Category: Entertainment

Workshop focusing on the preservation of cultural heritage organized by the Department of Culture and Sports in the Central Region has been conducted on 13 and 14 January at the Asmara Municipality Hall under the theme “Preserving Cultural Heritage through Coordinated Management”.

Mr. Endrias Asmeraom, D.G. of Culture and Sports in the region, said that the objective of the workshop was to develop the understanding of the public on the significance of cultural heritage as well as to encourage experts in the field to conduct thorough and profound research so that they are properly preserved and transferred to posterity.

At the workshop, research papers were presented including ‘Significance of Cultural Heritage and their Preservation’, ‘UNESCO Convention of 2003 and its Implementation in Eritrea’, ‘Role of Tigre folklore in Society’, ‘Documentation of Cultural Heritage in Eritrea’, ‘Asmara World Heritage’, ‘Leadership and Management of Cultural Heritage as well as ‘Importance of Cultural Institution’.

The workshop was attended by experts in the field, architects, artists, linguists, as well as staff members of the Ministry of Tourism, administrations and invited guests.

Source: Ministry of Information Eritrea

A Ugandan author who wrote critical comments about President Yoweri Museveni’s son has been charged with offensive communications. Kakwenza Rukirabashaija’s lawyer says he was tortured in detention.

Award-winning writer Kakwenza Rukirabashaija appeared before a court Tuesday and was charged with two counts of offensive communication.

Rukirabashaija was arrested on December 28 and taken from his Kampala home. The government says he was using his Twitter account to offend President Yoweri Museveni and his son, Commander of Land Forces Lieutenant General Muhoozi Kainerugaba.

The writer’s lawyer, Eron Kiiza, tells VOA he was not made aware of his client’s court appearance until later.

“This was a clandestine move intended to deny him an opportunity for legal representation and an opportunity to pursue his legal remedies like bail and opposing the charges which are bogus,” said Kiiza.

Rukirabashaija’s court appearance comes a day after the high court issued an order for it to take place before the close of business Wednesday.

The magistrate Tuesday also issued an order for him to be subjected to a medical examination by prison authorities to ascertain his health status.

During a January 3rd search at his home in Iganga district in the Eastern region, the writer reportedly whispered to his wife that he had been tortured. Photos of his blood-stained undergarments were later posted on social media.

The author was allegedly detained at the Special Forces Command facility in Entebbe, a claim the army vehemently denied.

The award-winning writer has been remanded to a prison facility until January 21, when he reappears before a court.

This is the third time he has been arrested. The first time was in April 2020 for his novel, The Greedy Barbarian, a fictional account of high-level corruption. He was again arrested the following September for his second novel titled Banana Republic, which detailed torture.

He won the PEN Pinter Prize International Writer of Courage Award in 2021.

Source: Voice of America

Although he plays various musical instruments, he’s more into the traditional instruments and devotes time to produce new things using them. He is a member of the Boba cultural troupe, known for their peculiar styles. Q&A’s guest today is Mr. Matsola Dawit.

• Thank you for your time, Matsola. Please, introduce yourself.

My name is Matsola Dawit. I was born and raised in Mendefera. I work with the Commission of Culture and Sport, and I am also a member of Sibrit Cultural Troupe.

• You play diverse types of musical instruments, particularly the traditional ones. Which instruments do you play and what are you best known for?

I used to play the piano, kirar (a traditional stringed instrument), bass kirar (same as kirar but with different types and numbers of strings), and begena (harp). I play them all well, but in Mendefera people know me most as a piano player probably because I started with it. But in my band, Boba, and other groups I am known as a kirar player.

• Tell us about your background as a musician.

Well, it all started with the mastery I had in playing kirar. My friends and I used to get together every evening and play kirar and sing in our neighborhood just like many young boys do. That might have motivated me to go into music. Then I wanted to improve and took some piano lessons at the National Union of Eritrean Youth and Students center in Mendefera. From that time on, I became more and more interested in music. After a while, I joined the cultural troupe of the Southern region and began to perform at national festivals held annually.

• How did you become more inclined toward the traditional instruments?

Before I answer the question I would like people to know there is a difference between the traditional musical instrument and traditional music. The traditional instruments and the traditional beat are not the same. From the very beginning until 2009, I was more inclined towards modern music using the piano, kirar, and bass kirar, but when I joined Tinsaie, the cultural troupe of the Southern region, in 2009 I was very busy working on the traditional music.

The cultural troupe was named ‘Tinsaie,’ which means resurrection, and was tasked with reviving and preserving traditional music and protecting it from getting dominated by a foreign culture.

I regularly participated at national festivals with the Southern region’s cultural troupe until 2019’s Eritrean national festival. All those years I spent with the group helped me to develop and master the traditional musical instruments.

I heard someone call the Eritrean national festival annually held at the Expo grounds “small Eritrea.” The name is befitting the festival because it introduces visitors to all nine ethnic groups, their music, and ways of living. In the 2019’s national festival I won the 1st award for the mastery of the traditional musical instrument. All of these reasons have influenced me to be interested in traditional Eritrean musical instruments.

• You are a member of the Boba Band, known for their peculiar musical styles. Tell us something about that?

The group was established by young Eritrean musicians and singers in 2013. It is concerned with developing the standard of music and presenting traditional and modern Eritrean music. We have had many concerts and music shows on different occasions. The group is working to revive our traditional instruments which have been dominated by modern music.

I have been with the group for around ten years, which has helped me to develop my skills. Before I started working with the group, I was struggling to try new things on the traditional instruments on my own. I had always been trying to play the modern classics using kirar. After I met Boba, I found an opportunity to release what was on my mind. The group works well for me, and they are like a family.

• Future plans…?

Almost everything I do or produce is the result of teamwork. Individually, I have a plan to produce an album of instrumental music, covering our diverse ethnic groups. I also have the ambition to discover new things by blending traditional and modern musical instruments.

• Anything else you would like to add …

I would like to tell young Eritreans to know their tradition and preserve it. Music is one of the best ways to represent the identity of a society. Everyone should contribute toward making our tradition known to the world.

I would like to thank the Commission of Culture and Sport for encouraging us to keep looking for new things to present by organizing the national festivals.

Source: Ministry of Information Eritrea

“This country is really underrated,” a German tourist told my tour guide friend upon seeing the fogy atmosphere around Arbe-Robue, a roadside village about 10 kilometers from Asmara on the way to Massawa. Around the months between November and March, it is a usual scenery while descending to the port city. This is just before finding out about the immensity of the content of the Red Sea and the history it bears.

The Red Sea being the first sea to be discovered by humans, according to archaeological findings, the Eritrean part of the sea, around the Abdur area in particular, is said to be where the first seafaring humans had dwelt. It is also home to several marine species, seaweeds and around 1100 varieties of fish including whales, dolphins, sharks, sea turtles and others. Out of these abundant species, almost 550 are exclusively found in the Eritrean part of the Red Sea.

Eritrea is endowed with over 1000 kilometers of coastline, which include a variety of seagrass, mangrove trees and coral reefs. The existence of mangrove trees along the coastal area provides a breeding habitat for many bird species such as flamingos and other migratory birds.

The coastline is also home to ecologically and historically significant peninsulas, such as the Buri peninsula, which is one of the most important storehouses of biodiversity and the Dahlak islands, which is very significant home to the spread of the first Arabic cuffic scriptures.

The Eritrean Green Belt found about an hour drive northeast of the capital, contains different kinds of vegetation like huge sycamore trees and animals such as antelopes, gazelles, leopards, panthers, hyenas, baboons and hundreds of spices of birds.

Although farming, drought and war are the main causes for deforestation and the migration of wild animals; with the concerted efforts of the Eritrean wildlife and forestry authority and the government, several species have been returning after Eritrea achieved its independence three decades ago. The reservation of the Green Belt as a national park has played a big part in this particular sector.

The mountainous landscape of most of the southern highland area of the country makes you enjoy cool breeze, with temperate climate in the settlements perched upon descending to the lowlands, which are mainly characterized by warm climate. Seeing is believing, and if you come and experience it first hand, you won’t be wandering why the tourism motto of the Eritrean Tourism Ministry is, “Three seasons in two hours”.

Speaking of the mountains, apart from being a habitat to the growing fauna of the country, they have played a significant role in the armed struggle for the independence of Eritrea. The hundreds of kilometers of trenches that spread from Nakfa served as a stronghold for the EPLF.

Animals such as the elephant, African wild ass, and ostrich are recognized among the large animals in the country. Most of us are not aware that our country contains small animals first described scientifically from Eritrea as long ago as the 1830s such as the Eritrea Clawed Frog and Side-necked Turtle. There is also the Asmara Toad, the only toad in the world with a scientific name that includes the capital city Asmara. Some of these are found nowhere except in Eritrea and thus are National treasures that must be studied and preserved.

When it comes to the marine biodiversity as we have mentioned it earlier, the Red Sea marine biodiversity pans from, the unicellular phytoplankton seedlings to the enormous wales. Over 1000 different species of fish, 250 types of corals are found in the Red Sea. Besides, invertebrates, mollusks and gastropods as well as marine plants, such as the three different types of mangrove trees are among the major resources of the Red Sea. According to studies conducted over the past 25 years of independence, it has been confirmed that the depth of the Eritrean Sea is also a haven to 11 types of sea grass, five types of marine turtles, as well as over 72 different marine bird species. Furthermore, 17 different types of sea cucumber with high economic significance are found in the Red Sea.

What Eritrea has got is nothing short of incredible and a lot of times, we, being inside of it, miss the incredibleness of it and fail to tell the rest of the world how beautiful Eritrea is.

Source: Ministry of Information Eritrea

The Culture and Sports Department in the Southern Region in cooperation with the Archeology Department of the Commission of Culture and Sports organized a seminar focusing on conservation and research of cultural heritage.

The seminar that was conducted in Dekemhare on 22 and 23 December was attended by experts from concerned government institutions.

Indicating that the Southern Region is rich in archeological and historical sites that are not yet properly researched, Dr. Tsegay Medin, head of Archeology at the Commission of Culture and Sports, called for reinforced participation of concerned institutions and the public in the effort to identify and document the heritage in the region.

Dr. Tsegay also said that the country’s folklore, diversity, heritage, ancient buildings as well as historical and cultural heritage have significant contributions to the economic development of the country.

Pointing out that ancient buildings are part of the country’s heritage, Eng. Medhanie Teklmeriam, head of Asmara Heritage Project, called for proper identification and documentation of the ancient buildings in the Southern Region and especially that of Dekemhare.

The participants on their part adopted various recommendations including the integrated effort to save the cultural and ancient heritage from damage by manmade and natural calamities.

Source: Ministry of Information Eritrea

Growing in the Eritrean society is exceptionally warm. The holiday season in Eritrea is characterized by the visiting of relatives, rejoicing with neighbors, settling conflicts, forgiving friends and foes and looking forward to a new beginning. The celebrations of this year’s Christmas and New Year may be toned-down due to COVID-19, but I am sure the tradition of making resolutions for the New Year will continue.

Let me tell you about an incident that happened in my family, which a lot of you might have encountered in your families at least once. I once got home excited on Christmas Eve and put a huge box on the table. After asking for my family’s attention, I screamed “Merry Christmas” and took a huge cake and some chocolate bars out of the box. My brothers’ and parents’ faces glowed and they were all smiling except our old lady relative who came to visit from the countryside. She had no idea what we were all excited about. My little brother told her that it was the Christmas Eve and that New Year was a week away. “What in the delusional world are you talking about?” she said angrily.

Unlike the younger generation, our relative, like many from the older generation of our society, does not celebrate Christmas on December 25th. Like many, she celebrates it a week after the New Year following a six-week fasting season.

The older and younger generation celebrate Christmas and New Year on different days although the younger generation tend to celebrate Christmas twice, one On December 25th and another, like my relative, a week after the New Year.

On December 25th, cafes, restaurants, bars and lounges are all decorated in breathtaking lights and Christmas posters. Christmas trees are placed on the sidewalks close to the cafes, like the famous Asmara Sweet Café on Harinet Avenue.

The practice of putting up special decorations for Christmas has a long history. The tradition of erecting a Christmas tree and so many colorful lights and sometimes candles and candies has been practiced for long in our culture too. Usually, Christmas Eve is celebrated in the evening at recreational places with special events and special performances. Christmas lights and banners hung at homes with a Christmas tree placed in a prominent place. Incidentally, during the Christmas season, I usually begged my parents to decorate the Christmas tree and set it up at a prominent place in our house way before Christmas. On Christmas Eve people exchange post cards and gifts to express their joy, friendship and happy wishes.

For devout Christians who follow the Geez calendar it is now the fasting season, which ends a week from the New Year when Christmas is celebrated. After a month and two weeks of fasting, people celebrate Christmas by slaughtering an animal, which is commonly done on religious festivals.

In the Gregorian calendar, New Year’s Eve falls on the seventh day of the Christmas season. New Year’s Eve is celebrated in the evenings at bars, restaurants and other public places in the country. The Eve usually ends with a display of fireworks to welcome the brand new year.

An event has been organized by the Ministry of Information to record performances by Sesina Group, a cultural troupe of the administration of the Eritrean Defense Forces at Beleza, which will be broadcast in celebration of the New Year. The performances highlighted the history of the nation and the unity of its people.

Let’s celebrate Christmas and the New Year by following COVID-19 guidelines.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!

Source: Ministry of Information Eritrea

Congolese rumba is among at least nine new entries on UNESCO’s “representative list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity.”

UNESCO is making its 2021 designations this week, recognizing cultural heritage ranging from Arabic calligraphy to falconry to Nordic clinker boat traditions.

Congolese rumba was named to the list Tuesday. The Democratic Republic of Congo and the Republic of Congo jointly bid for UNESCO to recognize the music and dance, which helped energize people in those countries to shake off colonial rule by Belgium and France, respectively, in Congo, in 1960.

UNESCO’s director general, Audrey Azoulay, summarized rumba’s significance.

“In the 20th century, the Congolese rumba was a symbol for the fight for emancipation, dignity and political independence on the African continent,” she said in a statement shared with VOA. “Therefore, the inscription of this music is not just the recognition of a cultural practice but a historic decision. It underlines the political nature of this music, which inspires so many artists all around the world today.”

Through its ongoing list, UNESCO aims to safeguard cultural practices and ensure that they’re handed down through generations.

The list of new entries includes:

— Pasillo song and poetry from Ecuador.

— Pottery-related practices and knowledge of Peru’s Awajún people.

— Dances and other expression affiliated with Panama’s Corpus Christi festivities.

— Venezuela’s festive cycle around worship of St. John the Baptist.

— Bolivia’s Grand Festival of Tarija.

Source: Voice of America