Organized as part of an international conference (March 1-3) under the theme “Orality, a privileged register of interlocution or a screen for Africa”, this panel highlighted the characteristics of the Mvet, which designates both the harp-zither as well as the heroic stories recited by a bard called mbom-mvet (player/storyteller of the Mvet), as well as the issues related to its preservation and the recommended means of transmission and sharing.
Thus, Dr. Angèle Ondo, professor of poetics of African oral texts, immediately defined the Mvet as “a long epic poem” recited by a master, in the Ekang clan, on the occasion of a man’s funeral or mourning withdrawal ceremonies, the utterance of which is supported by “the music of the harp, clashing sticks and bells”.
Known to be “a cult text”, anchored in the theme of “the quest for immortality of mortal or immortal kings and warriors to deliver the secret of wisdom”, the Mvet uses the detour so that only the initiated can grasp its meaning and scope, explained the academic.
She also explained that since the end of the 20th century, Mvet has been at risk of disappearing due to the death of its great masters while being subject to numerous obstacles preventing its transmission, namely the lack of knowledge of the Mvet language by native listeners, the demonization of Béri (Ekang language) and the ban on celebrating the Mvet ritual, considered “retrograde” by the new religions to which the natives adhere, in addition to the disappearance of the rites taught by Mvet as well as the adoption of a new way of life radically different from the values and principles of the Ekang civilization.
For his part, Dr. Mathurin Ovono Ebe, Lecturer in Spanish and Comparative Literature, indicated that Mvet is an art that is part of the epic and exploits of the Ekang, a people of immortals who are the mythical extrapolation of the Fang people, according to Eyi Ngoco Moan Ndong, a Guinean-Ecuadorian Mvet master, whose stories have been translated into Spanish and more recently into French.
“The Mvet refers to the musical instrument and the message of wisdom conveyed in the stories,” stressed Mr. Ovono Ebe, pleading for it to have “an international echo.”
He also wanted to compare the terms “literature”, often sacralized, and “orality”, often described as popular or even profane, introducing the neologism “oraliture”, designed to restore the weight of orality, by highlighting culture transmitted orally such as stories and songs.
For his part, researcher and university professor François Bingono revealed the links between the visible and invisible world according to the Mvet, sharing with the audience numerous “life stories” to explain this interaction.
He stressed the importance of Mvet as “a privileged means of communication allowing us to go into the world of the dead to find solutions to the problems of the living”.
Initiated as part of the activities of the Chair of African Literature and Arts, this three-day conference aims to explore African intellectual wealth with an emphasis on oral literature, bringing together around ten speakers, including Moroccan researchers and artists and others from Guinea, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Mauritania, Madagascar, Gabon and Cameroon.
2024-08-24 10:40:29