Festival Au Desert, January 6, 7 and 8 2011

Established in January 2001, this festival hearkens back to a time when the people of the south Sahara would come together to exchange knowledge and resolve conflict.  Today it is a gathering of musicians and those interested in sharing their art and/or culture.  Centering mostly on the music there are many additional aspects to the festival with traditional dancing, ritual sword fighting and other traditions from the area including camel races.

While the culture of the desert, the Tuareg or “Blue Men of the Desert”,  are the center of the festival musicians from all over the world are invited to perform.

This time is also used to “La Flamme de la Paix” or The Flames of Peace.  In 1996 a ceremony was held in the same general area where 3,000 guns where put in a pile and burned.  This was done to help stop the violence that had plagued the area for sometime.  The guns not only being destroyed and there for taken out of the conflict but also what remained was left as a monument to the event.

The following are links to learn more:

http://www.festival-au-desert.org/history.cfm
http://blog.afropop.org/2011/01/festival-au-desert-report-3.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Festival_au_D%C3%A9sert
http://www.festivalinthedesert.org/