MEDI1TV Afrique : #Chronique_culture du 02/04/2025 - 02/04/2025
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00:00Welcome to Mediane TV and to Les Comores, in this cultural chronicle to talk to you about the Coffia, this essential headdress for the Comorians.
00:17The Coffia is made by hand and costs up to 400 euros. For a few years now, it has a serious competitor, Made in China, which is feared for its multi-century know-how.
00:27The Coffia is a traditional Comorian hat worn by men, although recognizable by its embroidery in silk thread.
00:34There are different motifs of Coffia and the most popular is that embroidered with verses of the Koran.
00:39Each island of the Comores has its own specificity of Coffia embroidery.
00:43We can therefore distinguish the Coffia of the great Comores or the Coffia of the island of Anjouan or the Coffia of the island of Moeli.
00:50The Coffia is found in several other countries with a culture close to that of the Comores, such as Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, and even Oman.
00:59In the festive season, adults and children must wear a beautiful outfit made of a Coffia embroidered in silk thread with inscriptions in Arabic calligraphy or geometric figures.
01:10In Mouroni, the capital of this Indian Ocean archipelago, in the boiling Volo Volo market, dozens of counterfeit Coffias from China pile up on fortunes shelves.
01:22I invite you to listen to Maisara Mahadjou, a traditional Coffia manufacturer, and Abdelrahman Ouadji, an anthropologist.
01:31Our heritage is our most precious asset. A heritage cannot simply disappear.
01:37People often look for traditional products.
01:40Even if Chinese Coffias are not ugly, their beauty is not equal to that of hand-embroidered Coffias.
01:46The same goes for Boubous. Those made by hand are always more precious and more beautiful than those sewn to the machine.
01:54There were a few elements that were absolutely important to us.
01:58One of them was the Coffia, which was something absolutely Comorian, even if you can find slightly different Coffias in Zanzibar or Djibouti.
02:10But wherever we went, when we saw someone wearing a Coffia like this, we would say,
02:14Oh, look, 10 km away, there's a Comorian.
02:17Now, it's not certain, because the Chinese have understood that.
02:22They make industrial Coffias, not only for the Comorians, but probably for the Djiboutians as well.
02:30A symbol of elegance and tradition, the Coffia is now threatened by the Chinese counterfeit in mosques,
02:37as in great occasions, adults and children proudly wear it,
02:41a sign of a craftsmanship passed down from generation to generation.
02:45But on the shelves of markets, the authenticity of the product is more and more difficult to guarantee.
02:50In the Comorians, the manufacture of the Coffia is a weapon mastered by artisans,
02:54who work by hand or machine with exceptional precision.
02:59Each piece is the result of a long work, justifying its high price.
03:03But this tradition is now weakened by the massive arrival of industrial Coffias,
03:07sold at a low price and hardly distinguishable from the real Coffia, by an unavoided eye.
03:15Faced with this disloyal competition, the Comorian artisans are worried about the future of their trade.
03:20The proliferation of Coffias threatens not only the local economy,
03:23but also the cultural identity of a people proud of its heritage.
03:27For these creators, preserving the Coffia is protecting an essential part of the history and elegance of the Comorians.
03:33I invite you to listen to this speech by Mohamed Alim Goumri, who is from Rivra,
03:38and Rama Atou Goulam, who is the Director General of Craftsmanship at the Ministry of Tourism and Craftsmanship of the Comorians.
03:49First of all, we must say that it is an economic need.
03:53It is a choice, a real choice.
03:57There are these coins, as there is local production, but local production is too expensive.
04:04So if we carry this, it is first of all a matter of security.
04:08It will not be stolen, because no one will want to steal something for 15 euros.
04:14Why not sit down and really think about how we can make a local production benefit,
04:22and therefore create jobs and promote this group of people
04:28who do not necessarily have the ability to be able to buy a Coffia at 300 or 400 euros.
04:37And finally, music.
04:39An African legend, Alpha Blondie, singer, author, composer and musician,
04:44is one of the most emblematic and influential artists of the African continent.
04:48Alpha Blondie, of his real name, Seidou, was born in Dimbokro on 1 January 1953.
04:54He is a singer of Ivorian reggae with Usundur.
04:57He is undoubtedly the most popular international star of Afro-reggae music since the death of Bob Marley,
05:03to whom he is often compared, especially for his charisma and commitment.
05:08He also sings in French, in Dioula, a vehicular language of West Africa, and in English.
05:14He is a stage artist who occurs all over the world.
05:17We all remember Brigadier Savary, a title that made a hit in Ivory Coast and throughout the region.
05:23He accompanies to this day the rich career of Alpha Blondie,
05:26which has more than 15 albums and an incalculable number of concerts.
05:30Alpha Blondie, a tireless activist for peace and justice, 40 years of reggae, commitment and eternity,
05:37returns with a new project, Shine, and we obviously listen to this excerpt.
06:00Babylon, Babylon, Babylon, Babylon, Babylon
06:05They keep us down for so long
06:09But Jah made us strong
06:13We got to unite the United Kingdom of Africa
06:19Mama, Mama Africa
06:22Mama, Mama, Mama, Mama, Mama
06:26Rise America
06:30Thank you, dear viewers, for your loyalty.
06:33The information continues on our different channels,
06:35Median TV Arabic, Median TV Africa, Median TV Maghreb,
06:38and of course on our digital media, medianews.com
06:59Africa, the enchanted ocean
07:02Africa, a little trip
07:07It's a sun without a face
07:12Africa, a little trip
07:17It's a pretty mix