In Mali, the Korèdugaw have granted themselves the privilege of making fun of everything and everyone. They parody and mock all figures of knowledge and power.
The initiates don rags adorned with necklaces of red beans and a large number of motley objects. They arouse hilarity with their behavior, their caustic humor, their gluttony … Paradoxically, it is through this banter that they introduce the intelligence of a wisdom that tends to infiltrate education.
Its members are often present at parties and gatherings, they intervene as social mediators, untangling the knots and fluidifying the relationships between one and the other.
It is through their derision that the Korèdugaw question power, social behavior, sexuality and even the relationship with death. This is a difficult role, with means that may seem insignificant. We cannot help but think of a possible definition of the artist and this is what we want to make evident in the representation of these men.
Endangered, the Korèdugaw Society was inscribed by UNESCO on the list of intangible heritage of humanity on November 24, 2011, in need of urgent safeguarding.
Dany Leriche & Jean Michel Fickinger : Koredugaw
Les Derniers Bouffons Sacrés du Mali
A book of photographs by Dany Leriche & Jean Michel Fickinger
With texts by Laure Carbonnel, Jean-Christian Fleury, Yaouaga Félix Koné, Salia Malé, André Tiémoko Sanogo.
Hardcover book Format: 21 x 30 cm à la française
136 pages printed in full color on classic coated paper 170 gr.
Matte film cover.
éditions Trans Photographic Press
https://www.transphotographic.com/#/book/show/134/0/
