Within the wide variety of genres covered by oral literature, songs hold a very important role in Africa. While they are often associated to ritual ceremonies (initiations, funerals, births…), they actually refer to a much larger range of occasions. Among these, the secular “corporate” songs produced along the pace of daily tasks (farming, cleaning, etc.) are still very present, while they have disappeared in most of today’s Western societies.

So this week we take back for a stroll on the banks of Lake Oguemoue with this short film of Akele women chanting fishing songs.

Fish is an important food resource in Gabon; the country consumes over 50 000 tons a year!

The lake area around Lambaréné is home to numerous different types of fish: giant threadfins (ntsènô), goldfish (ntsivo), catfish (bakèmbô), breams (munkwèrè), bullheads (bambasse ba néné), tilapias, carps…

Men mostly use hand or cast nets, hooks, or spears, while women tend to work with fishing lines, traps or even poison.

Women are also the ones who gut the fish, as you’ll hear in the three following songs…

Linguist: Jean-Marie Hombert
Camera and sound: Luc-Henri Fage
Translation: Hugues Awanhet
Editing: Caroline Laurent