SEGOU'S FESTIVAL SUR LE NIGER
The Festival au Désert near Timbuctou gets all the press, but this one was at a better time and in a better (and safer) location for my travels.
When they say "sur" they mean "sur"...the main stage is a barge tied to the bank of the Niger in downtown.
In daylight hours they have rehearsals and sound checks one can watch, but...
...of more interest are other events "sur" as well as near le Niger. Such as boat races.
In order to keep boats from jumping out ahead, men hold the stern as long as they can, and then shout "paddle", I suppose.
It's a triangle course, with all out sprints at the end.
The winner is the one who can get their name-board onto shore first, the last few meters a dash thru the water.
Sign, and paddle, held high, "Koleba Dembele" took this heat.
And of course there is the need to bail out the boats after such an exuberant finish.
Meanwhile, up river a bit, a collection of boats were waiting their turn to entertain the crowd with basic percussion...
...and singing and calabash tossing (and cell-phone checking) ladies.
The main boat, which the musicians will accompany, awaits as well. In the 90º heat the masked man must have been hot.
Such that when they got underway, he kicked and splashed himself a cooling shower.
Meanwhile on shore a dancing group alerts all to a large fish. The performers are Bozo, a tribe which traditionally exists by fishing the Niger.
An expert net caster snares the fish...
...and eager hands pull it to shore.
The music continues...
...as another boat appears, with an elderly woman being ferried across the waters.
But her passage is blocked by a crocodile, ...
...which attacks her! The river can give fish, but if one is not careful, it can take you away as well.
It appears the croc. got a bit disoriented as directions had to be yelled in his ear.
After these aspects of river life were acted out on the water, the musicians moved on shore.
And here the dangers of shorelines were acted out. First this hippo, and then a very large porcupine.
But my interest in the entertainers lagged so it turned to the spectators:
But my interest in the entertainers lagged so it turned to the spectators:
Some festival events were a bit quirky, such as this bocci ball match played on what was maybe a smooth section of roadway, but plenty bumpy to add a dimension to the game.
But the BIG events were the four nights of music "sur le Niger:
The sound-board was checked and running well.
If one wished to drink and eat, a Jumbotron was set up in a courtyard up on shore. That was fine, until it went black one evening for a half hour or so.
At the top of the bank, bleachers with chairs provided comfortable, but distant views of the stage.
The real action took place down on the river paved river bank.
Security kept the barge from being rushed, or folks getting accidentally dunked in the drink.
And the acts rolled on. I went two nights, and left about 1:00am, before the last act come on, for the half hour walk through cooling and dimly lit streets. The folks out enjoying the quiet were as enthusiastic with their "Bonsoir"s and their "Ca va?"s as they were during the day.
