Dressed in traditional clothes and carrying candles, the young children of Hun opened the 18th annual Autumn Festival in their city of Hun, with a procession and by handing out flowers to passersby.
In the midst of Libyan fighting, which has disrupted civilian life and cultural activities in major cities, the 18th session of the Autumn Festival—which started on November 15, 2014—comes carrying a program full of recreational and cultural activities with the participation of popular teams from various Libyan cities.
Dressed in traditional clothes and carrying candles, the young children of Hun opened the 18th annual Autumn Festival in their city of Hun, with a procession and by handing out flowers to passersby.
In the midst of Libyan fighting, which has disrupted civilian life and cultural activities in major cities, the 18th session of the Autumn Festival—which started on November 15, 2014—comes carrying a program full of recreational and cultural activities with the participation of popular teams from various Libyan cities.
Ahmad Ebaid, one of the organizers of the event, said that the aim behind the festival is to spread joy in the hearts of participants, especially children. He added that there are more than 40 heritage associations participating in the festival and well as 27 popular bands, from all over Libya. “The smiles on the children’s faces were a sign of the festival’s success,” commented Ebaid.
This year the festival did not receive any support from any government institution rather from donations made by the people, businessmen and owners of commercial shops.
Ebaid said the festival’s administration wanted to stay away from the political polarization and the disputes plaguing the country. “This festival an opportunity for all Libyans to meet and this is exactly what happened.”
Heritage
Flanking the singing children were knights on elaborately decorated horses. “The people of the desert love horses and this is reflected in the way they breed and decorate them as well as in their knowledge of their origins,” said Muhammad Belkacem, one of the knights.
Even more important is the horse race. Five to six knights stand in front of the old gate of the city and when the sign for the start is given, the horses make a full tour around the city’s fence and the race continues in groups.
Shows and history
Inside the fences of the old city, where horses gather before their big races, a smaller element is just as popular a feature of the Autumn Festival—dates.
Abdullah Hamid al-Kilani is one among many who came to the festival to sell his dates. “Hun is famous for its production of the best qualities of dates because of its extremely hot weather in summer,” he said. “Without an exhibition for dates, there would be no autumn festival.”
Poetry contests
As darkness descends on this quiet city, only the voices of people reading popular poetry were heard in the main square. More than eighty-five poets participated in the festival, according to Emhammad al-Saqr, a member of the arbitration committee, which is responsible for the poets’ contest. He said that most of the poets who participated in the context came from all over. He stressed that the competition took place in an atmosphere full of fun and humor with poets competing and teasing each other with the use of poetry.
“The desert is the perfect environment for poets,” said Omar Kanana, a popular poet from al-Abyar. “The serenity, purity and space of the desert provides them with an environment that enables them to develop their imagination, expand their knowledge and express all of it through beautiful poems.”
Hun rally
The tranquility of the night is soon ripped apart by the sound of desert revved up to participate in the Hun Rally, a new activity in the festival.
With the participation of more than 53 cars, the race started in the northern part of the city and ended in its eastern part. On the two sides of the rally’s track, young men skied on the great sand dunes surrounding their city from the north and east.
Hussain Ali al-Saleh, coordinator of the committee organizing the rally, said this idea was still a new one and those responsible for it were still developing it in order for the rally to become international. “This could be a difficult mission, but it will not be an impossible one,” he said.
Festival’s history
The Hun Autumn Festival is one of the very few regular cultural activities still alive in Libya under the prevailing conditions in the country, attributable to this region’s stability.
The first session of the festival was held in 1996, and exclusively for the city of Hun and for its surrounding towns. After some years, the festival started to attract more participants from the southern cities and in 2006 it became a festival for all of Libya.
