While lying on the enriched continent of Africa, Equatorial Guinea has proved to be entrenched in ancient rituals and songs. This is especially true for the Fang, a people whose territories begin at the southern edge of

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

south of

Kribi Kribi is a beach resort and sea port in Cameroon. Location The coastal town of Kribi lies on the Gulf of Guinea, in Océan Department, South Province, at the mouth of the Kienké River. This location, lies approximately , by road, south of ...

Djoum Djoum is a town in South Province, Cameroon, South Province, Cameroon. History The first inhabitants of modern-day Djoum were the Baka people (Cameroon and Gabon), Baka peoples. The rural municipality was formed in 1952. The town was later div ...

, and in the South Province and continue south across the border, including all of

Río Muni Río Muni (called ''Mbini'' in Fang) is the Continental Region (called ''Región Continental'' in Spanish) of Equatorial Guinea, and comprises the mainland geographical region, covering . The name is derived from the Muni River, along whic ...

in Equatorial Guinea, and from there south into

Gabon Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the nort ...

and Congo. The capital island of

Bioko Bioko (; historically Fernando Po; bvb, Ëtulá Ëria) is an island off the west coast of Africa and the northernmost part of Equatorial Guinea. Its population was 335,048 at the 2015 census and it covers an area of . The island is located of ...

has largely been influenced by

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

customs and traditions during the colonial period, when education and health services were developed in the country.

Traditions

Many

Bubi BuBi (officially: MOL BuBi) is a bicycle sharing network in Budapest, Hungary. Its name is a playful contraction Budapest and Bicikli (bicycle in Hungarian), meaning "bubble" in an endearing manner. As of May 2019 the network consists of 143 dock ...

farmers still hold to their ancient customs. One of the country's most famous celebrations is the ''abira'', which is believed to cleanse the community of evil. The ''balélé'' dance is performed along the coast throughout the year and on

around

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

Religion, race, and language

Most people in the country are nominally Christian, but practice a combination of Roman Catholicism and traditional pagan customs.

, French, and

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

are the official languages of the country. Despite a veneer of Spanish culture and of Roman Catholic religion that is thicker in Bioko than on the mainland, Equatorial Guineans live largely according to ancient customs, which have undergone a revival since independence. Among the Fang of the mainland, witchcraft, traditional music (in which the Fang harp, the

xylophone The xylophone (; ) is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars struck by mallets. Like the glockenspiel (which uses metal bars), the xylophone essentially consists of a set of tuned wooden keys arranged in ...

, the great drums, and the wooden trumpet are used), and storytelling survive. Spanish aid is much oriented to educational and health services. Among the

farmers of Bioko, some ancient customs are still followed.

Music

The Fang is known for the

mvet The mvet is a stringed musical instrument, a type of stick zither, Hornbostel-Sachs (311) of the Fang people of Gabon, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, São Tomé and Equatorial Guinea. Somewhat resembling the Mande kora, but large ...

, an instrument that looks like a cross between a

zither Zithers (; , from the Greek word ''cithara'') are a class of stringed instruments. Historically, the name has been applied to any instrument of the psaltery family, or to an instrument consisting of many strings stretched across a thin, flat ...

and a harp, and can have up to fifteen strings. The semi-spherical part of this instrument is made of bamboo, and the strings are attached to the center by fibers. Music for the mvet is written in the form of musical notation that can only be learned by the initiates of the bebom-mvet society. Music is typically

call and response Call and response is a form of interaction between a speaker and an audience in which the speaker's statements ("calls") are punctuated by responses from the listeners. This form is also used in music, where it falls under the general category of ...

with a chorus and drums alternating. Musicians like Eyi Muan Ndong have helped to popularize folk styles.

Cinema

Juan Pablo Ebang Esono is one of the top filmmakers in the country. In 2010, Esono directed ''

Teresa Teresa (also Theresa, Therese; french: Thérèse) is a feminine given name. It originates in the Iberian Peninsula in late antiquity. Its derivation is uncertain, it may be derived from Greek θερίζω (''therízō'') "to harvest or re ...

'', the first medium-length film to be produced in Equatorial Guinea.

References

{{EquatorialGuinea-stub

Traditions

Religion, race, and language

Music

Cinema

See also

References