Watching trances

Jani Dembele, formerly possessed by spirits, saw his own image on screen for the first time in 2001, 25 years after the possession ceremony of Nya at which he officiated was filmed. Ethnologist Danielle Jonckers was the one who pointed the camera. She filmed the Minyanka bamana people of Mali on several occasions. In 2001, she puts in perspective her images of trance states and the way these are perceived depending on the religious affiliation and age of the person possessed, whether child or adult.

The film starts with sequences of the possession ceremony of Nya; one showing children was made in 1985, one showing adults in 1976. Finally we see the first showing of these films in 2001 to former practitioners of this religion who have since become Muslims, and the public projection of the film in the village of the possessed. There is no commentary, only images and conversations with the ethnologist and the interpreter.