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FESTAC 77
Festac '77, also known as the Second World Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture (the first festival took place in Dakar, 1966, the second in Algiers in July 1969) was a major international festival held in Lagos, Nigeria, from 15 January 1977 to 12 February 1977. The month-long event celebrated African culture and showcased African music, fine art, literature, drama, dance and religion to the world. Around 16,000 participants, representing 56 African nations and countries of the African Diaspora, performed at the event. Music artists who performed at the festival included Stevie Wonder from the 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, Congolese Franco Luambo Makiadi, and Liberian singer Yatta Zoe. At the time it was held, it was the largest pan-African gathering to ever take place. The event attracted around 500,000 spectators. The offi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Idia Mask BM Af1910 5-13 1
Idia was the mother of Esigie, who reigned as Oba (king) of the Edo people from 1504 to 1550. Life Historians are uncertain as regards her period of life; they do know that Idia was alive during the Idah war (1515 – 1516) because she played a role that led to a great Benin victory. It has been argued that Idia, therefore, was the true power behind the throne of her son. She played a significant role in the rise and reign of the king, being described as a great warrior who fought relentlessly before and during her son's reign as the Oba (king) of the Edo people. Queen Idia was instrumental in securing the title of Oba for her son Esigie following the death of his father Oba Ozolua. To that end, she raised an army to fight off his brother Arhuaran, who was supposed to be the Oba by right and tradition but who was subsequently defeated in battle. Esigie’s mother became the 1st Iyoba of Benin. Idia first entered the royal household because Ozolua, the Oba from 1483 until ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bembeya Jazz National
Bembeya Jazz National (originally known as Orchestre de Beyla) is a Guinean music group that gained fame in the 1960s for their Afropop rhythms. They are considered one of the most significant bands in Guinean music. Many of their recordings are based on traditional folk music from the country and have been fused with Cuban, jazz and Afropop styles. Featuring guitarist Sekou "Diamond Fingers" Diabaté, who grew up in a traditional griot musical family, the band won over fans in Conakry, Guinea's capital city, during the heady days of that country's newfound independence. Bembeya Jazz fell onto harder times in the 1980s and disbanded for a number of years, but reformed in the late 1990s and toured Europe and North America in the early 2000s. 1960s In the aftermath of the Guinean Independence in 1958 and through the cultural policy of "authenticité", which encouraged cultural pride, numerous bands were created throughout the regions of Guinea. Guinea's President, Ahmed Sékou Touré, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Stadium, Lagos
The Lagos National Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Surulere, Lagos State, Nigeria. It comprises an Olympic-size swimming (sport), swimming arena and a multipurpose arena used for sport of athletics, athletics, rugby union, basketball, volleyball, table tennis, wrestling and boxing matches. It was used mostly for association football, football matches until 2004. It has hosted several international competitions, including the 1980 African Cup of Nations final, the 2000 African Cup of Nations final, and FIFA World Cup qualifying matches. It also served as the main stadium for the 1973 All-Africa Games. History When the stadium was built in 1972, it had a capacity of 55,000. The capacity was later reduced to 45,000 in 1999. The highest attendance, 85,000, was recorded in the final match of the Africa Cup of Nations, African Cup of Nations in 1980 between Nigeria and Algeria. Its 50-meter pool was closed in 1999. For unknown reasons, the National Stadium had been left in di ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
National Arts Theatre
The National Theatre, Nigeria is the primary centre for the performing arts in Nigeria. It shares the same architectural design as the Palace of Culture and Sports in Varna, Bulgaria, and it is four times bigger. The monument is located in Iganmu, Surulere, Lagos. Its construction was completed in 1976 in preparation for the Festival of Arts and Culture (FESTAC) in 1977. In July 2024, President Bola Tinubu renamed the Theatre in honor of Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka. Design Construction of The National Theatre was started by the military regime of General Yakubu Gowon and completed during the military regime of Olusegun Obasanjo. By the year 2021, this edifice had been run by a number of management teams with heads such as Jimmy Folorunso Atte (1991 – August 1999), Prof Babafemi A. Osofisan (2000 – 2004), Dr. Ahmed Parker Yerima (2006 – Aug 2009), Kabir Yusuf (2009 – 2016), George Ufot, (Late) Dr. (Mrs.) Stella Oyedepo, Sunday Enessi Ododo (2020–2024), Akerele Tola ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Festac Town
Festac Town is a federal housing estate located at Lagos Nigeria. Its name is derived from the acronym FESTAC, which stands for Second World African Festival of Arts and Culture that was held there in 1977.FESTAC Roads in deplorable condition , '''', Saturday, 29 November 2008. It is also important to know that Festac is under Amuwo-Odofin local government area in Lagos. History Festac town, originally referred to as "Festival Town" or "Festac Village", is a residential estate designed to house the participants of the Second[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Benin Empire
The Kingdom of Benin, also known as Great Benin, is a traditional kingdom in southern Nigeria. It has no historical relation to the modern republic of Benin, which was known as Dahomey from the 17th century until 1975. The Kingdom of Benin's capital was Edo, now known as Benin City in Edo State, Nigeria. The Benin Kingdom was one of the oldest and most developed State (polity), states in the coastal hinterland of West Africa. It grew out of the previous Edo people, Edo Kingdom of Igodomigodo around the 11th century AD; it was annexed by the British Empire in 1897, but endured as a non-sovereign monarchy. In the 15th and 16th centuries, the kingdom reached the height of its prosperity, expanding its territory, trading with European powers, and creating a remarkable artistic legacy in cast bronze, iron, brass, carved ivory, and other materials. History Early By the 1st century BC, the Benin territory was partially agricultural; and it became primarily agricultural by around A. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Erhabor Emokpae
Erhabor Ogieva Emokpae, OON, (9 May 1934 – 16 February 1984) was a Nigerian sculptor, muralist, graphic artist and painter who is regarded as one of the pioneers of modern arts in Nigeria. Some of his notable works include the a bronze replica of the ivory mask of Queen Idia that was used as the official emblem of the Second World Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture (FESTAC 77) and a popular painting of Queen Amina. He is also responsible for the decorations on the four entrances of the National Arts Theatre, in Lagos. Early life and education Erhabor Emokpae, a native of Oredo local government area in Edo State, was born on 9 May 1934, his father was a Bini Palace chief Ewekagosadoba and his mother was a Muslim from Benin City. After completing his basic education at the local Government School, Benin, in 1949, Emokpae entered Western Boys High School, Benin, that same year, leaving in 1951. He proceeded to study art at the Government Trade Centre (now Yaba C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Benin Ivory Mask
The Benin ivory mask is a miniature sculptural portrait in ivory of Idia, the first Iyoba (Queen Mother) of the 16th century Benin Empire, taking the form of a traditional African mask. The masks were looted by the British from the palace of the Oba of Benin in the Benin Expedition of 1897. Two almost identical masks are kept at the British Museum in London and at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.Metropolitan Museum CollectioQueen Mother Pendant Mask: Iyoba MetMuseum, retrieved 1 November 2014 Both feature a serene face of the Queen Mother wearing a beaded headdress, a beaded choker at her neck, scarification highlighted by iron inlay on the forehead, all framed by the flange of an openwork tiara and collar of symbolic beings, as well as double loops at each side for attachment of the pendant. Until its restitution in 2022 to Nigeria, the Linden Museum in Germany had such a mask in its collection. Further, there are also similar masks at the Seattle Art Muse ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yatta Zoe
Yatta Zoe (born 1942), previously known as Victoria Snetter and affectionately called Ma Yatta, is a Liberian folk singer, percussionist, dancer, and cultural icon from Bomi County. Dubbed the "Queen of Liberian Folk", her music career spanned four decades. Zoe is known for the hit singles "You Took My Lappa", "All the Pocket Pickers (Have Gone to Bella Yalla)", "Young Girls, Stop Drinking Lysol", "Don't Lie", "Mano River Union", and "Tolbert Yesi". Between 1964 and the mid-1980s, she released twenty-four singles and six albums in the Gola and Mandinka languages. Zoe was a former member of the Zulu Dance Band and Les Ballets Africains. She toured Africa, Europe, and the Americas during the 1960s and 1970s, and networked with renowned singers Fela Kuti and Miriam Makeba. Life and career Early life and career beginnings A member of the Gola ethnic group, Yatta Zoe was born in 1942, in Bomi County, Liberia. She lost her mother in 1970 and her father when she was a little child. Afte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Franco Luambo Makiadi
François Luambo Luanzo Makiadi (6 July 1938 – 12 October 1989) was a Congolese singer, guitarist, songwriter, bandleader, and cultural revolutionary. He was a central figure in 20th-century Music of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Congolese and African music, principally as the bandleader for over 20 years of TPOK Jazz, the most popular and influential African band of its time and arguably of all time. He is referred to as Franco Luambo or simply Franco. Known for his mastery of Congolese rumba, he was nicknamed by fans and critics "Sorcerer of the Guitar" and the "Grand Maître of Zairean Music", as well as Franco de Mi Amor by female fandom. AllMusic described him as perhaps the "big man in African music". His extensive musical repertoire was a social commentary on love, Interpersonal relationship, interpersonal relationships, marriage, decorum, politics, Rivalry, rivalries, mysticism, and commercialism. In 2023, ''Rolling Stone'' ranked him at number 71 on its list of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Miriam Makeba
Zenzile Miriam Makeba ( , ; 4 March 1932 – 9 November 2008), nicknamed Mama Africa, was a South African singer, songwriter, actress, and civil rights activist. Associated with musical genres including African popular music, Afropop, jazz, and world music, she was an advocate against apartheid and white-minority government in South Africa. Born in Johannesburg to Swazi people, Swazi and Xhosa people, Xhosa parents, Makeba was forced to find employment as a child after the death of her father. She had a brief and allegedly abusive first marriage at the age of 17, gave birth to her only child in 1950, and survived breast cancer. Her vocal talent had been recognized when she was a child, and she began singing professionally in the 1950s, with the Cuban Brothers, the Manhattan Brothers, and an all-woman group, the Skylarks (South African vocal group), the Skylarks, performing a mixture of jazz, traditional African melodies, and Western popular music. In 1959, Makeba had a br ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Les Ballets Africains
Les Ballets Africains is the national dance company of Guinea and is based in Conakry. It is one of the first African national dance companies. It has toured extensively around the world. Although the French name might suggest the idea of European ballet to English speakers, the focus of the company is actually on promoting traditional African dance and culture. History The roots of ''Les Ballets Africains'' go back to Guinean poetry student, dancer, choreographer, and musician Fodéba Keïta. In France, in 1948, he founded a poetry group for Africans, which gradually evolved into the drumming, dancing, and storytelling African Theater Ballet of Fodeba Keita. The company toured Europe from 1951 to 1955 and the United States in 1953. It became Les Ballets Africains in 1952 in Paris. Some initial strong opposition came from various tribes, who were offended that others were dancing their dances and singing their songs, but that objection was eventually overcome. In the 1950s, amon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
