Original subtitles

Cissé film presents

Heat

gives fire

and the two worlds, earth and sky, exist through light.

LIGHT

For the Bambara, the Komo is the incarnation

of divine wisdom.

Its teaching is based on the knowledge of “signs“, times and worlds.

It embraces all the fields of life and knowledge.

The Korê is the seventh and last initiation society of the Bambara.

Its symbol is the sacred vulture “Mawla Duga”,

bird of vast hunting spaces, of war, of knowledge and of death.

Its emblem is a wooden horse,

symbol of human diligence;

its scepter is a plank with wide holes, called Korê “Kaman”

or Wing of the Korê.

The “Kolonkalanni” or magic post

helps to find whatever has been lost, and to find and punish bandits,

thieves, criminals, traitors and betrayers.

The Wing of the Korê and the magic post have been used in Mali

for thousands of years.

Oh, Mari, to succeed, one must know how to betray.

To you, from whom no one can hide,

I sacrifice this chicken.

Let me catch Nyanankoro, wherever he is.

If he is hiding in the distant brush, burn it.

Dry the lakes, strip the trees, so I can search them.

Destroy all, and give me Nyanankoro.

Almighty Mari, god of the brush,

accept this chicken and find Nyanankoro for me.

Level the skies, that I may search through them.

Break the sky, break the earth,

destroy towns and buildings, find Nianankoro for me.

May men and women see him in my hands.

Rip him from heaven or earth and give him to me.

Break the sky, break the earth, be their master!

Make the heavens tremble! Shake the earth!

Destroy the land, grow a sacred wood there.

I see Uncle Bafing coming with his post.

Mother!

It's done.

But I dislike what I saw.

What you saw worries you?

Son, what did I tell you?

My father is coming...

following his post.

He's only 2 villages away.

Wherever we go, he'll find us.

My son,

your father is a terror.

You don't know him, but I do.

No one can withstand his magic poison.

I know him. You are different.

I braved fearsome forests,

suffered dire humiliations to save you.

But I am worried.

Mother,

let's stop this talk.

I'm a man now. I'll deal with it.

You make me laugh. You can't vie with your father.

He is a terror.

It'd be like preparing your own shroud.

In one stroke, he'd reduce you to ashes.

He's a terror. Enough talk. Let's go.

Let's leave this land for good.

I can't run away.

Don't say that. A mother just wants her son to be happy.

Let's go. We've suffered enough.

If my father didn't want me, why did he marry you?

Ah, my son!

Such talk puts a curse on you.

Pardonne-moi. Forgive me.

I didn't mean to hurt you.

Why speak of your father and me?

Didn't he marry me to father you?

There is no birth without marriage.

Only a cursed son talks of his parents' ties.

I wish I'd never heard those words from you.

Will you ever amount to something?

That's what your father feared.

My fleeing will have been

as useless as my sacrifices and suffering.

Mother,

forgive me.

I didn't mean to offend you.

My child,

I gladly forgive you.

For 10 years we've fled and found no refuge.

You're my only comfort.

Naturally you'd like to know why your father wants you dead.

I rely on your wisdom.

What must I do now?

My son, your words gladden me.

Follow my advice.

I shall give you a fetish.

Wear it at your neck

and keep it on night and day.

I entrust you with another fetish.

Deliver it to Djigui beyond the Peul country.

Djigui is your paternal uncle.

I will go to Mandé

to ask help of the griot Kouyaté.

If Djeli Kouyaté could reconcile you with your father,

I would be the happiest of mothers.

Mari, magic post! Smash the door!

If Nyanankoro is in this house,

break down the door.

Deliver that cur to me!

If he is hiding in the 7 heavens, find him!

Wherever he is, give me Nyanankoro!

Almighty and omniscient Mari, seek him!

If he is hiding deep in the 7 earths, find him!

Nyanankoro, get up.

Here is the object you will give to Djigui

on my behalf.

Go,

and give your uncle my greetings.

God of the savannahs!

God of the sands, god of the rocks,

search the plains and the mountains!

Almighty Mari,

dry up the ponds!

From the earth or the sky, may he emerge for all to see,

oh magic post!

Soma!

You here, today?

Sit down.

Welcome.

How is your family?

All are well.

Where are you going?

Tell the village chief that I must

pass through with my magic post.

I'll tell him.

Chief of the village! Soma and his companions.

Greet them!

A hyena in broad daylight! An ill omen!

Indeed! How are all of yours?

They all greet you. What's going on?

Nothing irreparable. But my presence is a bad sign.

My son Nyanankoro...

The ancestral fetishes, the secrets of Bambara lore,

he has taken them and fled the country.

Did he come through here?

Yes, with his mother.

Which way did they go?

Where does a loose goat go?

I'll find him wherever he goes!

Even at the bottom of an anthill, I'll find him and kill him!

Up, magic post! Let's go after him!

Have a good journey.

Mari, almighty god, omniscient god,

search the plains and the mountains!

Nyanankoro!

Your road will be good,

your destination happy.

Nyanankoro, your future is auspicious,

your life will be radiant,

your end luminous!

A thief! After him!

- Where is he? - I don't know!

- He got away? - He's gone!

Catch him!

Find him! He mustn't get away!

Grab him!

Tie him up!

Do you hear this forlorn creature?

Goddess of the waters!

Do you hear me, mother of mothers?

Do you hear this helpless mother?

Save my son! Keep him from harm.

Save this land from ruin!

Don't let weeds overgrow the house of the Diarra.

Here is milk. Drink.

Drink!

This thief came to steal our livestock.

We should cut off his head.

- Does he understand Peul? - No.

Gueladjo! Translate.

Because you came here to steal, we'll cut your throat.

Cut my throat?

None of you can do that.

You don't know me.

I was distracted, or I'd have killed you all.

He says no one

has the power to kill him. If he didn't pity us,

he'd kill us instantly!

What's happened, Bama?

I was guarding the village with the others.

Warriors attacked us. Only I survived.

Do something, or they'll destroy the village.

Did you hear?

You may go.

What do you think?

The young stranger

says he has special powers.

Let's consult him

and see if he can help us.

That's my advice.

I understand.

Gueladjo, ask him his name.

The king wants to know your name.

Nyanankoro.

He says it's Nyanankoro.

Nyanankoro, come here.

Tell him to free the warrior he bewitched.

Young man, come here.

Sit down.

Ask him to help us fight the enemies

attacking our country.

He must do his utmost.

I understand what the king wants.

It will not be easy.

Bring me a horse's right leg-bone...

and I'll do...

what I can.

Toufando!

Find that leg-bone.

- Where? - Behind the pastures.

Bees!

Bees are after us!

Fire!

Victory!

What's happened?

The bees routed the enemy,

and aided by fire

we've won!

This is a great day,

a joyous day.

Thank you, young man.

You succeeded fully.

Come.

Sit beside me.

Your work

was a triumph.

Thank you.

King, I wish to leave now.

Stay with me, friend.

I'll give you a wife, you'll be like a son to me.

Duty calls me elsewhere.

When my mission ends, I'll return.

Then I'll accept.

I understand, young Bambara.

DO me one more favor.

It's my youngest wife:

She is barren.

Do whatever is in your power to help her give me a son.

A difficult task.

I'm not sure I can do it.

Please.

I'll try.

I greet you, King!

Here is fresh milk.

Drink, Nyanankoro.

You sent for me?

This man will try to cure you.

He'll talk to you.

Nyanankoro, explain it.

Your lord asked me to cure you.

But it's a delicate task.

He says the treatment will be difficult.

What do you think, Attou?

I am in your hands.

Go get ready.

Nyanankoro, you will leave tomorrow.

Mari of the sands, Mari of the rocks,

dry up the lakes, that I may rake their beds!

I, Soma, summon you.

I seek Nyanankoro.

Today I shall immolate

an albino man and a red dog for my magic post.

After this sacrifice, my magic poison

will kill Nanankoro so all may see!

God of the bush, almighty Mari.

God of the bush, almighty Mari.

Here.

Eat.

Good evening.

Glory to you, King.

What has happened?

Young man,

what has happened?

King, I must speak to you.

Leave us alone.

Speak.

I have offended you.

For redeeming the honor of the Bambara,

I merit death,

for I violated the laws of my country.

I have not come to ask mercy

but rather death by your hand.

What is wrong? Speak!

Kin?

in the name of the gods,

of the sacred woods,

of the ancestors,

I swore to help you...

to treat your wife.

But...

my cock betrayed me.

What do you mean?

Nyanankoro!

What happened?

I slept with your wife.

Attou!

You let him do it?

Come with me.

Here.

Take it!

Take her away.

She's yours. Now leave.

King, please forgive me.

Rise and be gone.

Go away!

A stranger has come into the village with two servants.

We couldn't stop them. They're coming to you.

If they want to see me,

they'll find me here.

Surround them.

But don't get too close.

They may be dangerous.

They must be killed!

Hem them in!

Leave them alone!

Hello, little Peul.

When toads fly, the world is awry.

I seek my nephew.

If he's hiding here, surrender him!

Otherwise I'll set the village on fire.

My name is Ourama Bolly, I'm the king.

Why do you come insult me on my land? Apologize!

Me, Bafing Diarra, take back what I said? Never!

I'll punish you!

Your nephew was here,

but I won't tell you where he went, for he helped us.

Bambara, if your mouth is so fiery, spit your flames!

I'll spare no one!

Seize them!

Little Peul!

You don't know me!

Get up!

God of the whirlwinds, you who test famous men,

you with whom none can compete,

you are in the magic post.

You know the mysteries

of the earth and the sky, of the abyss.

Rise, magic post!

Guide me to Nyanankoro!

Rise and find the bastard!

Let that be a lesson to you!

Never try it again, little Peul!

The spell is broken!

- Glory to the mask! - Hail, Master!

Nalomafaga.

Serve the millet beer, we'll drink to the Komo.

Glory to the Komo who knows all mysteries.

Genius of the crossroads!

Nialé, matron of the Komo, goddess of the night,

spirit of the winds, do you hear the blacksmiths' songs?

Chant the sacred songs.

King of the blacksmiths,

when the old goat dies, we shall die.

The whirlpool is treacherous,

it sucks you down and swallows you.

Soma!

You here, with us!

Is it a good omen?

Master, it is not a good omen!

The descendants of the sacred crocodile

have not all inherited its qualities!

There are iguanas, lizards and snakes.

I, Soma - my ancestors died for the Komo.

I shall die for the Komo. But my son

has betrayed the Komo.

I seek him. Wherever he is, I'll kill him!

Master.

An initiate his age does not err in this way.

Koké!

If we had known,

the traitor would be dead.

Cena, you speak truly.

We will eliminate whoever tries to break the Komo's laws.

Soma, it's an honor.

Your coming in person about

such a serious matter concerning the Komo,

that honors us.

This business moves us deeply.

But what the young initiates said

is absolutely right.

A bullet meant for an elephant

must not be wasted on a rabbit.

And, to sacrifice a chicken, first catch it.

That's true, Master.

Yet my son,

Nyanankoro,

is not like other children.

My brother Bafing,

guided by his magic post,

chased him to Djidjéni,

but Nanankoro made him disappear

before everyone's eyes.

May the Komo's fetishes protect us!

That's why I,

Soma,

set out to find him!

If he is hiding in the 7 earths,

or burrowed into an anthill,

I'll kill him with my poison.

That's why I'm here.

May the fetishes protect us!

Not all clouds bring rain.

I understand this adage,

but as the Bambara proverb says,

if Nyanankoro is the blade of the knife,

I, Soma, am the handle.

Not even the sharpest blade can cut its own handle.

Glory to the eagle, the royal bird.

But an eagle can't carry off an elephant.

You have a remedy from the sacred fig tree.

You know time's secrets,

you can read the future,

the sex of unborn children.

Bard of the Komo! Cry like the sacred goat,

like the divine hyena,

who abolished slavery on both shores,

when mothers abandoned their babies to save their lives.

Sacred ram,

shout that I may hear you.

Shout like the Komo Nango Djago!

Sacred beast of Bala,

cry out that all may hear you!

Celestial master!

Don't implore me!

Sacred crossroads. I sing for my spiritual mother.

I am only an initiate. The divine mother blesses you.

Dance her dance.

May the holy site favor you.

The master blacksmiths bless you!

We ask the smiths' protection, masters of the Komo.

Bard of the Komo!

“View.!

Rid your heart of torment!

Spare your adversary!

You have asked the East and the West,

and they have answered "yes"!

Sacred black-throated ram!

Komo, who knows all celestial mysteries!

Who knows all the earth's mysteries!

Who knows the sex of unborn children!

Master of the Konyan blacksmiths!

Who knows the secrets of the months and years!

Spirits of the crossroads!

May the sacred site favor you!

I implore Nialé, the great sorceress!

She cannot blame you!

I implore the sheltering tree of N'Tomo.

It assures your protection.

Ask the stranger what he is seeking.

The chief asks what you are doing here.

I seek my uncle.

First, I want to purify myself at the Bongo's sacred source.

Is this the place?

One can go there only with the chief's

permission.

Téguélan!

Come here.

Take the stranger to the spring.

Follow me.

Attou!

Go and bathe.

Where is the source of the Bongo?

We have crossed Peul country

without seeing any watercourse.

This source existed even before

the mountain of Biandagara.

It springs from a bottomless well,

inexhaustible.

A bottomless well?

We have other ways to get water.

Other ways?

We light the sacred pipe,

invoking the fire's spirit,

its smoke arises.

When we need water, we invoke the god of the skies

and the god of earth.

Their forces swirl up to the sky,

transforming into gathering clouds.

A warm wind rises

before falling on us as rain.

Will those who come after you also know how to make it rain?

Science is inexhaustible, and miracles will always happen.

Who is your uncle?

Djigui Diarra?

One of our sages.

I'll take them to Djigui.

Greet him on my part.

Nyanankoro!

Your coming gives

me boundless pleasure.

I, Djigui,

thank the gods

for this favor.

I thank them

in the name of our family.

Even if I were to die today,

and the same is true for you,

our family

would not perish.

Your wife is pregnant.

A child with lunar radiance.

It's a boy,

a child predestined

to be one of the brightest stars.

And yet

what I,

Djigui, foresee promises

nothing good for the Bambara.

The country's future hangs by a thread.

Listen closely to what I say

and remember it like a sacred rite.

Since the dawn of time

the Diarra family has been both placenta and umbilical cord of

the Bambara people.

For a long time

our family has been cursed.

I don't know why.

My mind is tormented,

for my death is near

and I don't know who,

after me, can interpret that curse.

That worries me.

But last night

I saw a blazing light cross the sky

and stop before me.

It said to me: "Djigui,

the threat hovering over the Bambara

will strike the country

but spare your family."

These words gave me hope.

In the same dream

I was also told this:

"Your descendants will undergo a great change.

Reduced to slavery,

they'll deny their race and their faith."

All upheavals

contain hope.

And these woes

I saw in my dream, the Bambara

will turn to their advantage. I also see

that many peoples will covet our country.

I think one can die

without ceasing to exist.

Life and death are like scales

overlapping each other.

My child, do you know

why I was separated from Soma, my twin brother?

One day I asked my father to

reveal to us the

secrets of the Komo

so that all might profit of that knowledge.

Your grandfather heard me and in a rage

rushed into his room

and came out with the wing of the Kôrê.

It radiated such energy that it dazzled me.

Then I could see only shadows.

Then I could see only shadows.

So I left the country, blind.

Only your mother knows my story.

Now that you have come to me, I entrust the Korê wing to you.

I don't know if it has preserved its power.

Uncle.

My mother gave me this object for you.

I rejoice. Do you know what it is?

The Kôrê's magic eye.

Bring me the wing of Kôrê from the cave.

Here, uncle.

It's the Kôrê wing.

Remove its covering.

Put the magic eye in place.

It's done.

The wing is complete.

Go and meet your father.

You'll see what the wing does.

Find him, god of the plains and mountains.

Search the caves and sweep the plains.

Dry up the lakes, denude the trees.

Rise up and go.

Wait here for me.

Don't go, it's dangerous!

Don't go! Don't be rash!

Drive him into the open!

I didn't tell you to fall!

If he hides in heaven or under earth, root him out!

Don't forsake me!

Let me leave.

I must settle this fight alone.

Give this to my son when he grows up.

Stay with my uncle.

Mari, I call on you again!

You for whom the 7 heavens

and the 7 earths have no mystery!

Search the caves and plains!

Uncle.

I'm back.

I'm glad that you followed my advice.

Go to the cave's shelter,

for a great disaster

will strike the country.

Mari, heritage of the Bambara,

show me the way!

Reveal him to everyone!

Go on!

A rabid cat barks like a big dog.

I, Soma, master of fetishes, nothing will stop me

except death.

You've put a knife to your throat!

Hello, father.

Alive yesterday, you are dead today.

Even dead, I must greet you.

This is the first time that we've talked

as father and son.

For I am no one else's son.

You were my son in your mother's womb! But afterwards no longer!

I feared you'd deny being my father.

For a Bambara it's the worst fear,

shame and humiliation.

Death is but a knife at the belt.

But before killing me, tell me the reason.

Never mind.

You'll know it when the hyenas and worms have devoured you!

Then you'll know why I killed you.

Let me prepare myself.

A snake's molted skin is not the snake.

A python's son can grow to rival its father.

I want to die as a true Diarra.

Get ready.

Soma, your ancestors were great priests of the Komo,

but for centuries

they've misused my powers.

I've left only ruin and desolation in my wake.

I was entirely faithful to the Diarra.

But now it's over.

Your lust for revenge, your contempt

and hate for humanity have gone too far.

I have decided to vanish.

But you, Soma, will not survive.

For you are among those who use

their power only for evil and injustice.

My eyes! My eyes!

THE LIGHT