Mauritania eye cultural ties with Gambia

Mr Gibril Ngawa Bah, Head of Diddal Jaalal Cultural Group from the South East of Mauritania, has  said that his group  is desperately looking to forge a sound and  more sustainable cultural link with their Gambian counterparts.’’Mauritania and the Gambia share a lot  in commo. We are all Africans from the west coast of Africa. Our cultural instruments are almost the same in terms of certain traditional cultural norms and values’, he said.

Mr Gibril Ngawa Bah,who led a five man delegation of his Diddal Jaalal Cultural Group to the recently ended International Roots Home Coming Festival, held from 30th May to 7th June 2008, was speaking in an exclusive  chat with Arts and Culture, at the Makasutu cultural forest park, Kembujeng, in Western Region.

The head of the Mauritanian delegation did not hesitate to  rate the 9th edition of the International roots festival, calling it amove that help in the revival of real African traditional cultural norms and values.

The roots festival is an identity of rich African cultures and a step in the right direction for the continent to achieve its aims and objectives in all aspect of human development on planet earth.This is the type of festival Africa needs in order to achieve  her lofty desire for  sustainable development, as it bridges gap between people of diverse  but similar cultures.The festival opens up unique opportunities for Africans to interact and share expriences touching on historic and other related traditional cultural norms and values’, he asserted.

Mr Ngawa Ba spoke at length on the role of his traditional cultural group,and their performances within and outside of Mauritania. He repeatedly made known the desire for his traditional cultural group to forge strong links with their Gambian counterparts and gave assurances of his group’s readiness to participate in the future editions of the International roots home coming festival if the invitations are extended to them.

A digestive and brief note from the arts and culture desk, as stated in the previous editions of this column,the International roots festival is an International cultural,historical and educative  event dedicated to the promotion of the ideals of pan Africanism. The festival commemorates the forced enslavement and transportation of millions of Africans to the Americas and the Caribeans.

The festival help to provide people of African descent the golden opportunity to return to the land of their ancestral past and reunite with their people in a truelly Gambian fashion.The International roots festival is a unique global event for Africans in the diaspora to strengthen the pan African spirit and bonds of kindship and unity that binds all Africans and Africans of African descent.The festival is becoming the biggest black history, cultural and educational event on the African continent which will further strengthen and consolidate the spirit of unity amongst Africans and encourage cultural tourism and financial investment into Africa’s future.