FetAfrik 2013-Gala evening celebrates Africa |27 May 2013

The event was held at the Le Meridien Barbarons as part of activities to celebrate FetAfrik 2013.

After enjoying the flavours of South frica’s traditional five-star cuisine, Bomas dancers from Kenya -- Cynthia Lesurkukwa, Gabriel Lewgees and Tobiko Dle Amiyio -- enthralled the audience with eight traditional dances from their land.

The first was a festive dance called Isuru, which is performed by young boys and girls when an elder is admitted to the highest official status of elder hood in the land.

For this dance, an antelope horn and guard rattles called ibirandi are used while boys wear blocks of wood as shoes to enhance their height and image.

One of the most exciting performances was the Eunoto dance which is usually performed by Masai people who live in Kajiado and Narok districts of Rift Valley province of Kenya.

It is characterised by impressive jumping of young warriors while girls sing their praise. This dance is performed during great feasts when Moran warriors graduate to junior elder hood.

The dancers also impressed their audience with the various attire they wore when performing these dances.

Another striking fragment of the evening was the colourful collection from top South African designer Misha Effendi from Cape Town, which young local models paraded in.

Prizes were also given to those who had the most stunning traditional African outfits.

Performances from the National Troupe also showed off the wealth of the different cultures in Seychelles, after which the night ended with a disco with African music.
The accompanying photos show highlights of the evening.