The Mad Masters

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THE MAD MASTERS (LES MAITRES FOUS), the most controversial and also the most widely celebrated work by ethnographic filmmaker Jean Rouch, depicts a possession ritual of the Hauka religious sect using the delirious techniques of 'cine-trance.'

The film opens on the bustling streets of Accra, the capital of the Gold Coast (modern-day Ghana), a major colonial port city that serves as a stage for the collision of the traditional and the modern. Among the diverse groups who populate the city are members of the Hauka religious movement, which began in Niger among the Songhay people, and migrated with them to the Gold Coast.

From Accra, THE MAD MASTERS takes us to the rural compound that is the site for an annual Hauka ceremony. Hauka mediums nominate initiates and listen to penitents, before leading them all in a dizzying, spectacular trance ritual. The ceremony swells with the music of a monochord violin as the Huaka are possessed - sleepwalking, speaking in tongues, burning themselves, and collapsing to the ground - before culminating in a series of animal sacrifices. Rouch does not document this from a distance, but, using a hand-held camera and quick cuts, creates an effect he called 'cine-trance'.

The ceremony also contains an element of political theater. The spirits who possess the Hauka are figures associated with the Gold Coast's British colonial rulers: the governor general, the engineer, and the doctor's wife, among others. They wear pith helmets and the khaki uniforms in a burlesque of the Western authorities.

After the ceremony, Rouch returns us to Accra, where we see the Hauka in their daily lives as laborers, low-ranking soldiers, or pickpockets. Rouch suggests that the ritual serves in part as a psychological release from the dehumanizing powers of colonization.

'[THE MAD MASTERS] has been recognized as an anthropological classic and is now widely considered to be one of the most profound explorations of an African view of the colonial world.' -Matt Losada, Senses of Cinema

'[THE MAD MASTERS] is a powerful film and controversial film: perhaps its power and its controversy stem from similar features. More than in most ethnographic films, its visuals and its sounds focus, rather than dissipate, the viewers' attention...It forces the viewer to observe reality and then leads the viewer into a deeper understanding.' -Karl G. Heider, Ethnographic Film

'The editing, commentary, and structure already remove this film somewhat from the allegedly scientific stance that ethnographic documentaries are supposed to assume.' -Jonathan Rosenbaum

'A remarkable documentary, which ideally should be seen by anyone connected with anthropology.' -American Anthropologist

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Main credits

Rouch, Jean (Director)
Braunberger, Pierre (Producer)

Other credits

Editing, Suzanne Baron.

MARC Record See Worldcat record

Keywords

Les Maitres Fous; Jean Rouch; Ethnography; Hauka; Gold Coast; Songhay; Accra; trance; cine-trance; ritual; anthropology; France; "The Mad Masters"; Icarus Films,Africa,African Studies,Anthropology,Cultural Anthropology,France,Ghana,Racism,Religion,doc; shod; religion; sociss

WEBVTT

00:02:06.633 --> 00:02:11.033
NARRATOR:
Accra, capital
of the Gold Coast,

00:02:11.033 --> 00:02:13.767
is a true black Babylon.

00:02:15.000 --> 00:02:17.734
Here, you\'ll meet men

00:02:17.734 --> 00:02:21.133
from all parts
of West Africa:

00:02:21.133 --> 00:02:22.567
Nigeria,

00:02:22.567 --> 00:02:24.133
Upper Volta,

00:02:24.133 --> 00:02:25.200
Niger,

00:02:25.200 --> 00:02:26.433
Sudan.

00:02:26.433 --> 00:02:30.000
They have come
to live the great adventure

00:02:30.000 --> 00:02:32.133
of African cities.

00:02:32.133 --> 00:02:35.367
Here, traffic never stops.

00:02:35.367 --> 00:02:38.300
Here, noise never stops.

00:02:38.300 --> 00:02:41.166
The most interesting group
in Accra

00:02:41.166 --> 00:02:43.633
may be the Zabrama community.

00:02:43.633 --> 00:02:46.233
They are Sonrai and Germa,

00:02:46.233 --> 00:02:47.700
from the North,

00:02:47.700 --> 00:02:49.066
from Gao,

00:02:49.066 --> 00:02:51.233
and from Yeme.

00:02:51.467 --> 00:02:57.100
They work as stevedores
in the port.

00:02:58.700 --> 00:03:02.100
\"Smuguli,\" smugglers.

00:03:03.734 --> 00:03:06.633
\"Kayakaya,\" carriers.

00:03:14.000 --> 00:03:15.400
\"Grass Boys,\"

00:03:15.400 --> 00:03:19.333
manufacturers of tropical loam.

00:03:24.200 --> 00:03:28.533
\"Hygiene Boys,\"
mosquito killers.

00:03:29.533 --> 00:03:30.767
\"Cattle Boys,\"

00:03:30.767 --> 00:03:33.467
cattle traders
in the Greek Markets

00:03:33.467 --> 00:03:34.767
of Accra and Komensi.

00:03:34.767 --> 00:03:38.533
\"Bottle Boys,\"
empty bottle sellers.

00:03:38.533 --> 00:03:43.633
\"Team Boys,\"
who sell empty petrol drums.

00:03:43.633 --> 00:03:47.533
\"Timber Boys,\"
selling timber.

00:03:50.266 --> 00:03:51.200
\"Gutter Boys,\"

00:03:51.200 --> 00:03:54.033
who tend the gutters
of the city.

00:03:54.033 --> 00:03:59.333
\"Goldmine Boys,\"
who work underground.

00:04:00.433 --> 00:04:04.367
(men speaking foreign language)

00:04:11.166 --> 00:04:15.367
NARRATOR:
And, by day and by night,
in the bars,

00:04:15.367 --> 00:04:17.133
\"Weekend in California,\"

00:04:17.133 --> 00:04:18.700
\"Weekend in Havana,\"

00:04:18.700 --> 00:04:20.533
you can hear the Calypso

00:04:20.533 --> 00:04:22.367
from the West Indies.

00:04:22.367 --> 00:04:23.567
Every Saturday and Sunday,

00:04:23.567 --> 00:04:26.200
they are positioned
in the streets.

00:04:26.200 --> 00:04:31.000
These are Yorubas,
celebrating a wedding.

00:04:31.667 --> 00:04:34.233
These are Aoutsa prostitutes,

00:04:34.233 --> 00:04:39.200
protesting against lower wages.

00:04:41.600 --> 00:04:45.333
These are \"Daughters of Jesus,\"

00:04:45.333 --> 00:04:49.000
singing their faith
in the streets.

00:04:49.700 --> 00:04:53.333
All this noise,
all these brass bands,

00:04:53.333 --> 00:04:57.667
forces the men
who have come from the north,

00:04:57.667 --> 00:04:59.066
from silent savannas,

00:04:59.066 --> 00:05:03.266
to seek some peace
in the suburbs of the city.

00:05:03.266 --> 00:05:04.567
And there, every Sunday night,

00:05:04.567 --> 00:05:09.333
they go through ceremonies
not yet known to us.

00:05:09.333 --> 00:05:11.100
They call the new gods,

00:05:11.100 --> 00:05:12.633
the gods of the city,

00:05:12.633 --> 00:05:14.333
the gods of technology,

00:05:14.333 --> 00:05:16.000
the gods of power:

00:05:16.000 --> 00:05:17.600
the Hauka.

00:05:19.233 --> 00:05:22.333
The meeting place
of the Hauka in Accra

00:05:22.333 --> 00:05:24.000
is in the Salt Market.

00:05:24.000 --> 00:05:26.467
There, members of the sect

00:05:26.467 --> 00:05:28.667
meet every evening after work.

00:05:28.667 --> 00:05:31.700
They gather around
Moukayla-Kiri,

00:05:31.700 --> 00:05:33.500
Moukayla of the Salt.

00:05:33.500 --> 00:05:34.734
They pretend to read the paper,

00:05:34.734 --> 00:05:38.433
like Gerba,
with his checkered shirt.

00:05:42.100 --> 00:05:47.033
And those, who have now been
possessed for some time,

00:05:47.033 --> 00:05:48.100
sleep on the cots,

00:05:48.100 --> 00:05:53.700
indifferent even to the tunes
played to the Hauka.

00:05:57.000 --> 00:05:58.567
One Sunday morning,

00:05:58.567 --> 00:05:59.767
in mammy wagons,

00:05:59.767 --> 00:06:02.734
trucks which pick up
passengers,

00:06:02.734 --> 00:06:04.266
private cars or taxis,

00:06:04.266 --> 00:06:09.200
all the members of the sect
leave the city.

00:06:14.767 --> 00:06:17.100
They drive off
the main road onto one,

00:06:17.100 --> 00:06:20.533
which is, perhaps,
the first tarmac road

00:06:20.533 --> 00:06:21.700
in West Africa,

00:06:21.700 --> 00:06:25.200
and is today overrun by grass.

00:06:25.200 --> 00:06:27.066
Then they walk for an hour

00:06:27.066 --> 00:06:29.467
to get to Mountyeba\'s compound.

00:06:29.467 --> 00:06:32.600
Mountyeba,
a man from the Niger,

00:06:32.600 --> 00:06:33.567
a cocoa farmer,

00:06:33.567 --> 00:06:38.133
and the High Priest
of all the Hauka.

00:06:41.300 --> 00:06:43.533
Colored rags float in the sky.

00:06:43.533 --> 00:06:47.266
They are the \"Union Jacks\".

00:06:47.266 --> 00:06:50.367
Just below is a statue
of the Governor,

00:06:50.367 --> 00:06:52.066
with his mustache,

00:06:52.066 --> 00:06:54.300
his sword, his guns,

00:06:54.300 --> 00:06:55.400
and his horses.

00:06:55.400 --> 00:06:57.066
The first part of the ceremony

00:06:57.066 --> 00:07:00.166
is the nomination
of a new member.

00:07:00.166 --> 00:07:04.000
This man has been sick
for a month.

00:07:04.000 --> 00:07:04.734
For one month,

00:07:04.734 --> 00:07:08.000
he has one fit after one other.

00:07:08.000 --> 00:07:09.233
He sleeps in the cemetery

00:07:09.233 --> 00:07:11.066
and digs up the corpses.

00:07:11.066 --> 00:07:13.233
Everybody knew that this man

00:07:13.233 --> 00:07:14.400
is possessed by a Hauka,

00:07:14.400 --> 00:07:17.767
and Moukayla-Kiri,
wearing his felt hat,

00:07:17.767 --> 00:07:19.033
watches over him.

00:07:19.033 --> 00:07:21.233
He is not yet entitled to wear

00:07:21.233 --> 00:07:22.266
the pith helmet.

00:07:22.266 --> 00:07:24.333
In two,
or perhaps three months,

00:07:24.333 --> 00:07:26.066
he will be initiated,

00:07:26.066 --> 00:07:27.500
when he asks to be,

00:07:27.500 --> 00:07:30.033
but for the time being,

00:07:30.033 --> 00:07:32.166
he has simply been nominated.

00:07:32.166 --> 00:07:35.266
He takes out two wooden guns,
which he strikes together,

00:07:35.266 --> 00:07:38.233
to imitate the noise
of gunshots.

00:07:38.233 --> 00:07:42.300
He threatens the elders.

00:07:42.300 --> 00:07:45.767
(commotion)

00:08:05.000 --> 00:08:07.500
NARRATOR:
The nomination is over.

00:08:07.500 --> 00:08:10.100
Mountyeba has hoisted

00:08:10.100 --> 00:08:13.266
another Union Jack.

00:08:13.266 --> 00:08:15.400
The second part of the ceremony

00:08:15.400 --> 00:08:18.233
is the public confession.

00:08:18.233 --> 00:08:21.100
Around the concrete altar,

00:08:21.100 --> 00:08:24.100
the guilty Hauka must confess

00:08:24.100 --> 00:08:25.166
their wrongdoings.

00:08:25.166 --> 00:08:27.767
One says, \"I\'ve had intercourse

00:08:27.767 --> 00:08:30.767
with the girlfriend
of one of my friends,

00:08:30.767 --> 00:08:32.367
and for two months,

00:08:32.367 --> 00:08:35.166
I have been impotent.\"

00:08:43.633 --> 00:08:46.166
Another says, \"I never wash.

00:08:46.166 --> 00:08:49.367
I\'m dirty. I\'m not elegant.\"

00:08:49.367 --> 00:08:53.500
MAN:
(speaking foreign language)

00:08:55.100 --> 00:08:58.500
NARRATOR:
And another says,
\"I don\'t care about the Hauka.

00:08:58.500 --> 00:09:01.266
Sometimes,
I even say they don\'t exist.\"

00:09:01.266 --> 00:09:06.667
One member has given
a ram and a chicken.

00:09:06.667 --> 00:09:08.467
When the whistle blows,

00:09:08.467 --> 00:09:10.600
the Haukas form two lines.

00:09:10.600 --> 00:09:12.700
The penitents on one side,

00:09:12.700 --> 00:09:15.700
and the others facing them.

00:09:15.700 --> 00:09:19.500
(indistinct chatter)

00:09:21.166 --> 00:09:25.000
NARRATOR:
One of Mountyeba\'s assistants,

00:09:25.000 --> 00:09:27.500
holding the sacrificial
chicken,

00:09:27.500 --> 00:09:30.400
swings his arm to and fro,

00:09:30.400 --> 00:09:31.767
to tell the gods,

00:09:31.767 --> 00:09:33.533
\"We give You this chicken,

00:09:33.533 --> 00:09:36.066
neither in front, nor in back.\"

00:09:36.066 --> 00:09:40.000
The blood is poured
on the concrete altar,

00:09:40.000 --> 00:09:41.266
and on a termite hill,

00:09:41.266 --> 00:09:43.433
previously painted
black and white,

00:09:43.433 --> 00:09:47.266
and representing
\"The Governor\'s Palace.\"

00:09:47.266 --> 00:09:51.767
The penitents come
before the blood-drenched altar

00:09:51.767 --> 00:09:53.600
to take the great oath.

00:09:53.600 --> 00:09:57.233
They swear not to do it again.

00:09:57.233 --> 00:09:58.333
\"If we do it again,

00:09:58.333 --> 00:10:02.500
we ask our Hauka
to punish us by death.\"

00:10:02.500 --> 00:10:07.600
Then the penitents
are sent outside the compound.

00:10:07.600 --> 00:10:09.100
They will have to be possessed

00:10:09.100 --> 00:10:14.567
before they are allowed back
into the holy circle.

00:10:14.567 --> 00:10:16.066
In a spirit of purification,

00:10:16.066 --> 00:10:19.033
Mountyeba makes
a libation of gin.

00:10:19.033 --> 00:10:21.700
He pours it
over the holy trees,

00:10:21.700 --> 00:10:24.467
the poles
with all the Union Jacks,

00:10:24.467 --> 00:10:26.133
and the Governor\'s Palace.

00:10:26.133 --> 00:10:29.133
On the Governor\'s Palace,
a telegram,

00:10:29.133 --> 00:10:34.333
the movie poster
for\"The Sign of Zorro\".

00:10:35.133 --> 00:10:36.500
Above is a repository,

00:10:36.500 --> 00:10:40.100
where Mountyeba keeps
the sacrificial eggs.

00:10:40.100 --> 00:10:41.734
A sentry is mounting guard,

00:10:41.734 --> 00:10:43.734
and Mountyeba breaks the eggs

00:10:43.734 --> 00:10:45.767
over the steps and balconies

00:10:45.767 --> 00:10:47.166
of the Governor\'s Palace.

00:10:47.166 --> 00:10:51.400
MAN:
(speaking
foreign language)

00:11:03.367 --> 00:11:06.533
NARRATOR:
It is 10:00 in the morning.
It rains.

00:11:06.533 --> 00:11:12.066
The one-string fiddler
is playing the Hauka tunes.

00:11:12.734 --> 00:11:15.700
Men are waiting.

00:11:16.033 --> 00:11:18.000
And Mountyeba
is going to sleep,

00:11:18.000 --> 00:11:22.433
resting his head
on the Governor\'s Palace.

00:11:23.700 --> 00:11:26.533
They are waiting for a dog.

00:11:26.533 --> 00:11:27.633
Why a dog?

00:11:27.633 --> 00:11:30.533
Because it is a strict taboo.

00:11:30.533 --> 00:11:33.467
And if the Hauka slaughter
and eat a dog,

00:11:33.467 --> 00:11:38.567
they will prove that they are
stronger than the other men,

00:11:38.567 --> 00:11:40.734
whether black or white.

00:11:40.734 --> 00:11:43.166
The guns and red sashes

00:11:43.166 --> 00:11:46.633
are gathered around the altar.

00:11:46.633 --> 00:11:50.433
(indistinct chatter)

00:11:53.233 --> 00:11:55.500
(music playing)

00:11:55.500 --> 00:11:58.400
NARRATOR:
Then starts the dancing.

00:11:58.400 --> 00:12:00.300
Mountyeba is the first
to dance,

00:12:00.300 --> 00:12:04.633
for all the Hauka
must be possessed.

00:12:05.066 --> 00:12:07.567
The sentries
surround the dancers.

00:12:07.567 --> 00:12:10.633
They carry the guns
and the whips,

00:12:10.633 --> 00:12:13.100
made out of fan belts.

00:12:13.100 --> 00:12:16.567
(music playing)

00:12:37.266 --> 00:12:41.066
(indistinct chatter)

00:12:45.333 --> 00:12:48.667
NARRATOR:
Gerba, one of the penitents,

00:12:48.667 --> 00:12:50.700
wants to join the dancers

00:12:50.700 --> 00:12:53.633
but is not allowed to,

00:12:53.633 --> 00:12:55.100
since he\'s not yet possessed.

00:12:55.100 --> 00:12:58.767
Mountyeba chases him off
into the brush.

00:12:58.767 --> 00:13:01.600
The impotent man
is also run out,

00:13:01.600 --> 00:13:04.033
and sentries are placed

00:13:04.033 --> 00:13:05.300
all around the compound,

00:13:05.300 --> 00:13:09.133
striking their wooden rifles
together,

00:13:09.133 --> 00:13:11.633
and stopping the penitents.

00:13:11.633 --> 00:13:17.367
Other sentries watch over those
who are going to be possessed,

00:13:17.367 --> 00:13:19.700
aiming their rifles at them,

00:13:19.700 --> 00:13:23.400
in standing or prone position.

00:13:25.066 --> 00:13:29.467
And the trance starts, slowly,

00:13:29.467 --> 00:13:31.333
in the left foot.

00:13:31.333 --> 00:13:34.033
Then in the right foot.

00:13:34.033 --> 00:13:35.567
It travels upward,

00:13:35.567 --> 00:13:37.467
through the hands,

00:13:37.467 --> 00:13:40.200
arms, shoulders,

00:13:40.200 --> 00:13:42.734
up to the head.

00:13:45.200 --> 00:13:47.533
And the first man possessed
gets up.

00:13:47.533 --> 00:13:49.100
He is Kapragardi,

00:13:49.100 --> 00:13:52.200
the Corporal of the Guard.

00:13:54.233 --> 00:13:57.000
He salutes everyone.

00:13:59.367 --> 00:14:02.000
Then he asks for fire.

00:14:02.000 --> 00:14:03.433
Fire to burn himself with,

00:14:03.433 --> 00:14:06.266
to prove
that he\'s no longer a man,

00:14:06.266 --> 00:14:08.734
but a Hauka.

00:14:09.233 --> 00:14:13.033
(indistinct chatter)

00:14:36.000 --> 00:14:41.400
NARRATOR:
When saluted,
one of the other men shouts.

00:14:41.400 --> 00:14:42.367
He is Gerba,

00:14:42.367 --> 00:14:45.400
one of the penitents
who was in the brush.

00:14:45.400 --> 00:14:48.133
Gerba is possessed by the Hauka

00:14:48.133 --> 00:14:50.567
known as Samkaki,

00:14:50.567 --> 00:14:53.266
the train engineer.

00:14:54.734 --> 00:14:57.333
(indistinct chatter)

00:14:57.333 --> 00:15:01.033
NARRATOR:
The engineer
pulls up his shorts

00:15:01.033 --> 00:15:03.166
and gathers all the rifles

00:15:03.166 --> 00:15:06.266
to carry them to the altar.

00:15:08.233 --> 00:15:13.367
The Corporal of the Guard
is now wearing his red sashes.

00:15:13.367 --> 00:15:15.533
And the third Hauka rises.

00:15:15.533 --> 00:15:17.333
He is Captain Malia,

00:15:17.333 --> 00:15:20.033
the Captain of the Red Sea,

00:15:20.033 --> 00:15:21.333
who does a slow march,

00:15:21.333 --> 00:15:26.133
the parade march
of the British Army.

00:15:26.133 --> 00:15:29.734
(indistinct chatter)

00:15:31.333 --> 00:15:34.066
NARRATOR:
And here is
a fourth man seized:

00:15:34.066 --> 00:15:35.300
he is \"Madame LeCortereau.\"

00:15:35.300 --> 00:15:39.433
Acting coy, Madame LeCortereau,
the doctor\'s wife,

00:15:39.433 --> 00:15:41.633
receives a woman\'s dress.

00:15:41.633 --> 00:15:44.433
(indistinct chatter)

00:15:45.400 --> 00:15:47.633
NARRATOR:
The Corporal of the Guard

00:15:47.633 --> 00:15:51.767
goes on saluting everyone.

00:15:53.100 --> 00:15:56.700
And the engineer
shuttles back and forth

00:15:56.700 --> 00:16:01.166
between the Governor\'s Palace
and the altar.

00:16:01.467 --> 00:16:04.633
This one is Lieutenant Malia,

00:16:04.633 --> 00:16:06.300
the Lieutenant of the Red Sea.

00:16:06.300 --> 00:16:11.433
Breathing becomes heavy,
eyes turn white.

00:16:13.300 --> 00:16:19.233
Next, the Governor
is reaching a climax.

00:16:22.433 --> 00:16:24.367
The Lieutenant calls for help,

00:16:24.367 --> 00:16:25.633
and the Corporal of the Guard

00:16:25.633 --> 00:16:28.633
comes to the assistance
of the Governor.

00:16:28.633 --> 00:16:32.433
(indistinct chatter)

00:16:38.133 --> 00:16:39.633
NARRATOR:
The Governor is standing.

00:16:39.633 --> 00:16:44.233
He speaks French
and insults everyone.

00:16:44.500 --> 00:16:46.633
He calls his lieutenant,

00:16:46.633 --> 00:16:48.266
and his lieutenant
makes a sign,

00:16:48.266 --> 00:16:52.667
meaning, \"I hear you,
but I\'m not here yet.\"

00:16:52.667 --> 00:16:56.467
(indistinct chatter)

00:17:02.500 --> 00:17:04.367
NARRATOR:
And the Lieutenant stand

00:17:04.367 --> 00:17:07.333
to salute the Governor.

00:17:08.600 --> 00:17:12.400
(indistinct chatter)

00:17:17.066 --> 00:17:20.333
NARRATOR:
A woman has fallen
on the ground.

00:17:20.333 --> 00:17:21.300
She is Magasia,

00:17:21.300 --> 00:17:24.367
the Queen of the Accra
prostitutes.

00:17:24.367 --> 00:17:27.333
She\'s possessed by a she-demon,

00:17:27.333 --> 00:17:28.667
Madame Salma.

00:17:28.667 --> 00:17:30.333
Madame Salma was the wife

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of one of the first French
officers to come to Niger,

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at the end of the last century,
Captain Salma.

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Madame Salma is now wearing

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a pith helmet and a dress.

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She inspects
the new statue of the Governor,

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and the Lieutenant
breaks an egg

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on the Governor\'s head.

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Why an egg?

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To imitate the plume

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worn by British governors
on their helmet.

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Here he is the real Governor,

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at the trouping of the colors,

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of the opening
of the assembly in Accra.

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Guns salute,

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and amid a crowd,

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there are Hauka dancers,

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looking for their model.

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And if the order
is different here from there,

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the protocol remains the same.

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(indistinct chatter)

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NARRATOR:
The General Staff
is gathered together

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to inspect
the Governor\'s Palace.

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The Corporal of the Guard
stands at the entrance,

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and the Governor and Lieutenant

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check the fresh coat of paint
on the building.

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Mountyeba, the man in charge,
is worried.

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If the Governor complains,

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he will be fined a sheep,

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or even a steer, maybe.

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(indistinct chatter)

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NARRATOR:
This man, dressed in blue,

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is possessed by the General.

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The Governor
insults the General,

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and the Lieutenant
gets into a rage and says,

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\"I\'m going to bring
the General back!\"

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The General
gets really furious and says,

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\"It\'s always the same.

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No one will listen to me,
the General.\"

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Then the Governor invites him

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to a round-table conference.

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(indistinct chatter)

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NARRATOR:
The General calls his orderly.

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The soldier Timuku
nearly knocks himself out,

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and then gets up

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and comes to pay his respects
to his General.

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The other men,
who were in the brush,

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are now possessed and come out.

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The Secretary-General.

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Mayimota, the truck driver.

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NARRATOR:
And Major Mugu,
the \"Wicked Major.\"

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The Wicked Major comes

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to pay his respects
to the General,

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who orders him: \"Burn yourself,
as the others did!\"

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And the Governor asks,

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\"Show that you are really
the Wicked Major!\"

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The Major takes
a very small torch,

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and the General insults him

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and asks for a larger one.

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The Major takes it
and sets fire to his own shirt.

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They have to extinguish
the Wicked Major.

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Then the Governor
calls together

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another round-table conference.

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It is the Conference
of the Dog.

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All the Hauka
have now gathered,

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and the dog
is to be slaughtered

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and eaten up.

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The Captain would like
to slaughter the dog,

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but finally,

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Boukelakiri,

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the quiet priest,

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cuts the dog\'s throat

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in order to avoid accidents.

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And the Governor says,
\"Keep quiet!\"

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And the General says,
\"Keep quiet!\"

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And hardly has the beast\'s
throat been cut,

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that the Hauka rush forward
to drink the gushing blood,

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or lick it off the altar stone.

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(indistinct chatter)

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NARRATOR:
Madame Doctor
starts cutting up the dog.

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The Captain places sentries

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and calls together
another conference.

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The point is whether the animal

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must be eaten raw or cooked.

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(indistinct chatter)

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NARRATOR:
\"Nobody listens to me,\"
says the General.

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\"It\'s always the same.\"

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He insults his soldiers,

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and finally managed
to get the meeting going.

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(indistinct chatter)

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NARRATOR:
The Captain tells the Governor,

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\"We must cook this dog

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so that we can take pieces

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to those who could not come.\"

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(indistinct chatter)

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NARRATOR:
Mayimota, the truck driver,

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suggests that
he will transport the dog,

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and the Governor says,
\"Hauka, look,

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I shall teach you
to carve a dog

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before you cook it.\"

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The Wicked Major gives
the Governor unwanted advice.

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Then the Major says
to Moukayla-Kiri,
the quiet priest,

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\"We must bring back
bits of the dog

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to those who didn\'t come.

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And also some of dog soup.\"

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(indistinct chatter)

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NARRATOR:
Meanwhile, the engineer
travels back and forth

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between the sacrificial altar
and the Governor\'s Palace.

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(indistinct chatter)

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NARRATOR:
As soon as the pot is boiling,

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the Hauka, who fear
neither fire nor boiling water,

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dip their arms
straight into the cauldron

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to fish out
pieces of stewed dog.

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(indistinct chatter)

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NARRATOR:
Bits of cooked dog
are wrapped in banana leaves,

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and empty bottles
are filled with dog soup.

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(indistinct chatter)

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NARRATOR:
It\'s getting late.

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Trucks and taxis
have been hired for the day.

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And if the feast
is not over soon,

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night fares
will have to be paid.

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So, one by one,
the Hauka move away.

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The assistants guide them
to the Governor\'s Palace,

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where the trance
is nearly over.

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(crickets chirping)

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NARRATOR:
However, Gerba, the engineer,
refuses to leave.

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They have removed
his ceremonial garb,

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but he stays on,

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and calls out to Moukayla-Kiri,
the quiet priest.

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He says, \"Moukayla, Moukayla,

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this year\'s festival
was a great success, indeed.

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Next year,
we must have two festivals,

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and we, the Hauka,

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will be very pleased.\"

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And so, from one festival,
another is born.

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(indistinct chatter)

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NARRATOR:
And even the engineer
finally goes away,

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and night falls...

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on the red rags,

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soiled clothes,

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and the Governor\'s Palace.

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(car honks)

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NARRATOR:
The day after,

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we went to see
the Hauka in Accra.

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In the Salt Market,
the quiet priest still rules,

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and one after the other,
the Haukas join him.

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Here comes Major Mugu,
the \"Wicked Major.\"

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Ooh, maybe resuming
a conversation

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he started yesterday
with Moukayla.

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But today the Major
no longer is impotent,

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and his girlfriend
is very happy.

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And not far away,

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another round-table conference
is being held,

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but this time,

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the point is not whether
to eat a dog raw or cooked,

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but simply to play cards.

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Madame LeCortereau

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is to be found
in Benjabi\'s shop.

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Madame LeCortereau,
the \"doctor\'s wife,\"

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is a rather effeminate boy

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who uses
a lot of hair Vaseline,

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but as a shop clerk
is excellent.

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The Corporal of the Guard
owns three trucks,

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and holds the gravel monopoly

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for the Accra
Public Works Department.

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The Lieutenant is a pickpocket,

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and awaits his customers
under the arcades

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of the West African
Trading Company.

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The General, in real life,

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is just a private.

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And, by chance,

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we find the General Staff
of yesterday\'s ceremony

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in front of
the Mental Hospital of Accra.

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The Governor, the engineer,

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and the truck driver...

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all three work
for the Accra Water Works.

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Those who, like Gerba,
were doing penance,

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have shaved off their hair,

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and are no longer impure.

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And, when looking
at these happy faces,

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and being told
they are among the best workers

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of the Water Works Department;

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when, comparing these smiles

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with the contortions
of yesterday,

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one really wonders
whether these men of Africa

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have found a panacea
against mental disorders.

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One wonders whether
they may have found a way

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to have solved
our inimical society.