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By Mustafa Khalifa.
Ghat, 2 June 2015:
The second Tuareg Festival . . .[restrict]of Song and Music has taken place in Birket, some eight kilometres south of southwestern town Ghat. It may not have attracted any foreign tourists but local Tuaregs and those from further afield were there to enjoy the three-day celebration, which ended last Friday evening.
It was the brainchild of Saber Khuda. He currently chairs the festival committee.
“The idea came to me when I was sitting with some young [Tuareg] activists in Birket. They thought it a good idea too. So we decided to make it happen”, he told the Libya Herald. “The festival is a tribute to the heritage of our ancestors and aims to preserve the Tuareg cultural heritage,” he explains.
“It also tries to educate people about the threat to our language, customs and traditions.”
The first festival was in November 2013 when 11 groups of musicians took part. But last year, he says, there was insufficient support, so it did not take place. This year, however, thanks to the efforts of a number of young people across the area, it did – and 18 groups of artists s performed traditional Tuareg songs and dances over the three days. There were also recitals from four poets.
This is not the only festival in the historic mainly Tuareg town, situated just 13 kilometres from the Algerian border. The official Ghat International Sahara Festival which in the past has drawn Tuaregs from all over Libya as well as from Algeria and elsewhere usually includes camel races as well as music and poetry. But the last one was in December 2013. Again, lack of funding has been the main problem.
As far as Khuda is concerned, though, there will be another Birket festival next summer, providing there is sufficient local support.
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