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Battle on the Great River
FRANCE · 1950

Battle on the Great River

Jean Rouch
traditional hunting practices indigenous ritual and ceremony ethnographic documentation river communities and fishing culture spiritual practices and belief systems
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Synopsis

After an unsuccessful attempt in 1946 to film a traditional bangaoui (hippopotamus hunt) on the Niger River, Jean Rouch returns several years later to document the ritual in full. The film records the ceremonial preparations, spiritual practices, and seasonal hunt conducted by Sorko fishermen, situating the event within its cultural and ritual context rather than as spectacle.

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A Friendly Handshake
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