By Elisabeth den Otter

Kirango is an old village on the banks of the Niger river, 35 km from Ségou. The village is

inhabited by Bamana (farmers) and Bozo/Somono (fishermen). Both ethnic groups celebrate

their masquerades, each in their own way.

The masquerade of the Bamana ('sogo bò' - the animal comes out) is organized by the 'ton'

(youth association) every jear, in June. It comprises ‘sogow’ (animals): masks and large puppets that represent spirits, animals (domestic, wild, or mythical), and human personages.

They are accompanied by drumming, singing and dancing.

The sogow

There are sogow entirely made of straw ('binsogow') that represent spirits such as 'Bilanjan',

'Nama' and 'Laïbala'. Others have a straw body and a wooden head (rod puppet), and represent antelopes, a hyena or a sheep. Their frames are relatively small, and carried by one man. They are

shown only at night. The sogow made of cloth ('finisogow') are bigger, and consist of a frame

with a large wooden head (rod puppet). They are carried by two or three men. Sometimes they have smaller rod puppets ('maaninw', small people) on their backs. They are mythical animals, like the buffalo 'Sigi'  or the antelope 'Kònkòrò'. The maaninw show daily life: a farmer, a weaver, a woman pounding millet, etc. A more recent type of sogow represents animals with four legs, such as the dog 'Wulu', the camel 'Nyaamen', etc. Finisogow only come out during the day.

There are face masks, like 'Gònfarinman' (the nasty chimpanzee), crest masks like the couple of 'Ciwaraw', and shoulder masks like 'Yayoroba' (the ideal woman).

All sogow are accompanied by a man ringing a hand bell, to show the way.

The film

The film is introduced by Moussa Diakité, an important member of the youth association and a

lead singer. His sons are active participants in the masquerade, as a singer and a dancer, and

other members of his family are seen as well.

After an an introduction to the village of Kirango, the preparations of the masquerade by the

youth association are shown, followed by the carving of the head of the sogo 'Cew ye kelen ye'

as well as a number of  maaninw by two young sculptors, and the assembly of this sogo on

the day before the masquerade.

The largest part of the film is dedicated -obviously- to the masquerade, which lastst three days

and one night. The first mask of the first day is the nasty chimpanzee 'Gònfarinman', followed

by the giraffe 'Ntilen', the mythical antelope 'Cew ye kelen ye', and others. At night, one sees

the antelope 'Dajè' and the spirits (the latter may not be filmed!). The Bozo fishermen living in

Kirango come with some sogow that represent aquatic animals, like the crocodile 'Bama'.

The following days, the public can see two new big sogow: 'Cew ye kelen ye' and 'Kònkòrò',

the couple of antelopes 'Ciwaraw', and a number of modern sogow like the elephant 'Sama'.

The dvd consists of two parts:

--Introduction: slide series with explanation (3,5 minutes)

--Film (45 minutes)

(N.B.: The liner notes are in French.)

With thanks to the members of the Bamana youth association of Kirango.

Film, photos, texts and production: Elisabeth den Otter

Samaké Records 06, 2008 ©

Camera and editing: Elisabeth den Otter ©

                                    ➤  Video on YouTube (7 min.)

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