NIGERIA

This film is held by the BFI (ID: 462624).

Synopsis

Travelogue. Scenes in Northern Nigeria. A compilation of footage taken from other films (see note at end of synopsis).

No titles. Africans (Fulani?) dancing in a close circular group carrying clubs and wearing skins (16). A large group of Africans carrying spears, with a few men on horseback, make a charge (24). A Hausa (?) cavalry charge (34). The cavalry troop pass through an ancient mud-brick archway - gate to Kano city (61). An elaborately carved or incised gateway (77). Another mud-brick gateway, a herd of cattle is led out (89). Pan of the city (109). A square in the city; a large square tower dominates the square, two smaller towers are to the right and left of the larger tower with a wall running between them (122). A street scene in the city with pedestrians, herd of goats, and an ass (144). Africans drying animal skins (149). MS of African cleaning skin (156); washing them (168); hanging them to dry (185). A row of leather workers (199). MS of an African weaving leather (208). A line of men decorating metalwork (219). MS of man painting (?) a metal can (229). A glass work shop in the open air; one man stokes the furnace, two others work on glass objects (243). Pan right of cotton field (257). African women picking cotton (264). A line of Africans carrying bundles of cotton on their heads through the fields (292). Women sorting (ginning?) the cotton seated in the open air - beating the cotton to remove the seeds (312). Three seated women spinning the cotton into threads (347). In a courtyard the spun cotton is coiled into long lengths (371). An old man sits on the ground using a foot-operated loom and weaves the cotton (417). Dyeing of the cotton; men sit around pools of dye and wash the cotton in it; they allow the cotton to dry (490). Two lines of men opposite each other beat the finished cotton on a trunk to give the cloth a shine (514). Two men embroidering the cloth (524). The finished product, an elaborately decorated long shirt, is held up for the camera (532). Scenes in the cloth market (567); the pottery market (648); the food market (665); a leather stall (676). A young boy has his head shaved (708). HAS pan right of the markets (734). The Emir of Kano, riding a horse, travels to camera with his entourage (745). MCU of the Emir holding a decorated staff/mace (757). HS rear view of the Emir receiving the State Umbrella from the Governor-General in full regalia. Two British government officials dressed in whites and topis stand either side. The Emir kneels in front of the Governor (775). Ground shot of same; the Governor passes the State Umbrella and reads a speech (795). Crowds standing on the mud-brick buildings (800). The Governor continues his speech (816). At another site, six men with painted faces (the Emir's jesters) perform a dance which involves mock, exaggerated laughing. Another man sits at their feet (826). MS of one of the dancers with white painted face, arms and lower part of legs, he bows (836). Street scenes (850). Baggage - tax money - carried by oxen is unloaded in a street (866). A line of four men squat at a low table and count the money. Four other men stand behind them. Another man stands to the right (886). A long row of men - prisoners - sewing, squatting on the ground (895); the men strip off and enter two raised bathing pools (909). A school in the open air; a geography class in progress (926). A group of Hausa is shown by another African how to use a surveyor on a tripod (946). A native bridge over a river made of tree trunks (952). A modern bridge being built (955). Cattle crossing the rail bridge (977). Africans picking cotton (995). A camel train loaded with cotton bales (1018). A long line of African men carrying sacks of cotton on their heads from a warehouse (1024). A huge pile of filled sacks, other sacks are added to it (1029). Men sorting through piles of cotton (1043). Interior of a factory where the cotton is processed (1059); gathering up the machine-sorted cotton (1066). A cotton bale marked `3893 ALG 1 BCGA ZARIA 389' [Zaria is a town in Kaduna, Northern Nigeria] (1073). The bale is loaded onto a waiting train (1087). Africans sort through animals skins, a European oversees the process (1136). A donkey caravan (1150). A huge pile of filled sacks containing ground nuts (1168). A large group of women pounding the nuts for oil (1185). Pan left of open countryside (1217). Three group of men each containing around ten men are seen at work on a rudimentary pile driver. A central pole is turned by some of the men while, on a raised platform attached to the central pole, other men jump and pound the central pole into the ground - boring shafts for the tin deposits (1239). The mining town of Jos consisting of large square huts - European rather than native (1246). Africans rush to the bottom of a quarry to start work (1269). CS of a mechanical shovel in action (1280). Africans working in the quarry (1316). A pumping machine, pumping water along a shute; the mixed earth and tin ore are being washed (1392). A line of women outside native huts sieving the ore (1407). Men with shovels pile the ore into a heap with shovels; the ore is packed into small sacks marked `SGTC (?) KEFFI' [Keffi is a town 100 miles south of Kaduna] (1428); and loaded onto a lorry (1436). The Africans leave the quarry in a rush - end of the working day (1469). A large crowd by a race course (1487). The race in progress and the finish, a horse falls at the finish (1540ft).

Note: The footage between 243-371, 417-532, 977-1024, and 1029-1087 is also in the Empire Series film BLACK COTTON.

 

Titles

  • NIGERIA (Archive)
 

Technical Data

Year:
1928
Film Gauge (Format):
35mm Film
Colour:
Black/White
Sound:
Silent
Footage:
1540 ft
 

Production Credits

Production Countries:
Great Britain
Producer
WOOLFE, H. Bruce
Production Company
British Instructional Films
 

Countries

 

Production Organisations