R Magazine, Ex-TeenArt_Issue 1_Authenticity Ap. 2014 | Page 39

The door of the insiders had not closed...
Before everyone’s eyes, their feet pounded on the ground and grazed the red
earth. Surprisingly, there was no dust kicked up; the earth had packed in on itself,
not wanting to disturb them.
To the untrained eye, these were only strange people, strangely dressed and moving strangely in this twenty-first century.
However, these strange people, these ritual dance initiates, are only the messengers and tribute bearers for the black deities that have too long been forgotten.
redaction : Ayayi Senam D’Almeida
layout : Blàcky Gyan
translation : Samantha Graham
credit photos : http://www.festivaldesdivinitesnoires.info/

BLA DEITY FESTIV
CK
AL

Each step, each hum seems to be a search for the
roots of the history that shaped the peoples of black
Africa, deeply animistic and attached to their traditional beliefs, which live on in these ritual ceremonies, these songs, these somber dances – sometimes
frenzied – the folklore, the art...

H

alf-naked or draped in vibrant colors, covered in curious
pageantry, from body paint to
flamboyant jewelry, different traditional and initiate groups follow one after the other in an effort to