THE ORIGINALITY

MALAKI MA KONGO is one of the rare African cultural meetings (in the modern sense of the term) made in Congo by artists' and men of culture's sweat and funds.

These artists and men of culture, therefore, mean to preserve their expression of freedom and independence inside all of their artistic and cultural work.
The festival's organization and especially orientation do not want to have influences or inspirations external to the African cultural logics.

In kikongo language MALAKI means festival, kermesse.
Unlike Matanga, which contains tanga for its root (singing) and which lasts two days, Malaki has" laki" for its root (date or program), and consequently people get ready to a one or two weeks long party. Time, this one, which corresponds to eight days, according to Kongo calendar: such calendar in fact counts only four days (nsila, bukonzo, mpika, tsaba).
Here is therefore our chance to present to the International audience our Kermesse made in Kongo.

Unpublished spectacles inspired by the rich African territory's tradition. Living, eating, drinking, talking as in the old good time of cultural virginity, that one before the Portugueses' arrival. Going time backwards and remembering Ngoma ya Kongo, the party percussion accompanying crickets' fields and frogs' fanfare to excite the goat-suckers night dances.
MALAKI MA KONGO is the return to the origins through theatre's magic: camp fire, tam-tams' choirs, rattles' rolls, shakes' shocks, because life itself swings and waves in an unknown trance, the frenetic waltzer of black skins under lightbugged nights.
We live all this, tasting biyoki, cane sugar and pineapple beer; mbulu and ntsamba, all spiced by kola, in powder and grain; and, why not, even by mundiondo.

MALAKI has already known 12 editions, 7 of which were held in M'foa Brazzaville in Congo Rep. For war reasons, one edition was held in Kinshasa, Congo Dem. Rep.; another one in plain forest in Mbanza Ndunga; the last one in Nove di Bassano del Grappa-Italy, in Brazzaville, in Kinshasa and in Haïti.

OBJECTIVES

MBONGUI MALAKI MA KONGO cultural center for Africa's and Pharaons' Reinassance has the following objectives:

I - Make African cultural values known, to fight against ignorance, extroversion, mental alienation

II - Allow African people to know their true story and help the diaspora to a dignified and low-cost return to the origins (visiting their ancient provenience land)

III - Promoting in Africa's - humanity's cradle - heart an ethical tourism providing sane mottoes for the respect of the Black Soul, of love and brotherhood among people.

IV - Prevent criminality:
In Africa through the creation of appropriate educative structures and appropriate small and medium enterprises
In Occident through the creation of initiation's cells for African cultural values

V - Encouraging a Man-centerd development, for a man rooted in his ancestral culture

HISTORY

MBONGUI MALAKI MA KONGO is an adulterine child of North-South International cultural relations of the 80's. Such relations' balance was negative. On one side, these relations couldn't give up to the International exchange system founded on the strongest one's dictat logics; on the other side, these relations allowed themselves to be overcomed by privileged and personal relations with States' leaders and groups.

Sony Labou Tansi, one of the privileged partners in the 80's France/Africa cultural relations, summarizes such exchanges through these words: "Cooperation is a Pandora box, an we haven't yet found the key to open it".
Malaki represents this key, that we dare to present to humanity for Man to cease being wolf to Man.

CREATION

Created in 1991 in M’foa, Brazzaville, Rep. Congo, Malaki Ma Kongo was initially born as an African culture roots' festival including different kinds of shows, story-telling etc. However, its main axis has always been theatre.
Although inspired to Kongo culture - which Malaki wants to be known and appreciated - the festival is open to the world's cultures... The first and last show are always made outdoor, around a big camp fire.
Malaki ma Kongo is a “pret à porter” festival, able to move not only from country to country, but recently also from continent to continent:

1991-1996 Brazzaville, Rep. Congo

1997 Kinshasa, Rep. Dem. Congo, ex Zaire

1998 Brazzaville, Rep. Congo

1999 Mbanza Ndunga's forest, Rep. Congo

2001 Nove di Bassano (VI), Italy

2002 Tricontinental: intercontinental project
called Bridge over the Atlantic
Europe (Italy-Nove, may)
Africa (Congo-Kinshasa, sept.; Brazzaville oct.)
America (Haïti-Port au Prince, november)

2003 Tricontinental
Europe (Italy - Thiene, june
France (Berck, july)
America (Haïti-Port au Prince, december
in occasion of the celebrations of the Haitian Republic Independance)

2004 Tricontinental
Africa (RD Congo - Kinshasa; Congo: Brazzaville, august)
France (Berck, july)
America (Haïti-Port au Prince, december)

2005 Tricontinental
Africa (Congo: Pointe Noire, august)
France (Berck, mai)
America (Haïti-Port au Prince, november - Santo Domingo, november)

2006 Tricontinental
Africa (Congo: Pointe Noire, august)
France (Berck, mai)
America (Haïti-Port au Prince, november - Santo Domingo, november)

2007 Tricontinental
Africa (Congo: Pointe Noire, august)
France (Berck, mai)
America (Haïti-Port au Prince, november)

2008 Tricontinental
Africa (Congo: Pointe Noire, august)
France (Berck, mai)
America (Haïti-Port au Prince, november - Santo Domingo, november)

2009 Tricontinental
Africa (Congo: Pointe Noire, september)
France (Berck, mai)
America (Haïti-Port au Prince, november)

Malaki has already known artists' and men of culture's participation from the two Congoes, Angola, Cameroon, Zambia, France, Ghana, Guadeloupe, South Africa and Italy.
Since early, Malaki got well developed into school's and University's environments, religious meetings', big communities' or ethnical minorities' communities searching for deep Africa's knowledge.
Malaki experimented the ethical tourism of Return to the Origins and it organized conference-debats; excursions; pilgrimages; shows; special dinners; exhibitions; seminars; research and initiation ateliers; etc.

festival MALAKI MA KONGO 2010

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