Lightning struck the hut of a Fulani shepherd near a village of settled fishermen, Ganghel, in Niger. A yenendi, a purification ceremony to obtain "water from the sky but not fire from the sky", is organized, with Sorko priests, ritual musicians and dancers, and the faithful from Niamey. The musicians call on Dongo, god of storms, and his brother Kirey, god of lightning. To the rhythm of the orchestra, a man goes into a trance, becoming Dongo's horse and at the same time the riding genie. Then a woman is possessed by Kirey. When the riding gods have mastered their horses, the gods visit the men. Dongo purifies the lightning-struck land and the oldest fisherman prepares the purification vessel, addressing Dongo.
Rites and operation of the circumcision of thirty Songhai children on the Niger. Material of this fi...
While no wrestling is actually depicted, Atilogivu: The Story of a Wrestling Match documents gymnast...

This intimate ethnographic study of Voudoun dances and rituals was shot by Maya Deren during her yea...

In the Darhat valley in northern Mongolia, the horses of nomadic tribes are stolen by bandits who th...

The people of Unamenshipu (La Romaine), an Innu community in the Côte-Nord region of Quebec, are see...

How’s the Big Everything? Garba asks Nicole. For them, the “Big Everything” encompasses family, poli...

AMIN portrays Qashqai musician Amin Aghaie, a young modern nomad and his family who despite facing s...

A group of filmmakers travel to a Kolla community in Salta to film their folkways. We see all aspect...

Yirrkala is an Aboriginal township on the Gove Peninsula in Northeast Arnhem Land. It was establishe...

"Tourou et Bitti", an eight minute documentary concerning a ritual in Niger, is yet another example ...

Robert J. Flaherty’s follow-up to Nanook of the North shifts from the Arctic to the South Seas, port...

A ritual vase, the hampi, is placed in the center of the Musée de plein air de la République du Nige...

A musical documentary woven around the endangered musical culture of the Rangdani Rabhas from Manikg...

In front of Jean Rouch's camera, Germaine Dieterlen recalls her ethnographic itinerary, at the Musée...

Germaine Dierterlen talks about Dogon mythology at a conference on the Bandiagara cliffs. The Songo ...

In Sangha, through the window of her house, Germaine greets Djamgouno, her main informant. He then t...

This documentary offers an overview of French scientific research in Africa French scientific resear...

A portrait of Zomo, the second of Damouré Zika’s many children. Employed at the zoo of the National ...

Founding father of Anthropology, Bronislaw Malinowski's work raises powerful and disturbing question...