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In April and May each year all Dogon villages in the
West African country of Mali celebrate the Fete
Des Masques, the major festival of the year. It takes
place as a memorial to the villagers' dead and to celebrate
the harvest.
What happens at the Fete Des Masques Festival?
Masks are the most important symbol of Dogon culture.
There are various types of masks including those which protect
against vengeance and masks which help pass on knowledge to
the younger generation. The Dogon perform these dances to
help recount the story of the origin of the Dogon. Despite
the fact that the Dogon have begun staging these dances for
tourists, they remain one of West Africa's most resilient
cultures.
In the Bobo region of Burkina Faso, whenever
there's a major funeral - such as that of a village chief,
which takes place six months or so after his death - it's
accompanied by a late night fete des masques which features
Bobo helmet masks, as well as other types of masks.
Masked men dance to an orchestra of lute-like instruments
and narrow drums beaten with curved canes. Each dancer, representing
a different spirit, performs in turn, leaping and waving his
stick and looking for evil spirits which might prevent the
deceased from going to paradise.
Other Festivals in West Africa
International Festival of Voodoo, Benin
Apart from the colourful, annual Muslim celebrations in the
northern towns, the other main event is the on-again-off-again
International Festival of Voodoo which is held in Abomey.
Enquire to the tourist office in Cotonou for more information.
Whipping Ceremony, Boukombe, Benin
Every four years or so there is the seasonal 'whipping ceremony'
in Boukombe, which seems to go on until the young men are
satisfied that they have literally beaten other men in neighbouring
villages black and blue (and are themselves covered in bruises).
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