In a feature documentary Tamaaden (Traveler) (2021), the Malian filmmaker, visual artist, and Alumni of the Fresnoy-Studio National des Arts Contemporains in France, and the Conservatoire des Arts et Métiers in Bamako, Seydou Cissé engages us in two adventures. Firstable, Bakary Tandia mystically prepares for his land route to France. On the other side of the world across the Mediterranean, three illegal migrants from different parts of West Africa namely Doucouré (Moriba Dukuly), Ouloulou (Mamadou Wagne), and Mamadou Baldé are still loyal to their gris-gris ("juju") and rituals. They find ways to stay digitally connected to their religious and spiritual world.
Written by Seydou Cissé, Tamaaden is a multinational co-production (South Africa, France, Belgique, Cameroun) that was part of Generation Africa documentary series, a documentary film project led by the South African non-profit organisation STEPS to produce a new narrative on migration through stories made by African filmmakers. The documentary was screened at The International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) in 2021, along with The Last Shelter by Ousmane Samassékou, and Zinder by Aïcha Macky, and it was part of the 2022 Durban International Film Festival (21-30 July 2022). Tamaaden is selected at 16th Cinémas d'Afrique (Lausanne, 17 to 21 August 2022).
Tamaaden is set in Mali and Spain but the journey crossing to Spain is told through the characters' recorded smartphone videos. Shot in a subjective point of view angle, holding a smartphone in their hands displaying images of migrants in the boats, the characters watch the videos as they narrate how they crossed the sea. Over the phone, with no one else in the room, their long narration comes off so unnatural that as the viewer, you hardly feel their emotions or emotionally engage with their stories full of tribulations.
Upon arrival in Spain, Doucouré, Ouloulou and Baldé found out that it was not the paradise they had imagined. For their lives to get better, they now rely on the gris-gris lucky charms, prayer mats, sacrifices, and the blessings of the Marabouts (a Muslim religious leader/teacher) back in their countries. Thanks to the new technology, the migrants frequently call back home and send WhatsApp voice notes to either request translated surah prayers to recite before going to work, or ask for additional prayers from their families. They also still perform spiritual rituals, offering milk and sugar to their "African god" in Mediterranean Sea.
Back in Mali, Bakary also has to buy sufficient eggs for his daily rituals to prepare for his departure. At times, he even offers milk, garlic, tomatoes and cowries, believing that the Marabout and the seer will speed up his journey. In one scene, plastic bags that eggs and milk were brought in are left floating in the water, and this raises questions as to what other spiritual rituals deemed "ecofriendly" being practiced with the modern world's materials that contribute to marine plastic pollution.
The filmmaker finds a way to remind the viewers of the monetary cost that comes with practicing these religious and spiritual rituals. Doucouré sends a voice message from Spain asking to sacrifice a sheep in the courtyard back home, saying that he hopes God will help them find a cheap sheep costing 50,000 Francs CFA to 60,000 Francs CFA (76€ to 91 €).
A generous amount of time of this documentary is spent on showcasing different spiritual and religious rituals being performed. With the use of low angle and extreme close-up, the viewer gets to see the nature of sacrifices the characters offer, and the performances that accompany them. Sadly, the script does not explore any of the rituals' meaning, so the viewer is left in puzzlement. What is the correlation between the sea and their god? Why eggs?
The documentary proposes another unconventional reason to leave one's country beyond seeking an improved standard of living where the grass is allegedly greener: honoring one's ancestors. Over a coffee evening talk with his friends, Bakary shares how terrible his first attempt to cross the sea was but confesses that he is still determined to try again, this time with a digital and mystical guide. "Telling me that I can manage here... I don't even listen to such things." Bakary replied to his friend trying to convince him not leave the country.
"In my opinion, going to France is not about gain. Well, it is, but it's beyond all that. Going to France is an achievement for all Soninkés [a community living across Senegal, Mali and Mauritania]… Leaving is like a debt to myself… Having a money-making machine, a home vending-machine and dying without ever going to France amounts to having lived in vain. It would mean that I didn't honor my ancestors… That I am not worthy of my generation, even my children would be more worthy than I am." A voice-over narrates, as Bakary is pouring milk and egg yolk onto the water and himself, supposedly making his offerings to "God". Are there other young Africans who share this level of obsession, who would leave their own countries for the sake of leaving, for the culture, to honor their ancestors?
Seydou CISSÉ from Casa de Velázquez on Vimeo.
by Rutamu Uwera Fabiola
This story emanates from the Talent Press, an initiative of Talents Durban in collaboration with the Durban FilmMart. The views of this article reflect the opinions of the film critic Rutamu Uwera Fabiola.
