FESTAC 77
[2][3] Music artists who performed at the festival included Stevie Wonder from United States, Gilberto Gil from Brazil, Bembeya Jazz National from Guinea, Mighty Sparrow from Trinidad and Tobago, Les Ballets Africains, South African singer Miriam Makeba, and Congolese Franco Luambo Makiadi.
Attendees of the forums included writers of African and Afro-descendant heritage such as Alioune Diop, Cheikh Anta Diop, Léopold Senghor, and Jacques Rabemananjara, Richard Wright, Césaire, George Lamming, Horace Mann Bond, Jacques Alexis, John Davis, William Fontaine, Jean Price Mars, James Baldwin, Chester Himes, Mercer Cook and Frantz Fanon.
In 1966, with leadership provided by Senghor and subsidies from outside, notably France,[10] and UNESCO, the First World Festival of Black Arts was held in Dakar, Senegal, 1–24 April 1966.
[13] The desire to improve on the Dakar festival led to Nigeria's intention to create an extravagant show fueled by new-found oil money.
[14] Some mini-festivals did take place, such as Carifesta hosted by Guyana, the Commonwealth Festival in London, Ghana's national exhibition of arts and crafts and Nigeria's Nafest.
For hosting the performances and lectures, a state-of-the-art multipurpose theatre was built, to serve also as a lasting centre of African art and culture.
One of the highlights of the ceremony was a parade of participants representing 48 countries, marching past visiting dignitaries, diplomats and the Nigerian Head of State, Olusegun Obasanjo.
Some participants in the parade wore colourful ceremonial robes, some men were on 14-foot stilts, and Nigerian dancers carried flaming urns on their heads.
[2] To symbolize the freedom and unity of Black peoples 1,000 pigeons were released;[16] a shango priest also set the festival bowl aflame.
The declared purpose of the colloquium was to seek answers to the questions of how to revive and foster black and African artists and how to facilitate international acceptance [16] and access to outlets.
The durbar was a display of horsemen and entertainers such as musicians playing horns, Kakakitrumpets, the tambari and drums, among the entourage were Fulani, Bori and Bida masqueraders.
The Festac durbar appropriated from ancient Hausa, Songhay and Kanembu customs such as Hawan Dawaki, also known as the mounting of horses, and a Bornu military ceremony called Tewur, which is a rally held by cavalry men before a major campaign.
[10] Another historic event appropriated was the annual meetings of Fulani emirs held at the instance of the Caliphs of Sokoto in Kaura Namoda to mobilize contingents for expeditions against hostile states.
On the eve of the inaugural ceremonies, Sory Kandia Kouyaté, a master Mande Griot, treated the heads of state and government to a stellar vocal and kora performance, reminiscent.
Other musicians who performed were Osibisa, Les Amazones, Bembeya Jazz and Les Ballets Africains from Guinea; Franco Luambo from Congo; Miriam Makeba, Louis Moholo, Dudu Pukwana from South Africa; the Invaders Steelband from Guyana, and the Mighty Sparrow from Grenada; Gilberto Gil from Brazil, and US artists such as Donald Byrd, Randy Weston, Stevie Wonder and Sun Ra.
For more than two hours, the participants discussed matters of mutual concern and explored ways of improving musical activities among Africans, both on the continent and in the Diaspora.
At the Square, each country represented at the festival was given a booth to exhibit their paintings, musical instruments, woven cloths, books and art objects.
A contemporary Nigerian exhibit featuring works from Bruce Onobrakpeya, Ben Enwonwu, Yusuf Grillo, Uche Okeke and Kolade Oshinowo was also part of the event.
The 2019 book FESTAC '77: The 2nd World Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture featured photographic and archival materials, interviews and new writing, with words and work by such festival participants as Wole Soyinka, Léopold Sédar Senghor, Ahmed Sékou Touré, Archie Shepp, Miriam Makeba, Alioune Diop, Jeff Donaldson, Louis Farrakhan, Stevie Wonder, Abdias do Nascimento, Keorapetse Kgositsile, Mario de Andrade, Ted Joans, Carlos Moore, Ayi Kwei Armah, Ama Ata Aidoo, Johnny Dyani, Werewere Liking, Marilyn Nance, Barkley Hendricks, Mildred Thompson, Ibrahim El-Salahi, Jayne Cortez, Atukwei Okai, Jonas Gwangwa, Lindsay Barrett, Gilberto de la Nuez, and Sun Ra, among others.
