Main important festivals in African countries 2

There are many countries in Africa, and the situation of ethnic groups and tribes is even more complex. Therefore, festivals in Africa are extremely rich and diverse, with strong regional characteristics and distinctive national characteristics. Compared with European and American countries, African festivals retain more simple customs. Various competitive competitions, focusing on ancestral life and combat scenes, totem worship, and traditional music and dances of various tribes are often indispensable contents of African festivals. Of course, today's festivals not only display the fierce and rough original heritage, but also add new contents such as promoting national culture, enhancing exchanges and unity between ethnic groups, and promoting the development of economy, trade and tourism. The following is an introduction to you about one of the important festivals in African countries: Sowing Festival. The Dogon people in Mali hold three consecutive days of grand celebrations before sowing every year, called Sowing Festival. During the festival, the young men wearing masks went collectively to the virgin forest to relive the life of primitive hunters that their ancestors had lived, and then suddenly returned to feint their own village. When the women learned of the "enemy situation", they came out to watch the young men's dance simulated combat, and then danced with the young people.

The Istonka Festival, also known as the Sticking Festival, is a festival that celebrates a bumper harvest every summer in the Afgaoi region of Somalia. Among the three or four consecutive days of festival activities, the most important and exciting thing was the game of beating branches at each other to imitate ancient wars. On the "battlefield", African drums shook the earth, and countless branches were flying in the air. Both sides showed no mercy and attacked each other fiercely. The brave men became more and more enthusiastic in the war, and the young men who couldn't withstand the beating fled in panic, but they were often ridiculed. In the past, this kind of game was played with wooden sticks as weapons, which often left both sides bloody. Accidents are common. In recent years, branches have only been used, but the brave and simple customs reflected in the game still remain.

Bangda Festival is a festival similar to the Bangda Festival and is popular among the Fulani people in West Africa. During the festival, each of the young men participating in the competition has to take turns to beat others and endure the test of being beaten. Many of them are beaten until their skins are torn open, but they are still calm. This seemingly cruel festival has been repeatedly asked to stop by the outside world, but it is still popular because the Fulani people believe that the Bangda Festival can cultivate people. The courage and perseverance of ethnic youth, and the "no fight, no deal", can resolve hostility and enhance friendship between people.

Full Moon Festival The full moon festival in Tanzania is gentle. This festival is equivalent to the Mid-Autumn Festival in China. Tanzanians regard the moonlight as a symbol of good fortune. During the full moon in September every year, when a bright moon just appears on the horizon, people silently walk out of the door and sit around in a circle until the sun completely sets and the moon rises high. Only when they rise high can they speak and hold various celebrations.

Wen Feng Festival The Wen Feng Festival in Egypt every April is a romantic festival. The Wind Festival means to smell the fragrance of the wind, marking the return of spring to the earth on both sides of the Nile River and the growth of all things. On this day, Egyptians all go out and go sightseeing, picnics, singing and dancing in the embrace of nature to celebrate the change of seasons and express their inner joy. This festival has a history of more than 5,000 years. It is said that this day is the day when the god of charity defeats the god of evil. But this meaning has disappeared at all in today's Wenfeng Festival.

The Nile Flood Festival in Egypt is also poetic. This festival used to be to thank the flooding of the Nile River, which brought fertile soil and hope for a bumper harvest on both sides. There was a complete set of sacrificial rituals including marrying a woman for the Nile River. This inevitably reflects primitive ignorance and cruelty. This custom lasted for thousands of years before being abolished in the 7th century AD. When this custom was restored in the 1940s, the "bride" married by the "river god" had been changed to wax figures. The Aswan Dam was built on the Nile River in 1970. The days of relying on the flooding of Nile water for farming are now a thing of the past. The way people celebrate the Nile Flood Festival has also changed to boating on the river, singing and dancing on the boat.

Religious festivals in Africa, just like in other parts of the world, religious activities are also indispensable in African festivals. Traditional religion in Africa worships multiple gods. All natural things, ancestors, totems, sun and moon, wind and rain can all be gods. This is still reflected in various festivals in Africa. Among foreign religions, Islam and Christianity are quite influential, and Hinduism also has its sphere of influence. The religious festivals that follow will spread in areas where religious believers are concentrated, but they will inevitably have African cultural characteristics and even integrate with local culture, changing the religious significance of the festival.