Amicale de Niamey

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The Amicale de Niamey was a cultural and sports organization in Niger . It is particularly important for the national theater history of the 20th century.

history

The organization's roots lie in the École normal William Ponty , the school for the indigenous elites of French West Africa . There the students came into contact with the classical French theater tradition in the 1930s, especially with the comedies of Molière . The Amicale de Niamey - French for "(friendly) association of Niamey " - was founded in 1940 by former students from Niger as a theater group. It was initially strongly influenced by the European colonial administrators and the small Nigerien elite. Hamani Diori and Djibo Bakary , later the defining figures of Niger's state independence, headed the sports department of the Amicale in 1942.

In 1955, Barkiré Alidou took over the management of the organization from Zada Niandou , which he held until its dissolution. Alidou was a high functionary of the Nigerien Progress Party . The Amicale was divided into four sections: In addition to the theater ensemble led by the playwright Mahamane Dan Dobi , there was an orchestra under the direction of Kélétigui Mariko and a football and basketball team, both of which were led by Idrissa Arouna . The football section won the Niger Cup in the top national league in 1962 , but was disbanded soon after. The reason for this was the high proportion of players from Senegal , Dahomey and Togo , which, like Niger, had become independent states in 1960.

The men and women of the theater company played plays in French. They brought works by Nigerien authors such as La chèvre and Kabrin Kabra by Mahamane Dan Dobi and La force du lait and Soni Ali Ber by Boubou Hama on the stage. Occasionally improvised in the national languages . Even if basically western influences, there were further Nigerian influences in the performance practice, for example when performances were accompanied by griots , algaita players or Wodaabe dancers. The Amicale de Niamey was considered to be the most important national theater ensemble in its time and often oriented itself to national and religious holidays for new productions at its headquarters in Niamey. It was also played in other major cities in the country such as Zinder , Maradi , Dosso , Gaya and Tillabéri . In the 1950s, the Amicale traveled to other areas of French West Africa, including its capital Dakar , and in the 1960s to Paris , Turin and Milan .

The 1974 military coup that brought the Supreme Military Council to power completely reorganized Niger's cultural organizations. This meant the end of the Amicale de Niamey.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Don Rubin, Ousmane Diakhaté, Hansel Ndumbe Eyoh (Eds.): The World Encyclopedia of Contemporary Theater: Africa . 2nd Edition. Routledge, London / New York 2001, ISBN 0-415-05931-3 , pp. 213 .
  2. ↑ Beth Osnes: Acting. An International Encyclopedia . ABC-CLIO, Santa Barbara / Denver / Oxford 2001, ISBN 0-87436-795-6 , pp. 6 .
  3. ↑ Jean-Dominique Penel: politique et Littérature . In: Marie-Clotilde Jacquey (ed.): Littérature nigérienne (=  Notre librairie . No. 107 ). CLEF, Paris 1991, p. 105 .
  4. ↑ a b c Jean-Dominique Pénel: Littérature du Niger. Rencontre . Vol. 2: Barkiré Alidou, Marcel Inné, Hima Adamou, Djibo Mayaki, Alhassane Danté, Soli Abdourhamane, Amadou Ousmane, Albert Issa, Boubé Zoumé, Idé Adamou. L'Harmattan, Paris 2010, ISBN 978-2-296-12859-0 , pp. 15-16 .
  5. ^ José Batalha: Niger - List of Cup Winners. Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation, August 10, 2017, accessed November 21, 2017 .
  6. ^ A b Jean-Dominique Pénel: Littérature du Niger. Rencontre . Vol. 2: Barkiré Alidou, Marcel Inné, Hima Adamou, Djibo Mayaki, Alhassane Danté, Soli Abdourhamane, Amadou Ousmane, Albert Issa, Boubé Zoumé, Idé Adamou. L'Harmattan, Paris 2010, ISBN 978-2-296-12859-0 , pp. 17-19 .