Circumcision rituals of Songhai boys in the village of Hombori (Mali). The boys to be circumcised are led into the bush where the circumciser prepares them and operates on them. After the operation, the children receive care. In the evening, they go out for the first time and sing their first song as circumcised boys.
Reportage Award, Misguich Festival, 1949.
Jean Rouch cinéma et anthropologie, edited by Jean-Paul Colleyn, Cahiers du Cinéma-INA, Paris 2009

Circumcision is one of the most important ceremonies for the Songhay people of Niger. During the rite, the young boys, who until that moment are sexless, become males. La Circoncision was filmed in Hombaré in one day, the day on which the operation takes place. The camera rigorously recorded all the gestures, whether kind or cruel, because every single one is important, even the smallest. It is in fact through these gestures that the coming of age from childhood to adulthood occurs.