Boli Bana

A plunge into the Peul traditions in Burkina Faso, and into the end of childhood: the nomadic cattle-herding boys camp in the open air, the girls fetch water from the well and prepare themselves for the ritual tattoos.

An immersion in the Fulani traditions in Burkina Faso, Boli Bana delicately recreates the moment of transition to adolescence. After Ama’s circumcision, we follow him into the bush camping under the stars with other herdsboys. Here, ethnographical tradition blends with a poetic approach that renders the novelty of these first-time experiences. The smallest cry from the animals takes on terrifying proportions, and the rain-making rituals are performed excitedly but anxiously. Aissita and her girlfriends, whether they stay in Boli Bana or go off to sell food in the vicinity, are no less active. They too are passing a milestone: a woman with black powder and needles has come to tattoo their faces. The framing close up to the bodies draws the spectator nearer to these a priori exotic experiences. The structure of the film weaves connections between the human and animal environments, revealing the organicity of a world. It also partly reduces the traditional separation between the sexes; the herdsboys show the images of their “journey” on their cell phone, and the young sellers jokingly invent a fanciful genealogy for themselves. The hint of passivity and vulnerability that the rituals create at first glance is replaced by the certainty of an emerging strength. (Charlotte Garson)