SOAS Research Online

Abstract

Abstract This essay takes as its starting point two hymns from the First World Festival of Negro Arts in 1966 – one composed by Abdoulaye Ndiaye “Thiosanne” and the other played by saxophonist Bira Guèye and sung by the griot Mada Thiam – in order to analyze and rethink the involvement of the population in this festival. In the light of the fiftieth anniversary of this historic event, the essay offers a comparative study of the 1966 and 2010 festivals, which took place in entirely different periods and contexts. It focuses on the population and their involvement. By applying a methodology that uses the archival research of the national newspaper Dakar-Matin in 1966, and Le Soleil in 2010, as well as a selection of sound archives, we hope to understand the perception that the local and international population had, as well as their differences and convergences. The festivals in 1966 and 2010, organized under the presidency of Senghor and Wade, respectively, will be examined in the context of their different cultural policies. We suggest that the festival of 1966 can be seen as a “festival of affirmation” (of black identity). In contrast, the festival of 2010, also celebrated at Dakar, can be seen as a “festival of mimicry and popularization.” We question whether the Senegalese people claimed these two festivals as theirs.