African Bazaar
The African Bazaar at Africa Day Dublin featured food, arts and crafts, clothing and music from over 20 different African countries. Visitors came along to the Bazaar to experience the sights and sounds of places ranging from Mali to Zimbabwe; Uganda to Malawi; Nigeria, Cameroon and DR Congo.
For the first time, a number of Caribbean groups were also present in the African Bazaar in 2010, celebrating the heritage, culture and links shared between Africa and the Caribbean.
Africa Day 'Best Dressed' Competition
AkiDwA, the African Women’s Network, and Tritees Promotions – the organisation that hosts the annual ‘Most Beautiful African Girl in Ireland’ pageant – hosted a hugely popular ‘Best Dressed’ competition at Africa Day Dublin. 
Deirdre McQuillan, Fashion Editor of The Irish Times, was on hand to act as a judge, along with representatives of AkiDwA and Tritees. Mubarak Habib of the Dublin Swahili Institute also lent his expertise as a judge, particularly for the 'Best Dressed Man' category! Prizes were granted for ‘Best Dressed Man’, ‘Best Dressed Lady’ and ‘Best Dressed Family’, and competitors were encouraged to wear their best traditional African dress.
Miss Africa Ireland, Stazia Costa, was on hand to present a prize to the winning competitors, along with members of the judging panel.
Other Attractions in the African Bazaar
The Abyssinian Music Stand allowed visitors to the African Bazaar to experience the rhythms and beats of East Africa. The Stand featured a live DJ, playing music of Ethiopian and Eritrean origin.
The African Irish Sports Association, meanwhile, returned to Africa Day Dublin following its successful participation in the 2009 event. The Association staged traditional Nigerian masquerade performances in the African Bazaar: these performances are designed to evoke ancestral spirits, and feature dancers in elaborate costumes, accompanied by Nigerian drumming.
The Association of Greater Kasai Origin showcased the cultures of both Eastern and Western Kasai – a region in the Democratic Republic of Congo – at the African Bazaar. Come and learn about daily life in Kasai, including food preparation, music and clothes.
Visitors were able to try on traditional Kasai costumes and see pictures of famous art and costumes from the ancient Bakuba empire. Adding to the cultural atmosphere was a drummer performing throughout the day. In Kasai, the Basonge, Baluba and Tetela tribes all have their own distinctive styles of music, which was explained by representatives of the Association to visitors to their stall.
The Association of Malawians in Ireland were also at Africa Day Dublin – for the third year in a row – performing Malawian dances. Traditional games, such as Ingoma Bawo – the Malawian version of an ancient African board game, based around a simple counting apparatus – were also featured, alongside samples of Malawian food, such as nsima (the staple food of Malawi – a porridge-like substance, made from corn, cassava or flour); matemba (a freshwater fish); chigwada (cassava leaves), and thelele (wild green vegetables).
Following its successful participation in Africa Day 2009, the Bini Community of Ireland returned to Africa Day Dublin this year to offer visitors an inside view of the unique Bini culture and heritage arising from the ancient kingdom of Benin in mid-west Nigeria.
The Community showcased examples of Bini art, sculpture and costumes, as well as performing a selection of modern Edo and traditional Bini songs and ceremonial dances over the course of the day. Female dancers were dressed in traditional costumes made from hand-printed African textiles decorated with feathers and beads. Ceremonial spears and traditional drums were used and worn by the male dancers, whose costumes were decorated with royal emblems.
Visitors were able to experience Cameroonian culture by visiting the Cameroon Forum in the African Bazaar. There, they learned about Cameroon’s culture and heritage; joined in a Cameroonian dance, or saw examples of Cameroonian cuisine, such as curry rice, spicy roast fish, egg buns and puff puff (similar to a doughnut).
The Coolmine Gospel Choir welcomed visitors to the Bazaar with uplifting songs. They performed in the vicinity of the Bazaar area over the course of the day, and proved to be a great hit with visitors to the event.
The Dublin Swahili Institute showcased Swahili culture and language, a language spoken in several countries in Eastern Africa, including Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Uganda. Visitors were able to learn how to say and write simple Swahili phrases, and find out about the links between Swahili and languages such as Bantu, Arabic, Portuguese, German, French and English. They were also able to play the popular East African board game Bao – a ‘count and capture’ game, common in Tanzania and Kenya.
The Ethnic Minority Partnership – which represents nine groups of various nationalities – displayed arts and crafts, clothing and an array of carpets from Libya, Nigeria and Morocco in the African Bazaar.
The Ethnic Minority Women’s Forum, meanwhile, offered visitors to the African Bazaar the chance to have their hair braided in traditional African styles. The Forum showcased African hairstyles, jewellery and clothes, and demonstrated how to make the ‘boubou’, a flowing wide-sleeved robe worn in much of West Africa, and to a lesser extent in North Africa. The Forum also exhibited foods from different African countries and offered snacks for visitors to sample.
Friends of Mali Ireland had an original camel-skin tent in the African Bazaar, used by the nomadic Tuareg people of Mali. Visitors were able to find out how the tent is quickly assembled and taken down by the Nomads as they travel around this North African country. In addition, the organisation displayed ‘bogolans’ (cloth hangings painted with dyes made from the Niger river-bank mud and found commonly in the Segou area of Mali); cooking and other utensils; crafts; leather goods; jewellery, and clothing.
At the Irish Ethiopian Friendship Association stall in the African Bazaar, visitors were able to learn about modern-day Ethiopia. Representatives explained the work being done at a training centre for people with disabilities in Awassa, Ethiopia, which is funded by the Irish Ethiopian Friendship Association with support from Irish Aid. They also experienced the cultural side of Ethiopia through a display of crafts, jewellery, costumes, paintings and other handicrafts, while demonstrations of Ethiopian hair-braiding were also on offer.
The Jamaicans and the Wider Caribbean Communities in Ireland showcased Jamaican and Afro-Caribbean music and dance at Africa Day Dublin and demonstrated how African culture has influenced modern Caribbean culture. The organisation also showed how traditional African music has been kept alive and has reinvented itself in the Caribbean region.
The Kreyol Ireland Konexion also showcased Caribbean culture and its African influences, in particular how the region’s African roots have evolved and become integrated into present-day Caribbean culture. Visitors were able to hear traditional Caribbean folk tales – influenced by ancient African folklore – and witness time-honoured dances and music accompanied by Gwo Ka drums. The impact of African on the Caribbean’s culinary and religious heritage were also explored.
My Heritage My World held poetry readings from selected African authors throughout the course of the day. To add to the atmosphere, My Heritage My World, decorated their stall as a typical African kitchen. A must-visit for poetry lovers, visitors had the opportunity to enjoy a truly African reading experience.
Sport Against Racism Ireland (SARI) had an information stall in the African Bazaar, where visitors could learn about the organisation's work in Ireland. SARI was established in 1997 to promote intercultural dialogue and celebrate cultural diversity through activities and events contry-wide. Its programmes include: United Through Sport, a major awareness campaign and education support on the powerful potential for positive integration through sport; Count Us In, an education and sports activity programme that aims to build social capital in and out of the classroom, and Soccerfest, Ireland’s largest intercultural football tournament for men and women.
For the third year in a row, the Uganda Association of Ireland was at Africa Day Dublin highlighting Uganda’s culture and traditions. Visitors were able to view traditional and modern Ugandan clothing and even have the chance to try on some of the outfits displayed.
Cultural dancers performed dances – such as dinge dinge, kigisu, kikiga and kiganda – representing the various regions of Uganda. Members of the public were invited to join in, after a brief crash course given by the dancers! Musical instruments and arts and crafts were also on display, alongside fruits and vegetables – such as bananas, millet, cassava, sweet potatoes, sorghum and pineapples – that are popular in Uganda.
Food also featured strongly at the Zimbabwean Traditional Food stand. Visitors were able to learn about the foods of Zimbabwe, their taste and even nutritional value! Foods available to visitors to sample included steamed kapenta fish, collard greens, dumplings and other customary Zimbabwean dishes.
Dance4Life is an intitiative designed to mobilise young people to push back the spread of HIV / AIDS. They performed their energising dance routines in the vicinity of the African Bazaar at Africa Day Dublin in the Iveagh Gardens.
Dublin-based collective Wassa Wassa also performed in the vicinity of the African Bazaar. Wassa Wassa was formed in 2008 by Irish percussionist Niall Delahan to promote West African percussion, song and dance in Ireland and beyond.
Playing traditional and contemporary rhythms of West Africa – with their own unique twist – Wassa Wassa‘s lively and colourful performances never fail to delight.
Wassa Wassa promotes cultural diversity and integration, and many of its members are involved in direct community workshops and projects that share these aims. For more information on current projects and school workshops see:
- Percussion: www.jabbajabbajembe.com, www.jembejourney.com, www.wassawassaworkshops.ie
- Dance: www.dance4everyone.ie
For further information on Wassa Wassa, click here and to view a performance by the band at last year’s Big Bang Festival – where they supported legendary West African percussionist Mamady Keita – click here.