Working to the Beat

A group of women is pounding millet to the rhythm of a song, a farmer is hoeing his field in tempo, and a man is dancing to the sound of drums during a ritual of possession. Those are scenes taken from previous films by Jean Rouch. The three sequences illustrates in their own way the importance of song and music in everyday life in Niger, whether in everyday chores, in working the land or during rituals. A group of women is pounding millet to the rhythm of a song, a farmer is hoeing his field in tempo, and a man is dancing to the sound of drums during a ritual of possession. Those are scenes taken from previous films by Jean Rouch. The three sequences illustrates in their own way the importance of song and music in everyday life in Niger, whether in everyday chores, in working the land or during rituals. A group of women is pounding millet to the rhythm of a song, a farmer is hoeing his field in tempo, and a man is dancing to the sound of drums during a ritual of possession. Those are scenes taken from previous films by Jean Rouch. The three sequences illustrates in their own way the importance of song and music in everyday life in Niger, whether in everyday chores, in working the land or during rituals. A group of women is pounding millet to the rhythm of a song, a farmer is hoeing his field in tempo, and a man is dancing to the sound of drums during a ritual of possession. Those are scenes taken from previous films by Jean Rouch. The three sequences illustrates in their own way the importance of song and music in everyday life in Niger, whether in everyday chores, in working the land or during rituals.