The Fouladou is here", a troupe from Kolda at the Dakar carnival on 26 November 2022. Source photo: eseuro
Traditional costumes and parades, regional dances, and music; Senegal celebrated its cultural diversity this weekend through the Dakar carnival at the Blaise Senghor cultural center.
The Dakar carnival is a carnival that takes place outside the usual carnival period and coincides with the beginning of the high tourist season in Senegal. It is a popular and festive event, showing the world that Senegalese in all their diversity share the Teranga spirit.
Initiated in 2019, it is the first living traditional festival in Senegal to showcase the faces of the country and celebrate the cultural wealth of African lands. At this 3rd edition, it is the Haal Pulaar culture that is honored. “The Haal Pulaar culture is a very diverse culture in itself,” says Fatou Kassé-Sarr, one of the organizers of the event.
For the godfather of this 3rd edition, Baaba Maal, “Dakar needs a big event, apart from the Biennial, which will allow the terroirs to come and perform in the capital in order to have visibility and reach this international opening”, published the news website Anadolu Agency.
Furthermore, “A space for the affirmation of cultural diversity within the assumed unity of the Nation, the great Dakar Carnival enhances the value of our lands and offers a privileged showcase for the dynamism of our traditions in their modern development,” said El Hadj Hamidou Kassé, Minister of Arts and Culture Advisor to the President of the Republic.
It is true that the Grand Carnival of Dakar is a festive, popular, and family event. But “Beyond the festive aspect, the Carnival is a way to contribute to the new African narrative and its soft power. For us, it is a question of showing that Senegal and Africa have a rich history, cultures, and regions that remain unknown,” Fatou Kassé added.
Eliane Yabo Omonlayo Fatchina is a reporter for Afro impact. She holds a professional degree in journalism from ENSTIC in Benin, she is a pan-Africanist passionate about culture, social issues, and the environment. With already seven years of experience, she works daily to give voice to ideas through writing.