Room VII · 7 of 7 on the tour
A museum that speaks. The last room of the tour and the most precious: the voices of the elders, dignitaries and inhabitants, recorded in Mahi and Fon with their consent, transcribed and then subtitled in French and English. The most urgent heritage to safeguard.
Room texts
Provisional texts based on the project presentation document (v3.2) — awaiting approval by the royal court and the town hall of Savalou.
The transmission of Savalou's heritage rests essentially on orality: royal and ritual objects are little inventoried, and many keepers of memory — dignitaries, traditional chiefs, elders — are advancing in age. Every year that passes without systematic documentation is an irreversible loss. This room is the museum's answer: record, transcribe, translate, preserve.
Tales, songs, proverbs, founding narratives, yam-related know-how, Fa rites, enthronement ceremonies: these contents will be collected from the keepers of tradition with their documented consent, in Mahi and Fon, then transcribed and translated into French and English. They are the most singular and most urgent value of the project.
The works
The pieces are being collected, researched or reviewed by the royal court and the town hall — each label below awaits its work.
01 · Tale · Mahi
The founding story in the storytellers' own words: how cunning and friendship prevailed over the buffalo's strength.
Storytellers of Savalou
Mahi audio · transcript · FR/EN translation
02 · Song · yam festival
The songs that accompany the new yam, captured during the 15 August festival, with their lyrics and ritual context.
Yam festival
Audio · transcribed lyrics · notice FR/EN
03 · Testimony · royal court
Dignitaries and elders of the court recount the palace, the reigns and the ceremonies of which they are the last direct witnesses.
Royal court
Fon audio · transcript · FR/EN translation
04 · Language · intangible heritage
Proverbs, riddles and turns of phrase of the Mahi language, collected from the keepers of tradition — a sound library in the making.
Mahi speakers of Savalou
Mahi audio · transcripts · FR/EN translations
Preview 0.2