Ousmane Sembene and the Cinema of Decolonization

Author(s): Robert A. Mortimer

Source: African Arts, Vol. 5, No. 3 (Spring, 1972), pp. 26-27+64-68+84
Published by: UCLA James S. Coleman African Studies Center
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/3334564
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 OUSMANE SEMBENE
and the Cinema of Decolonization

newly across
In the fall of 1969, a banner was unfurled independent Senegal. Since then, Vieyra has
bustling Avenue William Ponty in Dakar gradually
to heraldtransformed the offices of his Actualites
an unprecedented event. Emblazoned boldlySenegalaises
upon the into a modest studio for aspiring film-
banner was MANDABI, the Wolofized version of the
makers. Over the first few years, production was large-
French "Le Mandat" or "the money order," the to
ly limited title
documentary news films by Vieyra and
of an award-winning film by the talentedothers such as Blaise Senghor, whose Grand Magal a
Senegalese
filmmaker, Ousmane Sembene. The publicityTouba presented
cele- one of Senegal's major religious
brated a cultural and political event of celebrations.
considerable Vieyra also produced a short dramatic
significance: for the first time, the work of film entitled Mol, and Niger's Mustaffa Alassane pro-
a Senegalese
director was being shown commerciallyduced in Senegal.
two short subjects, King Koda's Ring and Aoure
West African filmmaking was moving beyond which treated
the themes drawn from traditional life;
select
audience of international film festivals to reach a mass however, they found no commercial outlet for these
African audience. Therein stands a major landmark in productions. This early work by Vieyra, Alassane, and
the history of the black man and the film medium. Senghor opened the way, however, along which Sem-
Film is obviously an attractive medium of expression bene was to blaze an impressive trail over the next
for artists in countries with high rates of illiteracy. several years, and along which he would be followed
Indeed Sembene, the filmmaker, is the current persona by several others.
of Sembene, the highly regarded novelist; his own Sembene's remarkable career is in itself a living
personal itinerary from writer to cineast bears testi- document of the forces of social change in recent Afri-
mony to the relevance of the film as a vehicle of educa- can history. Born in 1923 into a poor family in Ziguin-
tion and liberation in contemporary Africa. Yet film is chor, the main city of the Casamance region of southern
also a less readily accessible instrument than pen and Senegal, Sembene is an essentially self-educated man.
paper; while these latter "weapons" have produced a He recalls having exercised thirty-five different trades
flourishing literature of protest and identity in Africa, from fisherman to mechanic to soldier on his way to
film production has been very modest in the absence becoming a cineast. Clearly the major experience of
of adequate financial backing. this formative period was the decade spent as a long-
Senegal's cinema has followed a path of develop- shoreman on the docks of Marseille after World War
ment not unlike that of Senegalese literature three II. Here he became a union organizer among the black
decades earlier. In the mid-1930's, Ousmane Soce Diop workers, and he has continued to consider himself as a
published Karim, generally regarded as the first au- Marxist-Leninist. His profound concern and identi-
thentically West African novel. Concurrently in Paris, fication with the common man have been evident
Leopold Senghor was one of the group of black intel- throughout his artistic career.
lectuals who formulated the concept of negritude as an His first novel drew upon his life in Marseille. Pub-
expression of black cultural identity and achievement. lished in 1956, Le docker noir ("The Black Dock-
Senghor began at that time to write poetry, although it worker") was, according to one critic, "very badly
was not until 1945 that Chants d'Ombre, his first vol- written."1 Each succeeding work, however, exhibited
ume of verse, was published. Shortly after, Biragoa polishing of style which soon established Sembene
Diop published his first collection of folk tales, Lesas one of the finest and most original writers in Africa.
Contes d'Amadou Koumba. In the following few years, In 1957, he completed a second novel, O Pays, mon
several other West Africans began to publish, and itbeau peuple ("Oh Country, My Beautiful People")
became clear that a new written literature had been which described the efforts of a Casamancais to create
a modern, independent business in his own country
born to complement the rich heritage of the oral tradi-
tion. against the pressures of the colonial merchants and
the caste prejudices of the traditional peasant society.2
Similarly, over the period of a decade or so, an Afri-
can cinema developed out of the first ventures into Peasants and workers came together in his third work,
filmmaking, which began among a younger generation Les bouts de bois de Dieu.3 This major novel vividly
of West African intellectuals in Paris. Paulin Vieyra recounts the story of the African laborers' strike on the
produced Afrique sur Seine in the mid-1950's, a semi- Continued on page 64
documentary account of the life of Africans in Paris.
(OPPOSITE PAGE) STILLS FROM SEMBENE FILMS. LEFT, TOP: BOROM SARET.
In 1960, Vieyra returned to Africa to assume respon- CENTER: TAUW. BOTTOM: TAUW. RIGHT, TOP: MANDABI. CENTER: MANDABI. BOTTOM:
sibility for the direction of the news-reel service in TAUW.

26

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OUSMANE SEMBENE favorably was the Soviet Union. I spent a year at the
Continuedfrom page 26
Gorki Studio in Moscow, where I received a basically
practical instruction under the direction of Marc
Dakar-Bamako railway line in 1947-48, Donskol."4 This decision to master the film medium,
incorporating
Sembene's concern with progressive social change then, was prompted by Sembene's profound commit-
into a work rich in its portrayal of the physical and ment to a socially relevant art. His literary subjects
social setting of West African semi-urban life. were the common people of Senegal struggling to cope
Foreshadowing his artistic versatility, Sembene with the oppression of colonialism and the disruptive
shifted effectively to the medium of the short story forces of social change brought about by moderniza-
when he published Voltaique in 1962, a collection tion. He was not content that the ideas and lessons
acclaimed for the poetic tone and psychological in- contained in his art be limited to the African elite. As a
socialist critical of the emerging post-colonial bureau-
sights in characterization that it revealed. One of these
stories later became the subject of a film, as did the cratic elite on the one hand, and a progressive critical
two novellas published a few years later as Vehi- of certain traditional practices on the other, Sembene
Ciosane and Le Mandat. Although he published yet had a message to convey. He concluded that movies
another novel in 1964 (L'Harmattan, an interpretation offered a greater opportunity than books to "crystallize
of the political events surrounding the 1958 referen- a new consciousness among the masses."5 The step
dum in which Senghor decided against voting for into filmmaking was as much a political act as an artistic
immediate independence), it seems that by the early choice. The image was to teach a lesson of liberation,
1960's, Sembene, the writer, was already thinking in but at the same time Sembene was determined not to
terms of creations that might be carried to the screen. sacrifice his artistic integrity in taking that step toward
Sembene has described his transition into film- a cinema of genuine decolonization.
making as follows: "I became aware of the fact Each that of Sembene's films tells a movingly sad story.
His protagonists are humble people exploited in one
using the written word, I could reach only a limited
way or another by the disruption wrought upon their
number of people, especially in Africa where illiteracy
is so deplorably widespread. I recognized that the society
film by colonialism or its neocolonial vestiges. Each
film has a dramatic integrity, using well-chosen visual
on the other hand was capable of reaching large masses
of people. That is when I decided to submit applica-
images which move the viewer to a sense of injustice,
tions to several embassies for a scholarship to payto an awareness of the need to solve some basic prob-
for
lems. Sembene does not seek to provide set answers
training in filmmaking. The first country to respond
to these social problems; never does he lapse into a
cinema of slogans or revolutionary demonstrations. He
recognizes that the film is a medium for shaping ideas
and attitudes as the viewer reflects upon the story he
has seen.

RJI i{Vrrd Sembene's first production, Borom Saret, runs but

nineteen minutes. Slowly paced and filmed in a semi-
documentary style, Sembene uses these nineteen
minutes to take us through the wearisome day of a
bonhomme charette or cart-driver, who seeks to make
rl~~ ~i ... II ~
a living from a horse and buggy taxi service. The driver
transports a pregnant woman to the hospital, and then
a father to the cemetery to bury his dead baby. The
poverty of his passengers, his own rumpled old hat,
the dusty street of the medina-all add up visually to a
day in which no client is able to pay his fare. Finally a
well-dressed young man persuades him to cart some of
his belongings into a comfortable residential neigh-
borhood in which horse and buggy wagons are pro-
hibited. There a policeman appears, fines the driver,
and confiscates his wagon. The victim returns sadly
NEW ADDRESS home without a franc, deprived of his means of liveli-
...I
hood. His wife leaves the children with him and goes
50 WEST 57 ST., NEW YORK 10019 out saying, "We must eat tonight..."
TEL. (212) 355-3859 It is a tribute to the director's skill that in this rather
short footage, Sembene is able to convey the heavy
DIRECTOR: LADISLAS SEGY AUTHOR OF weight of poverty, the growing demoralization of an
AFRICAN SCULPTURE SPEAKS unproductive day, the frustration of the struggle to
survive in a setting marked by the gap between the
AFRICAN SCULPTURE
rich who make the law and the poor who suffer its
AFRICAN ART STUDIES, VOL. I inequities. The cart-driver tries his best to support
his family only to have his wife thrown back upon her
EXHIBITION: 50 YEARS IN AFRICAN ART own resources at the end. The mood of the film is one
of pathos, not of revolution, but the impact of the story

64

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is strong and troubling. For this film, the Tours Film France as a maid. Two images in particular struck many
Festival awarded Sembene its prize for the best first viewers: the marche' aux bonnes or "maid market" at
work in 1963. which the French technical assistance family finds the
In 1964, he transformed his short novel Vehi-Ciosane maid-uncomfortably reminiscent of a slave market as
filmed by Sembene-'and the recurrent image of an
into a film entitled Niaye,6 a stark vision of the disinte-
gration of traditional rural life under the dual pressureAfrican mask which the maid purchases as a toy for the
of outmoded authority relationships and colonial inter- European child and which comes to symbolize her
ference. As in the novel, the physical focus of the film cultural identity as she grows more despondent over
is the central place of the village, the perfect visual her objectification by the French family.
image of rural Senegal, where the men gather beneath Sembene himself was most struck by the expressive-
ness of the face of Therese Moissine Diop who plays
a tree to discuss village matters, or to gossip and listen
to the griot, the traditional story-teller. The griot re-the girl.7 In all of his cinema, Sembene has drawn re-
counts a sordid tale of incest, suicide, murder, and markable performances from non-professional actors.
currupted power. The peaceful appearance of the As the illiterate and lonely maid rarely speaks to the
countryside contrasts sharply with the underlying family (her thoughts being expressed in background
monologues), the camera must convey much of the
reality as the viewer learns that the village chief has
inner turmoil she feels in this racist huis-clos.
impregnated his daughter to the despair of his humili-
ated wife who kills herself when she realizes that no La Noire de ... is a moving portrait of racial exploita-
tion. Sembene believes that the "maid trade", how-
one has the courage to avenge her by rebelling against
the chief's authority. Their son later returns home ever, is a symbol of a larger issue: the neocolonial
traumatized by his military service in Indochina;attitudes
the of the new African bureaucratic elite who
chiefs cousin, covetous of his power, persuades the condone such a relationship in return for European
financial aid and technical assistance.8 In portraying
deranged young man to murder his father. The colonial
administration legitimizes the conspiracy by naming poignantly the human consequences for one person
the guilty cousin as the new chief with the approvalcaught
of up in this neocolonial system, Sembene sough
the village elders. At the end we see, however, thatto
theprovoke thought upon the larger situation, and t
griot and the daughter are overwhelmed by thisraise cor- questions about the content of genuine African
rupt hypocrisy, and decide to leave the village. Theindependence.
daughter momentarily considers abandoning her in- Mandabi, the production of which was made pos-
fant until she sees vultures circling overhead-a grim
sible by the artistic success of La Noire de.. ., takes up
image summing up much of the film. She gathers up
the baby, and much like the wife of the cart-driver,
departs to an uncertain future.
Niaye is a strong dose of social criticism, perhaps too
heavily administered to be convincing. The preface
to the novel makes it clear that Sembene conceived
the work as an attack upon uncritical glorifications
of the past, a category within which he includes the
doctrine of negritude. The film incorporates this same
harsh message. Yet the novel, for all its violence, has a
poetic quality-in its contrast between innocent vic-
tims and those corrupted by power, and in the dignity
expressed by the griot's anguish at the disintegration
of the ancestral legacy-which Sembene sought to
capture on film. He passionately desired that Niaye be
seen by its primary audience, the peasants of Senegal.
As he had no commercial outlet for the work, he under-
took the responsibility of distribution himself, touring
the country to project and discuss the film personally.
Thus he achieved the direct contact with his audience
that had drawn him into filmmaking. He recalls with
pleasure the long evenings spent discussing the prob-
lems raised by Niaye in the improvised "open-air
theaters" of rural Senegal.
His third movie brought Sembene considerable
international recognition as a cineast. La Noire de ...
won prizes at film festivals in France and Tunisia as
well as at Dakar's special 1966 Festival of the Negro
Arts. Adapted from one of the stories in Voltaique, this
was Sembene's first direct cinematic treatment of the
theme of black-white relations. The story is based in
fact, drawn from an incident which Sembene read
about in the French press. It portrays the tragic isola-
tion and eventual suicide of an African girl taken to

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this same theme in a quite different story. It is the comedy and the color gradually fade in significance as
first work which Sembene produced in color (although the more somber shades of life in Dakar's shanty-
he experimented with some color sequences which he town emerge. The tribulations of a simple man as he
eventually cut from La Noire de ...) and he uses color confronts the post-independence bureaucratic estab-
to great advantage in presenting a visual panorama of lishment (a visual carbon copy of the French adminis-
life in modern Dakar. As anyone who has visited trative system) become painfully serious matters.
Senegal's capital will readily recall, the city is a palate Ibrahima encounters red tape at the post office, disdain
of splendid colors. Sea, sky, flowers, open markets, at the city hall, cheating as he seeks the photograph
and brilliant light provide the setting for the brightly required for his identity card, and finally venality from
colored fabrics of the women whose long pagnes and the young college-educated relative to whom he turns
highly wound kerchiefs bob and wend their way for assistance. At the same time, he becomes fair game
through the busy downtown streets. for every neighbor who gets wind of the impending
Sembene explodes this color in a visual assault upon "wealth" out of which he is finally cheated. Humili-
the viewer as his hero Ibrahima Dieng goes upon his ated by the nascent bourgeoisie of his country, Ibra-
quest to cash a money order. In one of the striking hima cries out desperately in the film's closing scene
early scenes, the viewer is overwhelmed by a sea of that "honesty has become a crime in this day."
boubous as the men pour out of Dakar's impressive The impact of the film is strong. The characters are
Grand Mosque. The long, flowing, often handsomely authentic, and the story is simple and convincing. From
embroidered boubou of the traditional Senegalese the first image of the nephew, a streetsweeper in
man becomes a symbol of Ibrahima's traditional dig- Paris, dropping the money order into a mail box, to the
nity; as he sets off upon a difficult errand or is rebuffed closing image of Ibrahima's lamentation, one senses
by an arrogant clerk, he majestically swishes his bou- the concern with social and economic inequality that
bou into its proper stately fit to reassure himself of his pervades Sembene's work. Once again the director
worth and decency. does not give us a revolutionary figure, yet the film
Mandabi is a political film lightly disguised as a conveys its message of the need for change. Sembene's
farce. Mamadou Gueye, the Dakar office-worker whom critique is implicit in the contrasting images of the
Sembene turned into an international film-star in the shantytown and the well-to-do neighborhoods, or the
lead role, renders an amusing Ibrahima. There are honest but unemployed man and those who exploit the
many comic sequences as Ibrahima and his wives privileges of a seat behind a desk. The humor and the
Mety and Aram seek to capitalize upon the sudden deft portrayal of ordinary family life allow Sembene to
"fortune" sent by their nephew in France. Yet the reach a large audience; without turning the movie into
a manifesto, the director nevertheless employs his
medium to teach a lesson. It is this effective combina-
tion plus its technical excellence that make Mandabi
an artistic success as well as a landmark.
Sembene's most recent work is a short color film,
DOGON
SEATED COUPLE
commissioned by American churchmen to illustrat
WOOD some of the profound dilemmas of modernization in
HEIGHT 143"
contemporary Africa. Conceived essentially for west
ern audiences, Tauw reiterates several themes already
familiar from his earlier films. It focuses upon urba
youth, faced by the dual problems of unemploymen
and changing values. The title character is a young
man without prospects, engaging in petty thievery
(snitching croissants from a carrier's tray) while wan-
dering about Dakar in search of work, unable to pur
chase the ticket which would admit him to the docks
for a possible job. He quarrels with his traditionalist
father and breaks with his family; one senses as the
film ends that Tauw stands on the verge of vagrancy or
anomie. While this quasi-documentary short feature
reflects issues to which Sembene has earlier drawn
attention, he has further ideas for new work. He h
already shot some footage in his native Casamance f
a film treating the clash of temporal and spiritua
authority. Another project calls for a major histori
film on the nineteenth-century Malinke resistance
leader, Samory Toure. These further themes sugge
Sembene's conception of how the film can continue
a vehicle of growing African self-understanding.
ANTIQUE AFRICAN SCULPTURE
Sembene's long struggle to bring his ideas before
mass African audience was rewarded with Mandabi,
P.O. Box 04028 * Detroit, Michigan 48204
but this breakthrough itself illuminated the financ
(313) TY 7-7374
and commercial restraints blocking the growth of
African film industry. One major problem is distr

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bution. Film distribution in independent Africa has Of what use, then, is this art form that it should be
for some time generally remained under the control of nurtured? Probably every African leader has pointed
a few European firms. Sembene pointedly summed up to education as one of the highest priorities in his
the plight of Africa's filmmakers in stating, "Up to country's national development. People must learn
now, we've been scrounging. We receive no financial new techniques and new attitudes if their societies are
support from our government, so we have to go else- to modernize and thereby provide greater economic
where, borrow, run into debt. This is why our produc- well-being for the masses of the people. At the same
tions are unknown in our own country."9 None of time, they must strive to maintain certain cultural
Sembene's earlier films had broken this barrier of values, to change without becoming uprooted, to link
foreign commercial interests, and the Senegalese their future aspirations to their past heritage. Obvious-
government, for its part, pursued a hands-off policy,
ly the film is no panacea for resolving these major
displaying no particular interest in making African
tensions of social change, but it is a possible tool to be
films available to an African public. Mandabi appeared
used among others. The film medium is a prime vehicle
on African screens only because Comacico, one of forthe
bringing people together for a common experience,
two French companies that has long controlled distri-
for reflecting together upon some issue as posed or
bution in French Africa, concluded that it was a profit-
interpreted by the artist. Reinterpretations of tradi-
able commodity. Much of the profit, however, will be tales, reformulations of current issues, examina-
tional
repatriated rather than serving the future cause of an of changing cultural values, efforts to define new
tions
independent African cinema. meanings in contemporary Africa-these are tasks
In spite of the success of Mandabi, it is not at all
eminently suitable to the African artist working with
clear that the era of "scrounging" has ended.film Alltoday. To fulfill such a role is precisely the in-
African directors face the same financial difficulties spiration of the Senegalese director Mahama Johnson
confronted by Sembene in producing Mandabi. Reflec- Traore, who told Dakar's Le Soleil that he wants his
ting on the financial dilemma of the African filmmaker, films to "make a contribution to the definition of our
Sembene has observed: "Our situation as black African personality. We must give a large place to films which
cineasts is extremely uncomfortable. African cinema make us rediscover our roots, our Africanness."
cannot and must not remain dependent upon the 'good As cinematic "educators," filmmakers deserve a
will' of French sources... We are caught in a web of measure of support in their effort to make this kind of
contradictions... Some troublemakers reproach me contribution to their national culture. To be sure,
for having shot with French money... namely an artists will say things that politicians will not appreci-
advance against future profits granted by [French ate. The crucial issue of free expression in a developing
Minister of Cultural Affairs Andre] Malraux ... I agree society is at the heart of the matter. To assume that
that that is indeed a contradiction. But I had no choice:
between two contradictions, one must choose the
lesser one. I had two options: take this money... and
make my film, or refuse it and not make a film... If an
African country had proposed a budget to me, I would
have accepted joyfully. That was not the case. I take
money where I can find it. I am ready to ally myself
with the devil if this devil gives me the money to shoot
films."10
The first question then is whether African film-
makers must continue to commerce with the devil in
order to support their work; and secondly, if they can
escape from dependence upon extra-African sources
of support, how can they protect themselves from
falling under the sway of other devils? Examination of

Il^^^fR
these issues should begin, however, by considering
some prior questions: is Sembene a luxury, or worse
yet a nuisance at this moment in Africa's history - or is
he perhaps simply an oddity, whose own appreciable ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^H:..;.s C.
contribution nevertheless hardly justifies talking
about an "African cinema"?
To dispose first of the last query, it seems clear that
Sembene is a pacesetter rather than a deviant. In
Senegal he is now surrounded by a group of new
directors, all of whom have completed some successful
short subjects, and several of whom have reached
Sembene's earlier plateau: gold medals in the Euro- SONGE,, KIFWEBE MASK, LOMANI REGION * HEIGHT 21"
pean festivals but no commercial distribution as yet."
Although Dakar has emerged as the film center of
black Africa, beyond Senegal other directors are at
work, the best known in Niger, Ivory Coast, Ghana,
and Nigeria.12 An African cinema has indeed been
born and is struggling now for healthy growth.

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filmmakers are necessarily demagogues and irrespon- ship of the country's movie theaters. Sembene calls
sible rabble-rousers is beneath the dignity of Africa's himself a "confirmed partisan of nationalization pure
political leaders. If governments are to encourage the and simple."13 He sees no reason to believe than an
reassertion of African cultural expression as a health- independent national film marketing organism could
ful antidote to the colonial era, they must also tolerate not operate Senegal's moviehouses with greater free-
occasional criticism. By the same token, artists are not dom of selection than currently exists and still turn a
unaware of their reciprocal obligation and interest to profit. Not only would this provide an outlet for Afri-
exercise their freedom responsibly. Indeed Mandabi can produced films (as well as films from other third
seems a model of responsible social criticism, drama- world countries), but the profits could be used to
tizing abuses and raising issues that deserve debate underwrite further African production. Sembene cites
without bitterness or dogmatic assertions. No issue is Algeria as an example of an apparently profitable
a more sensitive gauge of Africa's ability to develop nationalization of the film marketing industry.14
with dignity than her capacity to tolerate a forum of If such a step were taken toward some kind of nation-
open discussion. al support of filmmaking, then the issue of government
It is, of course, unrealistic to expect higher standards censorship and control would have to be faced. Here
of African governments than of others. It is not helpful too Sembene has his own ideas about how to protect
to imply that these fundamental issues of free expres- artistic freedom. He proposes the formation of an
sion are easy to resolve when real conflicts over politi- inter-African association of cineasts which would have
cal power are also at stake. The point here is simply to the prestige to embarrass national film boards when
define the social and political parameters within they appeared to be obstructing reasonable artistic
which Africa's artists and politicians are working. expression. While such a scheme would never com-
Within this framework, it seems clear that the arts in pletely exorcise the demon of censorship, and film-
general and the film in particular can make a positive making (as well as other forms of expression) would
contribution to African development. This potential remain a politically sensitive domain, nevertheless,
warrants some encouragement from African govern- the idea constitutes an advance beyond the stifling
ments -at least to the extent of reducing dependence situation that exists at present.15
upon foreign sponsors and distributors. National support of production also faces problems
A first step in this direction requires reexamination other than censorship. One of the most obvious for
of the neocolonial monopoly over film distribution. many countries is the language problem. No matter
Senegal's filmmakers find it senseless that their work how modest the budget, a film must have some con-
is blocked from their compatriots by foreign owner- stituency; below a certain minimum of viewers, it is
probably impossible to produce a film that is finan-
cially justifiable. Undoubtedly some such films are
worth producing for their social value, but by and large
production will have to be limited to those African
languages spoken by fairly large numbers of people.
Advances in dubbing techniques could probably ex-
pand the marketability of these films, however. Here
again, the example of Mandabi is worth citing, for a
quality film will have a constituency beyond Africa
that will justify subtitled versions in at least English
and French (Mandabi itself was actually shot in two
versions, Wolof and French). Whatever the complica-
tions, African directors need a greater freedom of
choice than the exclusive use of European languages
allows them.
African cineasts have been appealing for liberation
from foreign control at international cultural gather-
ings for the past several years-at the Genoa Film
Colloquium in 1965, at the Dakar Festival in 1966, at
the Paris Round Table in 1967, at the Algiers OAU
Pan-African Cultural Festival in 1969, through Ouaga-
dougou's First African Film Festival in 1970. Whether
or not the government of Senegal or of other black
African countries will conclude that it would do well
to nurture a free African cinema remains to be seen.
The present situation is unsatisfactory, but the com-
bination of cinematic talent and unstinting determina-
tion to be seen of an Ousmane Sembene has created
the conditions for a new stage in African filmmaking.
The example of Sembene bodes well for the willing
ness of artists to treat significant themes with skill and
IIELENE KAMER insight as a contribution to Africa's continuing strugg
for genuine independence. D
9 quai malaquais . paris Notes, page 84

68

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BOOKS Macmillan
Macmillan Co.,
Co., 1954.
1954. COLLECTOR'S REGISTER
To receive copies of forthcoming cata- Segy,
Segy, Ladislas.
Ladislas. African
AfricanSculpture
SculptureSpeaks.
Speaks.New
NewYork:
York:
A. A.
A. Wyn,
Wyn, Inc.,
Inc., 1952.
1952.
logues of used books on Africana or _ . African
African Sculpture.
Sculpture.New
NewYork:
York:Dover
DoverPublications,
Publications,
Ghana, please send your name and address1958. Fine
Fineantique
antique African
African
sculpture
sculpture
to Ottenberg Books, 2324 Eastlake Ave., Sieber, Roy and Arnold Rubin. Sculpture of Black Africa. Cameroon
Cameroonpipes,
pipes,
Mende
Mende
helmet
helmet
Seattle, Washington 98102. The Paul Tishman Collection. California: Los Angeles masks, etc.... Reasonable prices.
County Museum of Art, 1968.
DAN MASK Photos on request. Write Box 10
Soupault, Philippe. "L'Art Africain au Congo Belge,"
Exciting Dan hardwood dance mask, glossy Le Miroir du Congo Belge, Bruxelles: Societe Nationale
black patina, excellent condition. Photos d'Editions Artistiques, Vol. 2, 1929, pp. 203-250.
on request. Absolutely authentic. $400.00 Trowell, Margaret, and Hans Nevermann. African and
Oceanic Art. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1968. Akan and
and Ashanti
Ashanti funerary
funeraryterracottas,
terracottas,
sacrifice price. BANTU, Box 80, Brooklyn, von Sydow, Eckhart. Kunst und Religion Der Natur-
New York 11226. ibejis, Kissi
Kissi steatites,
steatites, N'tomo
N'tomomask,
mask,
volker. Oldenburg i.O.: Gerhard Stalling, 1926.
_ . Handbuch der Westafrikanischen Plastik. Berlin:
goldweights.
goldweights. Many
Many other
other items.
items.
D. Reimer/E. Vohsen, 1930. Private collector. Write for list.
.Afrikanische Plastik. Berlin: Gebriider Mann, Thomas, 202 Summers Drive,
Fuhrmann, Ernst. Afrika. Sakralkulte. Darmstadt:
1954.
Folkwang Verlag, 1922. Alexandria, Virginia 22301
Washington, D.C. The de Havenon Collection. Washing-
Herold, Erick. The Art of Africa: Tribal Masks from the
ton: the Museum of African Art, 1971.
Naprstek Museum, Prague. London: Paul Hamlyn, 1967.
Wassing, Rene. African Art, Its Background and Tradi- Advertisements for this column are $25
Himmelheber, Hans. Negerkunst und Negerkunstler.
tions. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1968. per inch (prepaid), with box number, mini-
Braunschweig: Klinkhardt und Biermann, 1960.
Zangrie, Luc. "Les institutions, la religion et l'art des
Krieger, Kurt. Westafrikanische Plastik III. Berlin: mum one inch. Send orders to African Arts,
Babuye (groupes Basumba, Manyema, Congo belge),"
Museum fur Volkerkunde, 1969.
L'Ethnographie, N.S. no. 45 (1947-1950), 54-80. Collector's Register, African Studies Center,
Laude, Jean. "Le Musee du Congo belge a Tervuren," UCLA, Los Angeles, California 90024.
OUSMANE SEMBENE, Notes,from page 65
L'Oeil, No. 13, (janvier, 1956), 32-39.
An earlier version of this article was presented at the
Lavachery, Henri. Statuaire de l'Afrique Noire. Bruxelles: 1. Bamana is the indigenous name for Bambara.
"Black-World Film Festival and Symposium: Images,
Office de Publicite, 1954. 2. Les Sculptures de l'Afrique Noire, Presses Universi-
Education, and Liberation" at Rutgers University in May,
Leiris, Michel, and Jacqueline Delange. Afrique Noire. 1971. taires de France, Paris, 1956.
La creation plastique. Paris: Gallimard, 1967. Special thanks are extended to Modibo N'Faly Keita,
1. Lilyan Kesteloot, Anthologie negro-africaine (Verviers,
Leuzinger, Elsy. The Art of Africa. The Art of the Negro Ahmadou Sanago, Djigui Diakite, and Kassim Sangare
1967), p. 225.
Peoples. New York: Crown Publishers, Inc., 1960. for their invaluable assistance during this study.
2. Resume in Robert Pageard, Litterature negro-africaine
Maes, J. and H. Lavachery. L'Art Negre. A L'Exposition JAY SPAULDING, Notes, from page 10
(Paris, 1966), p. 72.
du Palais des Beaux Arts du 15 Novembre au 31 Decembre. 1. Ed. Cadalvene and J. de Breuvery, L'Egypte et La
3. Translated into English as God's Bits of Wood (New
Bruxelles-Paris: Librairie National d'Art et d'Histoire, Turquie, de 1829 a 1836 (Paris, 1836), II, 331-332.
York, 1962; paperback edition 1970).
4. Interview with Guy Hennebelle, L'Afrique Litteraire 2. George Alexander Hoskins, Travels in Ethiopia above
1930.

Maesen, Albert. Les Arts au Congo Belge et au Ruanda-
Urundi. Bruxelles: Centre d'Information et de Documen-
tation du Congo belge et du Ruanda-Urundi, 1950.
. Art Del Congo. Rome: De Luca Editore, 1959.
. Umbangu. Art du Congo au Musee Royal du
Congo Belge. Bruxelles: Ed. Cultura, 1960a.
_ . "Bantu Cultures," Encyclopedia of World Art,
Volume 2, 1960b, 232-246.
Maquet, Jacques. Afrique. Les civilisations noires. Paris:
Horizons de France, 1962.
Meauze, Pierre. African Art. Sculpture. Cleveland and
New York: World Publishing Co., 1968.
Moeller, A. Les grandes lignes des migrations des Bantous
de la Province Orientale du Congo Belge. Bruxelles:
Institut Royal Colonial Belge, 1936.
Muensterberger, Warner. Sculpture of Primitive Man.
London: Thames and Hudson, 1955.
Olbrechts, Frans. Plastiek van Kongo. Antwerpen:
Standaard-Boekhandel, 1946.
. "Invitation au voyage congolais," Sabena Revue.
Brussels: (Winter, 1954). No page numbers.
Piening, Peter. Masterpieces of African Sculpture.
Syracuse: Syracuse University School of Art, 1964.
Robbins, Warren. African Art in American Collections.
New York: Frederick A. Praeger, 1966.
Schmalenbach, Werner. African Art. New York: The
Acknowledgments
Acknowledgments
Page
12, 14,15 (right), 17 (left), 18, 19, 78, 79 (right), 81
Photographs: Musee Royal de l'Afrique Centrale, Tervuren
15 (left), 17 (right), 76, 77, 80 Photographs: Daniel Biebuyck
13 Photograph: Larry DuPont
16, 79 (left) Photographs: Richard D. Stewart
20-25 Photographs: Katherine White Reswick
27 Photographs: New Yorker Films, Evergreen Films
28-31 Photographs: Carolyn Bassing
32-36 Photographs: Roger Wellington
39 (left) Photograph: Yale Art Gallery
42 (left)? A.C.L. Bruxelles
44-45 Photographs: Wilson Popoola
46-51, inside covers Photographs: City of Liverpool Museum
52-54 Photographs: Mari Shamir
60-61 Photographs: Los Angeles County Museum
69 (right) Photographs: Laura Garza
et Artistique, 7, p. 73. the second cataract of the Nile ... (London, 1835), p. 207.
5. Ibid., p. 78. 3. M. Shinnie (ed.), Diary of Linant de Bellefonds (in
French), Sudan Antiquities Service, Occasional Papers No.
6. Niaye denotes the physical characteristics of the coastal
4 (Khartoum, 1958), p. 54; Eduard Riippell, Reisen in
region between Dakar and St. Louis, which Sembene
describes as "neither savannah, nor delta, nor steppe, nor Nubien... (Frankfurt/M., 1829), pp. 22, 45-46.
bush, nor forest... a vast endless stretch with gentle hills
4. George B. English, A Narrative of the Expedition to
covered from season to season with a wide range of vege-
Dongola... (Boston, 1823), p. 55.
tation." Vehi-Ciosane ou Blanche-Genese suivi du Mandat 5. George Waddington and B. Hanbury, Journal of a Visit
to Some Parts of Ethiopia (London, 1822), p. 123.
(Paris, 1966), p. 19.
7. Interview, op. cit., p. 79. 6. Hoskins, op. cit., p. 89.
8. Idem. DAVID LEE, Notes, from page 72
1. Burckhardt, John Lewis. Travels in Nubia, London,
9. Africa Report, April 1970.
1819, p. 212.
10. Interview, op. cit., p. 76.
2. Poncet, Charles. A Voyage to Ethiopia..., London,
11. For further detail on the Senegalese "school," see my
1709, p. 18.
"Engaged Filmmaking for a New Society," Africa Report,
November, 1970.
3. Citation in Crawford, O. G. S., The Fung Kingdom of
Sennar, Gloucester, 1951, p. 189.
12. For some background on other cineasts, see Henry
4. Bruce, James. Travels to Discover the Source of the
Morgenthau, "On Films and Filmmakers," Africa Report,
Nile ..., 3rd ed., Edinburgh, 1813, Vol. 6, p. 390.
May-June, 1969, and Marie Claire Le Roy, "Africa's Film
5. Cailliaud, M. Frederic. Voyage a Mero ..., Paris, 1824,
Festival," Africa Report, April, 1970.
13. Interview, op. cit., p. 78. Vol. 2, p. 258; Vol. 3, p. 105.
6. Hoskins, G. A. Travels in Ethiopia, London, 1835, p. 87.
14. For a review of Algeria's cinema, see William Walling,
"The Algerian Film Industry," Africa Report, June 1971.
7. Poncet, op. cit., pp. 8-9; Crawford, op. cit., p. 394
(However cf. p. 44).
15. Again the example of Algeria illustrates the potential
pitfalls of government control as well as its benefits.
8. Crawford, op. cit., pp. 37, 44, 48, 55; and Crawford,
BAMANA DOORLOCKS, Notes, from page 55 0. G. S. Archaeology in the Field, London, 1953, p. 230.
9. Adams, William Y. "Continuity and Change in Nubian
Cultural History," Sudan Notes and Records, Khartoum,
1967, pp. 14-15; Adams, William Y. "Settlement Pattern in
Microcosm: The Changing Aspect of a Nubian Village
during Twelve Centuries," Settlement Archaeology, ed.
K. C. Chang, Palo Alto, 1968, pp. 193-95.
10. Crawford, Archaeology in the Field, pp. 229-30;
Crawford, Fung Kingdom..., p. 55.
11. Hillelson, S. "David Reubeni, An Early Visitor to
Sennar," Sudan Notes and Records, Khartoum, 1933, pp.
57, 60. See also Trimingham, J. Spencer. Islam in the
Sudan, London, 1965, p. 23.
12. Trimingham, op. cit., pp. 101-02, 108, 115-16, 196;
Holt, P. M. "The Sons of Jabir and their Kin: A Clan of
Sudanese Religious Notables," Bulletin of the School of
Oriental and African Studies, London, 1967, 142-157.
13. Adams, "Settlement Patterns in Microcosm...," pp.
174-207; Crawford, Archaeology in the Field, p. 230;
Trigger, Bruce G. "New Light on the History of Lower
Nubia," Anthropologica, Ottowa, 1968, p. 97.
(OPPOSITE PAGE) SLIT GONG. SORONGO, LOWER-0-
CONGO. HT. 101/4". COLLECTION OF THE LIVERPOOL
MUSEUM. PRESENTED BY ARNOLD RIDYARD 1897.
SEE PAGE 46.

84

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