'Tales of a Traveling Toubabo'

(A short introduction to the 2026 Janjangbureh Kankurang Festival)

Twenty-six checkpoint stops, two punctures and four emergency evacuations due to an overheating engine, resulted in a seven hour delay checking into my favourite pension, The Baobolong Riverside, in Janjangbureh. My host, Basiru Sinyan, had kindly allocated a room during the busiest weekend of the year. The 2026 Janjangbureh Kankurang Festival.

The dignitaries and tourists are arriving by the hour. The hoteliers, restaurateurs, gelegele drivers, dancing troupes, Spirit performers, fruit sellers, market traders, shop owners, birdwatchers and guides, are preparing themselves. A stage and seating arena are being erected at the venue, the local museum is being painted. There is a tangible sense of expectation in the air.

For me preparations for the Festival began about 8 months ago when I commissioned a life-size statue of The Kankurang as a gift for the museum adjacent to the site. He is a finely crafted piece of art. The fact that he was only completed two days before the opening ceremony caused some anxious moments, but my trust in Musa Foon, the maker, was well placed. Musa seemed very happy with his work when we spoke this morning, and rightly so.

The Kankurang, resplendent in traditional costume, is made from the orange/red bark of the Camel's Foot tree (Fara), he is posed threateningly wielding two cutlasses. When you get up close you feel there is actually someone inside, like one of those performance art exhibits in trendy London art galleries. His presence is intimidating. It is no wonder that he has instilled the fear of God into the hearts of the countless young boys he has ceremoniously guided through the rites of passage from early childhood into adulthood. You just don't disobey the Kankurang. Ever.

Though he has emerged from the deep timeless forests immemorial, times are changing, and perhaps he is now becoming more of a ceremonial character. Perhaps. Either way he is the highlight of the Show.

I feel privileged that my colleagues at The Point Newspaper have assigned me to promote, and comment on, the Festival, from the view of a tourist/visitor perspective and I will be speaking to as many characters as possible, whether they are characters that have emerged from the depths of traditional or ordinary townsfolk. This report is a short preamble to what lies ahead.