Is there any unique holidays in Tanzania, Africa?
Question by Julie36**: Is there any unique holidays in Tanzania, Africa?
any ritual or ceremonys they have annually
Best answer:
Answer by elf2002
It’s not unique to Tanzania, but the Persian New Year celebrations in Zanzibar for those who follow Zoroastrianism, called Mwaka Kogwa
‘Mwaka Kogwa’ is the traditional Shirazi, or Persian, new year celebrations that takes place in Zanzibar and although the festival has its origins in the Zoastrian religion, the Zanzibaris have certainly taken it to heart. Although the festival is celebrated around the island, the village of Makunduchi, on southern Unguja, is the key focus of the ritual events and each year a large crowd gathers to attend the celebration.
Together with the usual singing, dancing, feasting, and drumming that goes with all East African festivals, Mwaka Kogwa includes specific rituals destined to bring good luck in the new year. To initiate the celebration, a play fight takes places and all the men of the village beat each other to vent their aggressions from the past year. Real weapons were used in the past but now banana sticks are preferred because they are less violent. As they do this, the women of the village dress up in their best clothes and proceed through the village and the fields, singing traditional songs about family, love, and joy. Then, the mganga, or traditional healer, lights a ritual hut on fire and reads which way the smoke is burning to determine the village’s prosperity in the coming year. Finally there is a large feast in which all guests are welcomed and considered a sign of happiness and prosperity.
Traditional Swahili food is accompanied by taraab music, and on the beaches the drums and dancing continue long into the night.
Mwaka Kogwa takes place every year around the 23rd or 24th of July, but if you’re planning to time your visit to attend the celebrations, check with your travel agent to verify the date and for further details.
Zanzibar Cultural Festival
Held throughout the Zanzibar Archipelago, the annual Zanzibar Cultural Festival showcases the diverse traditions and celebrations of the region. Performers come from many countries around Africa, but Swahili culture is mostly represented. Zanzibari taraab music and traditional dances are performed by a rich ensemble of cultural troupes from Tanzania and abroad. Arts and crafts that celebrate local culture are exhibited and enjoyed.
Around the archipelago, locals celebrate the cultural festival with workshops, cultural events and performances held in shifting locales. Street carnivals in Stone Town, small fairs, and canoe races also take place. On the northern island of Pemba, the festival marks the annual bull fight, a remnant of Portuguese presence on the islands, where trained bulls prance after unarmed men in a humorous and festive version of the Iberian spectacle.
The Zanzibar Cultural Festival occurs each year in July, directly after the international Zanzibar International Film Festival (ZIFF) Festival of the Dhow Countries. For more details please visit www.ziff.or.tz or contact the organisers at ziff@ziff.or.tz
Zanzibar International Film Festival of the Dhow Countries
Each year ZIFF organises and runs the Festival of the Dhow Countries, which draws participants and visitors to Zanzibar from around the world.
The Festival of the Dhow Countries celebrates and promotes the unique culture that grew as a result of Indian Ocean trade and the wooden sailing dhow. All nations in the shadow of the diaspora are included in the celebration, from Africa to the Indian Ocean. Contemporary artists, musicians, cultural troupes, photographers, and film makers from the dhow countries are showcased and their work promoted, discusses, awarded, and explored.
The highlight of the festival is the Zanzibar International Film Festival itself, a film competition that draws prestigious entries from the dhow countries of the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. The competition is judged by a panel of international figures and attracts more than one hundred entries in its separate categories. Film screenings take place around Stone Town, in various historical landmarks. Music, drama, and dancing performances also take place around the island and attract a large audience. During the festival, workshops, seminars, conferences, and a variety of cultural and arts-related programs are open to the public, with specific forums to attract and creatively empower women and children.
The Festival of the Dhow Countries is Tanzania’s major annual cultural event and one of only eight major festivals in sub-Saharan Africa. It occurs every year in the first two weeks of July.
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Tags: Africa, Holidays, tanzania