West African Culture Expedition (Burkina Faso, Mali and Guinea Conakry) June 2025
This “West African Culture Expedition” trip through Burkina Faso, Mali and Guinea Conakry is intended to be an insight into some of the cultural highlights of West Africa.
A cultural expedition to the ancestral world of initiatory masks, puppets, the language of fabrics, the language of artisans and also the African oral and musical tradition. As usual in our trips, we do not forget the best urban experiences offered by African capitals.
Great traditional festivals during Tabaski
This “West African Culture Expedition” takes place in the time of Tabaski. On this festival of the Muslim calendar, we will attend a great annual ceremony in a remote Malinke village in Guinea Conakry. The mythical Koyate djeli family and dozens of Dozo hunters will gather to celebrate the departure of the sacred balafon sosso-bala (UNESCO).
Mamaya Festival of Kankan in Guinea Conakry: we will try to combine the Niagassola ceremonies with the Mamaya Festival where thousands of people dance at the same time during the three-day festival.
Cultural expressions since time immemorial in Africa
In Africa, words have been the basis for the transmission of epics, tales, legends, the history of ancient kingdoms and family memories. Through the djelis (griots) and the music and puppeteers, we will travel to the cultural and social roots of this part of the continent.
We will also get to know some of the most respected guilds in West Africa, such as the Donso hunters’ and the blacksmiths’ guilds, and learn how each work has its own rhythm.
In addition to the oral tradition, the Bogolan textiles reveal that the writing and drawings displayed on the cloths encode family biographies, advice and incantations…
We want this “African Deep Roots” trip to be a sensory, learning journey, showing the great cultural richness that West Africa has to offer. It will also be a great introduction to the origins, we want to delve into the cultural roots of West Africa.
Highlights of the West African Culture Expedition
Some of the ethnic groups we will visit are Bambara, Bwa, Senufos, Susus and mainly Mandinkas or Malinkes.
We will start our journey in Burkina Faso.
Ouagadougou, capital of the country of “men of integrity”, will be the starting point of our journey. Halfway between Ouaga and Bobo we will take a detour to attend a Bwa mask ceremony. In Bobo Dioulasso we will visit its mud mosque, its old quarter and go out in the evening to its lively maquis. We will continue to the west of the country, to the Senufo territory. There, Dozo hunters will dance with sacred Senufo masks.
Hereafter Mali
We continue in Senufo country but this time on the Malian side. In Sikasso we will stop at the Museum of Senufo culture which houses an interesting collection of traditional artefacts.
In Bamako we will visit its interesting market, where it is possible to find different artisans of wood, bronze, leather, etc. We will also get to know the world of Bambara puppets. We will do it through Yaya Coulubaly, puppeteer and living legend of the oral transmission of the Bambara culture. In another part of Bamako, we will attend a street performance that mixes tradition, social commitment and urban art. We will spend the evening with them.
Segou, the former capital of the Bambara empire, is an important cultural and craft centre in Mali.
Bogolan textiles, the secrets of the language of symbols
Bogolán or “mud cloth”. Ancestral handicraft made of cotton cloth with clay and natural dyes. Bogolan or bogòlanfini is a type of traditional West African weaving closely linked to Malian culture. Mali has good workshops for learning the technique. The Ndomo natural dyes centre in Segou, founded by Boubacar Doumbia, one of the members of the Kasobané group, has been training young people for many years to give them a professional future, while at the same time researching natural dyes, both bogolan and indigo. We will visit their centre
The potters of Kalabougou
The potters of Kalabougou are the main suppliers of pottery to the capital, Bamako, 200 km away. Kalabougou is a village across the Niger River from Segou. The village dates from the time of the Bamana Empire, which flourished in the region between the 17th and 19th centuries.
The potters of Kalabougou operate on a weekly manufacturing cycle that culminates with the Monday market across the river in Segou. On Tuesdays and Wednesdays, the clay mine is full of women and their daughters extracting clay from the earth with axes (dabaw) made by numu men (blacksmiths).
Every Sunday the women bake the pots produced during the week.
We will take a boat to visit this interesting village and enjoy the scenery of the Niger River.
The art of pyrography on pumpkins
In a small village near Ségou, Mali, West Africa, most families earn their income by decorating pumpkins. An elaborate process that we will have the opportunity to learn about
The Guinea of wonders
We will leave Mali to continue to the Malinke country on the Guinean side. It is here that we will focus our visits. Most Malinkes live in family compounds in traditional rural villages run by a chief or a group of elders. Agriculture has always been their predominant occupation. Today, almost all Malinke in Africa are Muslim, although a mixture of Islam and traditional rituals is still quite common in the countryside. During the trip we will see this syncretism on numerous occasions.
Djelis (Griots) y tradición oral
Most Malinka still live in an oral society, with a tradition of oral history going back hundreds of years, passed down from generation to generation through songs, proverbs and stories of griot family members with famous surnames such as Konte, Suso, Jobarteh and Kouyate (the first griot). For centuries, these were the traditional historians, genealogists, praise singers, war agitators, denouncers, denouncers, advisors, arbiters, jesters, gossipers, satirists, reporters and political commentators. Only those born into the griot caste could become enjali, and unlike their fellow tribesmen, they did not have to work in the fields or fight.
Ceremony of the Sosso-bala, the sacred balafon
We will travel to Niangassola, where the oldest family of griots, the Koyate, keep the sacred balafon “sosso-bala”. During these days, the celebration of Tabaski will take place, the only time in the year when the sosso-bala is brought out together with more than 20 balafons that will be played for hours and hours.
Oral tradition holds that when Emperor Sundiata overthrew Soumaora Kante, he appointed the Kouyaté family to protect the balafon. Played with mallets, the balafon is composed of wooden slats and rows of gourds, which serve as natural amplifiers. The original musical instrument, known as the ‘Sosso-Bala’, survives in Niagassola, the home village of Kouyaté’s father, on the border between Mali and Guinea. In 2001, the Sosso-Bala was declared intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO and is brought out once a year to be played ceremonially, the Tabaski.
We will attend the great Sosso Bala ceremony at the Tabaski with the Kouyate family.
The heart of African drumming
We go deep into the heart of African percussion and rhythms to attend a “dundunba” dance, the dance of the strong men.
The Dundunba, the dance of the strong men is the name of a traditional Mandingue dance and rhythm that is very popular in the Upper Guinea region. The “Baratis” are not only important people in charge of all rituals and festive events in the village, but also great dancers who are generally recognised at the age of 6 years old. The dundumba is an intensely physical and strenuous dance, marked by percussion concerts playing under clouds of dust during the whole ceremony. A ceremonial dance which we will have the opportunity to witness along with a Malinke mask ceremony.
End of trip in Conakry
We will end the “African culture expedition” trip in Conakry with a visit to an interesting acrobatic centre. Several dozen young students perform spectacular acrobatic feats that have amazed audiences all over the world. We will attend a spectacular demonstration and learn about this interesting project.
In the afternoon in the popular neighbourhood of Dixin, we will cut through a street for a street dance and percussion performance.
On our last day of the trip we will travel to the islands to enjoy a day at the beach and relax. It will be a day of margin for unforeseen events as well.
