BURKINO FASO: AFRICAN ANIMAL TRAINER MADI DERME COMMUNICATES AND TALKS TO HIS HERD OF HORSES

Record ID: 628400

  • Title: BURKINO FASO: AFRICAN ANIMAL TRAINER MADI DERME COMMUNICATES AND TALKS TO HIS HERD OF HORSES
  • Date: 30th March 1999
  • Summary: VARIOUS LOCATIONS, BURKINA FASO (RECENT) (REUTERS) MADI DERME HANGING IN THE MIDDLE OF TWO HORSES AS THEY GALLOP THROUGH VILLAGE MAN STANDING ON GALLOPING HORSE MADI STANDING UNDERNEATH HORSE AS HORSE PLACES LEGS ON HIS SHOULDERS CLOSE UP HANDS BEATING DRUMS DANCER DANCING DRUMS WIDE OF DRUMMERS PLAYING MADI COMING OUT OF HUT WITH HORSE MADI PERFORMING HIS OWN UNI
  • Embargoed: 14th April 1999 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: VARIOUS LOCATIONS, BURKINA FASO
  • Country: Burkina Faso
  • Topics: Environment / Natural World
  • Reuters ID: LVA6CJU3JJ1K4E0G6FRFC88P1XF7
  • Story Text: At first glance, these men look like they might be part of a circus act.
    Spectacular feats of balance and poise...Curious displays of camaraderie between man and beast...In the background, drummers and dancers perform a hypnotising serenade...
    But this is no circus act...
    It is a normal part of the life of the Derme family, a Mossi clan living just outside Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
    The ringleader: modern day horse whisperer Madi Derme.
    People around town speak this man's name with a touch of wonder.Wonder, because of how Madi Derme communicates with his family's herd of horses.
    His father Issaka says his son's talent is truly mysterious."Madi talks with the horses.The horses say hello.When Madi says, 'lie down,' the horses lie down.He can speak in French, he can speak in other languages, the horses will still understand, because he has a special connection with the horses' minds."
    But Madi makes talking with his horses sound almost simple."The language of the horses is love and passion.If you have love and passion alongside the horses, you can talk to them and they will understand you."
    Yet the level of communication Madi has attained with his horses suggests that there is more to the relationship than just love and passion.
    Every day, Madi cultivates his 'horse connection' through meditation and prayer.
    Before each encounter with his horses, he asks for a blessing from his father, Issaka.
    Madi then talks to and plays with the horses - six year old Tilai is his favourite - making each one do weird and wonderful things.
    Although Madi is not the only one in his family with this mysterious ability, he is the most well-known horse whisperer of the Derme clan.
    And the clan is large.Approximately 25 people - extended family members and friends - live in the Derme compound.
    Supporting so many people and a herd of horses can be challenging - especially in a country where the average worker makes less than $250 US dollars per year.
    To makemeet, Madi sometimes takes his show on the road in and around Burkina Faso.
    Every week, he races his horses for cash prizes at the nearby Ouagadougou Hippodrome.
    Other family members make and sell horse-inspired arts and crafts.
    Of course, selling or trading the horses for money or other goods has never been an option.
    Issaka says they live with the horses."We cannot live without them.This is our family, our culture.Our life is alongside the horses."
    When asked why he's developed his horse language, Madi says the reason is clear "I talk to him often like I speak with friends or my father or my mother.So, I wanted to have a language just for him and me!"
    Some call him psychic, others call him crazy.
    Both seem entirely possible - but to the villagers who enjoy his spectacle on a regular basis, it's great entertainment - and to Madi Derme himself, it's simply his passion.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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