Original subtitles

In memory of G�rard Philipe

This story was filmed

when Africa south of the Sahara was not yet independent

and the Gold Coast was not yet called Ghana...

Adam, we'll tell you a story.

What story?

Our trip to Kourmi in Ghana.

We used to call it the Gold Coast,

where people go for money,

clothes and all rich things.

It starts in the bush in Ayorou.

There were the three of us, three friends: Lam, Illo and Damour�.

Here is Lam.

Lam is a Fullah cowherd.

His real name is lbrahima Dia.

We call him Lam because "Lamido" means little chief in Pulaar.

And Lam is a real little chief.

Lam is brave.

He seldom talks, like all good Muslims.

He's our lifelong friend.

I am Lam Ibrahima Dia, the cowherd.

I lead my oxen to the river

with my young brother

called Abdullay.

This is where our second friend lives, Illo Gaoudel.

Illo is a Sorko, a fisherman.

His master is Malam Amissou.

He knows all the secrets of the river.

They say he speaks to the hippopotamuses.

Which is true. Illo is a true magician of the river.

He wants to be a marabout.

Ah, Illo is a real deep one, you know.

I am Illo Gaoudel.

I am an apprentice fisherman with Malam Amissou.

I fish around these parts.

I am a fisherman of Koutougou.

I know all kinds of canoes and their ways.

Nobody knows more than me.

Damour�, our third friend, is a little rascal, a real character.

Damour� went to school, but he didn't like it.

What he loves is to gallop on his horse, Tarzan.

Damour�!

Now we're all on the horse's back.

Don't we look good to the girls.

Lam, the cowherd,

Illo, the fisherman, and Damour�, the ladies' man,

meet every week on Sunday

at Ayorou market.

Ayorou market is fantastic.

It's where the people from the pasture land,

the river people and the islanders meet.

Everything is decided at the market:

Weddings, adventures, wars, journeys.

That is where we decided to go on a trip.

There goes Lam.

He has come from the bush with his cattle.

He has come to sell a bull to go to the Gold Coast.

But for just one bull,

he took all his herd to the market.

So he won't feel the loss so much.

Lam is sad but he has money.

Now, he goes

to our meeting place, under the tree where Damour� is public scribe.

It is under that tree that we decided to leave

with Illo the fisherman to go to Kumasi,

to the Gold Coast.

What's new, Lam?

We do the writing.

Albora is my interpreter.

He translates because I don't speak Bella.

I read the tax papers.

I make 10, 15 francs.

Look at this man.

He must pay 15,800 francs in taxes.

Man, he's rich, he has lots of cattle.

Where will he find the money? There is none.

There is no money, this is taxation time.

Near our tree

are the card players,

who went to Kumasi, those we dream of imitating:

The "Kourmiz�".

We must also go.

Yes, we must go.

We must go to the Gold Coast.

- What can we do? - Look.

Those who went,

they sit and play cards,

they are more than us. Nobody makes fun of them.

The girls laugh at us. No, we must go there.

"Albora is hereby authorized to replace me for two months.

I am off to Kumasi with Lam, the Fullah,

and Illo, the Sorko", signed Damour�.

Now, boys, we must say our Sola, our goodbyes.

It is not easy, it takes one month to go to the Gold Coast.

- One month and five days? - One month and five days.

One month and five days, one month and twenty days.

Do you have identity cards? I don't.

There's no need.

Illo, I am the one who knows about bush life.

When you travel in the bush,

you need calabashes to keep your drinking water.

You said it.

Let us take gourds.

Here, that one.

And another.

Hold it!

Alright. Wait, let me get some.

How do you fix them?

I'll fix them.

Make a cut here, see?

Cut it properly, make a clean cut.

There you put a piece of wood to take the dirt out.

- Quick work. - Yes.

Let's be quick.

We need another one for our friend.

Now let us tie them together, give the string.

Now we have finished, let's go to the river.

We will fill them with water.

Let's go to the river. To take water.

- Fine. - To drink.

That's what we need for the journey.

When you walk, you must have a calabash.

That's right. I agree with you.

Good.

Fullahs know the bush.

You see, each time I go to the pastures,

I have my little calabash with me.

- Now we're going on a journey. - Ah yes, I know all about those.

That is the interesting part.

I know the ways of travel.

First, you ask the good Lord the way.

That is why my friends,

Lam and Illo, who are marabouts,

have come to the Walima celebration,

the descent of the Qu'ran.

In Walima,

we meet another friend, Douma Besso.

He is an old Gold Coaster who told us a lot about it.

He said he had a house with several stories in Gold Coast

because he's already been twice.

Douma is a lucky one.

He has a house with one story.

We have nothing,

only our feet.

We pray to the Lord

so He will smoothen our way.

We must also ask the spirits to show us the way.

The Hol� spirits.

We must ask...

This is to ask which is the way.

We want to go to the Gold Coast. To make money.

We must know the right way.

The way...

must be right. We want to come back,

back to our country

with lots of money to buy food

and give everybody, the village maidens...

Illo, look, according to the spirits

all we need is a vulture's beak.

We're in luck. There's a vulture.

Get a move on. Hurry!

Look out. That's bad.

Look out.

Cut its throat. That does it.

Now, it's over.

- Look at the beak. - We have something there.

- It is over. - Take the feet.

Now the Lord has told us the way and the Hol� have too,

we must ask the Sohanti� of Wanzerb�.

Wanzerb� is in Sorrhay country, in the Gorrual.

There live the best sorcerers of Niger, the Sohanti�.

So one day we get to Wanzerb�.

We go by the barren tree near the well

and by the well, we see all the lovely girls.

Ladies, we have the honor

to greet you as we pass through your village

on our way to see the greatest Sohanti�,

Mossi, on business of our own.

But before we see Mossi,

we have the honor to ask you

for a little water.

Then Mossi throws the stars

and counts the evens and the odds.

Diam! Danger!

The way is bad. Mossi says,

"Walay. Come back tonight.

For in the dark, the bad words are not seen."

That night,

Mossi casts the seven cowries,

the seven shells that tell the future.

Diam! The way is bad.

Very bad.

You will have accidents, sickness, the way is bad...

Subahana.

Ill fate.

And Mossi adds, "The way is easier.

When you get to the Gold Coast, at the first crossroads,

if you break up, each going alone on his way,

then you might avoid accidents and sickness.

Later you can meet and then, in the name of God,

the way will be good.

The way is good."

And Mossi blesses our way with earth. The way is good.

The way is very good.

Now we reach Dahomey. That is why we don't ride in cars.

That truck, smashed, wheels in the air.

A truck with its wheels in the air, that ain't so good.

You see.

- The truck is smashed. - Look again.

The people in the truck, when it crashes...

Too bad for them. We're on foot.

Do they get their money back?

It's none of our business. When our shoes are old

who gives us money? Nobody.

Lam, look at those mountains, we're far from home.

This is North Dahomey.

Somba country.

You don't know the land of the Somba?

You're smart.

- We are close to Natitingou. - Their huts are for mice!

Those are used for grain.

At school,

they said that the Sombas are people of North Dahomey

who don't want clothes. So they sell them soap.

What for?

Look at the Sombas, this is their way.

Illo says he does not want the Sombas' water.

- It's no good. - Look.

- What's that? - What do you see?

I see something white.

White, it's his thing! You know, his...

I'm getting out!

No, don't run, in this country, they are all medicine men.

Skulls, stones and blood...

They are all medicine men.

That's something I never saw before. I heard about medicine men

and Sombas going about naked, and now I am here

and I see them

and I'm not sure if they're men.

The hut burnt in the night,

so in the morning

the Somba women dig the earth to build it again.

But they are naked.

Quite naked, my friend. Look at their Somba finery,

look at their mouth. They think it is pretty.

You did say they were naked.

They say when you get to a country, it changes you,

you don't change it.

That is why I, Damour�, always a gentleman,

now strip to my trunks.

Look, the Somba market,

they are all naked, all of them.

- Look at the old one. - Look at his sex, Allah!

- Did you see the old one? - Yes, I saw him.

But he's not pleased that we're staring.

He's furious but he can't say a word because we didn't laugh.

He'd be furious if we laughed.

There's one with feathers in his nose.

That's the way of young men.

Of young gentlemen.

It's great, today I saw the Somba.

Look.

That woman has her pipe.

Look at the Somba.

I sure have never seen Sombas

if I didn't see them today.

The old one, he keeps looking at me.

What a hat!

They are well off, they wear specs.

They are going to start dancing.

The Somba dance.

These Sombas are really nice folks.

There's no reason to make fun of them because they're naked.

The Lord wanted them

to be that way, as the Lord wanted us to wear clothes.

So we shouldn't laugh at them,

they are really nice. They are like us.

- Right. - That's true.

- That's right. - They are really good.

It's true, we agree. You said it.

Goodbye, Sombas.

Goodbye, North Dahomey.

Goodbye, Natitingou, see you again.

Now to wash our little feet.

There's water everywhere.

There's plenty of water.

We must fill our calabashes.

Did no one tell you

that the way is long?

No one told me.

If I'd known, I would've stayed.

Twenty six days today.

You've been on the way?

Yes. We still have eleven days to go.

Along way.

You know that? Do you hear?

I walk alone.

Look at those trees. Do you think the Lord made those?

I don't think so.

Those are some trees!

Is it the mountain?

Yes, they cut the road through the rock.

Look! Aren't you scared to be there?

Ah, but Illo is asking me,

he asks me whether the Lord or man made such a road.

In this country, they have bridges,

long bridges.

But the people around here like bridges,

they like bridges a lot,

so they spend their days painting them red.

When we get to the bridge, we should wash

because we are sweating too much.

Come and wash!

- You see, Damour�. - This is good, here.

It's a good spot.

Now we are lost.

We don't know where we are.

Here is the sea, we heard about it long ago.

We want some water to drink.

- Damour�, that is you? - Yeah.

Feel how good the wind feels, we are by the sea.

That's what they call the sea.

That is the sea?

Give me that. You are not very brave!

How will you drink now? The gourd is broken.

The good Lord made food grow on trees.

Is it true?

Take a good look.

Did you win?

Yes, I won!

- Food in the air! - Is it enough?

- Yes. Come down. - I am coming down. OK?

You found them in the air. So, they have to be great.

They are good to eat. They have no germs.

They're right up top, the germs can't climb the tree.

Here is a coconut, it is extraordinary.

Boy, it's so good. It's better than cheese.

- It's good - It sure is good.

- Better than milk also. - Yes.

Like milk.

When you eat that, you aren't hungry anymore.

Oh boy, it's sweet.

- It's good. - This and chocolate.

Listen, we'd better go quickly, the tree doesn't belong to us.

If the owner comes, we'll go to jail.

Let's run.

- Does it belong to someone? - It's in somebody's field.

We'd better go.

Right. We'll go through the flowers

and we'll follow the seashore

because we love the sea.

There are beautiful boats in the sea.

It's nice to be near the sea. You can lie in the sand.

What is that we see, what is it called?

It's Lom�.

Is that Lom�?

It is where I picked up the star, the snowstar.

- Lom� is in Togo. - That is a snowstar.

You can hold it.

It's an animal which lives in the sea,

but now, the waves carried it to shore.

Is it a real star? A star for the sea.

It brings luck.

I'll put it on my head. Now we're lucky.

- Look out. - Customs.

This is the customs shed. We must stop here.

I'm going to see the police,

to see how we'll get through.

We must be real sharp. Let's see.

Customs, always customs.

We have nothing.

Hello, Mr. Customs Man! Hello!

You see, I want to take a walk on the other side.

Just to take a walk.

Don't say you want to stay, if you've no ID.

- Is that so, Lam? Are you sure? - It is.

- We have no identity cards. - What are you going to do?

Boy, you are clever.

The black English police in their mourning clothes,

numbered like milestones... He said to see his boss.

OK, let's do as he says.

Here is the boss, the other one is leaving.

No, sir, it's for...

Well.

No, he says, out of the question. So, back to my pals.

Come.

There is no way.

I went to see the English police.

"No identity card?" Customs, police, they're idiots.

They never look behind them. Let's go.

They always look straight ahead, so...

Now they have been had!

You know, Mossi's charms, they aren't for nothing.

The Sohanti� back home.

- They didn't see us going through. - We did it.

Look. Remember, at a crossroads...

we must split up.

Mossi said we shouldn't arrive together

at the Gold Coast.

So I said goodbye to Lam and to Illo.

Lam and Illo went to Keta.

Goodbye to you.

- Goodbye. - Goodbye, Damour�.

They go to Keta and I go to Accra.

In one month or two, we'll meet in Accra.

To see Damour�.

In one month, I'll have what I want,

I'll tell you.

I'll go with the fishermen.

Goodbye.

Now, I have to go to Accra alone, I've left my friends.

But on the road to Accra, there are buses everywhere.

Is that for mail?

It's a bus, a coach for passengers.

So I take the coach.

I thought you could ride for free. But it isn't free.

They kick me off, give me my hat, and say, "Go away."

- Oh boy, with your little hat! - I was disappointed.

I go away. By foot.

Well, all the way from Niger... I might as well go on.

Look out. Here comes luck.

Stop!

Sadou, nice seeing you here.

Give me a ride. I'm going to Accra.

There you are, God always caring, I met a friend.

I was in his car, everyone looking at me.

I'm the goods. The real goods.

I'm real handsome, much better than the folk here.

Oh, God! Goddammit! Look how they watch me.

Better hold my hat or the wind will blow it off.

Better show them how beautifully we cut our hair in Niger.

- Careful. - Bloody fool!

You're on a road!

They got horses here.

- Yes, it's Accra. - Accra?

Yes, one morning, we arrived in Accra town.

Now to start looking for fellow tribesmen, the Djerma.

We have to keep dodging cars.

There are too many.

The traffic

is too much. You have to be careful.

Everyday a cop stands from morning till night to wave the trucks on,

otherwise, there will be crashes. Always.

These are the bottle merchants.

Those are our people.

The people of Niger, of the Anzourou region.

All day, they wash bottles.

Want to know why? I'll tell you.

Why?

You know when the mamas come to buy a little bit of groundnut oil,

they don't have to bring a basin.

For 1 kobo, that is 2 francs, they buy a bottle there.

A kobo is nothing.

There you have the empty cans.

Ah, the bottle- izers. Empty cans.

Those are people from Zermaganda.

See all those old cans...

You want to buy something, too?

Look at that...

The roads are tarred, no dust.

That's true.

The city is large...

See me over there? I'm lost.

Look.

- To cross the street... - Accra is fine.

Accra's not bad.

- You have to run. - He's lost.

I'm lost, I don't even know what I'm doing.

There, where I'm looking, are all the people of Gothey.

- What's the wood? - Timber, planks.

- The Gothey people do that. - Nigerians?

Yes. The boss is Yakuba.

So, Yakuba hired me as a laborer,

and I push the toroko, the barrow. You know?

- Yes. - With the planks.

You load them on the barrow.

Yakuba says to push it alone, to see if I'm real strong.

And there you are.

You're strong.

Real strong.

So my boss asks me,

- "Did you go to school?" - Yakuba?

"Yes sir, I did, I can read." "Come", he says.

I have to count how many planks there are.

It's easy to count, you go 2 by 2.

Two, four, six, eight, ten... times 10 is 100,

Put down the exact figure in the book.

This morning, you have sold exactly 263 planks.

That's good, the money's coming in.

Now, I'm foreman.

He's pleased.

Is that you with the specs?

- I'm being promoted! - Swell!

It's so hot I had to buy specs. Now I have to show off, right?

Sure.

You! Come here!

So, now...

I'm the boss around here, okay?

What's this? An empty barrow. This won't do, dammit!

You just can't do anything with those negroes!

I went to see the boss.

I ask him to pay me.

- Him? - That's him.

- Do you know his name? - Yes.

- What's he called? - Moumouni. He's a Haoussa.

- He's not a Djerma? - He's no Djerma.

- He's a retailer. - What's he counting?

He's counting pounds to pay me. Ten pounds.

- Ten pounds? - Yes.

I came to Kumasi to work.

That's what I make in a month.

Now I'll go and see the clothes vendor

to buy a new boubou

and take this one off.

Because here, no one dresses like me.

Now, I'm leaving the bush

and staying in town, I have to buy a boubou.

You can see the one I am going to buy. Then the owner comes out.

He says, "One pound." I say, "No!"

I'll buy it just the same because it's good.

Now I put it on.

Are you going to change here?

- Yes. - You're pleased.

Very pleased. I didn't throw the old one away. I keep it here.

Really?

Yes. Later, when I go home, I'll wear it.

I bought this one

to go walking in the streets of Kumasi.

Just to walk around and when going to the market?

Yes.

- Kumasi market... - Is that it?

Yes, that's Kumasi market, a real big market.

Look at it, I never saw such a big market.

- All this is Kumasi market? - Yes it is.

They sell everything over there.

Even trucks drive in Kumasi market.

Even trucks?

Here is the road. "To market".

I go for a walk, just to look around.

- Why don't you walk slowly? - It's a big market.

You can't walk slowly.

I have to run to see everything.

- Today? - Yes.

It's impossible to see everything today.

I can finish today.

By running?

Running like that I can finish this.

You're not tired?

Not at all. I'm very pleased. I wanted to see everything.

That's good.

I wanted to see everything. That's why.

See? The salt merchants.

All these men sell salt.

And there are

other ones too.

- Who sells the salt? - The Gaoans sell the salt.

- The people of Gao? - Yes.

- There's a yam merchant? - Yes.

Who sells yams?

Two sell yams: The Gaoans and the Ashanti women.

If you want to see it all, I'll show you.

Yes, because I've never been here,

- I want to know. - Everything?

- Yes. - Don't you get tired?

- Never. I will listen. - OK. Let's go on.

- I'll show you everything. - What a crowd!

The women have come to buy everything.

A sewing machine.

Yes, those are people who make clothes on the market.

- The necklaces. - Pearls.

Pearls. I went to look. They have lovely pearls here.

- I know you're going to buy some. - For my sweetheart.

You're not married?

I have a sweetheart but I haven't married her.

That's just fine.

- What are you saying? - That it's pretty.

Now, I'm going to buy a cup.

How much?

Six shillings?

Who's that man looking behind you,

with his helmet?

Every morning, he takes one shilling from every merchant.

- One shilling? - Yes.

Is he a customs man?

You seen my pal?

He's my pal from Gao.

I tell him I've come here

to sell the nyama nyama. He gives me a job.

I'm display- man.

I sell perfume, I sell dresses and handkerchiefs.

You're a perfume vendor?

Yes.

But all the same, all this is not for me.

I must go home

to look after my cattle.

But in the Gold Coast, I make a living.

Do you see this? It's peppermint. It's very good.

Buy it.

You, Madam, please buy this. It's real good.

- Do you see? - Yes.

All this, I sell all of this.

Do you see?

The boubous, the photos?

- All that? - Yes, all that.

- What is he smoking? - Cigarettes. You know the Yoruba?

- Yes. - He's a Yoruba.

And the girl there, she always comes close to me.

She wants to marry me, but I'm not interested.

- Why? - Just because.

But you're single, you should marry.

There's the train.

I never saw the train.

- Yes, that sure is the train. - But it is long.

It's like my first time. Anytime a train goes by I stop,

so I can tell the folks back home.

Can you cross there when it comes?

- Impossible. - Is it dangerous?

Very. I tried to cross one day, and the police...

- Stopped you? - Yes.

Meanwhile, Illo has arrived in Accra.

He has gone to the harbor,

and Illo has become kaya kaya, a porter.

You see all this, it's our people who do that.

- In Accra? - Yes, in Accra, the Gold Coast.

- Accra. The Gold Coast. - Illo is there?

That's where you make money.

A kaya kaya

only makes two shillings six pence for a whole day's work.

So, Illo puts everything into his toroko,

and you see him pushing it

with five sacks on it!

It's tough making money.

You work hard here, don't you?

We are men,

and God says men must work to eat. It's tiring.

You see now, Illo is tired. He takes six pence.

There are meat merchants in the Gold Coast, you know.

They cut small pieces of meat.

Illo eats that for his meal.

That's all the kaya kaya get, they don't eat well.

If they eat well, they spend money.

After this good meal, Illo carries on unloading crates.

With all this tiredness,

their wives are not pleased with what they bring home.

Because the women, they don't see.

You have to tell them. It's no fun, here.

- You have to work here. - You bet.

Explaining to a woman? She won't understand.

Illo has many friends among the kaya kaya.

One day, his friends tell him,

"Try and find work on the other side,

by the sea, because it's by the sea

that you can really make money.

If the good Lord helps you, and hope you don't gamble it all away."

Whiskey?

If you win a bottle of whiskey,

you can get 30 shillings for it, from a Frenchman.

If you can bring a bottle to a Frenchman!

The Frenchmen love whiskey.

They drink it till their mouth rots.

And then they talk, talk, talk. About any old stuff.

If Illo is smart, he drinks a bit.

He doesn't drink. He kicks the bottle out of sight,

and then on his way down, he picks it up. That's the trick.

- Don't they check? - Check?

The policemen are the worst thieves of all.

Is it a good place for thieves?

I'm sent to the forests

by Yakuba, my master.

Wawa. That's good for making canoes.

The wawa is a she- tree because when it falls, it cries softly.

The second tree is mahogany.

Mahogany is a he- tree.

It's a man, it falls all at once.

Mahogany is good for making beams.

Plus 5, 15. No, 18.

15 plus 2... 19.

No. 15 plus 2 equals 16... 17. I've forgotten how to count.

The boss is coming.

Boss, this is what we've done.

I went to the woods, and bought lots of timber.

- He's pleased, isn't he? - Yes. He is telling me to hop in.

He's giving me another site.

- Boy, he's happy! - He sure was.

Goodbye, gentlemen.

He's going to show me the new site.

So we leave the woodcutters,

he takes me to his compound, in Lagos Town,

where he's building.

I've become a building foreman.

- Lagos Town is a country? - It's a part of Accra.

Anew part.

So he says, "Look after, all this is for me.

These are the men you must watch."

You there, you look like a lazy bum,

on the other side! You there! What are you doing?

Take your hand out of your pocket!

Go on, get to work!

- Are you the boss of all that? - Yes.

You there, stop listening to everybody like a fool.

Get going, get to work! Don't talk back.

What do are you doing? No! Not like that.

Bend down. That's it. Don't work with a hat on your head!

You're sick? Who cares! If you're sick, get treatment

instead of standing around gaping.

Look at that bum.

Now I walk through the streets, I've become Jaguar.

What does Jaguar mean?

It's a keen young man with a nice hairdo,

who smokes, who walks about. Everyone watches him and he watches them.

He sees all the lovely girls, he smokes his cigarette slowly.

That's what Jaguar means.

Areal character, a real gentleman, a zazouman.

That's it.

- The zazouman is Jaguar? - Yes.

Zazouman is Jaguar.

In French, you say zazouman, don't you?

Yes. In English, you say Jaguar.

- He smokes real smart. - Yes.

A Jaguar must be real polite.

- An old man says hello. - Oh, that old man...

He's an old man that I know.

And he said to come see a celebration like I've never seen before.

What kind of celebration?

It's the CPP celebration.

Freedom! Liberty!

I come from Accra, I come to sell linen materials.

Loincloths.

What's all that smoke over there?

That smoke there, it scares me.

You see, I run away, I don't know about that smoke.

It scares me.

What's that swinging overhead? That thing up in the air?

I arrived today, I don't know what it is.

What you see from up there moving,

it's the sand, it's earth which comes out of the hole

of the gold mines.

All those people with a steel helmet,

looking like old Napoleon soldiers.

Those are miners.

- Those are miners? - Yes.

They find gold there?

Who's that one?

Do you recognize him?

Didn't you see? The one who is being searched.

He's our friend, Douma Besso.

He's strong like a bull.

Yes, that's him! He's always chewing on something.

Whatever may come, he's always eating.

It's his only interest in life. That Besso!

With his helmet on his head

and his little lamp.

He stayed eight hours down in the mine.

One kilometer under the earth.

His head looks just like the head of a hippopotamus, no joke.

So after eight hours in the mine, he comes out.

He looks at the ads for shoes, but he doesn't care about shoes.

Even if he's got his shoes: He walks barefoot.

Douma!

Come here!

- How's things? - Fine, Lam.

- So you're still here? - Yes.

- What work do you do? - Any job I want.

- I've been looking for you. - And you don't find me?

Douma says he works in the gold mine,

and he stays underground for eight hours,

that's how he makes a living in Obuasi.

They put gold dust in there, and they boil it.

They pour it, just like blacksmiths do.

And you bet, the English and the police watch us carefully.

They melt the gold

with very, very high heat.

- You see now? - They're bringing the gold.

It's all cooked, it's gold water if you like.

They pour it into molds, special molds.

There.

They tip the mold.

They take the ingot, and dip it into water to cool it

because it's still hot.

That's real gold.

Real gold.

They stack them in rows.

- That's real gold. - They line them up.

The Africans never see this, I think.

They brush them to remove the dust.

They brush well.

They add the factory's mark.

Why is that?

To show where it's been made.

Then into a sack.

A little sack.

Is that so?

- No one sees it again? - Never.

They tie it.

Where is it going now?

Douma!

They send it to London.

And they put it in a safe, and nobody can do anything with it.

It's a shame, all we have is the bad gold...

You can say that again. It stays there, with the English.

Nobody can use it.

The English rob the Africans,

and they take their gold away and keep it in their country.

Douma followed Lam's advice, it's a difficult job.

You always end up with tuberculosis.

Lam tells him to come with him as his porter.

They will go to Kumasi to sell clothes.

Meanwhile,

Illo is still among his canoes.

In this country, they paint the canoes,

they put numbers, letters. Zorro!

Illo spends his days sleeping.

He sleeps on a canoe because nobody bothers him,

near the governor's house.

Power. Gold Coast number one.

Illo is now looking for a hairdresser.

He asks the kids.

Illo is nice, isn't he? Just like a toad!

He finally finds his hairdresser. He wets his hair.

Can he still carry fish after such a haircut?

- He can't carry crates. - His head is hard!

Like that?

He has a head like a camel, he can carry.

Now, he must think of God

because he robbed too much.

- His head is as hard as a hyena's! - He doesn't care.

He prays anywhere, any place.

There.

- What's he looking for? - He's looking for me.

- He's looking for Damour�. - Yes.

He thinks I am in the bar.

- But where were you? - I was at the races.

Look at my horse over there, I'm sure he'll win.

Number twelve.

- Is that your horse? - Yes.

To be sure, I go talk to the Nigerians.

- He's a Nigerian? - From my village...

I think I know him. Isn't it Adamou?

Yes.

- And he rode number twelve? - Yes.

I bet on his horse. Number twelve!

No French.

We must speak English. No. 12!

- In English you say "twelve". - Maybe.

I don't know.

- But I know a little English. - No. 12!

The horses are off.

Next day will be Sunday.

Everybody wears their good clothes, I put on my suit

to take a walk in the streets of Accra.

It's the only day when I look at advertisements,

at celebrations,

and at pretty girls.

- They've come out of church? - Yes.

They are believers. That's where you go to ask the Lord.

Boy, they're lovely girls.

The choice girls go and ask the good Lord.

If I were Christian, I'd go there.

Martell brandy.

Well, let's try and have a Martell brandy.

It's the possession dancing.

Everybody dances here! You have to dance too.

At funerals, they dance.

- He's in the box? - Yes.

He's sound asleep.

Look at this young man.

The electoral campaign! The motorcycles,

the cars, the trucks loaded with men with their hands up in the air.

"Freedom, freedom!"

- Is that Damour�? - I'm a photographer

for the election day.

The Prime Minister is coming.

Commandant Kango.

How can I be PM, to have a beautiful car?

Prime my foot!

Damour�, the photographer.

There, one picture taken.

Look, hairless heads.

I will take a picture.

Is that the N'Krumah Government?

But where is he?

You'll see him,

there, behind the guy in the black suit.

- That's him? - Yes.

In national dress.

He has a thick neck. He's definitely well fed.

He's fat.

His ministers too.

After the CPP dances, I went to the bar,

I salute the drawings. They are some magnificent drawings.

Really magnificent. Another drawing. Oh boy,

it's real good.

Illo!

He says, "You're crazy,

you've become a lush?"

No, I'm no lush.

I just had a little taste.

My poor head!

Let's get out of here.

- To the seashore? - To the seashore.

Yes...

the breeze is good for drunks. What you're doing

- is no good! - That's Mohammad's water.

No. It's not true, it's bad. But why do you drink?

- To be a bit like Mohammad. - Mohammad? No.

Are you crazy or something?

- That's marabout water. - It's not. Marabouts don't drink.

So you saying not to drink?

You drink from the fountain?

It's no good. No alcohol.

Go on, have a drink,

goddamn Muslim.

So he says, "This country's no good for us.

If you're going to drink, let's go to Kumasi."

So one day, we left for Kumasi,

to go looking for Douma

and Lam.

We board the train. Illo becomes my bag porter,

because I was foreman,

I was boss, I was everything.

The train to Kumasi.

Illo sticks close to me.

They say goodbye and ask for advice, as their foreman is going.

Don't worry, I'm going to rest, I'll be back.

In Kumasi,

Lam gets the telegram. He tells Douma that his friends are coming.

"You know, Douma, we have to clean up

because Damour�'s a character, he criticizes everything.

If he finds dust, there'll be no stopping him.

Come and help me."

Now we get off the train, we go to look

for our friends.

Go on, Illo, you go first, you know Kumasi.

I'm your boss because you carry my bag.

No! The boss goes first. Come on, follow me,

because you can't read. You see, there is written KU- MA- SI.

"Kewmasi"?

It's "kew", "kew".

No, "koo". The English say "koo" so...

Crazy Englishmen!

They're not crazy, it's a different language.

Crazy English people.

Douma!

- What's new? - Welcome, Illo.

Lam!

- I'm doing well. - You sell perfume?

Perfume and everything.

- That's your shop? - This hat doesn't fit.

I got your letter two days ago.

- Now we're here. - We just arrived.

- Is everything OK? - Sure.

How's Accra, good?

It's tops.

It's magnificent, it's sweet,

but I think that with a little organization,

if you get all this junk together...

Wait...

These shirts are no good, goddammit, they're stitched wrong!

Look at these materials, they're awful. What a mess!

Let's organize something.

Our shop will now be called

"Little by little, the bird makes

his bonnet."

There!

"Little by little, the bird makes his bonnet."

What it means is:

You must start things a little at a time.

The English are really something.

No one speaks French.

You write, "For sale". Like that.

So we can sell things, here.

I'm the shop clerk.

"My dear son, the day I left, I forgot my pipe

in uncle Zogouma's millet crib.

Tell your mother the sewing needle is under the bed,

near the firewood. I'm in very good health.

I'll arrive before the first rains."

Near the mosque, people don't smoke,

Muslims don't smoke. In Accra, there are people who smoke.

Lam tells us not to talk about the CPP here.

If you say CPP,

they cut off your ears. We're scared because we just got here.

Islam. Here, you say Islam.

"Islam" is building

a mosque for all good believers.

Boy, it's hard work

to earn your share of God.

The mamas bring food. Look at these apes.

- Everything's run out. - This is God's mosque.

God doesn't pay anybody!

"Islam!"

Come and see the papers, it's Eve and Adam,

Adam and Hawa.

These are for the women,

the women who don't let the men come close.

So the husbands, they're punished. They buy this to show your wives.

You have lots of customers.

They even have a map for the travelers.

- They sell it over there? - Yes, in the shop.

The shop!

They even have hankies.

Everything works well.

Everything is automatic, here. Come and buy.

Look, snakes and ladders.

Two can play or three or four.

Instead of chasing the girls, you put a pawn there...

First one in the middle wins.

You can spend the whole evening playing,

and nobody has time to go chasing the whores to catch the clap.

Look at this camera.

Makes pictures by itself, no need to go to a photographer.

Come to us, we are the most competitive!

We sell cheaper, no one in Kumasi can beat us!

Automatic hairbrushes.

If you have no hair, brush your head, it removes the dust.

You're admired.

All you need now is a black hat and you're Jaguar

like all Gold Coasters.

All our mirrors are straight from Paris,

straight from France. We don't need Syrian goods here.

Instead of running around, look at our shop,

we even have Queen Elizabeth. We are the first to have this queen.

Daddy, go away,

tomorrow morning, you'll be warm and you can work well.

Young man, what you need is a black bonnet.

Just look at me.

For the constipated, we have fruit for sale.

Drink today and go tomorrow and make a mountain.

Yes, a mountain!

Your belly will be empty and you will be able to work in peace.

There's no need to see a doctor. Douma knows it.

The other day, a man had an itch.

I treated him with Sunlight Soap.

No need to call the doctor.

We have everything. Everything is for sale.

Just come to us

and you'll be real satisfied.

The automatic alarm clock,

it rings by itself,

no need to wind and wind and wind.

The country is spoiling. We must leave.

Since we've been here, there has been no accident.

A train ran over a car, nobody died. Still, it is rather a pity.

And the next morning, Mr. Ibrahima Dia,

the assistant shopkeeper, takes his last morning tea,

his early cup.

We are going home.

There are four of us,

four who came,

four who are going home.

Now we leave?

Now we leave.

Goodbye "Little by little, the bird makes his bonnet".

The "Lam, Damour�, Douma and Illo Company" says goodbye.

We go back to our lodgings.

Our landlady who cooked our food during our stay is standing there,

sad to see us go.

She puts her arm on Lam's shoulders.

He doesn't even look at her.

Where's that woman from?

- From Gao, married to... - She's a Sudanese.

Married to a tailor.

Well, goodbye, landlady.

She sees us go

and she says, "Goodbye, goodbye.

I hope that

you will soon be back."

See you next time.

No. Never.

We did earn some money.

There is our truck. "Superior quality".

Put in the luggage.

Goodbye, friends.

Goodbye, empty cans.

Goodbye can merchant.

Goodbye, bicycle repairman.

Goodbye, Kumasi mamas.

Goodbye, nyama nyama seller.

Goodbye, ladies.

Goodbye, Elizabeth II.

Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye.

Each year, half a million of them

go back before the rainy season, like Lam,

Damour�, Douma and Illo.

They have come to the Gold Coast or to the Ivory Coast

looking for money, no doubt,

looking for adventure. They have followed

the ancestral road of Alfa Hano or Babatou,

or Gazari

who had come to the north, to Gourounsi country,

to conquer the coast and had been stopped by the rivers

and had been stopped by the tsetse fly...

These young men, homeward bound,

are modern heroes.

They don't bring back prisoners as did their ancestors a century ago,

they bring back luggage, they bring back wonderful tales,

they bring back lies.

Their return, for them, is an apotheosis.

They walked for months,

they worked hard, but never mind, all is forgotten.

Now on the road back, they are going home,

they're victorious, like the riders of the past

that the village maidens came to greet.

The difficulties? They no longer frighten them.

The only obstacle left is the customs,

the customs at the frontier of Upper Volta.

"You're under arrest in the name of the law and of my pocket.

The law gets 50, my pocket gets 200."

The other customs is in Po.

It's the end of the road for the English trucks.

There, you get out. There, you board the French trucks.

And the Po customs, boy, it's so bad that it's better

to say nothing at all.

Now we're really back home.

Skidding all over.

Now you have to get out and push.

Hold my bag a minute, boy, it's full of precious goods.

Take out my bag and hold my friends' umbrellas.

You see, Albora. You walk in front and be our interpreter

because we've forgotten the language

since three months.

I forgot how to speak Djerma, I only speak English.

You interpret for me, you who hasn't forgotten.

No matter, in a week, it'll come back.

Well, I don't know anything

except French and English. You can forget Djerma.

Hey, pal! How are you?

Good morning.

Good, that's our "house". Let's go into our "rest house".

There.

Here, kids.

Let us show these poor people

the mats we bought,

mats they've never seen.

They sell them in the Gold Coast. I'll show you.

That is a lion.

Look at his teeth. He's really fierce, boy!

Illo has given away everything he got in six months

to his parents. Amisata got two loincloths,

his violinist got three loincloths.

That is how

he gave everything away.

"Now, I have nothing, like when I left. I have my health.

Thank God. Go put them on.

I went for you, I came back, you're all in good health,

I give you everything."

- And you have nothing? - Now I have nothing.

Boy, your girl is beautiful. What's her name?

Hawa, she is called Hawa.

"Hawa, give me water to drink,

I'm thirsty.

There.

Thank you.

It's not water I want, I want to talk with you.

I've come from Gold Coast, so I'm going to marry you.

I'm going to marry you, I said!"

She's happy.

"If you like, I'll marry you.

Right, it's agreed."

Walay! The hard work starts,

the work for which we came back from the Gold Coast.

Douma Besso, the well- known farmer,

goes to his fields.

Besso!

Go on, work!

Walay! You are happy, you are strong.

From the Gold Coast,

you brought many clothes,

you didn't forget your folks.

Walay, Besso, you work for your parents.

He says, "I am Besso. I went to the Gold Coast, I'm back."

Illo, the fisherman, hasn't forgotten his craft.

He gets into the canoe,

and now with all he brought back from the Gold Coast,

he even catches hippos.

He eats the hippos in his hut,

with all his family.

He's brave.

Yes, he is, he is a very brave fisherman.

I am very happy to find my herd.

I have an umbrella and a lance.

I am Ibrahima Dia.

Is that all you have left from the Gold Coast?

I need nothing more, a lance and an umbrella.

- One goes back to one's profession. - Yes.

And now, I go back to the bush.

I am Damour� Zika.

Walay! I love the Niger because of the girls,

there are no better. The Niger girls smile.

- So beautiful. - They are sweet, magnificent!

Look at the teeth, all white.

She's cute.

She laughs very well!

If I get the money, I'll marry her.

That's what I'm going to do. Long live Niger!