ghosts,
dragons) which are part of the mysteries of the fauna of the
Oku mountain. Their music, both ritual and playful, has a charming
beauty. It sustains several parts divided into dances from the
north-west (Njang, Ndongo, Febien, Mfuu, Nokang), the west (Bend
skin, Mangambeu), pygmee dances from the east, Assiko and Makossa
from the coast. This is a real initiatory trip into the origins
of traditional Cameroon.
Cast
