Au pays des mages noirs (S)

Hippopotamus hunting with a harpoon by the Sorko of Niger. In the village of Firgoun, in sheds shaped like amphorae, the fishermen build a large hunting canoe with strips of wood sewn together. Shots of daily life in the village. Making harpoons and propitiatory sacrifices to the spirit of the water. In the marshes on the edge of the river, the fishermen approach and harpoon a hippopotamus. The hippopotamus, covered with harpoons, cannot get out of the marshes. One of the fishermen kills it with a blow from a lance. They haul its body onto dry land to butcher it and divide the meat into portions. Possession dances with details of the dance steps; a woman is possessed by the spirits of the water. In the evening, some Hauka arrive. They are the powerful spirits of the villages and countryside of Niger.