Скачать или смотреть Ritual Sorcery Dance Ceremony among the Losso (Nawdba), Togo

Clips from a sorcery ceremony among the Losso people, also known as Nawda/Nawdba (plural), filmed December 24, 2010 near Niamtougou, Togo. Participants in this event, who are exclusively male, show off their powers of sorcery in a jovial, competitive way. One of the feats they compete in is having their testicles descend to the ground while they are dancing. Others may swallow frogs or snakes. Participants believe that in order to perform such feats, they borrow, through sorcery, body parts that are not their own. I was not able to film the central area where the competition was taking place on account of being a woman. I was told that women do not participate in this ritual not because they do not have command of the spirits, but because they are not as patient as men, and therefore might not be able to restrain their powers, possibly doing harm to, or even killing, their competitors. Many of the participants' bodies here are coated in palm oil. Some chests can be seen covered with orange spittle and solid debris from the cola nuts they are chewing. I served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Northern Togo from 2009 to 2011.