Theatre puppet - Bozo fisherman

The theatrical puppet (English: marionette, French: marionnette) attached to a frame covered with fabric, under which a dancer-animator hides, is an element of the Sogo bò theatrical tradition. It depicts the Bozo fisherman, representing the oldest people living in the inner Niger Delta region. Information that the Bozo were the first people in this area can be found in the oral traditions of many peoples. The Bozo exercises sacred care and control over the surrounding land and waters under this priority. The Bozo were also the first people to start organising performances of the Sogo bò theatre. This theatre originated and continues to thrive in Mali, the Ségou region, and the Niger and Bani basins. According to oral accounts, the real owners of the secrets of making and bringing to life puppets were spirits living in the waters of the Niger. The mystery was stolen from them by a Bozo fisherman, Toboji Centa, a semi-mythical figure who had observed the extraordinary underwater spectacles several times and wanted to share this exciting event with his neighbours. He made the first puppets himself and then animated them on a net set up in the Niger. The performances appealed to other fishers and neighbouring farming communities, and over time became part of their tradition. Although the peoples of the Ségou area share the origins of the art of puppetry, the theatre of the Bozo fishermen has retained several unique features. The most important is the place of performances, namely the waters of the Niger. The fishers organise their performances on boats navigating the Niger or directly in the river itself, while the farming peoples prepare them in the village squares. It is also more common than for farmers to find images of aquatic creatures and animals in their performances, specific to their mythology and daily life. The ownership of the puppets is also different. With the Bozo, some dolls belong to individual families, while with the farming folk, they are always owned by associations of young people. The gift from Oleńka Darkowska-Nidzgorska and Denis Nidzgorski-Gordier.

Ewa Prądzyńska