In Bambili we have special traditions related to the ceremony of greeting the chief, the Fon. I learnt the traditions regarding greeting the Fon, the hard way. You don't stretch out a hand to a Fon to greet him. Neither are you the one to initiate a greeting. Since the Fon is far higher and greater in status he is first of all the one to initiate a greeting. Once he does that only men and women who have been initiated or given the access to greet the Fon can do so. Even then, it is still not done by shaking hands but by clapping your hands three times and bowing down saying 'Mbɛ̀' with a low tone. Both your posture and your voice should express your humble attitude and reverence for his majesty the Fon.
I once stretched out a hand to greet a Fon. The first time it happened the Fon was kind enough to extend his hand to greet me, even though there was a big group of observers. Maybe because I was a foreigner it was accepted. The second time I happened to meet a Fon in a occassion, I wasn't sure whether the Fon was a Fon or not, since he didn't wear his ordinary clothes which signify him. How easy is it by the way to recognise someone who is usually sitting on a throne but occassionally walks around common, ordinary people working and doing his job just as normal? Well, after some instructions from Bambili people I have now learnt that any Fon wears cowries on his left hand, the wives of the Fon do so too. That is how one can easiest recognies the royals in Bambili, and in North West of Cameroon in general.
Now, to greet the Fon, one should first be initiated. Any man or woman who has anything to bring before the Fon, whether a message or a gift, should be a matured person. That means one should be married. A man is called to the Fon's palace and he is given the white palmwine which the Fon pours into the hands of the man from the Fon's own cup. In Bambili that cup has a special name, àfrɛ́ Fwɔ̀ and the ceremony is called wànə́ Fwɔ̀. A woman cannot come before the Fon except through her husband she receives the palmwine through her husband while he drinks she holds her right hand on his shoulders. That is how a woman can get access to enter the palace and greet the Fon. Any man or woman who gets this privilege will then celebrate with his family and friends that they have been considered worthy and matured enough to come before the Fon. From now on, whenever they see the Fon or enter into a gathering of people they have the right to bow and clap their hands together three times. Only real men do that!
Earlier days, it wasn't common for ordinary to be initiated and get access to the palace. It wasn't open to just anyone. Very few people could get a chance to speak to the Fon or even see him, except his closest advisors. Today such traditions have changed. The palace is the heart of the village and both men and women have access to greet the Fon. So how does one do it as a guest, and single woman, not intending to get married just in order to get a chance to greet the Fon. Well, the truth is that the Fon in Bambili were very generous he asked me to come with his advisors and an older woman. He gave me a royal dress and gave me the peace plant as a symbol of sending me back to Sweden with peace. Then, he called me to come forward, bow down and give my hands as a cup. He then poured his white wine from his cup into my hands. I drank and I washed my face with it, following the instructions of the others. I steped back and for the first time clapped my hands three times before the Fon as a woman of Bambili ought to. That is how I got to wanə Fwɔ!
