Culture

Islamic influences from North Africa have had a powerful effect on the culture of Niger. Since Independence, greater interest has been in the country's cultural heritage, particularly with respect to traditional architecture, hand crafts, dances and music. Sorro is a traditional sport in Niger, as is camel racing.

Music

Niger is inhabited by a mix of ethnic groups, mostly Hausa, Beriberi, Songhai, Djerma, Dendi, Peul, Wodaabe, and Tuareg peoples. The Tuareg are known for romantic, informal love poetry played by both men and women, with voices accompanied by clapping, tinde drums (in women's songs) and a one-stringed viol (in men's songs). The Beriberi are known for complex polyphony, while the region around the capital of Niamey is inhabited by Dherma and Songhai who play, generally solo, a variety of lutes, flutes and fiddles. The Hausa, who make up over half of the country, use the duma for percussion and the molo (a lute), along with ganga, algha�ta (shawm) and kakati (trumpet) in the southeast Zinder area.

Music for the purpose of entertainment has not been readily accepted by the Nigerien government, though restrictions have loosened since the death of Seyni Kounch� in 1987. A competitive music festival called the Prix Dan Gourmou helped inspire a musical renaissance in the country, led by people such as Alassane Dante. The Centre for Musical Training and Promotion was founded in 1990, furthering this process, using a grant from the European Fund for Development.

Media

The media sector is governed by the Conseil Superieur de Communications, established as an independent body in the late 1990s, headed by Maryam Keita, a former TV presenter at ORTN.

Niger started to develop diverse media in the late 1990s. Niamey boasts scores of newspapers and magazines, many of which are fiercely critical of the government. Despite relative freedom at the national level, Nigerien journalists say they are often pressured by local authorities. The state ORTN network depends financially on the government, partly through an addition to electricity bills and partly through direct subsidy.

Radio is the most important medium, as television sets are beyond the buying power of many of the rural poor and illiteracy prevents the print media from becoming a mass medium. As well as the national and regional radio services of the state broadcaster ORTN, there are four privately owned radio networks, which total more than 100 stations. Three of them � the Anfani Group, Sarounia and Tenere � are urban based commercial format FM networks in the major towns. There is also a network of over 80 community radio stations spread across all seven regions of the country, governed by the Comit� de Pilotage de Radios de Proximit� (CPRP), a civil society organisation. The independent sector radio networks are collectively estimated by CPRP officials to cover some 7.5 million people, or about 70% of the population (2005).

In addition to Nigerien radio stations, the BBC's Hausa service is listened to on FM repeaters across wide parts of the country, particularly in the south, close to the border with Nigeria. Radio France Internationale also rebroadcasts in French through some of the commercial stations, via satellite.