Thomas Seligman Research Video Project: Tuareg People, Niger
odd: label: Local Numbers
content: HSFA 2015.9.2
name: label: Collection Creator
content: Seligman, Thomas K.
setName: label: See more items in
content: Thomas Seligman films
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 4 Video recordings (7 hours, color sound; VHS)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1988
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Human Studies Film Archives
objectType: label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Video recordings
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: Full film record shot by anthropologist Thomas Seligman, recording a desert crossing from the Hoggar Mountains in Algeria to the Agadez region of Niger from October 5-14, 1988. Filming locations in Algeria include: Assekrem (plateau in the Hoggar mountains), Idles, Tazrouk, Wadi [Tamkress?], and the route to In Guezzam; filming locations in Niger include the desert north of Arlit and around Iferouane, as well as the villages of Timia and Azel. Footage is largely of the Tuareg people Seligman encountered on the route, filmed both from afar and from within villages; activities depicted include agricultural tasks, making tea, drawing water with animals and machinery, weaving, carving, and saddlemaking, as well as families posing for portraits in Azel. Also depicted are several stops along the desert crossing, including shots of mountains, rock formations, waterfalls, and general vistas. First hour of video is sound and the rest is silent.  Second cassette records the Tuareg wedding of Mohamed Amoumoun and Hawa Moussia in Agadez, Niger, from 15-16 October 1988. Footage includes the greeting of guests and a performance by a children's choir; a reception and tea; the henna ceremony; dances of men, of women and men, and of camels; and a visit to the bride. Depicted are a wide variety of formal clothing, hairstyles, shoes, and jewelry (both Western and traditional), and a number of posed and candid portraits of attendees.  Third video cassette records an interview with Saidi Oumba and Andi Ouhoulou (both Tuareg) as well as footage of daily social life. All segments shot in Agadez, Niger, October 18, 1988. (Note that footage of interview itself is silent with no subtitles; however, Oumba and Ouhoulou do model several variations of formal clothing and accessories, shot from close-up to long. Interview conducted by E. Warner with Abdilahi as translator.) Village footage is relaxed; particularly of note is the footage of Ouhoulou braiding hair among a relaxed group of women and girls, including braiding the hair of a woman accompanying Seligman.  Fourth video cassette documents the Oumba family making silver in Agadez, Niger, October 1988. Footage is of the full silvermaking process, including firing raw materials, modeling, hammering, shaving and final detailing on products that include jewelry and figurines, with close-up shots on each step. Craftsmen are the men of the Oumba family, who talk amongst themselves as they work. Brief footage near end of woman working with embroidered fabric.