ekottomagazine
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Mastho Ribocho Ëpópö
Ë KOTTÒ, is a magazine of the cultural field in all its disciplines.
We are committed to bringing culture closer to our readers. Our goal is to give visibility to sectors that lack this opportunity of presence in large media platforms.
Our publications will be monthly and we will focus on four basic sections and four complementary ones.
INFORMATION, INTERVIEWS, ACTIVITY AND PROMOTION, and SOKKÒ, ËTYÖ LAÖTYA, OPINION y EDITORIAL
INFORMATION: Its content will be based on knowing the path of our guests. That is, what you could call their biography.
2. INTERVIEW. Focused on the professional field.
3. ACTIVITY: Focused on our guest's current affairs.
4. PROMOTION: Publicize everything related to the works of our guest or in its case what it believes necessary to promote related to his or her professional work.
SOKKÒ
It is a section with a variety of socio-cultural news.
ËTYÖ LAÖTYA
It is a section of learning and knowledge about the Bóbë-Bubi identity in its different manifestations.
OPINION
It is a section for sociocultural opinion articles.
EDITORIAL
A general story on a specific theme of each edition.
With the magazine Ë KOTTÓ, we will bring culture a little closer to our homes.
Editorial
THERE IS STILL A LOT OF CLIMBING TO DO
There is a long way to climb to reach the top. No one reaches the top without going through a first step. No one touches a door to stay in the anteroom. The goal is to reach the hall. Nobody plays a game not to want to win it. From Ekottomagazine.com, it is a priority to recognize these people who go beyond all barriers and try to achieve personal and community goals. We know the difficulties we have in the past and present, only work and continuous struggle, will make us achieve everything we set out to achieve. We cannot embrace resignation, we have to insist and resist to break all these chains that do not let us move forward. We have the right to dream, to do what we like, to live life with illusion and that all the work we do today is a source of inspiration for new generations.
Story
LIKI LORIBO APO
Liki Loribo Apo, Guinean-Ecuadorian resident in Spain since 1999. He is a playwright, director, poet and writer. From 2007 to 2009 he directed the cultural area and the theater workshop of the Basakato Yeiyeba Sociocultural Association with which he staged two plays: "Sityummè el díscolo" and "Retales de la vida" in the Civic Centers, Juan de la Cierva and Dulce Chacón. In 2021 he published his first didactic method entitled, "O ë'ò tö'ólla lo ireré böbé / Learning to speak and write in Böbé", a project he had started in 1992 in Malabo as artistic director of "Esa'a teatro, música y danza", an association created the same year by Liki himself and the then Hijas del sol, Paloma and Piruchi. The aim of the Esa'a Artistic and Cultural Association was to recover and disseminate the artistic and cultural activities of the island of Bioko, which is in danger of extinction. In the
nineties, Liki Loribo Apo introduced folkloric dance in the Guinean-Ecuadorian theater through his works. As artistic director of Esa'a and in the framework of several activities organized by the then Guinean Hispanic Cultural Center, his plays received several distinctions: best actress and revelation actress in the play "Baköté es un travieso", "Best native song" in the Hispanic Song festival, third prize in the national festival of Christmas carols. First prize at the national folk dance festival, among others. In 2023 he published the second Böbé language method: "O ë'ò tö'ólla lo ireré böbé B1-B2 / Aprendiendo a hablar y a escribir en böbé, B1-B2", with which he began to structure the grades or levels of teaching the Böbé language, until then non-existent, and a reading book: "Aprende böbé leyendo. In the same year, together with Fumilayo Johnson Sopale, they published a book of Böbé stories entitled "Stories from the island of Bioko" for reading book 2 (B1-B2). In 2022 he publishes "Ballá bé töwéri ëtyö lé panná / Böbé and Spanish Vocabulary". In addition to these books, Liki Loribo Apo has also published a collection of poems in 2015 "Mi Jardín Retratos", a collection of short stories in 2020 "Como la vida misma" and in 2022, a play entitled "La Rebeldía de Susi. The right to decide" whose cover photo is the work of the Equatoguinean painter Mene Manresa Bodipo. Since 2022, she has been teaching Böbé at the Bubi Sociocultural Association in Madrid, Spain, and privately online. Liki Loribo Apo has several unpublished books of different genres and is currently working on new projects related to the world of art and entertainment.
Interview
Hello Liki.
Thank you for accepting Ë Kottò magazine's invitation.
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Is the Esa'á group a source of inspiration for the current Liki Loribo?
Esa'a Theater, Music and Dance was an Artistic and Cultural Association created by the then Hijas del sol, Paloma and Piruchi; Piruchi and Paloma in 1992, with the intention of recovering and making known the Bubi culture and those aspects of the culture that were being forgotten. Esa'a was for me a school, a university and a platform for training and practice. We created Esa'a from nothing, without any artistic training, but with a certain knowledge of the Böbé culture. I have been trained as an artist and I have learned about the Böbé culture by walking in and within Esa'a, being myself an artistic director and cultural promoter, not only in Esa'a, but also at a social and cultural level in the country. I am what I am today, thanks to my journey in and for Esa'a. It allowed me to meet many older people of the time, and when I say older, I mean old men and women who taught me a lot about Böbé and Böbé culture; today, I continue to drink from this knowledge, it is part of my being, of my essence as a person, as a writer and as an artist. "Is that a source of inspiration for me today?" For me, since I was not the only one who integrated it, Esa'a is something more than that. It is a way of life that taught me to know the human being, the böbé and to work for man and for humanity. All of us who were part of Esa'a were a family that was on fire while doing a non-profit artistic and cultural service to the country.
2. Currently we have many Bubi language books in which people can learn to write and read. But what can be done so that people can learn to pronounce correctly and listen to everyday conversations?
We are in the very first phase of the development and structuring of the written form of the language. What I call the phase of amazement and admiration for those of us who are working to give written form to our Böbé language. There is still a lot to be done, first of all the population must recognize and accept the tones in which we write our books, without this meaning that we are denigrating the other linguistic tones of Böbé. Nowadays, everyone believes that the tonality of their own people is better. To learn the language, you only have to enroll in the few places where it is still taught. One is at the Bubi Sociocultural Association, there are the online workshops of the Ölöita Lué Ësèsèmbè Association, Resplendence Language Arts, DiversityEtyoProject.com, I myself teach online; that is outside the island and on the island, in East Basakato, in Rebola, Kupapa and Batö'ipökkó, Böbé language classes are taught. It remains that the rest of the villages are encouraged to do the same; in addition to enrolling, that they buy the books that are coming out, the records of the singers who sing in Böbé Everyday Conversations. They should become members of "ëtyö laötya" and follow the interviews in the Böbé language of "Wë bötyö? I have just published a book of short stories entitled: "Learn Böbé by reading", short stories about conversations and situations of everyday life. The other plan would be the exchange or trips of students to the villages or with families who speak Böbé all day long, but that requires a great organization and a center or school behind. In my case, right now I can't publish an audiobook because it is economically expensive, setting up a virtual school requires a lot of dedication, money and human resources, things that I don't have right now. Everything I do related to the Böbé language I do with my own funds without return. Thanks to Editorial Diwan, they publish my books without charging me, that is to say, I don't do self-publishing.
3. There is a lot of talk about the disappearance of the Bubi mother tongue despite all the initiatives that are being carried out to prevent this from happening. What is your opinion on this matter?
It is true, there is talk, there has been talk, and there will be more talk. The singers started by calling attention, Mastho Ribocho himself, Sita Richi, etc. For such a situation to be reversed, words and advice are not enough; we need a shock plan that motivates people and gives meaning to what is being done. I have heard some people say: "What will learning to speak Böbé do for me today? It is true that Böbé is not like French or English, international and commercial languages, but it gives you a sign of belonging, it gives you identity, but you have to want to feel identified by it and with the cultural collective it represents. There was a time, for political and social reasons, to identify oneself as a Böbé was a problem and I understand that many people, for mere survival, ended up rejecting their own language, their identity and perhaps with the passage of time, seeing that the language did not contribute to them but, rather, subtracted from them and, subconsciously, I say perhaps, they ended up abhorring it. But today that no longer happens. I think we should all get involved, no matter what tonality the protagonist uses, no matter who was the first to write a text in Böbé, the language belongs to everyone, our ancestors did not leave it as an inheritance to anyone in particular. From here I say to the people: "Lö tö'óllo bue e pariö eríía, eríía bue parió bötyö", "the language makes the people, the people makes the person". If you do not have a language that identifies you through your roots, you do not belong to any people and if you do not belong to any people, you lack a "cultural" identity, something essential for our walk through this world. However, I must tell you that today the Associations, the young people, both from within and from the diaspora and many independent people, are aware of the importance of being Böbé as a person and Böbé as a language, both sources of a single trunk Ëtyö, who work tirelessly to keep the Böbé language more alive than ever. It will not disappear.
4. Do you think that Bubi Associations promote the use of the Bubi language within the community?
Today, many of the associations in the Böbé community are run by young people who, whether they speak Böbé or not, show great interest in the Böbé language and all that it means to be Böbé. However, we still have very little material to enable those who do not speak Böbé and would like to do so to fulfill their desire without any more effort than is necessary. As far as I know, the Böbé associations not only promote the use of the language, but also work so that those who are interested can get to know the culture of the Böbé people. There is still a lot to do, a lot of information to collect and the elders, our elders, are gradually leaving, but the young people and the associations are working to promote the use of the language and to make the culture of the Böbé people known.
5. We have noticed that you have recently published some Bubi language methods, among them you have one entitled "Teacher's book". How could future Bubi language teachers be trained?
At the moment, the most direct way would be through lectures and seminars. Later on, through well-prepared training courses, because the linguistic structure of Böbé has nothing to do with French or English, which are the ones we know best, Böbé is somewhat complex.
Interview
6. What inspired you to start writing Books that teach how to learn the Bubi language?
This is an old project, it arose almost parallel to the creation of Esa'a in 1992. In the group I had many young girls who loved what we were doing, they sang and danced the Böbé folklore dances but did not speak it, in the villages I was facing the same problem, on the way I met dad Mobajale who shared the same concern, we exchanged some impressions. He gave me some advice, that motivated me even more, I continued with the project, every time I had time and learned something new of the language I wrote it down until in 2021 the Diwan Publishing House, after presentation of the text, published my first method of Böbé-Spanish language.
7. Do you think the Bubi language needs standardization?
When the time comes, it will be done, it is a process through which all the languages have passed today consolidated. There must be a unique way of communicating in Böbé in writing, even if everyone in his village and in his collective writes as he wishes. However, by the very nature of the language, I advocate that there should be two schools: the "north-east" and the "south-west". Keep in mind that what in the north-east is pronounced with a "b", in the south-west is pronounced with an "m". Which is better, which has a better sonority, both are worth the same, the criterion for choosing a single form of "official" writing will not be sonority. And, to choose one form or the other is not at all a colonization from one side to the other, nonsense that can be heard in the street. Ha,ha,ha,ha,ha.
8. What can be done to get the new generations in the diaspora interested in learning Ëtyö-Bubi?
Not en masse, but, through the associations, there are some young people who are already showing an interest in the Böbé language, and it is up to us to provide them with the necessary tools to enable them to get even closer to this wonderful language.
9. Something you would have liked to do in your cultural area in Basakato Yeiyeba that was left out.
Working more from the theater workshop, because from the theater, the drama; you can teach a lot about all aspects of life and, in Basakato Yeiyeba we had a great generation of young people, but well... We did what we could and we gave it.
10. According to the data you have from your publishing house, where is there more acceptance of your literary work,
in your country Equatorial Guinea or in the diaspora?
I feel very fortunate, with my people, the Böbé collective, and with my country, Equatorial Guinea. Fortunately I sell very well in Equatorial Guinea, taking into account the socio-cultural and economic circumstances of our society, although it is true that in the diaspora I sell more for obvious reasons: there is a greater reading culture, the purchasing power is higher, the environment and the socio-cultural circumstances favor reading. You can't read a book if you are tired or hungry, you can't think of buying a book if your child is missing a notebook or simply hasn't eaten, and so on.
Of the böbé books, I sell more in Equatorial Guinea than in Spain, but there is a logic to it. Fortunately, I sell a lot of them in Spain as well.
11. As a playwright, when will we see your work published?
In the dramatic genre I have several books written and a few staged, but until the year 2022 I had not published any, it is entitled "La Rebeldía de Susi, el derecho a decidir" (Susi's Rebellion, the right to decide). It is set in Equatorial Guinea, it tells us about the struggle of women to have their own voice and decision about their own future in a customary, sexist and sometimes excessively traditional environment. It is likely that the next one will be released very soon.
12. One of the published works that has kept you awake at night because of its complexity?
At the theatrical level, I only have one published book, although I have written several. All plays have their degree of complexity, either because of the subject they deal with, or because of the environment in which you live and write, or because of the socio-cultural concepts, or because of possible censorship, or because of the delicacy of the characters, etc. In addition to what the characters tell you about their own story, the author or the one who transcribes the story of the characters takes into consideration many other factors that can make the task difficult. I write with great enthusiasm all my works because from the moment I start, the characters do not stop talking to me, sometimes I argue with them, in the case of "La Rebeldía de Susi, el derecho a decidir", I had a problem with the ending, it had two different endings before having the one it has, in the first two the character revealed himself to me, I had finished the work, but the character kept harassing me because he did not like the ending that I had given him... The unpublished play "Rey por dos horas" was a bit complex because of the subject matter and the style I chose to tell the story. It is written in poetic prose and some characters use a medieval cult language, and there are many iconic characters. In general, fortunately, I don't usually have much difficulty writing.
13. Any favorite universal writer of Liki Loribo Apo?
Although now I read little, when I used to do it assiduously, I never declined for one in particular. I do not have a favorite author, neither at the national Guineo-Ecuadorian level, nor at the international level, mainly because I am not a mythomaniac. I go for the story: what and how it has been told.
14. There are many artists and many writers in the Equatorial Guinean community. The question is: why is there
so little universal visibility of Equatorial Guinean art and literature?
There are many factors, the socio-political circumstances of Equatorial Guinea have done much damage to the rest of the social strata of the country, one of them is the division and social hatred. The Equatoguinean despises the Equatoguinean himself and the more he recognizes his value, in his inner self, the more he hates him. We lack patriotic pride that is why we do not value culture and those who generate it as national heritage which should be taken care of, even if the subject is not my blood relative. This circumstance is a consequence of the typical popular Guineo-Ecuadorian phrase: "I am not going to get him out of poverty". We support everything that is free and brings us some direct benefit; when this circumstance does not occur, we withdraw our support. Abroad, if you don't have a multinational that supports you, no Guinean-Ecuadorian has it, it is the collective to which the author belongs the one that makes a group around him and makes noise and spreads the word, when that does not happen, which with the authors of all the branches does not happen, it is difficult that the rest of the population hears about you. Many times and almost everywhere, the Guineo-Ecuadorian artistic and literary guild receives more support from the natives of the country where one lives as an expatriate than from their own "cultural"
Interview
collective. Add to this a lack of means and training to make a good promotional or publicity campaign. The insistence of many authors and writers not to open up to the world and continue creating thinking exclusively in the Guinean-Ecuadorian society, I mean, you do the work and only promote it among the few relatives, neighbors and friends of yours, after this bath of applause: interested, maybe not sincere or blinded by admiration, the work does not move from there. They buy a few products of your work and, if possible, the rest they pirate. The Guinean-Ecuadorian artistic, literary and cultural collective in the diaspora is not united, we do not support each other and, like it or not, this is a factor that prevents progress. He who has taken a step avoids the others for fear that they will trip him up, and that is how we are doing... The government does not help either, in the great international events and festivals, in the great international productions, if it would put money and impose the condition that Guinean-Ecuadorian artists be counted in the important roles, that would also help. Other countries do it. We have a lot of work to do if we want to have visibility in the world at an artistic and cultural level.
15. If you had to reedit any of your literary works, which one would you choose? and why?
As of today, I have very few books published, only eight, I would reprint "Mi Jardín, Retratos" (My Garden, Portraits). Because of its content, it is a social poetry book that portrays the life of the Guineo-Ecuadorian, I published it in 2015, but today it is still valid because life in the Guineo-Ecuadorian society has not changed, the portrait remains the same.
16. Which of your poems do you like
the most?
Each poem is a feeling, a snapshot that portrays a little piece of what you were, are and will be; you live, lived and will live. I cannot choose any of them because each poem has a life of its own and the collection is made up of as many lives as there are poems in it, and each life has, has had and will have its reason for being even in my own existence today and in that of the reader who makes them his or her own, since, every time someone reads a poem, depending on the feeling it awakens in him or her, he or she makes it his or hers or discards it forever.
17. You write poetry, short stories, theater, short stories, learning methods, with which of the genres do you feel more comfortable?
If I had to define myself, I would say that I am a playwright who in my spare time dedicates myself to writing books of other genres. I am very good at writing theater, in fact, I have an unpublished method on how to write a dramatic script, it is called "Transform your idea into a dramatic script". Another genre that I am very good at is short stories, poetry is generous to me, short stories are like the three-page synopsis that a screenwriter prepares before starting to write the story and the methods require knowing the subject very well and making a good structure of the book so that the contents fulfill the purpose of the method. In general, I am good at writing and I like to do it even though I am aware that the book or story that the author likes does not always please his audience.
18. When will the public again enjoy seeing Liki Loribo Apo on stage as an actor?
I like acting and in fact in my life I have played different roles: I have played a woman, a naughty boy, St. Peter, Judas, an old man, etc., it has to happen, although it is not something that worries me right now because I have all my energy focused on structuring and creating the methods of teaching böbé, however, I have many ways to approach the stage; I can do it as a playwright, as an actor, as a promoter director or as an executive director, it is not easy but it can be done.
I have also learned that despite working to make them happen, things happen when they have to happen for this reason, I can not tell you categorically when it will happen, what I can confirm is that, Liki Loribo Apo continues to work day and night and I thank all those people who have always supported me and continue to support me and of course my family.
19. What folkloric dances did
you introduce through your works?
I have already told the story of Esa'a Teatro, Música y Danza. When we created Esa'a, the plays were usually by foreign authors or, if it was by a national author, the play, I repeat, was usually a one-act play with several short chapters, mostly humorous. Following Esa'a's philosophy, in seventy percent of the plays that I brought to the stage I introduced folklore in general, since I also taught katyá dancing, some kind of böate and staged different ballet numbers.
In the representations of that time, dances were not introduced and if it was done, it was contemporary, but it was not introduced, at that time the first one who did it with folklore was me. I introduced it in such a way that they were part of the story with the intention that they had a meaning within the whole and were not a mere ornament.
20. What is your favorite Bubi story and why?
In this case, I focus on what the story in question tells me, to what period of history it takes me and what it tells me about the people and the Böbé man. I don't have a preference for any particular one, yes, I regret that I have erased many of them from my memory among the many that my grandparents told me many nights before bedtime.
Is there anything else you would like to say to the readers of Ë Kottò magazine?
Thank you for the follow up and the interest you show towards my work, thank you for the support of all of them and keep working, unity is strength if we know that there is an army out there waiting for us to bring out the next work, we will be their references and they will be our motivation. Thank you very much. Thanks to you for the coverage.
Activity
On Thursday, July 21, the Diwan Bookstore, in collaboration with the Elena Fortún Library, Ibérica Libros, and the support of the City of Madrid, presented a talk on Bubi culture and language.
Mario Mulé Ribala spoke about the spiritual aspects of the life of a Bubi and how a new baby is introduced to the community.
Humberto Riochí spoke about the community's need for an administrative power to manage their language base.
Liki Loribo Apo gave an overview of the Bubi language, especially some of the reasons for its silent extinction. This situation makes it necessary to look for alternatives every day to make possible the continuity of this rich mother tongue.
Fumilayo Johnson Sopale, through a video presentation, spoke of the difficulties of a generation born in the diaspora to maintain the identity of its origins.
After all the presentations, the audience participated in a lively question and answer discussion with the panel of experts.
Promotion
SOKKÒ
TIMELY NEWS
Who We Are:
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A group of people learning our culture, history, and language.
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Abóbë descendants from the North America, Canada, and the UK.
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An organization attempting to build our connection to other people/groups.
Our Mission:
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Preserve Our Culture We will give the youth our language, our customs, and our history.
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Inform and Connect. We plan to build a network of contacts within the diaspora to assist in preserving the culture and sharing this information.
OPINION
BÖSUBÓBBÈ MAY MATA
At 7.30 a.m. the alarm rings. As usual, the first thing I do is reach my cellphone from the bed and remove that diabolical noise that has interrupted my pleasant sleep. Mobile in hand, the next thing I do is look at my WhatsApp and specifically the messages of the various groups to which I belong.In some of them I have the privilege of hearing my brothers from Bioko wishing everyone a good day or, in the case of Mondays, a good start to the week.
Minutes later I turn to another group and I see that they already have more than 30 messages. I decide to open it, and I see that it's a death. There you can see the photograph of the deceased person, his name, two surnames, his alias, date of birth and death. Along with all this information, there are gigantic and somewhat disturbing emoticons shedding tears, photographs of giant crosses, angels of Nordic factions roaming through the villages of the island of Bioko in an exhibition of cultural confusion that in many cases is irreversible.
Can anyone confirm to me whether the family of the deceased person has authorized the display of photos or whether the living deceived person wanted his death to be announced in this and other groups? I always say, if you love a person or have a genuine relationship with them, I assume you'll be the first to hear about their death outside any group or social network. Others are merely people who exhibit their "pain" in a particular way.
Minutes later, that same group has several messages again. This time it's a person's birthday. At this point one realizes that the mourning of the other person's death has lasted in the group literally a TV. At that point, the group is infantilized to shameful levels. Drawings of balloons, the photo this time live, flying cakes, confeti and other parafernalia. In the midst of all this cultural and mental chaos, messages often appear inciting prayer with the numerous 'amen'. Ah, without forgetting the video of the preacher encouraging us to join his fifty-first church.
After witnessing all this one asks: Are these groups worth it? The answer is simple, no, they aren't worth it, they're a waste of time and an insult to intelligence. One asks this question after having encountered many brothers and sisters who say they do not want to know anything about groups, who, despite convincing them that there are serious and well-structured groups to learn the Bubi language, do not wish to know nothing about groups. So, we have people in our community who have experienced a trauma in those groups. They've opened up these groups and have encountered mutilated people, traffic accidents mixed with birthdays, cures practicing exorcisms, videos of women talking about the ideal man and other things that I've already commented on.
In my view, in order for our groups to be worthwhile, there needs to be segregation. A cooking group, a community ad group (birthdays, weddings, communions, social events, etc.), a religious group, dance group, language group, etc. It is also necessary for people who manage these groups to be aware of the importance of maintaining a group by strictly monitoring the messages sent in it. Moreover, these administrators have a duty to raise awareness among users about the good use of the groups, always using a cordial tone away from paternalism.
Finally, demanding a change of mindset would be a lot to ask for, as we all know that there are many factors that influence it. However, we can and must demand a change in behavior. For this change to be real, the people who manage the groups must be consistent with their rules and aware of what should and should not be shared. Technology, despite all its disadvantages, has given us a great opportunity to create our own spaces that would never have been possible in the real world. It has also given us the opportunity to interact with relatives or friends who for various reasons are in other parts of the world. We must not waste this great opportunity that the groups offer us. We live in a world where sad news keeps raining. We need these groups to become an escape from the problems of everyday life. We need to see more photos and videos of the achievements of the people that make up our community. We have to learn to celebrate the good news beyond birthdays. And maybe we can start looking for other more dignified and respectful ways to say goodbye to the people who have left us.
ËTYÖ LAÖTYA
Ë KOTTÒ
Publisher
Diversity Ëtyö Project
Magazine Director
Barbara May
Editor in Chief
Tomás May Pelico
Designer
Böhulá
Colaboration
Eduardo May Mata
ISSN 2833-4124
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All rights reserved.
May not be reproduced without the written permission of Ë KOTTÒ.
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