Travel: Festival sur le Niger

This past week we went to the riverside city of Segou for the Festival sur le (on the) Niger, West Africa’s premiere music festival, for what was one of our most fun cultural experiences since arriving in Mali. Aside from enjoying frequent picturesque views of the river, nearby gardens, and a statue of a hippo (did you think Joye would get that close to a real one?), we had great Malian music, art, dancing, and food all at our fingertips.

 

The festival was centered around music, which is Mali’s claim-to-fame on the continent. At any given time during the day there was at least two concerts on smaller stages, but every night, four renown artists were featured on the main stage, which actually floated on the Niger River (seen below). The concerts typically started at 9pm, ended at 1am, and halfway through people could be seen dancing in the water. Temporary bars and restaurants were also established behind the concert area so that we were able to sit down and enjoy the music from a distance. Overall, we were extremely impressed by how well put together it was!

 

Malian art was also highlighted at the festival, the likes of which we had seen before, but never of such high-quality. One gentlemen (see left) had a gallery of colorful relief paintings depicting African life. Inside a workshop (see below), various Malian artisans created Bogolon art. First, the fabric was made from cotton spools using gigantic wooden looms. Next, fermented mud was strategically placed and then dried on the fabric to create colorful and aesthetic designs. Artisans also crowded the market areas selling region-based handicrafts, such as silver jewelry, pottery, camel-skin, wood carvings, and clothing. We spent hours wandering through the stands, enjoying the crowds and bargaining for a few special items.

 

    

  

Cultural demonstrations were also everywhere; it was so crazy seeing all of Mali in one place! Dancers from Dogon country (see left), wooden flute players from the Koulikoro Region (see below left), and Touareg dancers from the north (see below right) were only some of the groups featured. Nearby, we also found amazing street food – aimed to please tourists – such as avocado salad sandwiches, fried dough stuffed with eggs, and kettle corn. Mmmm…

 

 

Lastly, the festival was also enhanced by the presence of other Peace Corps volunteers. Not only were we able to catch up with friends we hadn’t seen in months, but others let us crash on their apartment floor and gave us advice on tasty local eateries. For example, instead of paying $1.50 a scoop for European ice-cream, we found a house back behind a busy street that sold frozen yogurt for $0.30. A nice hotel owner also let us use his pool for free because we were associated with Peace Corps. We have been told numerous times that “Peace Corps is like a family,” and it was wonderful to experience that through the hospitality of Segou volunteers. Altogether, it made for an amazing trip! Next year, you should come too. :)

- James (& Joye)