Here is the situation: Innocent women accused of witchcraft by men who find them “inconvenient” are forced to prove their innocence through harsh rituals or suffer banishment—or worse. The setting—1690s Salem? No, it is Burkina Faso, a landlocked West African country near Ghana in modern times.
Inspired by documented cases in Burkina Faso, director S. Pierre Yameogo’s “Delwende,” which screened recently at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, casts a critical eye at the cruel and discriminatory practices excused in the name of tradition.
As Delwende opens, the village of Saana appears untouched by time, with the exception of its sole link to the modern world—a portable radio from which intermittent news reports warn of a meningitis epidemic plaguing the region. However, for the elders of Saana, witchcraft will prove a handier scapegoat for the recent deaths of village children.
In a shocking yet relatively common turn of events, 16-year-old Pougbila is raped following a village celebration. Shortly thereafter, her father Diarrha marries her off to a much older husband in a nearby village. This rapid turn of events arouses the suspicions of Pougbila’s mother, Napoko, but before she can act on them, a village ceremony declares her a witch. As a result, she is cast out of Saana and denied food and water by the suspicious neighboring villages. Even her family elders spurn her, in supposed deference to the will of their ancestors. Only Pougbila rallies to her defense when word of her mother’s plight reaches her.
Determined to confront her father for his treachery, Pougbila must first find Napoko, presumed to have taken refuge in one of the squalid shelters for accused witches in the capital city of Ougadougou. (One such shelter provides the film’s title.) When Pougbila reaches the city, the film finally shows some of the outward trappings of modern life, but many of the same superstitions and prejudices persist.
Delwende actually picks up steam as it goes along. Although the movie is best described as an issue film, Pougbila’s determination that the “truth will out” gives Delwende a strong pursuit-of-justice narrative drive. As a call for change, it’s also pretty effective. Napoko’s scenes of suffering in the wilderness and the callousness of her family and neighbors are difficult to watch.
Yameogo frames some striking visuals and facilitates some fine performances, most notably from Claire Ilboudo as the determined Pougbila and Thomas Ngourna as the wise village fool, under whose watchful eyes the story unfolds. Grim and naturalistic in the extreme, Delwende does produce a measure of hope in its discreet but satisfying conclusion.
Joe Bendel blogs on jazz and cultural issues at www.jbspin.blogspot.com , and coordinated the Jazz Foundation of America’s instrument donation campaign for musicians displaced by Hurricane Katrina.
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