As I learn, to organize an End of the Year Party (or "Fête des enfants", how it is called in Mali) there are a few "got to know" rules.
Firs: an average Malian family has 4 children but having 6-8 children is very normal, especially because of the local law allows polygamy, so 1 man can have up to 4 wives.
Second: no alcohol. Well, finally the foreigners did negotiate for some beer. Also, as I understood, some locals do drink alcohol but they would never do it in front of the other Malian colleagues.
Third: loads of food. Being one of the poorest countries in Africa, food is very important therefore the success of a good party is based on the quantity of the meal. And the local cuisine is most appreciated so don't try to come up with an out of the ordinary menu.
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| Yaya Coulibaly |
Taking in account all the above mentioned I quickly realized that the only one point on the agenda where the fantasy can be exhausted is the ENTERTAINING. And knowing that at least 50% of the participants are children between 1-13 years, inviting the National Ballet to perform the Swan-lake wouldn't be a good idea.
One proposal was accepted: the
Coulibaly Puppet Theater. At first, I was a bit disappointed but after looking it up on the internet, my curiosity got the better of me and gave it a chance. And I must admit, it was fantastic.
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| The giant puppets |
Yaya Coulibaly, the father of this puppet theater comes from an ancient family of puppeteers with roots in the
Bambara Empire of
Ségou in Mali. Not only that he learned the magic world of puppets from his forefathers but also he studied at the Bamako National Institute of the Arts at the
Institut International de la Marionnette en Fance.
He has a collection of hundreds of wooden puppets of all sizes, small, large, men, women, boatmen and riders, children, camels, hyenas, cows, toucans, antelopes, etc... many of which have come down to him through his family. And every puppet has its own name and story. Some of the puppet's mouth and fingers can be separately manipulated. It was an amazing performance for children and for grown ups.
See you at the next years "Fête des enfants".
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| The Giant Puppets |
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| The Hyena?! |
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| The Camels and the Tuaregs |
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| Waiting for the show to begin |
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| On of the puppet performers |
Third: loads of food. Being one of the poorest countries in Africa, food is very important therefore the success of a good party is based on the quantity of the meal. And the local cuisine is most appreciated so don't try to come up with an out of the ordinary menu. 
He has a collection of hundreds of wooden puppets of all sizes, small, large, men, women, boatmen and riders, children, camels, hyenas, cows, toucans, antelopes, etc... many of which have come down to him through his family. And every puppet has its own name and story. Some of the puppet's mouth and fingers can be separately manipulated. It was an amazing performance for children and for grown ups.
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