DVDs about Africa by Christopher Roy ($24.95 each)
New! Blu-Ray high definition videos are now available for $30. See below.
The following videos are STANDARD DEFINITION. They will play on all DVD players.
Videos
about African people:
Fulani:
Art and Life of a Nomadic People The Fulani are a diverse people
who live across west Africa from Dakar to Lake Chad. They herd cattle,
sheep, goats and camels, and live from the milk from their cows. They
create very beautiful art, including hairstyles, dress, mats, architecture,
song, music and dance. This video features three Fulani peoples: the
Gowabe, Jelgobe, and Wodaabe.
Birds of the Wilderness: The
Beauty Competition of the Wodaabe People of Niger The Wodaabe people of
southern Niger, West Africa, hold a beauty competition each fall in which young
men paint
their faces red and wear costumes of white beads and cloth, with white ostrich
feathers in their hats. They are judged based on charm and beauty by the young
women of the competing clan.
A
Year in the Life of an African Family: The Bamogo Family of Burkina Faso Family
life in Burkina Faso. The Bamogo family are smiths in the towns of Dablo and
Pinsa, north of Kaya. We visit them as they harvest crops, cook a meal, make
pottery, visit the chief, and attend an annual ceremony in the village.
A
Day in the Life of a Village in Africa Cooking, drawing
water, pounding millet, building a house, spinning cotton thread, playing soccer,
going to school, in the Senufo village of Sayaga, in western Burkina.
Videos about African art:
African
Sculpture: Carving a Crocodile Mask, Shaping a Mask of Leaves An
artist of the Gnoumou family carves a crocodile mask of wood, and men of
the Bayer family fashion a mask of leaves to represent Do, the God of the
wilderness.
African
Art as Theater: The Bwa Masks of the Gnoumou Family of Boni The
masks of the Gnoumou family in the Bwa village of Boni act out the historical
encounters
between
their
ancestors and the spirits of the wilderness.
Speaking
With God: A Mossi Baga Diviner in Burkina Faso An
elderly diviner, whose ancestor was painted in 1907 by a German explorer,
wears a spectacular costume as he speaks with
God.
Masks of Leaves and Wood: The
Bwa People of Burkina Faso The Bwa people make
masks of leaves that represent the spirit of the springtime and of the
wilderness, and masks of wood that represent nature spirits.
African Art in Performance: The Winiama Masks of the Village of Ouri Dozens
of masks, representing chameleons, bush buffalo, antelope, dangerous one-horned
spirits, monkeys, and others appear in a lengthy performance in a village
in central Burkina Faso.
African Art in Motion: The
Masks of the Nuna People of Burkina Faso The
masks of the Nuna people from the villages of Savara and Tisse, including
the bush pig, butterfly, bush
buffalo, old man, hyena, and many others.
Art as a Verb in Africa: The Masks
of the Bwa Village of Boni This video documents the opening celebration
of the masks of the Bonde family in Boni in late February, 2005. Dozens
of masks and thousands of people appear to dance, sing, and honor the
spirits that watch over them.
African
Masks: Burkina Faso Three videos of masks
in performance: the first is older footage from the 1970s and 80s of
Mossi, Bwa, Bobo, and Nuna masks. The others are of more recent performances,
filmed with digital video, of masks in the Nuna towns of Savara and
Tisse.
The Death of an African King:
The Funeral of the Omanhene of Techiman The complex
and colorful state funeral for the Chief of the large town of Techiman
(Takyiman) north of Kumasi, in Ghana. Chiefs, royal arts, textiles, music.
Videos about African techniques:
African Pottery Techniques: Clay
Preparation, Forming Techniques, Firing There
are at least five different techniques potters use in Africa to make pottery.
All the techniques, as well as firing, are shown in detail.
From Iron Ore to Iron
Hoe: Smelting Iron in Africa The elder
men of the Bamogo family of smiths in the village of Dablo extract
iron ore from a nearby deposit and smelt it into raw iron using
a traditional furnace. They then forge it into a hoe blade.
African Weaving: Spinning, Strip
Weaving in Burkina, Kente in Ghana The strip-woven
kente cloths of the Asante and Ewe peoples of Ghana are well known in Europe
and America, but few people have seen the techniques by which these brilliant
textiles are made. The video also shows indigo dyeing and weaving in Burkina
Faso.
Arts of Ghana: Brass Casting,
Pottery, Adinkra, Kente, Stool Carving This video
documents the technologies of brass casting, pottery, stool carving, kente
weaving, and drumming among Akan peoples of Ghana.
Drums of Africa:Talking Drums
of Techiman The drum ensemble of the Chief of
Techiman demonstrates a variety of traditional drum rhythms.
Brewing Millet Beer in Africa Follow
all of the steps, from sprouting and grinding the millet, to boiling the grain,
adding the yeast, and drinking the finished product. This is the way Africans
have been brewing beer for thousands of years.
High-Definition "Blu-Ray" videos of art in Africa
Four videos are available on Blu-Ray of:
Fulani: Art and Life of a Nomadic People
Birds of the Wilderness: The Beauty Competition of the Wodaabe People of Niger
African Art in Performance: The Winiama Masks of the Village of Ouri
African Art as Theater: The Masks of the Gnoumou Family of Boni
They are $30.00 each and must be purchased directly from me. Each is individually printed, packaged, and mailed by me. These work ONLY on a Blu-Ray DVD player. E-mail me at christopher-roy@uiowa.edu