ALFRED W. DAIGA

Daïga, Bengyela-Daïga

Of course the most significant event of behnsein7014 is the unveiling of

the A.W.Daiga Manifesto

From my last will and testament. Extrait de mon testament et dernier volonté.•That nobody be told of my leaving my body /que personne ne soit informe de mon depart de mon corps.•Or be made to grieve or lament or wail on account of me./ ou etre amener a s’atrister ou lamenter ou pleurer a cause de moi That the process of decay be not interfered with in any manner. /qu’on ne se mêle pas de la décomposition de quelque manier que ce soit.•That I be not buried in a cemetery or in a marked grave /que je ne soit pas enterer dans un cimetier ou dans une tomb signaler•That no ceremonies be performed on account of me/ qu’aucune ceremonie ne soit executer a cause de moi•That nobody views my carcass/que mon cadaver ne soit pas visioner•That no body remember me/que personne ne se rappel de moi.

1. Peaceful resistance is not for cowards. It is not a quiet, passive acceptance of evil. One is passive and peaceful physically, but very active spiritually, always seeking ways to persuade the opponent of the advantages to the way of love, cooperation, and peace.2. The goal is not to defeat or humiliate the opponent but rather to win him or her over to understanding new ways to create cooperation and community.3. The peaceful resister attacks the forces of evil, not the people who are engaged in injustice. As King said in Montgomery, “We are out to defeat injustice and not white persons who may be unjust.”4. The peaceful resister accepts suffering without retaliating; accepts violence, but never commits it. Gandhi said, “Rivers of blood may have to flow before we gain our freedom, but it must be our blood.” Gandhi and King both understood that suffering by activists had the mysterious power of converting opponents who would otherwise refuse to listen.5. In peaceful resistance, one learns to avoid physical violence toward others and also learns to love the opponents with “agape” or unconditional love–which is love given not for what one will receive in return, but for the sake of love alone. It is God flowing through the human heart. Agape is ahimsa. “Along the way of life, someone must have sense enough and morality enough to cut off the chain of hate,” said King.6. God still has a way of wringing good out of evil. (Oh yes) And history has proven over and over again that unmerited suffering is redemptive7. Peacefulresistance is based on the belief that the universe is just. There is God or a creative force that is moving us toward universal love and wholeness continually. Therefore, all our work for justice will bear fruit – the fruit of love, peace, and justice for all beings everywhere.”

Behnsein(year)

Behnsein(year) is an annual event that begins in late June, waxes to a climax on 7/7

then begins to wane and fade out by the ides of July.

I last attended behnseinyear in 1983 or about that time and had to wait 30 long years to 2014 to attend another. I lost my car in a road accident on the Tiko Douala road and so could not return the following year. From then on, there has always been a deterrent till I made it in 2014. At one point a burial threw me off schedule, or the preparation was so strenuous that I fell ill and could not take off.There are three versions for attendees to choose from. The short version is from 18h00 6/7/year to 18h00 7/7year. While the medium version is from 01/7/year to 14/07/year and the long version is from 21/6/year to 21/7/year.The main event is a fair or exhibition of products and processes both new and old. It kicks off with a cleaning up campaign and closes with landscaping.At the heart of the event is the state of the estates address followed by a general assembly session.

Behnsein7014 pics

There are two citytocity clocks. one in Bojongo Douala and the other in Bali Nyonga.

Arrival of pineapple suckers from Bamenda sent by MaEmma

Transportation by Amadou, moto taxi driver from the travel agency to the citadel

Venues for open air computer tutorials.

The pointer to the citadel

The bill board at the citadel, notice the blind bill

The Orientations of the A.W.Daiga Center

The soil here is very sallow and when it gets sodden by heavy rains, winds topple trees.

The aftermath of preparation of cuttings and gathering of seeds.

A bag of tools and camping gear and a bag of planting material for the trip

Behold the estates at dschungnimbu

The sacred woods are lovely beyond any singing of it. The grass is rich and matted, you cannot see the soil. It holds the rain and the mist, and they seep into the ground, nourishing the vegetationand not too many cattle feed upon it; not too many fires burn it, laying bare the soil. Stand unshod upon it, for the ground is holy, being even as it came from our illustrious ancestors. Keep it, guard it, and care for it, for it keeps men, guards men, cares for Men. Destroy it and man is destroyed. Where you stand the grass is rich and matted, you cannot see the soil. But the rich green knoll breaks down. it falls to the valley below, and falling, change its nature. For it grows red and bare; itcannot hold the rain and mist, Too many cattle feed upon the grass, and too many fires have burned it. Stand shod upon it, for it is coarse and sharp, and the stones cut under the feet.

The sacred woods are lovely beyond any singing of it. The grass is rich and matted, you cannot see the soil. It holds the rain and the mist, and they seep into the ground, nourishing the vegetation and not too many cattle feed upon it; not too many fires burn it, laying bare the soil. Stand unshod upon it, for the ground is holy, being even as it came from our illustrious ancestors. Keep it, guard it, and care for it, for it keeps men, guards men, cares for Men. Destroy it and man is destroyed. Where you stand the grass is rich and matted, you cannot see the soil. But the rich green knoll breaks down. it falls to the valley below, and falling, change its nature. For it grows red and bare; itcannot hold the rain and mist, Too many cattle feed upon the grass, and too many fires have burned it. Stand shod upon it, for it is coarse and sharp, and the stones cut under the feet.

The entrance to the sacred grove

Bob Lance chopping grass in order to cut a path into the heart of the sacred woods

The Sacred ruins of the house A.W.Daiga built.

h

Stand unshod upon it, for the ground is holy, being even as it came from

our illustrious ancestors.

POTIONS CULTIVATED BY MAEMMA

corn

PLANTAINS

EVEN MPAAH

Who must have put this ncheuop I wonder.Juju, ngambe, mamadu church and all bad country fashion we idi moof man for church!

There is soya beans in this pineapple patch with cows grazing in the back ground

Ground nuts with eucalyptus trees in the back ground

There is cassava in the corn fields

The eucalyptus saga. Some of these trees were planted by A.W.Daiga himself.

The bridge to ncheuh

NCHEUH

MAMON

TANGWI

As a toddler, I nearly drowned in the farm stream. The stream can be crossed by the bridge or by fording. At the ford, Mamon had a stone on which she did her laundry and sat to take her bath. Tangwi had her stone too for the same purpose. Tangwi and mamon shared many commodities. On that fatefull day, I was taking the cake of soap from mamon to tangwi when I slipped on the algae fell into the stream and was quickly being carried away over the rapids. Tangwi and mamon fell into the stream in unison skidding on their buttocks after me with outstretched hands . . .Thanks to their combined efforts, I survived to tell the tale.

Pitching the dragon tent in the heart of the sacred woods

Those who studied the English language through the Oxford Reader are familiar with the story of Lakayana. The particuliarity is the … refrain.See me Lakayana with my spear; the spear which the old man gave me; the old man who ate my yam; the yam my mother gave me ; my mother who . . . And so on. So see me with my tent; the tent Maemma gave me; Maemma who …..

Seeds and cuttings

cuttings

dop ddonalo@yahoo.com [baawdaigaestates] To baawdaigaestates@yahoogroups.com Jul 22 at 4:37 PM Hi Ni,Nice pictures. A feeling of nostalgia seeing those very familiar images. I grew up with Mamon and know those little paths like the back of my hand or even better. I remember a miracle season where corn planted at ncheuh took less than 24 hours to shoot out young sprouts. I'll never forget the look on Mamon's face when we turned up the following morning and beheld the wonder.

ThanksDop

The unstoppable onward march of the legacy

It was the day before the maket day. Ntan Mbutu. So Bob Lance dashed Kunjah to harvest crops for sale. He did not come back as expected but called to say he had a break down. I came in by eighty-three and wanted to return by eighty four. I was cheated of the experience because being a first timer I counted on assistance from Bob lance.

Not only that, I trekked to eighty three with all my bags weighing me down. But I was glad I made it to behnsein7014

That’s all folks