It’s hard not to hear about the songo on this day. Long before the start of the tournament, the players are shouting at each other, each promising to beat the others to a pulp, challenges and counter-challenges are often vociferous.
Such is the players’ agitation that Thierry Didier Kuicheu, a blogger who has come to cover the event and is unaccustomed to the habits and customs of songho, is concerned to see the players shouting at each other to the point of almost coming to blows.
We’re forced to explain to him that, as with all Bulu games, this is first and foremost a demonstration of virility.
In the end, 32 players will be vying for the coveted trophy of best songho player in the district.
On the soccer front, the final matches of the first round are being played with reinforced sanitary arrangements. But the highlight of the day is the second edition of the “village evenings”.
Under the leadership of Chief His Majesté Ondja’a Emmanuel, the village of Ebolebola pulled out all the stops. In the purest Bulu tradition, the Yemissem of Ebolebola challenged the Yekombo of Abiete who had preceded them by hosting the first village evening, and set the bar high so as to leave no chance for those who would come after them.
One of the highlights of the evening was when the village’s oldest member, 84, spoke to the audience about the village’s history. It was not far from 2 a.m. when The Belinga Foundation delegation, more than twenty strong, finally left the premises.
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