This year, the national festival of Eritrea marks a significant milestone, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Bologna Festival. What initially emerged as a modest initiative by students and workers who had migrated to Europe during Ethiopian colonization has now blossomed into a revered national institution and tradition. It has transcended its origins as a platform for discussing the liberation struggle to become a Grand National rally where Eritrean culture and history are exuberantly celebrated. The annual national festival of Eritrea is not just a gathering but a stage where Eritreans come together to interact, celebrate the cultural richness of Eritrea, demonstrate national unity, and, most importantly, preserve and reproduce indigenous knowledge, enlightening us about our rich cultural heritage.
Eritrean national festival has, in many ways, helped preserve and develop various Indigenous cultural forms and provided the occasion for Eritreans, including the diaspora community, to meet, share, and celebrate their cultural heritage. The festival has become a national tradition of sharing and passing cultural knowledge from generation to generation. The Eritrean indigenous or traditional knowledge system is cumulative, representing the experience of generations and surviving the test of time. It is widely shared, acknowledged, and accepted knowledge among the people. Eritrea’s nine ethnic groups have developed sophisticated knowledge that has been created endogenously. Eritrean Indigenous knowledge touches a wide variety of fields, including but not limited to agriculture, medicine, human and animal health, astronomy, forestry, fishery, sustainable use of natural resources and the environment, law, spirituality, arts and culture, food and beverage, etc. Besides that, many skills are developed through the wisdom and experience of successive generations.
The annual national festival not only encourages the preservation of the best in Eritrean culture, but it also serves to re-establish much that is in danger of being lost. In particular, emphasis should be given to the need for re-production and re- introduction of traditional music, food and beverage, oral tradition, outfits, and so on for the best taste of modern Eritrean society. The diverse cultural presentations help visitors, particularly the young, visit the distant past and recapture some of Eritrean society’s old and original artistic forms. The festival has played a significant role in preserving and reviving traditional arts and culture, encouraging new forms of cultural activities, and creating greater awareness of cultural richness. More importantly, it fosters a greater sense of national unity, bringing us all together as one Eritrean community.
The annual festival of Eritrea has emerged as a crucial platform for perpetuating Eritrean arts and culture. It has evolved into a robust entity that fosters cultural sharing and learning, particularly among the youth, thereby enhancing the appreciation and knowledge of the people. The festival plays a pivotal role in the resurgence or renaissance of culture, preserving and reviving traditional arts and culture. It also addresses the challenge of protecting intellectual and cultural property while embracing the dynamism of modernity.
As a venue for cultural sharing and interaction, the Festival 2024 has arranged presentations of research papers on many topics. Mohammed Said Osman has presented a well-researched paper on the oral tradition of Eritrea. Author and poet Efriem Habtetsion have explained the meaning and nature of poetry with a particular reference to oral poetry. Author and poet Girmay Abraham also gave a presentation on stories. Mr. Kflom Mickael has given an in-depth explanation of the role of festivals in nation-building. Veteran freedom fighter and author Solomon Dirar also presented a paper on an assessment of the festival Bologna, while Dr. Halima Mohammed offered the role of women in festivals. Alongside the presentations, every region presented oral traditions from respective regions. All these endeavors would collectively contribute to the rejuvenation of Eritrean art and culture and ensure its continuity and strength.
The annual national festival has become a learning space where visitors can increase their cultural knowledge. Eritrea’s annual festival 2024 encompasses a variety of activities such as pavilions of the six regions exhibiting traditional and modern dancing, painting, sculpture, film, traditional way of life, concerts, oral tradition, literature, seminars, book fair, and many more. Of course, visitors eventually arrived at the expo driven by different motivations. Some would come out of the desire to seek new and different experiences. Others would come to interact and enhance family togetherness. Some people can come with the exclusive purpose of observing events that have some aspect of enjoyment. Some would also come driven to gain knowledge and expand their intellectual horizon. Therefore, activities such as conferences, seminars, and training workshops should be emphasized, which could add to competency.
Hitherto, the Eritrean national festival has immensely contributed to the country’s knowledge system. Celebrating and integrating Eritrean indigenous knowledge is a big plus to the country’s development. It would help to fix and broaden the mental map and enrich the existing knowledge. It has become apparent that successful worldwide modernization strategies worked closely with local knowledge. And it is for this reason that the Eritrean national festival is widening the avenue for the celebration of indigenous knowledge until it has to be taken seriously as an alternative knowledge to the development and modernization process of the country.