FÊTE DE LA MARE Sacred Marsh Festival of the Malinke People (Guinea, West Africa)
Men with spears and traps, women and children with nets. The group glides through the village (clapping and dancing to the rhythm of the djembe) and descends downward to the marsh below. The thousand-strong throng arrives to curl around the water’s edge. A cluster of Kapok trees sits on the hill beside the marsh, a second group of people already dancing within. Traditional garb and colored pagne fabric, ancient (but evolving) dance and drum pulsing bright beneath the fôret sacrée ceiling. Hundreds of hands reaching high, clutching cell cameras, are the only revealing hints of the Information Age.
Signals are given. The start is near, and the second group joins the first at the the bank. The crowd around the water’s edge is now so thick that nothing can be seen beyond it but the Kapoks. The whistle is blown. The crowd becomes a muddy explosion in the water. Only the spectators remain at the water’s edge, armed with cellphones and waiting to swarm the first big catches.
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Celebrated primarily by the Malinke people, the Fête de la Mare (Pond/Marsh Festival) coincides with the commencement of the rains in Guinea’s Haute region. The festival is celebrated in different locations all across the area, but the most prominent takes place in the village of Baro (birthplace of current Guinean president Alpha Condé). Guinea’s history, traditionally guarded by griots, upholds that the festival has existed in Guinea since at least 1600. In days preceding the festival, individual deals are made with forest spirits via sacrifice to secure marriages, healthy childbirth and bountiful harvests.
Signals are given. The start is near, and the second group joins the first at the the bank. The crowd around the water’s edge is now so thick that nothing can be seen beyond it but the Kapoks. The whistle is blown. The crowd becomes a muddy explosion in the water. Only the spectators remain at the water’s edge, armed with cellphones and waiting to swarm the first big catches.
________________
Celebrated primarily by the Malinke people, the Fête de la Mare (Pond/Marsh Festival) coincides with the commencement of the rains in Guinea’s Haute region. The festival is celebrated in different locations all across the area, but the most prominent takes place in the village of Baro (birthplace of current Guinean president Alpha Condé). Guinea’s history, traditionally guarded by griots, upholds that the festival has existed in Guinea since at least 1600. In days preceding the festival, individual deals are made with forest spirits via sacrifice to secure marriages, healthy childbirth and bountiful harvests.