Herdsmen of the Sun

Wodaabe: Herdsmen of the Sun (1989)

*** (out of 4)

Very interesting documentary that follows the Wodaabe tribe of the Sahara region as they discuss various parts of their lives including a four year drought they had just gone through. The majority of the film focuses on a seven day beauty pageant where the women get to pick men to spend the night with and perhaps marry. I'm not sure how Herzog picks his material when it comes time to do a documentary but he's got a magic touch at finding interesting subjects. This is a very interesting documentary that shows us some people that many probably never even heard of and I have to wonder how many of the people in the film had ever seen a video camera before the German director showed up to film them. The film moves at a very fast pace and there's not a single slow moment even though a lot of the film is pictures only and doesn't feature too much narration. The narration is done by Herzog himself and that incredible voice works well with the film. There are several very cute moments including the morning after a couple has stayed the night together and Herzog is trying to question them but they are blushing so much and can't think of anything to say. It's moments like that that make this documentary worth seeing.

The same people were the subject of the 1981 documentary "Deep Hearts" by American anthropologist and filmmaker Robert Gardner. His film focused almost exclusively on their mating ritual and consisted of long segments of men doing their makeup and dancing with extremely sparse commentary. It had no subtitles and no soundtrack except for the natural chanting and dancing of the tribe.

In comparison, this documentary by Werner Herzog is more about the overall lifestyle of the people. It subtitles their language and individuals are questioned on screen by the translator. The soundtrack uses opera music in some places.

In my opinion, neither film is great. "Herdsmen of the Sun" is probably more interesting and better filmed and edited than "Deep Hearts", while the latter is probably more authentic.

Actually as a documentary of the Wodaabe, this television film leaves much to be desired. There is a brief discussion of the enlarging Sahara and the problem of lack of rain. However this is undercut by actually filming just after one of the rare periods when it did rain. There is also a brief segment on the shanty town next to the uranium mines. Then these are dropped. The major interest is the male beauty competition. The faces of the contestants are scanned as an introduction, and most of the second half of the film is about the competition. This aspect is certainly interesting, and the young men's makeup and clothing is in dramatic contrast to construction of masculinity in the dominant global culture. We think of such makeup and restrictive clothing as feminine. Their appearance is somewhat like drag in Europe/North America, but then yet again is quite different. When the selected young woman walks past the finalists, she does not look them in the face - she appears to be looking mainly at the ground. This aspect of Wodaabe femininity should be explained and contrasted to other male-female interactions.

Do they use mirrors to apply their makeup. None are seen, but some of the young men are holding their hands as if they have a mirror, but this is not confirmed by the camera.

Amazingly, there are no tourists at the festival. Only the German camera crew. We are not shown how the Wodaabe relate to being filmed by these foreigners.

As this film was made for French television, and the opening titles and commentary and the closing credits are in French, should not the French title be the prime one?

The first time i've heard about the WODAABE people was in the NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE some years ago and i was fascinated by their marriage ritual.I've asked myself many times what are the origins of such strange and amazing ritual.As a HERZOG'S fan it was a great surprise to discover this documentary not so easy to find and a "little bit" forgot in the middle of HERZOG'S MASTERPIECES.The first scenes are absolutely fantastic.I was mesmerised!!!.Educative experience or simply watching for pleasure,this film is not a waste of time at all.It will show you how simple human society could be ,therefore how one could live with basic and traditional principles regardless of the daily challenges who lives in a hard environment would deal with.In my opinion this work is a lesson of life.

Werner Herzog considers his "Wodaabe - Die Hirten der Sonne. Nomaden am Südrand der Sahara" ("Herdsmen of the Sun" in English) not an ethnographic documentary, but simply a study of the human condition at that particular time on the planet. This look at the Wodaabe people of Niger gives one a glimpse into how people lived communally for centuries.

Watching it, I wondered if the Wodaabe still live as shown in the documentary. There's bound to have been all sorts of challenges to their way of life, whether environmental or political.

Anyway, this is one documentary that I highly recommend. You won't regret having watched it and learned about the Wodaabe.