“Kwagh-hir”

Created by: Charles Recher, Marilyn Gottlieb-Roberts
When: 7 pm Friday, March 19, 2004,
3 pm Satuday, March 20, 2004
Where: HCC Ybor Performing Arts Theater

Scene from "Kwagh Hir"
by Marilyn Gottlieb-Roberts

The Kwagh-hir (“thing of magic”) is the all night secular/sacred spectacle of the Tiv people, legendary farmers and warriors of Nigeria’s fertile Middle Belt region. Their puppet theatre reflects many of the social qualities for which the Tiv are known: generous hospitality, graceful sensuality, strong sense of justice and propriety, and celebrated physical strength and endurance.

The beloved and evolving Kwagh-hir, with roots in the secret masquerades that are a feature of many West African village cultures, first came into being as a famously effective form of resistance during the period of British colonization.

Following the screening there will be a talk and discussion by Charles Recher with his collaborator Marilyn Gottlieb-Roberts.