FASIE: Festival of Performing Arts of the Schools of Ioba
A Zangala Supported Balafon Festival Teaching Traditional Dagara Instrumental Music, Dance, Performance Arts, and Archery to the Youth of Burkina Faso.
Dreams for a Better Future, Realized.
Youth will determine the future, FASIE is inspiring their best.
Over the past 20 years the FASIE Balafon Festival has blossomed into a national phenomenon celebrating Dagara culture and inspiring youth, schools, community leaders, tribal elders, and government institutions to join forces in a unified program promoting the holistic development of Dagara youth through traditional dance, folk choirs, storytelling, instrumental music, ballet, and archery.
It began as a conversation exploring the vast and unique Dagara culture, with an urgent question about how best to protect, preserve, and sustain the timeless traditions that have survived for countless millennia. In hallmark Dagara fashion, the strategy to actualize this mission was to celebrate, dance, sing, and bring the community together in a ceremonial ritual event centered on the core teachings, traditions, and practices that have sustained the culture for thousands of years.
The dream has been realized, now running nearly 20 years strong. We invite you to join our movement, contribute to Zangala empowering us to expand the reach and impact of this unique festival and ensure its future success. And beyond the vision of the FASIE, Zangala is dedicated to actualizing our mission to regenerate the ancient wisdom of the Dagara culture, with youth-focused programs and events centered on arts, culture, and community.
Sparks of Hope in a Complex World
A Movement for Unity, Peace, Progress, and Justice.
Burkina Faso, a landlocked country in West Africa, has been navigating complex socio-political realities for decades. More than 40% of the population lives below the national poverty line, and the nation ranks 184th out of 191 in the 2021-22 Human Development Index (HDI) report of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). In recent years the country has faced significant challenges, including political instability, economic hardship, and security threats from extremist violence.
Despite these adversities, the spirit of cultural resilience and community remains robust, epitomized by cultural events like the Festival of Performing Arts of the Schools of Ioba (FASIE). The FASIE Festival is one of the most enduring music festivals in West Africa, showcasing the enchanting melodies of the balafon, a traditional gourd-resonated xylophone that is the heartbeat of Dagara music. This festival brings together the Burkinabe community in reverence of Dagara culture and neighboring tribes, with global audiences invited to experience and support this unique cultural expression.
The festival plays a crucial role in fostering social cohesion and cultural pride, celebrating the rich heritage of the Dagara people while also serving as a unifying force amidst the country's fragmentation with a call for Unity, Peace, Progress, and Justice throughout Burkina Faso. Zangala is committed to regenerating Dagara culture through supporting the FASIE festival and providing critically needed resources to ensure local event organizers have the necessary means to continue the festival for years to come.
Together, we aspire to improve the lives of countless youth, families, and Dagara communities, while creating opportunities for Westerners to benefit from the healing wisdom of Africa and as a result deepening their relationship to nature and their innermost self. Through our cultural education and multimedia projects, highlighting the unique talents, artistry, and rich heritage of the Dagara way of life, we aim to showcase the powerful legacy of the Dagara and make this obscure and potent lineage of tribal traditional wisdom more accessible and well known around the world.
FASIE’s Origin Story
It started as a conversation, and quickly became a movement.
The FASIE Festival, originally known as the Zangala Balafon Festival, was co-created by Zangala’s founder and his Dagara counterparts through an aspiration to revitalize Dagara culture in the face of the ever-encroaching impacts of modernity, technology, and other influences that were eroding the traditional values and heritage of the Dagara way of life.
Since its inception in 2005, the festival has grown to become a major cultural event, attracting hundreds of participants and thousands of spectators from across West Africa and beyond. The festival is centered around the balafon, an instrument integral to Dagara music and rituals. It features competitions among various balafon troupes, showcasing their musical prowess, creativity, and adherence to traditional forms. The festival also includes performances by griots (praise singers), women's choral groups, and dance troupes, creating a rich tapestry of Dagara cultural expressions.
Over the years, the festival has elevated the careers of many Dagara artists, blazing the trail for national and international recognition. It reinvigorated appreciation for traditional Dagara music and dance among younger generations, ensuring the continuity of these vital cultural practices.
As we cultivate deeper support for the event, with your help, we aspire to produce higher quality multimedia content to share with our supporters and the world so we can all experience the powerful traditions and inspiring talents of the Dagara people, especially the youth!
Donate today.
All of our dreams have been realized only through the generous support of our donors. We cannot do this work without your help. Every contribution creates a tremendous impact to help our efforts grow and expand. No amount is too small, and recurring monthly donations are a wonderful way to show your ongoing support for our powerful mission to regenerate the ancient wisdom of the Dagara culture.
“A true community begins in the hearts of the people involved..”
— Malidoma Patrice Somé, “Ritual: Power, Healing and Community”