Hauka

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The Hauka movement consisted of mimicry and dancing to become possessed by French Colonial administrators. It was depicted in Jean Rouch's Les Maîtres Fous. Members performed the same elaborate military ceremonies of their colonial occupiers, but in more of a trance than true recreation. Les Maîtres Fous review The Hauka movement, according to some anthropologists was a form of resistance that began in Niger, but spread to other parts of Africa. According to some anthropologists, this pageant, though historic, was largely done to mock their authority by stealing their powers. Hauka members were not trying to emulate Europeans, but were trying to extract their life force – something “entirely African.” This stance has been heavily criticized by anthropologist James G. Ferguson who finds this imitation not about importing colonialism into indigenous culture, but more a way to gain rights and status in the colonial society. The adoption of European customs was not so much a form of resistance, but to be “respected by the Europeans.”^[1]