The Blooms of Banjeli
Film et Vidéo
- Auteurs : Saltman Carlyn ;
- Editeurs : Watertown Documentary Educational Resources [éd., distrib.] ;
- Date d'édition : 2004
- Sujets : Films documentaires -- Togo, Togo, Films ethnographiques Togo
- Langue(s) : Anglais
- Description matérielle : 1 DVD vidéo monoface simple couche, zone 0 (28 min), : Coul.
- Pays de publication : États-Unis
Notes
Film en version originale en anglais et bassari
Résumé
The Blooms of Banjeli documents research in Banjeli, Togo on iron-melting technology, its rituals, and the sexual prohibitions surrounding it. Including rare historical footage from the same village in 1914, it provides a unique technological record of the traditional method of preparing a furnace to smelt iron. For centuries the high-quality iron blooms from Bassari natural draft furnaces had been a key commodity in the West African economy. But the industry declined during the early 20th century, and by the 1920s the smelters had abandoned their furnaces. Now, memory of the old ironmaking practices is fast fading. In 1985, historians Candice Gaucher and Eugenia Herbert went to the village of Banjeli. An old smelter, who had watched his father and grandfather make iron, allowed filming while he built a new furnace and prepared it to 'breathe.' He explains the sexual restrictions on the people and their relevance to the preparation of the furnace.