If ever The Royal Regency Banqueting hall was made for an occasion to fully match its prestigious name and justify the hype that embosses its regal walls, this surely was it!

The magic on the night was decisively mesmerising; the actions myriad but the purpose singular- it was a MANDE FESTAC, designed to thrill to the T.!

Of course, anyone who has even a cursory knowledge of that vibrant ethnic group properly known as the MANINKAS, would easily tell you that these are people that do not like to do things in half measures. When they get into anything, they swim deep down in it, even to the point of drowning!

If you see them flaunting, please understand that these are the sons and daughters  of the richest human being that ever lived on planet earth- Mansa Kankan Musa. A man who scattered gold to generously mark his pilgrim path to Mecca!

These are the descendants of an endless string of celebrated warrior-kings including Sundiata Keita (the MARI of the JATTAS) and Alimamy Samouri JEDEWOLODAIN Toure, the fiercely independent and unrivalled leader of Mande.

With this solid pedigree of raw African authenticity, you don’t simply slice the Sapodilla fruit, you swallow it to the seed. When you decide to execute a project, you kill it with perfection!

For that is the Mande-Way!

So of course I was not expecting your average “Dinner and Dance” affair on the night.

Afterwards, this was a MANDINGO UNION NIGHT, and as I stood there starring into the open aisle of the teeming hall, I saw them strut in, in their twos, threes and countless numbers. Proudly, they showed off their flowing colourful gears. The brighter and the bigger the better! They swayed forward and backward as they made their unhurried way in waves of pure undiluted joy, to the bustling stage, inviting everyone to share in the pleasure of their commanding presence.

On show were expensively sewn folds of Batik. Bassan, and the latest hue of Bamako, dyed in inks of luxury. From Sierra Leone to Senegal, from Mali to Côte d’Ivoire, the styles on show were the very best! Like peacocks on the go, they stretched out the eye-poking wearings to proclaim their unmissable presence on the stage!

The Mandinkas are loud and unapologetic in their regal presence. For them, the art of hiding away has not yet been invented. For them, beauty and goodness need to be announced and flaunted for others to recognise and to emulate.

The Mande-Kas are a hugely  proud people, and for the best of reasons too: they want to be seen, and their presence to be felt even without them venturing a single word. But when they talk, my God!

They articulate their messages with such a seamless flow of forceful flair that you are transported to another realm altogether.

That is Magic! It is buried in the tongue!

Magic that was in large part replayed on the night  by the potent tongue of big brother Mohamed Sadiku Dabo to invoke an atmosphere of great excitement, saturated with meaning. A long term (deservingly acclaimed) teacher WOVA WOVA of great repute, a celebrated broadcaster, brother Dabo is a legend in his own rights. So when he stood up to MC this very colourful occasion, to impregnate the atmosphere with his voice, he was at his remarkable best. With his fist pumping the air and his body oscillating to the rhythmic flow that was his every sentence, you should imagine the rest of his act, without me diluting the scene with some underwhelming commentary. The man (brother Dabo) simply took you along with him to whatever point he wished to use his voice to fly you to. Many many years ago, I saw this same man play the role of Shakespeare’s Macbeth on the stage. You would swear you were watching a life action in motion, not a drama show. Now I know from where he got that fulsome acting flair- look nowhere else but deep down to his natural Mande Roots!

But alas, even the greatest of smooth-tongued magicians know when it is time to give the stage to the real practitioners of the craft- the MANDE JELIBAS! People we so ordinarily mislabel as MUSICIANS. For artists  like Kandia Kouyate and Mama Kante are no ordinary Musicians; they are Magicians of the rare skill that conjures the best sounds. That specialist cadre who use their native instruments to complement the gift of their rolling tongues, taking the audience to another level in Lala land!

And to another level indeed we went!

This FESTAC was no ordinary dance floor routine- it was a wanton war of the feet, the hands, the heads and the torsos, streaming in a seamless collective choreography that is inborn. Just when you think the bodies will sway one way, they lounge into a completely different direction, all with the calm steady flow of a jet liner scouring the blue skies.

Only there, in that hall, the sky was not blue. It was dressed in silky creamy yellow! The FANU that was the MASIDI of the night! And that yellow sky descended upon The Royal Regency, with a flourish of pomp wrapped in layers of cloth!

They were everywhere, dancing to the tearing rhythms and singing along to the highly enchanting tunes. I would certainly like to see that human statue who would try to resist the screeching vocals of Salif Keita or the heartstring beats of Mory Kante’s Kora harp. These are not just Mandinka Musicians, they are Grand Masters of the Music world! Magicians of the art!

Even in death they live and would live as long as men can hear good sounds!

When specialists like these sing, the world dances itself to exhaustion. And that is what happened on that joyous night in that special space where the MANDES (or MANSA-DAINS) strutted their stuff to wake the world and hook the hall in selective sound and style!

Mansa Ibrahim Sheriff, the very affable Chairman of the Mandingo Union-UKI confidently reassures me that next year is going to be bigger and better! Bigger and better?

I can’t quite figure out how anyone can make this show bigger or better. However, one thing I can easily state: Mandingo Men like to talk big; but by Zeus they like to act even bigger! So watch out for more….

Two things I would need to point out before I go away to book my own ticket for next year. Firstly, that the real beauty in all of this is that it is the direct opposite of deranged tribalism which focuses on negative aspects of an ethnic group. When we stand together as a nation (country or continent) to pronounce the power of our variety, we become stronger by each emulating the good that is in all of us, to evolve our collective best. And that, for me, was the real charm of that enchanting unforgettable night inside The Royal Regency Hall. That is why amongst that jolly crowd on that fateful night, for every Mandingo man you count you will find half a dozen people belonging to other ethnic groups. You should see the Fulla feet owning that Mandingo stage!

And that is because in our stack of varieties WE ARE ONE!

There is no real difference between a Koranko or a Yalunka, a Kono or a Bambara. They are all from the same MANDE root. And if you think that Mende is different from Mande, go listen to Isata Nyambe or Jebbeh 2 or Amie Kallon as they lift their vocal chords to irresistible  pitches, matching the screeching shakes of the Segureh and the Kongomi in a mixture of amazing sounds. If you are African or one who is inclined to the African pull, you can never sit still on any seat while they sing you to your feet!

And so was it at The Royal Regency Banqueting Hall where elegance competed with style in the artistry of fiery footworks and vocal rendition. A United, Peaceful and Happier space would be harder to find!

If you missed that slice of perfect earthly thrill, then don’t forget to book your ticket for next year!

Out soon!

@ Abdulai Braima