The throbbing drums, stomping feet of Bandawa Kwai dance

Written by Duncan Wednesday, 22 June 2011

The cheery crowd surged forward, everybody trying to catch a glimpse of the dark complexioned giant dancers, draped in animal skins, beads and amulets and wielding sticks. Some spectators even got so enthralled that they jumped into the rope-fence village square. While some lined behind the dancers, others went side by side with them; stamping their feet, curling their waists, stretching out their arms and nodding their heads to the cadence of the throbbing drums, in unison with the practiced steps of the Kwai (war) dancers.

It was a joyful day for Bandawa people and they were making the best out of it. Found across the bank of the Benue River in Karim Lamido Local Government of Taraba State, the Bandawa who are also known as Bakula, farm the rich alluvial plains and fish in the tranquil River Benue that often, during the rainy season, floods their poor homes. There are three clans of these farmers and fishermen - Nashiu, Ngwaven and Liban, with about 26,000 speakers of the language called Shoo-Minda-Nye. However, there are three dialects of the language - Shoo (bandawa), Minda (jinleri) and Nye (Kunini) - all of them enjoying equal status. Not much is known about the language but it appears to be of the Niger-Congo, Jukunoid class.

Interestingly, the Bandawa people appear to have equal proportions of Muslims and Christians and some few animists, living peacefully. The Kuh-Shoh said: “We are very peaceful and hospitable people and we welcome visitors. When visitors come to us, we give them land to farm.”

But at the Kwai dancers, drummers, gong players and enchanted spectators chanted melodious songs, gyrating the village square in commemoration of the second anniversary of the coronation of the Chief of Bandawa Kingdom, Alhaji Yusha’u Sharia Jue II, the Kuh-Shoh. Even the joyful crowd outside the square chorused the songs in a manner that showed mutual intelligibility, though a good number of them still speak fluent Hausa, Fulfulde and Dza (Jen).

The cluster of mud, thatched huts dotting the snaking river bank depicted poverty but none of it was shown on the faces of the villagers. Their beaming smiles and cheerful laughter showed a people overwhelmed with happiness.

Hajiya Chibi Idris is a princess in Bandawa kingdom and she explained what the day meant for her people. “Today is the happiest day for Bandawa people after 28 years without a chief. We are a peaceful people and the simple way we live is being expressed today,” she said.

The first Kuh-Shoh was installed in 1874 and the previous one died in 1983. The present one was enthroned in 2009. After a long, endless wait, Chief Cyprian James who crossed the river coming from Jalingo, captured his experience in these words: “I feel so happy because I was in primary school three decades ago when I witnessed an event like this. It is a special day for us because we had a long, endless wait. In the whole Muri kingdom, we were the only tribe that did not have a chief that someone can look up to. Now we have what we were waiting for so we can celebrate. We were like a flock without a shepherd but now we have a figure head we can look up to and can help preserve our way of life.”

James who was one of those to be turbaned at the occasion, expressed optimism that the present Kuh-Shoh being an educationist, will help bring development to Bandawa chiefdom.

Without accessible, motorable road, a functional healthcare centre and quality public schools for the poor villagers, James hoped that the traditional ruler will influence these infrastructures to the rustic rural setting to improve the living standards of the people.

“We appreciate what we have now—a junior secondary school that we never had before but we need more infrastructure. The secondary school should be upgraded to senior secondary school,” he said.

Hajiya Idris too did not forget the reality of the underdevelopment starring her rural folks in the face and she felt the improvement in agricultural practices and availability of  fertilizers to the farmers at affordable prices can help improve her people’s lives. But she believed it is only when Bandawa sons and daughters, at home and in the Diaspora co-operate with the Kuh-Shoh that development will come to Bandawa.

“There is need for Bandawa people to co-operate with the Kuh-Shoh to move our community forward. We need accessible road, a hospital and our farmers need fertilizers and modern farm implements to improve farm yields,” she said.

But at that very moment, the dancers and drummers were oblivious to whatever problem their community was facing and they drummed and danced till dusk gathered. While it lasted, it was really spectacular, especially, the tall wooden drum called Nda`ngh in the local dialect that had to be supported by another person before the drummer beats it with rhythmic precision and enthusiasm with his bare hands.

The hefty dancers too, with big iron trinkets on their ankles and animal skins wrapped round their waists wielding sticks and horsewhips as they twisted their sweat soaked bodies to the measured beats of the droning music held spectators spell bound.

And the colour of the occasion was painted on the radiant faces of the poor spectators outside the fenced square while prominent sons and daughters of the soil flaunted flowing traditional gowns.

But since there was no real war, performing the war dance on such an occasion was perhaps significant that Bandawa were combating poverty and underdevelopment in their area. Or better still, it was an expression of joy of conquering poverty, which by all standards could be far from the truth looking at the pastoral, peasant life styles of the locals.

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