Festival for Peul Culture

June2003 -

A three-day festival celebrating the Peul people was held in Senegal at the beginning of May to promote the culture and language of the Peul. The Peul people live in different African countries and have been dispersed widely throughout Asia and Europe. Their language, the Pulaar, is the third largest language in Africa and ranks number 23 in the world.

The festival devoted special attention to the position of the Peul culture and language in the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) and in the unification of Africa. During a symposium the question of how the Peul can open themselves to other cultures, while maintaining their traditions and individual cultural characteristics, was discussed. A Senegalese party, a Peul national festival and a night for the African Union were programmed for the evenings, with artists from Mali, Gambia, Guinea and Mauretania.