Among the scattered boulders in the parched Dogon County in Mali, there's a small village by the name of Bamba.Each year as the dry season reaches its peak, there's just one sacred pond remaining and that's full of Catfish.
Fishing throughout the year is not allowed until the special day when the crazy ritual of Antogo takes place.
On this day many hundreds of men from Bamba will jump into the lake with their cane traps and their bare hands to catch as many as they can. The fishing frenzy will last for about fifteen minutes.
The women of the village meanwhile are making themselves ready for the feasting that will take place that night.
Climate change has happened here and the once lush green landscape has become dry and unusable.
The water of the lake was in past times considered sacred and was populated by good spirits that would keep the villages supplied with tons of fish. Not any more.
Those good days are gone and this small lake remains the last vestige of a once fertile land.
Photos by Matteo Bertolino. There's more to know here...
That isn't my style of fishing, but it looks productive.
ReplyDeleteWow! Is this how their world ends? Down to the last puddle?
ReplyDeleteMakes me thankful that I live in an area where food and water is plentiful.
ReplyDeleteNow I know what they mean when they say "it's a dirty job but somebody's got to do it"...couldn't be any more real!.
ReplyDeleteSome of the images you posted on "antogo" are copyrighted and property of me, Matteo Bertolino. Kindly give clear and specific credits to the images, or remove the images immediately from your site. All rights are in fact reserved.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your understanding
www.matteobertolino.com
I'm very pleased to include a credit to you Matteo Bertolino. Thankyou.
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