Batuo's world

Manyu Women's Art & Folklore Poetry

African women's art is usually neglected especially because it functions principally in the domestic sphere, but we are beginning to claim our own. In the following poems, Dr. Joyce Ashuntantang celebrates Manyu women art and folklore. Manyu Division is found in the Southwest Province of Cameroon.

Two Poems: Asoreh Love and Ekpere

Joyce Ashuntantang

In Manyu, women crafted traditional dishes for eating called “Epkere”. These were made out of gourds. These were sometimes elaborately decorated with white chalk and engravings Pounded fufu could stay fresh in these “ekperes” for days. In fact for those who are old enough to recall, there’s still nostalgia for overnight fufu and ogbono soup which is a staple in this region. There was also a special type of ekpere shaped like a chalice called an “Asoreh”. This was a special soup dish for the father of the house. Each wife decorated her husbands Asoreh richly. After a husband’s death the breaking of the Asoreh by the “Ebhongu”, an Ekpe masquerade became the symbolic separation of the living from the dead. It marked the end of the intimate relationship between husband and wife and she was now deemed ready for a new sexual relationship.