KING ABUMBI AND HIS ATTACHMENT TO ACHU
His Royal Majesty, Abumbi II, King of Bafut, was born to the rule of a people and a kingdom steeped in the culture of Achu as a staple food. And it is but obvious that in 55 years of his reign this far, he has spared no effort in promoting the interest of a dish that sustains the life of his people and entertains guests in the land.
Fine, the tradition might be dying down now due to modernism, but it was customary in days gone-by for the Bafut Community to reserve for their King, chunks of fertile lands as farmlands to be cultivated and planted with food crops for the feeding of the royal family and entertainment of palace guests. These were for example, the King’s Farmlands in the Muchu’u river basin in Mbebali and Atu-Nkare. Mixed gropping was usually practized in these farms, but the harvest particularly included corn and Achu’ cocoyams cultivated and harvested by various village communities under the strict supervision of the King’s wives who thereafter ensured preservation and storage for later use.
King Abumbi II is at the head of the royal family which the Bafut people look up to in their quest for exemplary leadership in the development and transmission of developments in the Achu’ staple food. The King ensures that all his daughters are well groomed in Achu’ preparation under their mothers’ roofs before being given away in marriage. This is in order to defend the dignity of their father, the King, in their matrimonial homes. Their husbands’ food baskets never lackachu, the staple food.
Of course, Princes on their part are treated to a special quality by their wives who set aside the choicest Achu’ cocoyams for their husbands. And when preparing the Achu’, certain rituals must be respected, such as bathing before starting to prepare the Achu’ and not sitting astride the mortar while crushing or pounding the cocoyams.
Not forgetting that the King himself is a confirmed farmer. He sometimes disappears from the palace for one week while working on his farmlands at Kenshu far away from home. And it is quite normal that among the crops he cultivates is Achu’ cocoyams.
We cannot end this write up on Achu’ and the King Abumbi’s attachment to it without special mention of the latest development
being the Achu Festival. This festival was introduced in 2014 in order to promote and valorize the staple. This idea might not have been conceived by the King in person, but once the young researcher presented it to him, he did not hesitate to buy the idea. The gates of the palace were flung open for implementation of the first edition in 2015. The venue was the main Bafut Palace plaza, and the event pulled quite a crowd of enthusiastic participants clad in traditional regalia. Ready-to-serve Achu’ wrapped in warmed-up banana leaves was contributed by several villages of the Kingdom and was displayed in the form of a pyramid. The pyramid was so high that people standing on one side could hardly see those on the opposite side. The festival was planned to be a yearly or a biennial event, but unfortunately the current socio-political crises came and halted all cultural activities in the Kingdom.
Written by Mr Crispus Numfor
On the King’s instructions.
The Achu festival like the Yam festival in Nigeria is an emblematic festival that has come to stay. It’s a traditional and cultural festival which portrays our rich gastronomic potentials but also x-rays Cameroon as a touristic destination of choice. It’s a fundamental fact that cultural tourism is on the rise, not to say it’s the fastest growing industry in the world today.
Cameroon also stands out as a destination of choice. It’s obviously clear that food varieties in Cameroon remains an attracting force.
ACHU distinguishes itself as one of those specials meals that is not only tasteful in the mouth but possesses healing properties and unique in style, creation and presentation.
When you talk tourism, you talk gastronomy. And when you talk gastronomy in Cameroon the ACHU STANDS TALL AND UNQUE.