The slogan for the tenth edition of Donia, held at the local stadium, could well have been "Prepare yourselves for the Madagascar/Mauritius match, the final showdown between salegy and sega!" As the time of the musical kick-off approached the inhabitants of Nosy Be prepared themselves for the Indian Ocean showdown, donning T-shirts emblazoned with the effigy of Doc JB and Jaguars 2, local stars who already have eight albums to their name. Local pride aside, however, Nosy Be fans seemed just as eager to watch the performance of Cassiya, the sega stars representing Mauritius at this year's edition of Donia. The festival, which ran for four days and featured no less than twenty concerts, attracted crowds of almost 30,000. Despite the fact that entry tickets were priced at a prohibitive 10,000 Madagascar francs (1.5 euros) – which meant many locals could not afford to join in the fun – there was no denying that the tenth edition of Donia proved to be a real success, confirming its status as the most important music event in this part of the world.

Last Minute Hitches

A few weeks before the tenth edition of Donia was due to hit the stage, organisers were faced with a last-minute panic when the Indian Ocean Commission withdrew its annual festival subsidy. In fact, the international organisation, made up of all the Indian Ocean states, had decided to use E.U. funds and launch its own festival this year and did not therefore see the necessity of financing rival cultural event, Donia. Fortunately, the Madgascan government stepped in in extremis providing material rather than financial support by flying performers out to Nosy Be in the private presidential jet (thus helping organisers make important savings in transport costs). Government participation in Donia is a first in the festival's history, Donia always having striven to be an entirely apolitical event. But needs must and any refusal of help from the state would certainly have marked the end of the wonderful adventure launched in 1994 by Jean-Louis Salles, a former dentist from Toulouse who reinvented himself as a specialist tour operator to Nosy Be.

Given this year's limited budget organisers were not able to invite artists from neighbouring islands such as The Comoros, the Seychelles and Mahore as they had originally planned. So, with the exception of Mauritian sega stars Cassiya and their Reunion neighbours Analyse, the line-up at the tenth edition of Donia was completely home-grown. Considering the role salegy plays in Madgascan life and its particular popularity in the north, it came as no surprise to see salegy taking pride of place at this year's line-up. Jaojoby, a group who have become veritable ambassadors of this powerfully rhythmic African sound (as opposed to the more traditional style found in Madgascar's Upper Plateaux) were one of the star attractions at this year's Donia. The group stepped on stage to rapturous applause for the grand finale of the first night and continued to play through a torrential rain storm which cut out their sound system and half their stage lights. But, professionals to the core, the Jaojoby show went on, Eusèbe, the group's frontman leaping around the stage as if nothing had happened and – as a gesture of solidarity with the soaking wet audience even stepping out of the sheltered stage to dance along the podium to do his own performance of singin' in the rain for an hour!

Rah Ckyki

Following the violent downpours on Thursday night Nosy Be's football stadium and the surrounding fields were left wet and squelchy under foot, transforming the Donia festival into a sort of Madagascan Woodstock. This did not stop the afternoon ritual of hundreds of local children using the stadium grounds as a giant playground and climbing on the backs of primitive-looking wooden horses on the central roundabout (which had to be given a hefty push before trotting off with their riders!) In the midst of their games these budding music fans also had eyes and ears turned to the stage where the next line-up of groups and singers were carrying out soundchecks for that evening's performance. On Friday night, the second instalment of Donia, it was Rah Ckyki who stole the limelight, bringing the house down with a show-stopping performance. The provocative character, renowned for his hard-hitting lyrics (in the same vein as other local stars Samoëla and Ricky), cooks up an infectious fusion of Madagascan showbizz, smooch numbers and rock, weaving local rhythms into his musical mix – and even borrowing an intro from Bob Marley's classic Redemption Song! There was no doubting Rah Ckyki's enormous popularity on Friday night and while organisers looked on impatiently powerless to stop him, Rah Ckyki deliberately played over his allotted time then marched off stage to a makeshift bar where his presence instigated a mini-riot amidst other drinkers.

Tradition has it that Saturday is always the highlight of the Donia programme – and this year proved to be no exception and all the more so as all the groups in the line-up were renowned leaders in their category. Sammy Rastafanahy, for instance, was the first singer to bring out a 100% Madgascan reggae album in 1999 and multi-instrumentalist Silo, maestro of recording sessions on the Antananarivo studio circuit who teamed up with his alter ego Toty (a bass-player turned drummer for Donia). It has to be said, however, that performances from these top-class musicians were not always at the height of their capacities. Shaou Boana and his posse also proved to be something of a disappointment. While the rap and ragga scene has burgeoned in Madagascar in recent months, the collective put on a vague and rambling performance at Donia which failed to win over the audience who appeared to still be under the spell of

Besides inviting confirmed Indian Ocean stars, Donia also has a reputation for showcasing the hottest up-and-coming acts. And Donia 2003 was no exception. Antananarivo rap collective Da Hopp certainly took advantage of the occasion, showing off just how much they had progressed in terms of music and live performance in the course of the past ten years. The young group, who come from a hip hop background, have developed their own distinctive brand of rap, integrating the sound of traditional Madagascan instruments such as the lokanga bara (a violin from the south of Madagascar). Sivy Mahasaky, a group formed in 2000 by veteran musicians from the hira gasy (traditional music from Madgascar's Upper Plateaux) rock and jazz scene were another star turn at Donia. In fact, we predict that the group's unique and inventive mix should open the doors of other leading world music festivals to them very soon. The weighty task of providing Donia's grand finale this year fell to Jaojoby Junior, who accomplished the task with aplomb. Where did these rising new Madagascan stars come from? Well, in 1997 a certain Eusène Jaojoby encouraged five of his six offspring to form their own group, warning them that "a lot of water would pass under the bridge" before they managed to assume his succession! The group's debut album, released exclusively in Madagascar a few weeks ago, has already made its mark with a mix of upbeat salegy and "Jaojobien-style" guitar. And, even if there does seem to be a strong resemblance between Jaojoby Mark I and Mark II, Madagascan music fans don't appear to be complaining! On the contrary the streets of Nosy Be's Hell Ville rang loud on Sunday night as music fans prolonged the Jaojoby Junior concert into the wee hours of the morning.