In *Masquisard* (Masque/Mask + Maquisard: underground resistance fighters), Toutou Ditchou reignites the resistance against colonial rule in Cameroon. Between 1955 and 1971, many of the independence fighters were beheaded. There is no memorial to commemorate them. “The Masquisards wanted total independence and fought for it. But those who made deals with the former colonial rulers remained in power” (Toutou Ditchou). Before French colonial rule, Cameroon was a German colony.
The performance is being adapted thanks to the support of and in cooperation with the RAUTENSTRAUCH-JOEST MUSEUM – Cultures of the World in Cologne. Masquisard is a cathartic experience meant to soothe the souls during a dark chapter in Cameroon’s history and a tribute to the martyrs of the independence struggles. “To this day, silence reigns—in the past, it was even forbidden to speak of what happened back then,” says Toutou, who advocates for a culture of remembrance. “There are no answers as to who beheaded the Indépendantistes, who were viewed as troublemakers. Even today, fear prevails…,” says Toutou. And this fear dates back to the colonial era and the transition to independence. Félix-Roland Moumié, leader of the UPC—the first political party that was truly independent—demanded unconditional independence (“indépendance sans condition”). In 1960, he was poisoned.
Toutou Ditchou | Toutou le conteur (The Storyteller), born in Bangangté, is a Cameroonian artist who worked as a storyteller at the University of Dschang while studying oral literature at the Département d’Etudes Africaines until his doctorate. Together with street children in Bafoussam and in collaboration with various orphanages, he has developed numerous performances for public spaces that combine song, dance and fairy tales. Toutou opened the MODAPERF 2023 International Biennale with his latest creation Masquisard.
WITH Toutou Ditchou | SUPPORTED BY MODAPERF (Cameroon) | THE PRODUCTION IN COLOGNE IS FUNDED BY the City of Cologne’s Cultural Development Planning (KEP) program
Masquisard on 7. + June 8, in connection with the following event:
FROM BANDUNG TO BLM AND BEYOND. A weekend about global freedom struggles from Bandung to Black Lives Matter
The RJM sheds light on the Bandung Conference, a milestone for the liberation of the global South, at which 29 representatives from Asian and African countries met in Indonesia in April 1955, and shows the connections between the freedom struggles in Africa, South America and Asia, the US civil rights and Black Power movement and the pan-African festivals. All of these were not independent events, but part of a global struggle against racism, colonialism and economic exploitation.
https://rautenstrauch-joest-museum.de
MASQUISARD IS SPONSORED BY:
