Découverte : Lake Awing, ‘Home of the Gods’

 Santa is awash with enormous tourism potentials such the International Museum in Akum, the Rock Farm, the Mafo-Ngoh shrine in Baligham, the Baligham Stone Front, Mount Lefo in Awing, the Azope Mountain in Baba 1, Santa waterfall, the Shum Laka cave in Mbu and Buchi Palace shrine. However the most popular and most outstanding tourist sites in Santa Sub Division, is the Awing Lake which is recognized by UNESCO. The history of the Awing people is inextricably linked to that of the Lake. 
The story goes that the Awing were roaming the land looking for a suitable place to settle when they came across this vast water expanse with neither in-let nor out-let, surrounded by very fertile land. They decided to settle but on condition that they don’t liter the lake. One faithful day, a lady breached this contract by throwing her dirty linen into the Lake after flying the red flag. The Lake disappeared and despite frantic efforts to find the lake, it was nowhere to be found. When all hopes were lost, a tapper by name Mbanka, on his way back from the palm bush, came across a group of people. The leader approached him and asked for a drink which he readily offered. After consuming the palm wine the old man said “I thought you were going to be as wicked as the lady who threw her dirty linen on us”. Then gave a whistle and bell to the palm wine tapper to take it up the mountain and blew it thrice, which he did and the Lake appeared instantly. This was marked by feasting in the fondom with a promise never to liter the lake again. As such no son or daughter of Awing is allowed to fish, swim or wash things in the Lake. Several attempts to channel water from the Lake to the city of Bamenda have b...