Efik Calabar dancers rythming with beat of drums at African festival 2010, New Delhi

2014-08-12 71

Performance by dance and music group from Nigeria during the Africa Festival in New Delhi.

Indian Council For Cultural Relation organised Africa Festival in 2010. A programme of African Dance & Music from 5 Countries: South Africa, Rwanda, Tunisia, Malawi & Nigeria.

About Africa Festival : Africa is a vast continent and its regions and nations have distinct forms of traditional dance and music. The council has been encouraging regular cultural interaction with Africa. In April 2008, a 2-day cultural event entitled 'A Tribute to Africa' was organized, on the margins of the Africa summit in new Delhi. 12 countries from Africa participated in the event, with troupes from Algiers, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Libya, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.

The ICCR was founded in 1950 by Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, independent India's first Education Minister. The Council helps formulate and implement policies pertaining to India's external cultural relations, to foster mutual understanding between India and other countries and to promote cultural exchanges with other peoples.

Calabar is located on the bank of the Calabar River in confluence with the Cross River at the Southeast Region of Nigeria. With population estimated at 240 million, it is also the capital of Cross River State . The people living here are the Efiks known for their artistic skills, rich food, culture and traditions. Their main occupation is Agriculture.

As one of the first regions invaded by the British, Calabar became the first capital of Nigeria and an important Niger delta trading state in the 19th century. It served as a seaport exporting rubber, palm oil, cocoa and timber.
Calabar is an educational center that homes of one of the major universities in Nigeria, University of Calabar (UNICAL).

One of the four cultural centers in Nigeria where most of the families in Calabar are involved in the development of culture ensuring that their children maintain and preserve the Efik cultural traditions.

Calabar is made up of seven clans (Esien Efik Itiaba) namely: Creek Town , Adiabo, Ikoneto, Ikot Offiong, Old Town , Duke Town and Henshaw Town .

As a tourist heaven, Calabar offers the best cultural setting of the Efik people as you can see in their traditional attire, Masquerades and cuisine. It is also known as " Canann City ", the land of flowing milk and honey because of the abundant warmth and hospitality of its people, rich history, culture and natural attraction. This historical town can be access by air, road and the sea from different parts of Africa .

source - Wikipedia, http://www.india-forums.com/event/158/87734-the-traditional-dancers-at-the-africa-festival-in-new-delhi-on-t.htm


This footage is part of the professionally-shot broadcast stock footage archive of Wilderness Films India Ltd., the largest collection of HD imagery from South Asia. The Wilderness Films India collection comprises of tens of thousands of hours of high quality broadcast imagery, mostly shot on HDCAM 1080i High Definition, HDV and XDCAM. Write to us for licensing this footage on a broadcast format, for use in your production! We are happy to be commissioned to film for you or else provide you with broadcast crewing and production solutions across South Asia. We pride ourselves in bringing the best of India and South Asia to the world... Reach us at wfi @ vsnl.com and admin@wildfilmsindia.com.