Fulani Art and Life

[Music] [Music] [Music] we are on our way to the land of the Fulani a very large group of people herd cattle in the Sahel zone the West Africa from Dakar to Lake Chad this road leads north from Wagga dugu through the large town of kiya where the pavement ends to Fulani towns in the north of burkina faso especially to Dorie and Gorham Gorham the best way to travel is in a bush tax packed into a truck with way too many other travelers our guide is Abdullah Bamako who is a member of a mostly Smith family who has grown up among the Fulani in the north and speaks for full day in fluently the Fulani people live across West Africa from Senegal and The Gambia in the West to Lake Chad in the east they are an important population numerically in Senegal Guinea Mali Burkina Faso we share Nigeria Cameroon and ten the Fulani live in the dry savanna areas north of the tropical forests of the Guinea coast south of the dried Sahara Desert in a region that is commonly referred to as the Sahel this region receives enough rainfall in the winter from July to October to provide rich green pastures for herds of cattle and to grow crops of millet sorghum and corn the Fulani called himself obey and speak a language called full full day in francophone Africa they call themselves PO and their language is polar they are primarily herders of cattle sheep and goats and so they travel throughout the year from season to season looking for good pastures for their herds although the common stereotype is of the nomadic Fulani there are many Fulani who live in settled villages or even in big cities many Fulani are well educated and quite prosperous although most nomadic Fulani ride donkeys from campsite to campsite many city Fulani drive Mercedes sedans or Nissan and Toyota four-by-fours the history of the Fulani may go back and many thousands of years there are numerous paintings on the rock walls of the mountains of the central Sahara that date from 6,000 to 8,000 BCE and that depict herders of cattle goats and horses who strongly resented the modern Fulani many scholars of the Fani agree that these paintings represent some of the same celebrations in the same way of life that remain important to the fauna today there is no evidence at all that these people emigrated into Africa from the Middle East or anywhere else there is good evidence that they were among the very earliest peoples of what is now a desert but which was once a vast fertile pasture that stretched from the Atlantic to the Nile River and he had for centuries wanting in East Africa trying to avoid their neighbors and to stay out of the conflicts that often devastate us but in the 19th century they engaged in holy wars under the leadership of Aquila Guzman GaN Folio who formed the great state of sohcahtoa in northern Nigeria today the Fulani play a key role in the politics of many West African countries especially Guinea Mali Burkina Faso Nazaire and Nigeria banana the Fulani are very handsome slim delicate looking people take great pride in personal appearance and who consider themselves the most beautiful people in the world they are famous in West Africa for their light complexions narrow noses and thin lips all of which they value highly they take great care to emphasise their beauty through the use of makeup beautiful hairstyles jewelry and dress Fulani women are often very graceful elegant and beautiful and wear elaborate silver jewelry especially old European coins and silver and glass beads they have a very clear sense of style and clothing and have their own tailors in the markets who specialized in styles that are very easy to recognize as Fulani or pole during the colonial period from 1900 to 1960 many French and English colonial officers took pole women as temporary wives in contracts the women and their families that often resulted in considerable financial benefits for the women when her colonial husband left Africa to return to or England today pull pull numerous celebrations such as the Yaqui dance where men and women can show off their charm talent and beauty I got plenty cool yeah hahaha yes and I don't publish I'm a [ __ ] person to grab some time [Music] the Fulani sense of beauty requires perfect symmetry of face and body clear white eyes brilliant white teeth and light skin they apply makeup and painted designs to emphasize these features and constantly clean their teeth with twigs from a particular tree that makes their teeth as white as can be it is a personal tragedy for a person to be marked or be formed in some way by an accident and the Fulani go to some lengths to try to conceal any scars or deformity now we are non-local voila Doncaster Lumiere are circles Italy's poor confessional a day left to noon as well suffer parte del edema now [ __ ] on 3po autozone and allegedly for Sameer [Music] yes [Music] Angela anyone who visits the Sahil admires the beautiful hairstyles Fulani women wear there are two basic styles from which others are elaborated both basic styles are intended to help women carry burdens on their heads the most elaborate style is a high crest that runs from the forehead to the nape of the neck with braids that hang in front of and behind the ears this produces a large mass of hair that cushions the load the woman carries with the help of a small pad of cloth the second major style consists only of braids that hang all around the head in front of the ears and at the neck leaving the top of the head free of elaborate braids so the woman can place a thick pad of cotton cloth on top of her head to cushion her burden by a 10-5 on top I got something well Dhabi women and southern I drew he had large masses of hair that hang over the forehead and leave the top of the head less deprecated with thick cloth when the carrot bowls of milk I like in Vash couche avec la voce' disarrayed our opera del my mother is Uma I'm Peppa Esther Abdullah she said of us Oscar the university are far from that son letter did you do to this appropriate air and remember to live a hell of la karma Feeny and a beautiful school go baby la maison de poule quad up go up Pascal what Abigail go be a pig rabbit Fyodor favi Oscar loop-de-loops a quad L prefer to zero so no d'marie beaucoup de pre-k lumina crazy I want low devorah's modern is on fire MACC la danse a traitor okay until Bob said una the homes of pole or fulani nomads are very light and portable so that they can easily be packed up load it onto donkeys and carried off to new camp sites where the pastures are richer and their herds can flourish the homes are dome-shaped constructions covered with gnats they are built by the women who begin by dealing a circle of small holes in the sand into which are thrust the ends of flexible poles these are in turn bent over to form an arch and tied in the middle with thin strong arches intersecting from all sides to form a solid but flexible structure that supports a covering of beautiful mats woven of locally available grass these structures are proof against the wind and even against light rain although they may be covered with a plastic tarp in the wettest weather to prevent leaks and to extend the life of the mats inside the home the women construct a broad platform of posts and light beams over which more mats can be spread to form a bed two or three feet above the ground belongings are stored on shelves off the ground or are hung from the rafters when it rains hard in the Sahel sheets of water flow across the sand and clay and the members of the family as well as belongings stay high and dry inside the home alone voila en decor a avec du cooler different satella cooler natural koala Dida Dida TCL don't Lizzy para Manasa sell ocular transform a DeLorean one long support Anita cool Allah Salem em tsks an element is homes are men ameno omena set is ladontay abu talib impose dosa de la bouff and infuse aru a camp a proposal a legend approaches a transformer and secular alma in a world where the petite petite repetitive are sur la nuts versus a single neutral mezzo genie keep a o ye Lu conjugal appeal LSO back in not now Stacy the constant collecting of milk results in the use of containers for the milk in the form of decorated gourds and enamel bowls the Fulani make the beautifully decorated gourd bowls themselves and they buy the imported enamel bowls in local markets every Fulani woman brings a collection of gourds and bowls as her dowry when she marries and these are proudly displayed inside the house or on special celebrations on racks outside the home I see in not akashi a vehicle I use a ton of em under the TC beaucoup Madame de not analog 20 MP or de l'année passée is assessable [ __ ] on Elohim IDO not be we a 1000 Ottoman on tableau oh yes or no Oh dig a hand egg okay danke Jesus e on a pelvis Eid egg naked ha ha I'm close I see the in family pillows wash Marisha elected the blog longs to suck on a pail budget on this trip would deposit electric it comes are under pull a filibuster sue comes on a some Sun in crisply long Tsukuba viola silly food we know why a sausage failure Rooney calzone kizasi Pula fabricación de deck over to the cou vessel de calabaza a look at look at the calibers up le bit long vya sa Bassam em Pantera sólo por su Tony Lily no sakkubai sake L Tuzla Sasana Pell Somali heresy people continue to low Meza am PO se Lupo de la la porte deanship calzone Rick appeared in bond King Enrique Perez Pascoe si le bouche a coupons are down the lab food and animal on a level Apocrypha appear on compare a puss in my pants for Mesa on Aras I know CPR hippo continue below the nominal Romero Duncan so on upon the fair conditions [Music] amid emergency learning facilitators you know philosophically you see two circular [Music] violent arrows it is that mess on [Music] softly she did start a whole day while a trust delay Allah say suck on a fellow hot day now only please on the level you lead on like Ali Baba non-secure very las casas pel DeLauro salah el mela mela lazy see ya Elsa Koo follow up to new like rest they said grassless it is comfo mod GT said grace coma for a magic come in Lepore a love Sausalito to son he said grassland gentle gentle director ma new on lepellier pass gonna mosey on say passer Kadam may say kill mati dispatches a delay Messick Adam Savage II do like Aggie Sol la calle sasha m plus additional Samba Samba masses it's a select garage which will permit the tool associate viewable - Nora - Dada say la fabricación reduces apostasy and from Devon Coupe is the only tire as I say they are fed apply this as a parallel no LaBianca arrest a 10-month will AAPD to deter such a walk the Kiev Lancers can operate a lava pool Oh mom oh hey sorry okay statue cows a day for their own special easy to the parser on a second who is a con Apple big only three two coral will a example Milly Dowler Calibos come from Fukui luckily was a lucky it's a calm down simply to table on lapel on cool cargo it's a seaside on the puzzle a Mercedes ala kulli Baskerville ye a la le petit Rico hey Don Kelly Baska Calibos on Peru market in cryptically basket didn't attack delay as a little bomb as he SAS is undefeatable solo lupulus due to Taliban ec1000 less appel pallor no Haysom yeah Jinju kana Calcutta by example on denial signal Lu Palazzo Rouge LLC convolute Bellagio Jean yeah mal a single to sassy Sunday no condos dynamo me so lonely Palazzo lock you logged Alera blue swallow without boy the Fulani raise herds of cattle goats and sheep as well as a few horses and camels they depend entirely on their cattle for food they do not slaughter and eat the cattle but instead live off the milk pole women milk their cattle everyday and turn some of the milk into yogurt cheese and butter the pole drink the milk as is or mix it with ground millet to make a sort of porridge [Music] the people in AB depend [Music] as is true of most of the Sahel Fulani country receives rain only half the year from May to late September from September to May the Scot is bright blue the Sun is hot and not a drop of moisture falls the earth turns red and dusty the leaves wither on the trees and the cattle search for something green to eat pol herders drive their cattle south closer to the forest where they can survive off greener grass and their families follow along setting up their camps farther and farther south la lai laily be desirous envelope is a polymerase lai-lay leave us on priesthood the long called corn Acuto they've come something long kale a label a vassal to do patina viscous a polymerase [Music] where the first rains begin in May the landscape begins to turn green and village after village sinks in a sea of green grass and new crops the pole herd their cows and sheep farther north toward the edge of the desert where vast flat plains of red dust are quickly transformed into broad green pastures pull women roll up their mats load tent poles and belongings on the backs of donkeys place their young children on top of the load and move north following the herds lose up in the piteå elapid Prairie Tom Galaga long clippety poo hospital SEPA Tavano group 11 the relationship between the Fulani and their herds is closed the people live almost exclusively from milk and the herds depend on the herders to find grass and water each herder gives each of his cows a name based on the patterns and colors of its hide they addressed the cattle formally by name and are very aware of the health and well-being of each cow the cattle are never slaughtered for food but may be sold for profit and the profit is then invested in better stock the herders know very well about cattle diseases and may regularly consult expertly trained veterinarians who can inoculate the cattle and treat diseases in most areas in which Fulani live the veterinarians are highly respected often very wealthy and are usually community leaders [Music] Fulani herders occupy the Sahel zone between the desert and the forest because the cattle are able to find good forage and water there and are free from fatal diseases such as trypanosome Isis sleeping sickness is spread to mammals both humans and animals by the bite of the tsetse fly these flies infest the forest zone in the south and even brushy areas along rivers in the north any domesticated animals that are exposed to the Flies for significant period will sicken and die the herders are careful to keep their cattle sheep goats and horses north of the areas infested by tsetse flies when they send their cattle to market they quickly herd the cow south to the nearest railhead where they can be loaded on trains or on large trucks and shipped to large cities in the south such as Conakry Freetown Abidjan Accra cotinue and Lagos for slaughter herding livestock is very profitable and the men who own the herds are often quite wealthy these wealthy men employed poorer fulbe a herders to care for the stock while the owners often live in villages or cities the Fulani often come into conflict with local farmers the convention among scholars has been that the relationship is symbiotic that the herds leave manure that richens the farmer's fields and the cattle clean up the trash and stocks left behind after harvest while this may be true the fact is that far too often herders allow their coats cows to field in cultivated fields causing terrible destruction of crops and causing terrible loss to the farmers this results in angry confrontations frequent violence and even murder numerous herders are beaten to death every year by angry farmers and farmers are shot by frightened herders in defense the Fulani carry firearms even ak-47s for protection when a herder is killed the Fulani file a complaint with a local police who may round up in jail all the farmers in the region the herders try to pay off the police to enforce the law in their favor and because the herders usually have cash they are able to pay off the police effectively [Music] subha hey Lupita - okay bye illa-allah bread wasa don't take a days I don't pass on peanuts on a pelt know why I said wash with tea policy area totally kyf Rama familiar Delica la vivienda pasady real Lupita - Rula a I clock never in Philosopher's Honorable Nile particular day from plot again Blair one to delay as one of the most common sites in the northern Sahil is a group of beautifully dressed pole women carrying bowls of fresh or sour milk to the market to be sold these are the very image of color grace and elegance in West Africa reporting the law well conclude but remains a Calabasas Italy well well including Hawaii la la ooh la la debatable there my man is on Perry's edevalla Papa wake up dude viva la Papa la from Pluto sopressa really very Paula Ella libera I'm Ella pre-cycle IBAs Yul Tian calibers everybody milk is the staple of the pol diet women milk their cows each morning and evening when the cows are let out to pasture the women fencing the young calves so they cannot accompany their mothers when the cows return in the evening the women release one calf at a time the presence of the calf causes the cow to let down her milk the pol woman ties the calf by the neck to the mothers right fore leg while she fills a small gourd bowl with fresh milk she then releases the calf to finish feed in all of the milk is gathered in larger bowls and taken to the home where it can be stored allowed to sour drunk processed into butter or sold in local markets a long lever to the caliber and Lovera na de Chivo [Music] Santander say Khiladi Kadel sa la vas omuro ordinaire so Marseille in vaso de be cute local apple malappuram elevation diffuser on suppose dead well Ella beautif air welcome si que vas a passive Allah Allahu Allah tushy everybody ante period you have Sufism on model a snowcone an effect and liver anticipation my EP and less a rope at Apollo lucrativo carotid whereas in Calibre's delay mothers give their children fresh whole milk to drink their husbands get the milk from which the butter fat has been removed say lesson from / dawa no Callen vendetta tilde C de la calle Albertans RSS a second appendage allure and my melody de el top prophetic food si si por falsity Ella grace LZ Chile's Kampf Amado [ __ ] palma de la will pool a preparation de las dos y por poco de una tira c tapas on neck danke el module alleged an alt key and on pole women make butter by pouring fresh milk into a narrow neck gourd with a corncob stopper they shake the milk for at least an hour frequently checking to see if butter has been found funny when the butter begins to appear they pour the milk into a large wooden bowl where they use a scoop to form the butter into a thick ball they can eat the butter use it on millet porridge use it as a cosmetic or in their hair or sell it in the market to northern farming peoples who are lactose tolerant and so can eat dairy products say English fill the pail object Lanka love to torture malice as of Allah SAS a permit pure vessel Elodie de aquila grace don't come on apartment good day where's the kitchen with digital SLRs Duncan CLT pause comes up and down Calcutta and I'll take a year I've a convicted blue chabela heart a perfectly like respect they're gonna get eaten okay honey Arrington way like this manner as I said okay fancy poor net flagpole like rested like this awesome I'm surviving got bitten yet though yeah I'm nuclear I'm in there well act a scallop to a year dance Elaine the secular transform an amputee to pull particular crest eloquent Petra Maj man LV Polamalu to choose our vernacular lacy Daniel a Sansa got one comma L fear master dungeon whatever position hello is this Lana Takata appeal unto me son this woman named Aminata specializes in making mats which he sells to other women to cover their homes she begins by gathering her materials in the wild and by dyeing some of the strands of grass black or red to be used for decoration she then lays out a wart with strong cords she is fashioned herself the warp may be two meters wide and as much as 10 meters long each warp thread is spaced about five centimeters apart she works in the shade of a light temporary shelter which she can easily move along as her work progresses amount is linen mommy not to place his two bundles of four strands of grass into end starting at the middle of the mat mantilla pea dynamo elegant protege control is solely focused on Jessica's Papa's Casa la la la la Pajarito muy a la setting up Ella in long god damnit happy play say Lizzie por la construcción de tunt they made a hill on the way hello Buddha Lynott comes up ha - you're a pleaser Apple oh mama Lu FSL ask a acequia poisonous on poverty Kumasi possibility Taj Elle melodies LCDC at TSU left-field the Fulani are a wonderful example of an African people who do not carve sculptor but whose arts are nevertheless spectacular the arts of architecture not making the body costume dance music and performance are thoroughly integrated into their lives and influenced almost everything they do she forms loops of cord that bind all to one of the warp chords but she does not tighten the knobs until all of the loops have been formed don't echo hardening up and go to the pudendal console kid okay and then the go til I get the bigger in America work working away pelvic I know I said petite Pataky a site effort sumata wallop okay an appealable YEC Elodie Coppola boom for a bargain M never just go bubula the lanit well I don't LA after she has repeated this step to form a half meter of new mat she trims the ends of the grass bundles even with a knife today and I'm time to fess up she then goes to the middle of the mat and tightens the knots from the center towards the edge this gives her finger space to work before the bundles of grass are bound tightly together like a sock on myself in the song say L Aquila say Sam the deep sadist he broke all Galway Khepera Beca black Giavotella c1 cosine theta TG additive localities if you don't KL it is a simple for profollica lesson I am an opera love Africa's on the field see Allah from Allah bond longer appear tell obsessing sommet imaginaire digitate Rinella DC premiere la therapy avoiding ball not no way yeah in Kottke circusy okay lob gyro matzah around the country nice Televi lubu bad but long cover I said not up list the design Kayla not proceed on path we said are not uniform go I go say such say so to staple man Leah say you know trofimov OC dunk the leg l got a pill Ogawa to do for me me to step in drunk official arrow mark Achilli a pleased to Jason that said she said not it is really design finally after about a week of work she rolls the mat up to be taken to market where she sells each one for about forty dollars in apparent condition is a see ya later don't worry you knew that many in that way that's not allow people a lot they don't matter Carrie we have been offered this older but very nicely decorated mat to sit on when we come to pay our respects to the family Salani men and women often visit local markets where they exchange goods with their Fulani Tuareg Bella and Mo see neighbors people walk to the market right and over carted the crowded trucks or ride their donkeys and camels 75 kilometers as this bill family has done they've traveled for three days to visit the market in Dori to purchase millet for their food [Music] this truck is loaded with passengers head south from Gora Gora to Dori [Music] a Fulani mother with her newborn [Music] the livestock market and Gorham Gorham is huge and hundreds of cattle sheep goats and donkeys exchanged hands each day most are sold to merchants for slaughter [Laughter] West African markets are fascinating displays of color sound music smells dust herbs spices pottery pots and pans textiles tools and just about anything one needs to live in the Sahel [Music] anyone for some fresh fish for Thermo what about it [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] beautiful delicate is not quite sure what a videocam is and gives us a very suspicious way the green stone and his especially tonight lots and lots of enamel bowls are offered for sale and are avidly collected by Fulani women who depend on them for processing milk [Music] [Music] small merchants may place a mat on the ground and spread out their wares for display or more prosperous merchants may rent a stall in which they can work and hang the textiles they sell or display their merchandise each vendor pays a fee to the tax collector the fee being large or small depending on the size of the stall [Music] Paulo deep fried donuts are always fresh and good to eat some are made of white flour others of ground millet or even of beans some have sugar some dumped one with all of them are delicious these are the red leaves of the hibiscus flower which are dried and then steeped in hot water with sugar to make a sweet tea called B sobs shuck I need gloves that tidy up I won't select quantity love Indonesia these are Tuareg mats and leather goods which the local tourist art merchant offers for sale in his shop he also offers silver jewelry stone carvings litter work old and worn bits of pouring and Fulani furniture weapons and anything else he has found tourists like to bond and they toured it up none of us and in fact I country music on pay or my so much you most of the locally manufactured objects are of high quality and our goodbyes when I first visited Gorham Gorham 30 years ago there were no tourists and no tourist shops now the village is very popular with French German American Dutch and English tourists and there is an American Peace Corps volunteer stationed there to help keep track of quality of production and sales and to help merchants fill orders by mail this lady Atlantic City located in the back of this shop he stores numerous wood carvings from people all over West Africa which he tries to sell as sacred old valuable museum quality ceremonial objects put the occasionally he even succeeds in selling one sorry Sasuke Pula the follow me are Muslim mostly that is the Fulani who live in towns and cities are devoted and fervent Muslims who pray every day and go to mosque on Friday they are the descendants of the Warriors of the caliph Uthman dawn folio and the other great Muslim leaders of the 19th century the town Fulani have big mosques available to them and they support their mosques financially they are wealthy enough to be able to make the pilgrimage to Mecca sometimes more than once in their lifetime in contrast the Fulani of who are herders who follow the herds constantly throughout the year who lead a nomadic life and call themself in May but cattle Fulani are nominally Muslim they identify themselves as Muslims and they often pray but they are less often devoted and few of them are able to travel to Mecca or even to attend a mosque on Friday night they found [Music] to the left of the remnants of the old mosque and to the right the new mosque the origins of the Fulani are far older than Islam and scholars tend to agree that centuries ago the Fulani followed African religious traditions but many converted to Islam in the centuries following the conquest of North Africa by the Arabs in the eighth and ninth centuries this is the Friday mosque and Dorrie filmed on a Friday afternoon as thousands of faithful Muslim Fulani jula mosy and other peoples make their way to prayers men and women pray in separate parts of the mosque and many do not arrive in time to pray inside and so pray in the great plaza outside [Music] hear the call to prayer allahu akbar god is great sella Pierre DeVaughn ready la grande mascara Tori [Music] mantra mommy Dow I don't come through the Marcus a humble bangle a young man named Ally has come to the home of ami dude I'm left to ask for his daughter on not on in marriage everyone involved are members of the güell goba clan the Fulani the young man and the father have agreed on a sum of 50,000 cfa or about a hundred dollars and a healthy young cow to seal the marriage contract mañalac this is not a payment for the bride women are not bought and sold it is rather a sum that guarantees that the marriage has been agreed to that all parties are satisfied that the young woman will be a suitable wife and a young man a suitable husband the cow does not belong to the father of the bride but to the young woman herself and will form the core of a new herd that will be her property and will provide food and income for her and her children as the years pass and the family increases alli comes to the home of his bride with the support encouragement of all of his male friends who are seated behind him singing and noting maja good day I see let me [Laughter] [Music] wake up girl you need if you wanna be any me do my hair do me neither me neither supper in Allen down put demand a llama didn't she see to Darla for me the girl got a say sanctum milf rancifer please inves Nizam are pushing Sadie engine engine death by now decade reaches a song from our pay to renew to Silla a lesson can't me Francesa please reduce eat ramen a super from under disable lappam a problem areas vara menace Cibola a say so marry tom s buff bod say say say Tsukuba do Mario to poke a Kiva prepare a Loretta's the say some fun escucha back to the booth one normal Mario dear a a peer donor boostanfar SNC case I suppose don't be so super Allah presence Marilyn don't sell O'Meara buquebus tea ceremony it will be nearly my liaison yeah morale entre all of the negotiations are carried out in the presence of a holy man or morrow boo who is named Musa and who is the most important pole holy man in Burkina Faso he is responsible for performing all of the official Fulani marriages held in the Town Hall in Wagga Dugan he makes sure the negotiations go smoothly and then he blesses the marriage because alli and ami do have already reached an agreement there is little for the holy man to do but to give this blessing Lamarr Adam and Eve Oh Papa Caskey la proposed a poor lumeria adeno Allah is on its own tombé decor for sin can - Asifa please lavash donkey Kapoor - danke Gabriella D CK usfsa Donna Lee Sabatini some benediction it could iluminage long syllabus but what you Adams don't like benediction fetch when I the capitalist on opinion elimination model a numeral celebrate a new providence um since you see see see see a possum an assassin Molly travel agent Anna Maria's see Kyra's affair cellie funky fossa La Francophonie new routier poropatich oneself armor he's wiki for la music dear on de mirage again romantic the groom will give 30,000 CFA today and the remaining 20,000 when he comes to take his bride to her new home he's warned not to delay because until the final sum is paid to the father any man who is accept acceptable tan and theory come and make a suitable payment and take the young woman away he agrees he will not procrastinate Sangju don't dancing revenue et des a fun Ella a en Rebecca rest the de la some Dec infinity fella preparation is done did it many mobile yaman black hmm I tell you Purina who go out there no sell America good to the premier [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Applause] [Music] the official part of the ceremony is followed by good food and music and dancing provided by the women of the family the women play drums made of gourds turned down loading phase in the water an instrument to pull on their plate for 8,000 years all of this takes place at night when it is cool and all the animals are safe at home let's also travel with a vamp under that assumption to Demaryius the Delmas order the benediction and I'm not a national solidarity can use a long lousy organization not the last agreement in my eyes [Music] [Music] Oh [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] - I might've [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] yeah [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] in December 2005 my wife and I spent some time in the town of Dora the northern burkina faso where we attended the annual meeting of the association to promote seond la lavage young sahara ELISA hell all of the other attendees were Fulani most of them very affluent who had driven to the conference from all over West Africa there was musical entertainment every evening and one of the most talented groups was the Fulani group named fun Togo organized by a Fulani musician from Goering named arrow early one evening we all went out to the east side of town where the musicians performed several songs and dances for us that tells stories a beautiful flowy cattle rich green pastures young Fulani men and women in love and the regrettable results of making poor choices in the name of romance [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] we have been visiting the gobby and joejoebee Fulani who live in northern burkina faso next we drive east across sand dunes to the niger and cross the great river at Atilla berry then drive 2,000 kilometres south to nia may the capital of Nazaire east tomorrow Dee and Xander and 120 kilometers north on the road to Agadez to the tiny village of Abdul nezam nestled among ancient sand dunes several plans of the wodaabe Fulani gathered here in November 2007 to celebrate a good year for the herds with lots of rain and green grass and to hold a competition called Agarwal there were no guests at the Gare walled in Abdul Azim the wodaabe are shy and prefer to hold their celebrations far from tourist centres professional dance groups now staged false care walls for tourists in DNA and Agadez which are filmed for national television but deep in the sand dunes of the southern Sahara these creative people celebrate the richness of their culture far from the eyes of tourists the wodaabe woods scattered all across southern niger and part of northern nigeria their name means people of the taboo because of the complex patterns of avoidance they observe especially about women who are menstruating they are herders of cattle goats and camels like other for life but they become very famous in the past three decades because of their spectacular culture several books and films have been created about these performances none of which are readily available to the public the first dance is called the rumour welcome men paint their faces yellow with prey and butter and wear colorful costumes they dance and sing to welcome all the clans to the celebration [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] early in the morning of the first day of the gare wall the young men paint their faces red and put on elaborate costumes of white beads cloth and ostrich plumes the man you see applying his makeup is named Omar he is 36 years old and has won five Gare Wells don't bow that's how we did they gained some groups of their own Klansmen all day long in competition with the men of other clans their songs are about love they are supervised by senior men and encouraged by the oldest woman with the gavel on their dress emphasizes the slenderness grace and handsomeness and their gestures and facial expressions emphasize their charm or sex appeal the facial expressions are very different for entirely the dance is long and exhausting the only the most fit and most handsome they'll compete many will gobble men compared to war [Applause] [Music] yeah [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] Oh [Music] [Applause] you [Music] [Applause] [Laughter] [Music] yah yah Sharma to Laguna John longer dois partir with Rajee legit people - for from the people [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] the competition is judged by the most beautiful young women of the opposite clan their choice is based on the men's grace slenderness symmetry fine facial features white teeth and large white eyes each young woman approaches slowly with her face averted and partially hidden by her left hand [Music] Uncle Sam [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] young wife immense difference too [Music] Junko Valera push en opt picante food beverages for Salmonella metal the facility yeah [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] although the young women feel honored to be selected as judges they are intimidated by the violence of the men's performance and step back in fear there is the strong smell of testosterone in the air [Applause] [Music] yeah she swings her right arm toward the competitors and suddenly an almost fatal gesture points to the man she judges to be the most handsome the winner brings great honour to himself and his clan and his name will be remembered for years although some writers claim that the women judges and rumors meet after the competition and spend the night together in the wilderness this is an exaggeration of the promiscuity of the robotic although it does happen occasionally it is fairly rare [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] Fulani have lived in the Sahara in the Sahel for at least 8000 years and although their arts seem ephemeral fragile transitory and we can only record them with cameras and video they are very durable people and there is no evidence that their rich culture will disappear soon as global culture intrudes and tourists attend more and more performances in distant cities the Fulani retreat into the quiet of their wilderness pastures and they continue to dance for beauty and love as they have for millennia

Channel: Christopher Roy

Views: 898,854

Keywords: Fulani, Africa, herders, cattle, homes

Id: a2dY54aE1ec

Length: 85min 50sec (5150 seconds)

Published: Sun Sep 21 2014