The Noah family has done a lot to transform Etoudi, from the rank of a village in the bush to that of a district of Yaoundé, the capital of Cameroon, since its installation in 1962. It is there that we find today in particular the Noah family vault: “According to tradition, the patriarchs are buried where they lived”, explains Yannick Noah in “Yannick Noah, between you and me” at the microphone of journalist Jacques Vendroux. The ex-tennis player adds: “This is where the ancestors rest. When I need advice from the elder, I come here to see dad and we talk. They are present.”
Zacharie Noah, the father of Yannick Noah, was the only one of his siblings to have returned to the land of his ancestors and had taken on the role of village chief. According to Yannick Noah, he had in mind to create in Etoudi a place where his own children, all expatriates, would always enjoy coming back: “It is the anchorage of kids who travel, who are mixed race, who have several religions , it doesn’t matter… A place where they can come and recharge their batteries.” In the heart of Village Noah, the family mausoleum has thus become the family’s refuge, and its visit a sort of sacred ritual. Yannick Noah confides: “It is the first thing we do as soon as they arrive. We go to the car park, then directly to the vault to spend some time there. We light a candle and think of dad”, he describes.
In Cameroon, the connection to the ancestors is very important. Yannick Noah insists: “The ancestors, in civilization in France, they live through memory. In Cameroon it is even stronger. The advice that your ancestor gave you 30 years ago still exists today , you remember it, and you live according to it on a daily basis.” This spirituality, the champion of Roland-Garros transmitted it to his children. “They know that Village Noah is not just a club with a hotel. They know what it represents”, he says at the microphone of Jacques Vendroux.
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Among them, Yannick Noah’s eldest son, basketball player Joakim Noah, now 38, has been named heir to the role of patriarch. It is therefore he who will take over the management of the village following Yannick Noah. In the podcast “Yannick Noah, between you and me”, the singer of “Saga Africa” declares: “Joakim is the heir, period. He is my eldest son, he is spiritually connected to here, he was very close to dad, his grandpa Zach. Like all my children by the way.”
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To listen in full to Yannick Noah’s intimate and rare account of the highlights of his life, find the podcast “Yannick Noah, between you and me” on your favorite listening platform.