Niger

Stories of strong women! I love that I found them in Niger! Let’s start with the legend of Nana Miriam who tossed a ravaging hippo so far it would take a daily march of ten years to reach its landing place. Her story is only one of many women’s stories from around the world on this fun webpage: https://www.rejectedprincesses.com/princesses/nana-miriam

The next inspiring woman’s story I found in Niger is that of Sarraounia (or Queen) Mangou. In 1899, she forced the French to give up their attempt to subdue her people. Abdoulaye Mamani wrote the book Sarraounia on which this movie is based: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBxxa9PJODA

I have mixed feelings about this next woman’s story, the book Sacrifice by Michelle Black. The action occurs within Niger and shows some of the struggles of the country, but it is more an American story than a Nigerien story. Also, I recognize the grief of Michelle Black and I am thankful for the service and sacrifice of her husband, but I’m not convinced of all her conclusions. Even so, her book is intense and engaging reading. It inspired a long and lovely conversation with my friend Barb, my source for all things military. I read it online through the Los Angeles County Library. For more information, there are several podcasts with Michelle Black including this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FF3bDZ4VaBo

I loved the women’s stories; I loved even more my women friends getting together for a Valentine’s party at Bea’s house this year. The national dish of Niger, being red, was a perfect choice for me to bring. I made it with vege-chicken, it was well received, and Bea enjoyed it so much that she requested the leftovers and the recipe: https://nationalfoods.org/recipe/national-dish-of-niger-djerma-stew/

While scanning the internet for more ways to travel to Niger while staying at home, I listened to some great music and saw some fun dancing:

· Bombino’s tiny desk concert: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7My5IpEzVM

· A Bombino concert in a larger venue: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8903ehmexU

· Music and dancing by Sogha: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ky4OzZVYmx8

· A concert by Les Filles de Illighadad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7gkjYGemDI

· Nigerien cultural dance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ET0Gskq7tGY

I also checked out the art:

· Ancient rock art: https://africanrockart.britishmuseum.org/country/niger/dabous/

· Art depicting the desert: https://artsandculture.google.com/story/niger-art-in-the-desert-imago-mundi/AQXhsRIKLTCIJQ?hl=en

On the more serious side, The Looting Machine by Tom Burgis discusses resources being drained from Africa, including uranium from Niger. It will soon be available as an audiobook at the San Bernardino County Library. Because I couldn’t check it out yet, I found two resources about uranium in Niger on Kanopy, the Green Warriors episode on uranium and Arlit: Deuxieme Paris: Environmental Racism in the Sahara Desert.

Kanopy also has a series of films on Jean Rouch, a French filmmaker who collaborated with actors and filmmakers in Niger, but the action is slow, so I think you need to be a fan to make it through the whole series.

Back to women’s stories, Niger has a male beauty competition judged by women! There may be shorter videos on this subject available, but I enjoyed the detail in this documentary about this contest of Wodaabe people: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kZL2f-GrqY

National Geographic has a page on what to do in Niger: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/destination/niger and so does The Crazy Tourist https://www.thecrazytourist.com/15-best-places-visit-niger/#more-20523. If I understand correctly, it’s not a good idea for Americans to visit Niger right now. I look forward to that time when we can travel broadly again. In the meantime, I’m hoping we all survive, thrive, recognize our mutual humanity, learn to deal with our conflicts, and allow peace, health, and safety to flourish in Niger and throughout the world.

Photo credit: ILRI/Stevie Mann https://www.flickr.com/photos/ilri/8738480158/