Herdsmen of the Sun

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Herdsmen of the Sun
Wodaabe herdsman.jpg
Directed by Werner Herzog
Produced by Patrick Sandrin
Narrated byWerner Herzog
Cinematography Jörg Schmidt-Reitwein
Edited by Maximiliane Mainka
Release date
  • 1989 (1989)
Running time
52 minutes
Country West Germany
Languages German
English
Fula

Herdsmen of the Sun (German : Wodaabe – Die Hirten der Sonne) is a 1989 documentary film by Werner Herzog. The film explores the social rituals and cultural celebrations of the Saharan nomadic Wodaabe tribe. Particular focus is given to the Gerewol celebration, which features an elaborate male beauty contest to win wives.

Although the film may be considered to be ethnographic, Herzog commented that: "[My films] are anthropological only in as much as they try to explore the human condition at this particular time on this planet. I do not make films using images only of clouds and trees, I work with human beings because the way they function in different cultural groups interests me. If that makes me an anthropologist then so be it." [1]

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References

  1. Herzog, Werner (2001). Herzog on Herzog . Faber and Faber. ISBN   978-0-571-20708-4.