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The film was edited by Bruno Saparelli and commented by Armen Godel, author and actor. It revives a unique experience in that it unites the results of scientific analysis with the social and magical aspects of the technique of smelting.
It was our wish to make a film which combined technique, aesthetic quality and emotion.
Synopsis :
The first step was the sinking of a mine shaft, on the foot of the cliff. After the ritual sacrifices to the spirits of
the Earth and genies of the mine, the blacksmiths discovered a sediment seam 4 cm thick, at a depth of 17 metres. It was rich in very pure iron ore and composed of goethite and hematite. They extracted 242 kilos for the event.
The furnace, founded towards the end of the 18th century and abandoned around 1960, was reconstructed over a period of two weeks. It is made of earth and slag, on a site where there were more than 20 similar furnaces. It is 2.30 metres high and has a diameter at its base of 2.60 metres. Its thick walls (up to 70 cm) are lined inside with special clay extracted from a termite mound. The clay is rich in silica and of a very pure quality. It is also particularly fire resistant. Traditionally, the lining of the inside of a furnace was only undertaken upon the death of a master smelter. Knowing this, an archaeologist can find out the number of generations which have used the same furnace by simply counting the concentric layers. Hence, after the fashion of Dendrochronology, the founding of the furnace can be dated.
The blacksmiths continue their activity by felling three dead trees. These are of a very particular species: prosopis africana. The wood is difficult to hew because of its extreme hardness. It is used exclusively by blacksmiths, in particular for sculpting statuettes of worship. The trees which were felled produced 300 kilos of charcoal of exceptional quality. Indeed, this type of wood generates very little ash and burns at extremely high temperatures.
Once the ore has been crushed, the master smelters light the fire and tip, alternately, the ore and the charcoal into the furnace. 40 hours after the fire has been lit, during which the temperature has varied between 600 and 700 deg. Celsius, the blacksmiths address a ritual to the furnace, in Malindé, a language which echoes their distant Mandé origins : "Bring forth life from your cooled body, bring forth a beautiful child, stroke your loins, bring peace upon us!". The blacksmiths then remove the tuyères and open the furnace. A spongy metal bloom of excellent quality emerges, at a temperature of 1021 deg. Celsius.
From this raw iron, the Dogon blacksmiths forged traditional tools intended for agriculture, the making of weapons and jewellery for their people.
The objects which were used and made on this occasion will go to the Musée dâethnographie de la Ville de Genève, whilst the slag and part of the spongy iron bloom are presently being studied by Vincent Serneels at the Université de Lausanne, and by Philippe Fluzin at the UPR A 423 of the CNRS.
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