YOGORO

The "Yogoro" is a very old practice whose origin is lost in the mists of time. Every year, during the month of Ramadan, we witness, in the region of Ségou, the influx of children on the streets to indulge in this practice that their fathers and grandfathers practiced at their age. So the tradition is perpetuated with the generations. Yogoro, for boys, is observed from the 10th day of Ramadan. These are events that aim to bring cheerfulness into society. After breaking the fast, children go door-to-door to sing and dance to receive gifts. It is the first conscious cultural practice of a child's life in our society. Some boys disguise themselves, and dress in rags for the most part, others put on accoutrements reflecting characters of old men, drunkards, lunatics or men with bloated belly. All the children cover their faces with ash powder. Real African clowns, among which a child sometimes plays the role of his favorite superhero. They go door-to-door with music boxes singing. Arrived in a concession, the main yogoro is dead and the others explain by singing that only money can bring him back to life. Some time after the band received a silver coin, it "resurrects" and the band leaves to target another home. The money collected during these evenings is carefully guarded by the mother of one of the yogoro. It will be used to organize the Ramadan festival of the "Yogoro-team. " In this series of photos entitled "Yogoro", I show children from Ségou: everyone embodies his imaginary superhero. We see creative and fun disguises. The artistic choice of this series is a mixture of black and white and low key, portraits of young yogoro with a bright light and deeper shadows, to make known this practice, disappearing in certain regions or completely ignored in others, so that it does not sink into oblivion.

TOUNKARA,   Mali, Bamako