Festival time in Gambia; twenty years after 'Roots,' a country invites African Americans home.When Alex Haley Noun 1. Alex Haley - United States writer and Afro-American who wrote a fictionalized account of tracing his family roots back to Africa (1921-1992) Haley wrote his best-selling best·sell·er also best seller n. A product, such as a book, that is among those sold in the largest numbers. best novel, Roots, two decades ago this year, it focused international attention on The Gambia. Haley traced his roots back to the small West African West Africa A region of western Africa between the Sahara Desert and the Gulf of Guinea. It was largely controlled by colonial powers until the 20th century. West African adj. & n. country where his great-great-grandfather Kunta Kinte Kunta Kinte is the central character of the novel, by Alex Haley, and of the television mini-series Roots, based on the book. Roots is now accepted as being a mixture of both fact and fiction, and much of the book's material is allegedly borrowed from a was captured more than 200 years ago and brought to America as a slave. And now Gambian tourism officials are inviting African Americans African American Multiculture A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa. See Race. to The Gambia for the Second International "Roots Homecoming" Festival, June 14-21. The festival will include dancing workshops, drumming sessions, fashion shows, gospel festivals, wrestling matches and a film festival. All the activities are designed to focus renewed attention on the country. "Alex Haley told me himself, before his death, that he wanted this kind of festival to occur here in The Gambia," says Bakari Sidibe, chairman of the Roots Homecoming organizing committee. "The inspiration for the festival was Roots. The book and the miniseries opened the eyes of everyone around the world. We want to build on that." "We have been promoting The Gambia as a beach and sunshine destination," explains Susan Waffa-Ogoo, Secretary of State for Tourism and Culture."But we want to push it as a cultural destination as well because we have another asset, our people. The Roots Festival is based on the concept of cultural tourism. This festival is a way of getting people together from different cultural backgrounds and countries." Those attending the weeklong festival can also take in the sites and sounds of The Gambia, which has a population of about 1.2 million and is considered one of Africa's smallest independent countries. Much of the festival activities will occur in Banjul, the nation's capital. While there, make it a point to visit the market where you'll find great bargains on wood carvings and African clothing. To see how tie-dyed fabrics and batiks are made, stop by Mrs. Musukebba Drammeh's Tie Dye Factory and Mrs. Amie Krubally's Batik batik (bətēk`), method of decorating fabrics practiced for centuries by the natives of Indonesia. It consists of applying a design to the surface of the cloth by using melted wax. Factory. For a real adventure take a two-hour boat ride across the River Gambia to the village of Juffureh, the home of Kunta Kinte. If you're lucky, Binta Kinte, Kunta Kinte's great-granddaughter, will invite you inside her home for a brief visit. Other sites include Lemin Lodge, Fort James Island James Island: see Charleston, S.C. , and The Gambia National Museum. Much of U.S. travel to The Gambia for the festival is being handled by Silver Spring, Maryland-based Henderson Travel Services, the oldest and largest African American-owned travel agency in the nation. Henderson specializes in travel to Africa and is working with Air Afrique Air Afrique was based in Abidjan, Ivory Coast and was established as a transnational African airline. History On March 28 1961, co-founded by Air France and the following eleven Western African countries:
"This area is one from which millions of African slaves were shipped to the Americas," explains Gaynelle Henderson-Bailey. "Here you have an opportunity as an African American tourist to learn more about our history, our roots. It's also a wonderful opportunity to learn about today's African culture, art, dress and cuisine." Henderson-Bailey's company is offering festival packages beginning at $1,599 round-trip from New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of to Banjul. The festival is not only about culture. An investment symposium will be held June 19, and Gambians are hoping that African Americans interested in learning more about investing in the country will take part. (For further details, contact Henderson Travel at 800-327-2309.) "There are opportunities to invest in hotels, entertainment properties, financial markets and agriculture," says Saihou Omar Taal Taal 1 A lake of southwest Luzon, Philippines, south of Manila. It contains Volcano Island, the site of the active volcano Mount Taal. Noun 1. , a cultural development consultant for The Gambia. "We are particularly interested in investments from African Americans. As a group, African Americans spend $400 billion a year. If we in The Gambia could get just one percent of that, we would be flying high." |
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