Here is a movie by the famous French filmmaker and anthropologist Jean Rouch made in 1955 in Accra, called Les Maîtres Fous (the Mad Masters). The first third of the documentary presented here shows some interesting images of Accra of that period, which is interesting to put in perspective with what Accra is now. Moreover, most of the people shown in the movie were living in Nima, a district where ID-Ghana works today...
"Les Maîtres Fous investigates one African response to colonial oppression. Around 1925 a cult was formed which went by the name of Hauka and whose members were possessed by colonial figures of power. Filmed in Accra, which was at the time the capital of the colonial Gold Coast, Les Maîtres Fous introduces its viewers into the world of Hauka possession ceremonies - a place filled with strange rituals and sometimes shocking practices.
At the request of the Hauka, Rouch attends and films one of their possession ceremonies. As the film progresses and the men in the cult become possessed, the transformation is dramatic. Once possessed, many of the members of the Hauka cult begin drooling, their bodies in a state of paroxysm; some even parade through the compound while burning their own flesh, as proof of the fact that they are no longer human. The apex of the ceremony happens when the Hauka spirits sacrifice and then eat a dog."
Text adapted from maitres-fous.net.You can read more about this movie by clicking here.
YouTube sources: part 1; part 2; part 3.
"Les Maîtres Fous investigates one African response to colonial oppression. Around 1925 a cult was formed which went by the name of Hauka and whose members were possessed by colonial figures of power. Filmed in Accra, which was at the time the capital of the colonial Gold Coast, Les Maîtres Fous introduces its viewers into the world of Hauka possession ceremonies - a place filled with strange rituals and sometimes shocking practices.
At the request of the Hauka, Rouch attends and films one of their possession ceremonies. As the film progresses and the men in the cult become possessed, the transformation is dramatic. Once possessed, many of the members of the Hauka cult begin drooling, their bodies in a state of paroxysm; some even parade through the compound while burning their own flesh, as proof of the fact that they are no longer human. The apex of the ceremony happens when the Hauka spirits sacrifice and then eat a dog."
Text adapted from maitres-fous.net.You can read more about this movie by clicking here.
YouTube sources: part 1; part 2; part 3.
2 comments:
Thanks for sharing wonderful information, I really enjoyed this article and wish more contents on the topic.
A Genius lives in an imaginary and abstract world. He looks the world from a higher plane. But the ordinary man has a jaundiced view over the world. He is influenced by the ' Golden rules and shackles".
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