Fish bozo - Bozo - Mali (No reserve price)

The Bozo form a distinct group, with the surrounding populations having only a few affinities that are not enough to fully assimilate them to them. It is mistaken to say that the Bozo are a caste people in the broad sense of that term, for, of noble origin and having become emigrants after the decadence of the Ghana Empire, of which they were part, they chose to be fishermen, because having found themselves at the end of their wandering on the banks of the Niger they undertook to exploit the resources of this river to subsist. Then, as their techniques gradually improved, fishing became their main activity, and by frequenting the river they added to their livelihood a near-monopoly on river traffic. Thus they were called the "masters of the water." Later, borrowing from the indigenous people among whom they settled some of their customs, they combined these with those they had brought from their homeland, creating traditions that in large part differ from those of the great ethnic groups that surround them. In the Mopti region, just west of the Dogon country and above the Bambara, the Bozo constitute a notably specific group. They have so little affinity with the surrounding populations that it would not be reasonable to assimilate them fully to those populations. Formerly organized in a group in the form of a society granting powers to a kind of nobility, which emigrated after the decadence of the Ghana Empire in the 11th century, of which they were part, the Bozo became fishermen; for, having found themselves at the end of their wandering on the banks of the Niger, they began to exploit the resources of this river primarily for subsistence. Over time, as their techniques improved, fishing became their main activity. And through extensive navigation on the river, they added to their career the near-monopoly on waterborne transport. This is how the Bozo have been described as “masters of the water.” During that period, borrowing from the aboriginal peoples among whom they settled some of their customs, they blended these with those they had brought from their country of origin. Hence this important distinction between their traditions and those of the major ethnic groups surrounding them. Notably, there are many masks used for the fishermen’s prayers and incantations. Before putting the canoes on the water, they seek to master the powers of malevolent spirits and to win the good graces of benevolent ones. Sometimes they sacrifice a ram, a primordial animal and even deified among the Bozo, above the waters of the river.