Encore appelée danse sur échasse, le Sondap est une des performances artistiques qui fait la particularité de quelques chefferies*, notamment de celles situées à la limite Sud du plateau bamiléké. Ce sont des chefferies telles que Fotsem-Lessing, Fontsa-Toula, Banki, Fomépea, et Fondonera. Le Sondap est pratiqué exclusivement lors des funérailles*. Le danseur est placé sur un morceau de planche (autrefois une tige de bambou) d’environ 1,5 à 2 mètres de hauteur. Le bois est alors garni d’un étrier qui sert de pose-pied, le tout recouvert par le pantalon ample qu’arbore le danseur. La face de ce dernier est recouverte de peinture éphémère blanche, indigo, noire, ou rouge. Il porte sur la tête un cimier de fibres de raphia qui recouvre chez certains leur torse. Les danseurs évoluent sur l’aire de danse en faisant des acrobaties performatives. L’objectif est de défier la gravité. Ils font vibrer leur corps en contorsions diverses au rythme du balafon joué par l’orchestre qui les accompagne. De temps en temps, ils s’approchent du public qui, effrayé, s’enfuit, élargissant ainsi l’aire de danse. Les échassiers sont hautement craints. On leur concède des pouvoirs mystiques (bienfaisants ou malfaisants). C’est pourquoi il est parfois déconseillé aux femmes enceintes d’assister à leur prestation (Douen 2022).
Cette danse est originaire de la plaine des Mbo et remonte à l’époque de la chasse à l’éléphant. La technique consistait pour les chasseurs Mbo à grimper sur des tiges de lianes coupées dans la forêt pour repérer les éléphants à distance et se déplacer facilement dans les eaux marécageuses des plaines (Douen 2022). De retour au village avec le butin de chasse, une danse était organisée et les chasseurs exécutaient les pas sur leurs tiges de lianes. C’est ainsi qu’est née la danse sur échasse. Son introduction dans les chefferies* bamiléké voisines est la preuve des contacts et échanges culturels et historiques qui existent entre ces deux peuples.
Sondap, also known as dance on stilts, is one of the artistic performances that distinguish a number of chiefdoms, particularly those on the southern edge of the Bamiléké plateau, such as Fotsem-Lessing, Fontsa-Toula, Banki, Fomépea and Fondonera. The sondap is performed exclusively at funerals. The dancer stands on a piece of wood (a bamboo stalk) about 1.5 to 2 meters high. The wood is then fitted with a stirrup that serves as a footrest, all of which is covered by the loose-fitting pants worn by the dancer. The dancer’s face is temporarily painted white, indigo, black, or red, and they wear a raffia-fibre headdress on their head, some of which covers the torso. The dancers move around the space and perform acrobatics, with the aim of defying gravity. They shake and contort their bodies to the rhythm of the balafon played by the accompanying orchestra. From time to time, they approach and frighten the audience, who flee, expanding the dance area. Indeed, stilt-walkers are highly feared, and are believed to have mystical powers (both beneficial and malevolent). As a result, pregnant women are sometimes advised not to attend their performances (Douen 2022).
This dance originates from the Mbo plain and dates back to the days of elephant hunting, when Mbo hunters would climb up on liana stems cut in the forest to spot elephants at a distance and move easily through the swampy waters of the plains (Douen 2022). Once back in the village with the spoils of the hunt, a dance was organized, and the hunters performed on their liana stems. Thus, the dance on stilts was born. Its introduction into neighboring Bamiléké chiefdoms is proof of the cultural and historical contacts and exchanges that exist between the two peoples.
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