The history of Faytinga is a reflection of the history of her country, and she symbolizes the fight for the defense of Eritrea. Starting in the 1950’s the British occupied a settlement called “Fighting Gun.” In local parlance, this became “Faid Tinga”, the word from...
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The history of Faytinga is a reflection of the history of her country, and she symbolizes the fight for the defense of Eritrea. Starting in the 1950’s the British occupied a settlement called “Fighting Gun.” In local parlance, this became “Faid Tinga”, the word from which Faytinga takes her name.
From the ethnic group “Kunama”, she is from the low country in the southwest of Eritrea. Her mother is from the high plateaus and the ethnic group “Blen”, and her father is from the ethnic group “Tigrinya”
Born in 1964, Faytinga became directly involved in the fight for liberation at the age of 14, fighting until 1991. Because of her origin and her personal engagement in the struggle for liberation, Faytinga has become a symbol for the entire country.
Faytinga’s first album “Numey” was directly inspired by kunama folklore. Faytinga continues to drawn upon the inspiration in the musical tradition of Eritrea (“kunama”, but also “tigrinya” and “tigre”), while introducing guitar, flute and a variety of percussion, all while leaving important places for the “krar” (a sort of lyre) and the “wata” (the traditional single stringed violin).
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