Si-Gueriki, la Reine-mère

The Wassangaris, formerly a tribe of powerful, ferocious warriors with strict traditions, have managed to preserve their age-old patriarchal clan structure within the present-day Benin society. The film takes an inside, sometimes critical and often amused, look at certain aspects of this ancient culture. After a ten-year absence, the filmmaker goes back to his village in North Benin. His father, who had greatly influenced his childhood, is now dead. He is very surprised at the place his mother now occupies. During his childhood, she was no more that one of his fathers co-wives, a shadow around the house’ Yet after her husband’s death, she was enthroned as Si-Gueriki, the female equivalent of a king. What does the status of queen-mother really mean? What does she think of her former life and the fact that her daughters have not attended school? In getting to know his mother and the women in his family, the filmmaker hopes to bring to light the seeds of change within this patriarchal society.