Categories

The Truth behind African Carnival Costumes and Masks

All African communities know all about the significance of tribal masks and costumes. No African Festival can be complete without these forms of decorations. Sometimes spiritual overtones also contribute to the interpretation of the influence of these items.

African traditions are both interesting and intriguing in equal measure. For instance, most of the African communities believe that circling villages while wearing carnival costumes and tribal masks brings about good fortunes to the people. African festival traditions from the continent borrow heavily form a single act that involves collecting and putting together objects such as bones, shells, beads and fabrics so as to make a sculpture, a skull, or even a mere costume. All these objects are said to add to a certain force that contributes to the spiritual significance of the whole object.

African tribal masks

African tribal masks

When feathers are used on the African tribal masks during festivals, they represent the power to rise above other people so as to conquer them. In another sense, the feathers represent the ability to conquer problems, weaknesses, pains, illnesses and heartbreaks. Carnival costumes have always been made in the same way all over the world only that in Africa, a powerful spiritual dimension is added to them.
…Continue reading to THE ARTICLE »

Tags: african mask designs, african tribal hunters, african hunter costume, african carnival costume, trible mask

Oppikoppi: The Ultimate South African Music Festival Experience

Oppikoppi is the name given to the annual music festival which has always been held in Limpopo province, South Africa since 1994. The only genre at the inaugural festival was rock music. Today, the Oppikoppi music festival has a complete mix of music genres that define the world of music as seen through an African festival experience.

Those who started this amazing African festival claim that it was not their intention for things to happen the way they happened. It all started with some gigs that were performed in an indoor bushveld business premise.  The event was meant to be entirely hedonistic but turned out to be something more pragmatic.

During the second Oppikoppi music festival of 1995, 27 rock bands were invited to perform. There were about 2,000 people who attended the event. It is said that almost everyone who attended the event which had only one stage has either a wound or a unique story or both of them to show for their attendance. The Oppikoppi was the first music festival that proved to the world that South Africa had much to show for its rich musical heritage.

Oppokoppi

Oppokoppi

The event planted a foundation and subsequent events just had to grow in both magnitude and coverage. No wonder many other music genres were incorporated into the Oppikoppi festival. Everything that is inherently African, or South African for that matter, somehow finds its way into the festival before the rest of the world appreciates it. Whether it is the costume-wearing traditional dancers or mask-wielding Khoikhoi warriors, South African traditions have found their way into
…Continue reading to THE ARTICLE »

Tags: African festival experience, Oppikoppi, the Oppikoppi music festival, oppokoppi 2012, see