Bringing individuals collectively and preserving a singular heritage impressed native youth chief Omar Jammeh and different younger individuals from Janjanbureh in The Gambia to revive the Kankurang Pageant 5 years in the past.
The Kankurang masquerade is a Mandinka custom and an integral a part of the ceremony of passage of younger boys. The Kankurang is a protecting spirit and guarantor of order that shields the boys as they study cultural practices, social norms and the surroundings. The city of Janjanbureh is extensively seen because the birthplace of the Kankurang, which was listed by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage in 2008.
Again in 2018, the Worldwide Commerce Centre (ITC), via the European Union-funded Youth Empowerment Venture (YEP), partnered with the Nationwide Centre for Arts and Tradition (NCAC), and the Gambia Tourism Board (GTBoard) to assist younger individuals in Janjanbureh to carry again the competition. The initiative is a part of a wider effort to spice up inclusive and sustainable tourism, thereby creating new financial alternatives for younger individuals in rural Gambia.
With its distinctive cultural heritage, historical past and wealthy biodiversity, Janjanbureh gives nice experiences for vacationers. The Kankurang Pageant is a crucial cornerstone for this vacation spot, whereas preserving its cultural heritage on the island. Following the success of the maiden version in 2018, many younger Gambians leveraged on the revenue-generating alternatives that hospitality companies, souvenirs gross sales and tour guiding provide.
Right now, the competition has change into an inherent a part of the nation’s cultural calendar. Presiding over the official opening ceremony held on 29 January 2022, Vice President Isatou Touray stated, “the assist by YEP has been a giant enhance and the Janjanbureh Pageant has grown to be one of the anticipated festivals within the yr. The participation of the neighborhood, companions and featured masquerades is of essential relevance to the event of tourism in The Gambia.”
Ngoneh Panneh, ITC’s Programme Officer for Tourism and Inventive Industries highlighted that, “ITC embraces tourism as a software for financial growth that may profit everybody. The competition widens the scope of alternatives and gives equal alternatives for each women and men”.
Over latest years, the EU and ITC via its Youth Empowerment Programme have supported the younger individuals of Janjanbureh in fostering community-based tourism (CBT), bettering their expertise in hospitality and tour guiding and growing new merchandise and experiences that would assist write a brand new chapter within the island’s wealthy historical past.
The following version of the Kankurang Pageant will coincide with the two hundredth anniversary of the settlement, when the primary freed slaves landed in Janjanbureh. The Minister of Tourism and Tradition, Hamat NK Bah added, “the Authorities attaches nice worth to this competition and the land of Janjanbureh. Subsequent yr, we’ll reconvene right here to rejoice the Kankurang Pageant with the remembrance of our historical past and lengthy street to freedom”.