Kania Soly Festival

The dance of the strong men, Kindia's living heritage

The Soly is the traditional dance of Kania, the Kindia region in Lower Guinea. A dance of duels and confrontation, it expresses the bravery of the initiates of the secret school — the Laga — and the joy of the whole community after the initiation of Kania's daughters and sons. Its guardians are the Yongoyeli, the initiates who hand down its steps, values and teachings from generation to generation. From this dance a festival was born: the Kania Soly Festival, organized since 2020 by the Association Kania Diyé (AKD), right after each Tabaski feast, on a public square, with every generation taking part.

The AKD brings together Kindia natives living in Guinea and abroad, their friends and supporters. Its ambition, stated in the event's motto — "Culture, Cohesion, Tradition" — is to showcase and safeguard the historical heritage of the Kindia prefecture: its cultural heritage, but also its agricultural, touristic and craft heritage. In the association's own words, "a physical and cultural contact between the peoples of the world".

The 72 hours of celebration in Kindia

The heart of the festival is the Soly dance itself, performed outdoors before the whole city. Around it, the festivities — known as the "72 Hours of Kania Soly" — unfold a programme mixing celebration and training: a big concert at the Place des Martyrs, an evening of tales and legends, the final of the football tournament for the Menguè Kindy Camara trophy, the crafts and know-how of Kindia's women, training for young people and women (dyeing, soap-making, weaving, entrepreneurship), clean-up actions and donations to the underprivileged, and even a sightseeing trip to the Voile de la Mariée, the emblematic waterfall nearby. The Guinean press often compares the gathering to Kankan's great Mamaya: the yearly homecoming of Kindia's daughters and sons.

Seven editions since 2020

Created in 2020, Kania Soly has grown within a few years into one of Guinea's major cultural gatherings: the national cultural policy lists it among the events supported by the government (2023 and 2024 editions), and its 5th edition, from June 13 to 18, 2024, was held with the support of the National Tourism Office, with Djené Keita chairing the AKD. The 7th edition, from May 26 to June 1, 2026 at Kindia's Place des Martyrs, gathered more than 3,000 participants — a popular success that fuels a debate relayed by the press: giving the 8th edition a larger site, worthy of its audience.

The association does not sleep between editions: active all year round in Kindia on youth training, in October 2026 it was running training in audiovisual production techniques and closed, on October 30, 2026, a training course in sports entrepreneurship — a photo report published on October 31. It also played a key role in the youth training project born of the partnership between Kindia and the French town of Espalion, launched on October 26, 2026 at Kindia's Maison des jeunes. In June 2026, the festival's coordinator, Youssouf Coné, was part of the delegation of Guinean cultural operators hosted for an immersion by the Nuits Métis festival in France.

The 7th edition's partners

Next edition: the 8th, dates to be confirmed

The 8th Kania Soly Festival is in preparation, but its official dates have not yet been announced by the AKD. True to its tradition, the festival will be held right after the Tabaski feast, in Kindia. As soon as the association publishes its dates, this page will be updated — and the organizers can complete it right away (contacts above).