Gathering and dances of the hunters

Accompanied by griots, they are all here, at least fifty hunters with their huge rifles. A slow procession begins, the leaders of the brotherhood showing the way, followed by the griots and finally all the hunters. With the sound of koras and of rifles firing blanks, they move slowly up to the central square of the village. Before settling down in a circle, the hunters pay tribute to the leader of the brotherhood by squeezing his ankles.
The griots begin to exhort the hunters, they sing their exploits. One by one, the hunters begin to dance. With a lot of precision and elegance, without parting with their rifle, they dance their way through the entire square. Sometimes, one of the griot gets up and joins the dancer. Together, they move faster and faster, ending the dance in an exhausting choreography. Women also intervene from time to time. Laughter fuses, shouts from the audience urge hunters to surpass themselves and they spin faster and faster, whirl around, stamp the ground with their bare feet and often finish their choreography in enormous laughter. Often, they begin to mime hunting scenes, get on their knees, consult the signs in the sand. One dancer imitates the game while another acts as a hunter, either reckless or awkward.
The entire village is here, as this event would not be missed for anything in the world. With eagerness and respect, the children eye the smallest step of the dancers greedily. The women clap their hands. With their shouting, they motivate the hunters to dance and dance again. With their laughter, they provoke the dancers to whirl faster and faster.
The dances can last all night. The griots and the hunters have the power to dance for hours, helped by the kola and the energy of the entire village. When the visitor is lucky enough to accompany them in these long parties lasting through the night, he can then have a glimpse of the black soul of Sub-Saharan Africa.