Songhoy Festival

Every two years people of the Songhoy ethnicity descend on Gao to dance, sing, peddle wares and art, and be merry.
The festival was delayed a day to accommodate the guests from France who were to come. So Saturday we went and saw our very own Fatimata Maiga (a PCV) ride her horse, leading the parade. Dressed up in a "tungu" too. The hunters of the region paraded as well, showing off skins and snakes. Creepy. I enjoyed all the women in ornate head dresses and completes.
After hours of introductory speeches, the theater acts performed "ballets" of Sonni Ali Berr, the former Songhoy King.
On Sunday there was a horse race and a camel race. Fatimata entered her horse "Zin" (devil) and placed 11th. Everyone was talking about the white woman who raced. On the radio and even the national TV! The men all wore turbans while riding, but poor Fatimata got mouth fulls of dust and sand.
One of the more entertaining parts of the festival was a crazy woman who was cursing people and blessing them nearly simultaneously. She was bold enough to take the governor's coke from him, and also prance around in a scary mask. Really, she stole the show. Even from the favorite guest of the festival: a donkey dressed in boubou, turban, and pants with a sword tied around his girth. Ridiculous.
A frightful episode occurred when walking back to get our bikes the kids kept outside the festival grounds broke free over the ropes and all chaos broke loose. We had to get behind a tree to avoid the trampling! I lost a shoe, but when the dust cleared I retrieved it.
A UNESCO sponsored dance and poetry contest was going on near the festival grounds, yet due to costume mishaps, it was a bit shocking. Too much booty dancing for our tastes...
I much prefer the mellow "takamba" we had later in the week: sitting, you wave your arms and pulse your head in time to the guitar and calabash drums played with ringed fingers. The Kora, a stringed instrument sounding much like a harp can also join the band. I hope to find recordings of all this great music I experience here!