Are there mountains in Tanzania? Of course! There is the biggest one in Africa, near the Kenyan border - the only place on the continent where snow persists all year round. Figuratively speaking, the cool shadow of Mount Kilimanjaro, whose summit reaches nearly 6,000 metres above sea level, is cast over the whole of Africa.
However, to the Maasai, the indigenous people of Tanzania of greater importance is Ol Doinyo Lengai - the Mountain of God, an active old volcano. The god Ngai, slumbering in its crater, last woke up on 9 August 1966 to quite an eruption. At the foot of this incredible mountain lie the most important palaeontological sites in the world. Traces of hominids dating back 3.6 million years ago have been found in the Olduvai Gorge. One might venture a thesis that this last carbonatite volcano on the planet witnessed the birth of mankind.
Just (yes, “just,” as we are in Africa after all) four hundred kilometres south, just last year the small town of Ndotoi witnessed the birth of the ANKLA ensemble. This abbreviated name points to the group’s two patron saints: St Anthony of Padua and St Clare. And it is no coincidence that the saints of the Catholic Church bless this work. KWAYA YA WAT. KLARA NA ANTONI WA PADUA was established as part of a parish schola on the initiative of a missionary, Fr. Kazimierz Króżel.
They will probably be the youngest ensemble to have performed on the stages of the FESTIVAL OF THE CHILDREN OF MOUNTAINS so far, but they will present the culture of a centuries-old nomadic people, their shepherd songs, children's games and traditional costumes.
Just (yes, “just,” as we are in Africa after all) four hundred kilometres south, just last year the small town of Ndotoi witnessed the birth of the ANKLA ensemble. This abbreviated name points to the group’s two patron saints: St Anthony of Padua and St Clare. And it is no coincidence that the saints of the Catholic Church bless this work. KWAYA YA WAT. KLARA NA ANTONI WA PADUA was established as part of a parish schola on the initiative of a missionary, Fr. Kazimierz Króżel.
They will probably be the youngest ensemble to have performed on the stages of the FESTIVAL OF THE CHILDREN OF MOUNTAINS so far, but they will present the culture of a centuries-old nomadic people, their shepherd songs, children's games and traditional costumes.