African culture is renowned for festivals. There is something about the African festival culture that makes the activities of these festivals original and exotic. The Nigerian Ogba community holds the New Yam Festival annually while the Tuareg are culturally attached to the Festival in the Desert.
The New Yam Festival among the Ogba people in Nigeria is a distinctive African festival. This community is agriculturally endowed and also has an amazing aqua culture. The New Yam Festival is meant to harmonize the people so as to bring about more coherence. This is the time when people’s speeches are spoken without any political overtones. According to the Ogba culture, The New Yam Festival festival ought to take place every August. Carnival costumes worn during The New Yam Festival is a part of African culture and represent great fun as Africans interpret it.
New Yam Festival
Wrestlers fight while wearing carnival costumes during New Yam Festival in Nigeria. It is hard to witness an African festival that lacks some form of wrestling competition. Most of these competitions are between rival clans or ethnic groups.
In Burkina Faso, the Fespaco African Film Festival lasts for a whole week. African traditions manifest themselves through the themes that come out of these films. About 400,000 people attend African Film Festival every year. This year round the festival fun will again be witnessed in Ouagadougou.
In Ghana, visitors ought to expect festivals that thrill locals as a result of the carnival costumes that tribal leaders wear during these special moments. Traditional umbrellas are carried to these festivals as well as drums and ancient muskets that make the warriors feel proud of the honor that the communities give them.
Still in Ghana, the Festival of Kings is a very noble one since all divisional as well as sub chiefs must pay tribute to Otumfuo Osei II who is the king of the Asante Kingdom. The Akwasidee, as locals refer to the Festival of Kings, is usually a truly colorful African festival, complete with costumes and dancing regalia.
In Mali, festival culture has taken root is as old as the Malians themselves. The Festival in the Desert is scheduled for January 2010. This 14-day itinerary will truly tell visitors what it means to have great fun the African way. During the Festival in the Desert, many people all over the world are hosted in the remotest part of the world. The Tuaregs are always in charge of this three-day event that amazes people from all corners of the world.
African festival culture
The ‘blue people’ who are normally mentioned synonymously with the Sahara Desert have amazing African dances that match well with music tunes that they have nurtured since the birth of their culture many generations ago. Due to the influence of the wind of change, many Malians are sneaking in some modern-flavored style of music into the festival.
The pastoralist community known as the Fulani has not been spared the festival culture bug that is part of being an African. At this time, the river near Diafarabe becomes the watering point of all the Fulani cattle. Everyone has to cross over to the other side where families are reunited for several days before parting ways again.
Whether you attend the International Camel Derby, African Film Festival or The New Yam Festival of Nigeria, but take an opportunity to see the African traditions, amazing African dances in fantastic carnival costumes and enjoy the rhythmical African music.
Tags: Carnival costumes, African festival, pictures african, festivals, Fespaco African Film, African Festival Culture
Very true, great post… Keem ‘em coming!