Wodaabe, les bergers du soleil

Werner Herzog considers his "Wodaabe - Die Hirten der Sonne. Nomaden am Südrand der Sahara" ("Herdsmen of the Sun" in English) not an ethnographic documentary, but simply a study of the human condition at that particular time on the planet. This look at the Wodaabe people of Niger gives one a glimpse into how people lived communally for centuries.

Watching it, I wondered if the Wodaabe still live as shown in the documentary. There's bound to have been all sorts of challenges to their way of life, whether environmental or political.

Anyway, this is one documentary that I highly recommend. You won't regret having watched it and learned about the Wodaabe.

The same people were the subject of the 1981 documentary "Deep Hearts" by American anthropologist and filmmaker Robert Gardner. His film focused almost exclusively on their mating ritual and consisted of long segments of men doing their makeup and dancing with extremely sparse commentary. It had no subtitles and no soundtrack except for the natural chanting and dancing of the tribe.

In comparison, this documentary by Werner Herzog is more about the overall lifestyle of the people. It subtitles their language and individuals are questioned on screen by the translator. The soundtrack uses opera music in some places.

In my opinion, neither film is great. "Herdsmen of the Sun" is probably more interesting and better filmed and edited than "Deep Hearts", while the latter is probably more authentic.

Herdsmen of the Sun is one of Werner Herzog's more under-seen documentary featurettes, which like Lessons of Darkness is shorter than an hour, probably with enough time for a few commercials if need be (both were shot for, or at least meant for, television broadcast on German networks). But it casts a light on a society of outcasts, and through Herzog's unblinking observations on them gets out what is something of a consistency in his catalog of work: the theme of outcasts who've created an insulated world for themselves, thanks (or rather no thanks) to factors of their infrastructure and how they communicate. It probably has some company to share alongside the likes of Even Dwarfs Started Small, or even Stroszek. If this one is any different it's because there's more of an issue with nature itself- because of a long-standing drought, many were put in a position of having to fend for the lowest common denominator (there's the insinuation many died in the interim, or those who couldn't sell their herds in time).

If Herdsmen of the Sun stands out in as a Herzog film it's because it showcases the director as anthropologist. His narration details the mating habits as if these were any other species of animal: the ritualistic nature of preparations with make-up of the men and the contortions of the facial expressions (even more fascinating is to hear how they stand seven feet tall, no tippy-toes). Although one might expect the main difference between Herdsmen of the Sun and any given National Geographic TV doc is that the people on camera look right at it, Herzog uses this to an effect that's rather challenging, and even stirring to the mind. Like in Fata Morgana- the opening shot here also a mirage- it's about the faces themselves, expression, and how one looks and has a personality even more-so through having to put on a sort of act for a strange thing like a camera. Equally good are the candid moments when one sees Woodabe talking just like any other guy or woman at a bar, about their latest sexual conquests or crushes.

It's actually sort of charming, in Herzog's skewed, sad viewpoint, as is a lot of the film under moments of recognition of the estrangement of the other under somber opera music.

Herzog's documentary of the Wodaabe people of the Sahara/Sahel region. Particular attention is given to the tribe's spectacular courtship rituals and 'beauty pageants', where eligible young men strive to outshine each other and attract mates by means of lavish makeup, posturing and facial movements.

They are traditionally nomadic cattle-herders and traders in the Sahel, with migrations stretching from southern Niger, through northern Nigeria, northeastern Cameroon, southwestern Chad, and the western region of the Central African Republic. Today (2016) they are estimated to number around 100,000.

I have to thank Herzog for this document. I am not sure if I had heard of the Wodaabe before, but they are a fascinating people, mixing African traditions with Islamic culture, and certainly a variety of their own practices. The makeup and other modifications almost make them look fake, like china dolls or some such thing. Why they consider themselves such beautiful people is easy to see.

Actually as a documentary of the Wodaabe, this television film leaves much to be desired. There is a brief discussion of the enlarging Sahara and the problem of lack of rain. However this is undercut by actually filming just after one of the rare periods when it did rain. There is also a brief segment on the shanty town next to the uranium mines. Then these are dropped. The major interest is the male beauty competition. The faces of the contestants are scanned as an introduction, and most of the second half of the film is about the competition. This aspect is certainly interesting, and the young men's makeup and clothing is in dramatic contrast to construction of masculinity in the dominant global culture. We think of such makeup and restrictive clothing as feminine. Their appearance is somewhat like drag in Europe/North America, but then yet again is quite different. When the selected young woman walks past the finalists, she does not look them in the face - she appears to be looking mainly at the ground. This aspect of Wodaabe femininity should be explained and contrasted to other male-female interactions.

Do they use mirrors to apply their makeup. None are seen, but some of the young men are holding their hands as if they have a mirror, but this is not confirmed by the camera.

Amazingly, there are no tourists at the festival. Only the German camera crew. We are not shown how the Wodaabe relate to being filmed by these foreigners.

As this film was made for French television, and the opening titles and commentary and the closing credits are in French, should not the French title be the prime one?