I was invited by the American Society of Media Photographers (Washington, DC chapter) on January 11, 2011 to give a presentation during their 8x10 Program. I've had a lot of requests by people outside the area or who weren't able to make the program to post the presentation online. So here it is!
I spent the month of November 2010 in Burkina Faso, which is a small country in the heart of West Africa. My focus was on photographing the lifestyle of the Fulani people.The Fulani are one of the ethnic groups that are found in multiple countries in West Africa because they're on the move every season in search of green pastures and fresh water for their cattle. I've been interested in the Fulani for the past fifteen years, since I was a Peace Corps volunteer in Niger and lived for several years in a small Fulani village of 40 people. This evening, I'm going to show you two collections of images. Everything you see tonight except for maybe 5 images are from my November trip; the other 5 or so images are from my 2007 trip to Burkina, but I couldn't resist including them. And 99% of the images are also taken in rural Burkina Faso - in the north - in the heart of Fulani territory. All of the music that you hear in the background is traditional Fulani music that I recorded in the field.
Part 1: When Darkness Falls
So, you may never have heard of Burkina Faso. It's a little-known country in the heart of W. Africa, and in Burkina, 12.4 million people live without electricity. Countless more families - while enjoying limited electricity - will still never know the conveniences of a refrigerator, modern oven, or even an electric iron. This is the only life they know. Yet, through it all, they dance, they sing, they celebrate. All of the images in this first collection are taken at dusk or at night, by either firelight or flash.
The music that you'll hear in the background of this first collection of images is called "doohaali" in Fulfulde, the language of the Fulani people. Doohaali is a specific form of song and dance which is only practiced by a specific group of Fulani that live in a specific area of Burkina Faso. I've known about it for a while, but I'd never seen photos of it before, and I'd only ever been able to find one audio recording. So I was extremely excited to be able to find it on this trip.
The doohaali was difficult to photograph, first because it was very dark, and second because you have a line of men and a line of women standing very closely together and facing each other. They shuffle towards each other, and then shuffle away. The women are singing and clapping, and the men - holding their cattle-herding sticks - are doing these deep vocalizations that sound like huh...huh...huh...huh... At times, all of a sudden, the men will start chanting faster and will shuffle very quickly towards the women, and the women have to shuffle backwards very quickly. Going backwards is harder than going forward. When I was there - and I was dancing in the women's line - I just thought that it was the coolest thing I'd ever seen in my life. I love the music. It was like waves of sound washing over me; I don't know how else to explain it.
The men who performed the doohaali were the winners of a regional cultural competition, and a few days later, traveled to Bobo-Dioulasso in southwestern Burkina Faso to perform at the bi-annual "Semaine Nationale de la Culture" (National Culture Week). There are a few photos of the female winners as well, though most of the women in the images are members of the community who have joined in the nighttime fun.
Part 2: Spirit of Humanity - Hoping for a Better Tomorrow
The next collection of images are portraits, many of them taken in remote Fulani villages.It's worth mentioning that travel in northern Burkina Faso is more difficult now than when I visited the area ten years ago. It is more insecure, with Touareg bandits from Mali entering Burkina, putting both foreigners and locals in danger. There was even a story (confirmed) of these bandits robbing a donkey cart at gunpoint. The American Embassy advised Americans not to go to farther north than a certain point. While my husband and I spent three weeks on that imaginary "line," and we did travel on day trips into the "no-go" area, we would only alert certain people in advance of our plans, to avoid any ambushes.
The first audio clip that you'll hear in this second collection of images is a traditional griot. A griot is a poet and storyteller, earning his living by reciting family histories through poetry, song, and music, refusing to leave the compound until the family pays him for his troubles. You'll also hear music from a wedding, as well as two women singing at night.
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musique traditionnel burkina fasoby ilboudohamidou10,995 views
Simply excellent. I have lived in Djibo for many years and have rarely seen such good photos of the region. Are any of these photos for sale?
sahelsteve 1 month ago
This is really great, thank you for sharing it! I love the music, and photos are beautiful.
Mrlja5555 5 months ago