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Hampi

Hampi

  • Overview
  • Crew

Status

Released

Release Date

May 7, 1962

Genres

Documentary

Original Title

Le Hampi - Le ciel est posé sur la terre

Production Companies

Office Nigérien du Film, I.F.A.N. Niamey, Rep. Niger, ONF | NFB, Comité du film Éthnographique

Director

Jean Rouch

Description

A ritual vase, the hampi, is placed in the center of the Musée de plein air de la République du Niger in Niamey, during a ritual ceremony featuring possession dances. With this film, Jean Rouch continues his ethnological and cinematographic study of Songhay ritual objects. He demonstrates that, in a particular context, the transfer of a hampi vase to a museum requires the organization of a ritual ceremony to obtain the gods' approval. At the time, however, reservations about filming a possession dance for the opening of a shrine in a museum made the move "questionable from a museological point of view".