Djeki, mythical hero of Cameroon

With a wild look in their eyes, the brass chess pieces from Cameroon glare at the visitors of the Chessmen Museum. When I first saw these typically African figures I was reminded of the mythical Djeki. Bards of the Douala, a people living on the coast of Cameroon, dedicate some of their songs to the adventures of this hero.

The oral tradition of singing epic poems has become largely extinct in Europe. In ancient Greece, Homer praised mythological heroes in the Iliad and the Odyssey. In the Middle Ages, troubadours travelled around castles and cities to sing stories about Charlemagne and Elbegast. In large parts of Africa this way of sharing stories is still an important form of literary expression. The tales about Djeki aren´t just short songs but performances that go on all evening. The stories are accompanied by a large group of musicians and dancers.

The African bard, who constantly involves the public in his performance, sings the complete story from memory. Bards often come from families that have had ties with royal families for generations. They know and sing about the entire history of the royal family in question by heart. They are held in high regard and they act in other social functions as well, for example as diplomats.

Evening-filling programme
The musical tales about the hero, Djeki, likely originated in the second half of the nineteenth century, when the Douala came into contact with European traders and missionaries. Each professional storyteller that has been giving all-night performances about Djeki ever since, has their own version of the story and the songs are based on existing themes. The performances vary hugely by now, although they are more or less built up in the same way.

There is no moral to the different stories, they are meant for entertainment purposes only. The shows are not specifically linked to certain social events. Whenever someone is in the mood to organise something fun for their village or family, and has the money for it, they will invite the bard and his entourage. The show is like a big and wonderful party with stories, songs and music, dance and mime performances. The whole event lasts until sunrise and the spectators drink and eat until they are bursting at the seams.

Magic weapons
The bard, as always, begins his story with the birth of the main character, Djeki. As befits a mythological hero, his birth is a miraculous one. He then goes on to experience the oddest adventures until the sun rises again. There is no specific ending to the performance, really.

Djeki is the son of Njambe and Ngrijo. Father Njambe practices black magic and witchcraft and Ngrijo is also familiar with extraordinary powers, which is something many of the Douala people believe in. This little family unit is banished by the rest of their family and they settle somewhere along the river, in the jungle. Ngrijo gives birth to a daughter, but a few years later the little girl is kidnapped. The ruler of the realm of the dead, who has disguised himself as a chimpanzee, has caught her. Njambe blames his wife, who is pregnant again at that time, and leaves her. He then marries eight other women and has another 88 children over time.

All this time, Ngrijo is not giving birth and her belly keeps growing. In the end, Djeki comes into the world an adult, complete with clothing, tools, musical instruments and magical weapons including a war boat. Djeki possesses mythical powers of which his father is extremely jealous. Njambe repeatedly puts his son to the test and assigns him increasingly dangerous tasks. Djeki continues to obey his father and accomplishes the most impossible missions, with the help of his magical weaponry. As is characteristic of an epic poem, Djeki is killed several times during his missions, but he always manages to return to the realm of the living. The bard brings humour to his tales about how the hero executes all of his tasks, and the performance leaves the audience amazed and amused.

In this way, the savage Djeki has been playing the leading role for generations in a kind of musical that has no equal in African oral tradition. I can imagine that the creators of the brass chess game were inspired by these mythical stories.

By Marjolein Overmeer