MOH KOUYATÉ SETS THE MILATSIKA'S 20TH ANNIVERSARY ALIGHT IN MAYOTTE!
Some festivals have a name that already says it all. Milatsika — “the culture that belongs to us” — is celebrating its twentieth anniversary this weekend in Chiconi, Mayotte. And to open the party, on Friday night, a guitar from Guinea made the whole Indian Ocean vibrate.
It all began as “a whisper among friends,” in 2003: a dream entrusted to the night, carried in silence for four years. In 2007, the first note finally rang out in Chiconi. Twenty editions later, the village nicknamed the “capital of good vibes” is still keeping its October date: two evenings of concerts on the multi-purpose stage, from 7:30 p.m., where music is not content to just be listened to — it is lived, together.
The opening night, on Friday, October 16, looked like a world map set to music. The mbiwi of Chok Chok Nambawani and the tradition-tinged reggae of Faya Red carried the Mahoran colours; the lokanga, the traditional violin of Madagascar's Great South, played by Vilon'Androy, built the bridge to Madagascar... and then came Guinea. Moh! Kouyaté, heir to an illustrious lineage of djelis, initiated on the balafon before his grandmother gave him his first stringed instrument, built a bridge of his own: between Mandingo sources and blues, jazz and pop. “The Chiconi audience vibrated to the sound of Moh Kouyaté,” recounts a story published on Facebook the day after the concert, evoking a “true communion with the audience” and an evening destined to remain “one of the fine moments of this anniversary edition.” The Mahoran Lathéral rounded out that first night.
This Saturday, October 17, the party continues from 7:30 p.m.: Ninga, Karimouche from mainland France, Del Zid, Portugal's Albaluna, and Lico Kininike, heir to the tsapiky of Tuléar handed down by his mother, the legend Rasoa Kininike. Mayotte, Madagascar, France, Guinea, Portugal: five horizons, a single stage, and always the same promise — to make cultures converse.
That is Milatsika, for twenty years now: a festival carried by a village association, Milatsika Emergence, which makes the meeting of worlds its raison d'être, at the roots of the Indian Ocean. Here, tradition does not sleep in a museum: it takes to the stage, it dances, it is passed on. Happy anniversary, Milatsika — for twenty years, this village has been proving that live music is the most powerful of bonds.
Practical information
Milatsika Festival — 20th edition
Dates: Friday, October 16 and Saturday, October 17, 2026 — concerts from 7:30 p.m.
Venue: multi-purpose stage, Chiconi, Mayotte (Indian Ocean)
On site: refreshment stand and local food stalls around the venue (brochettes, samosas, traditional dishes) — official website
Official website: https://www.milatsikafestival.com
Tickets: prices not published on the official website (checked on October 17, 2026) — please contact the organizer
— Moïse 1er, the Festival Explorer