Books in English by writers from Niger are hard to find, so these two are wider picks: books by long-time residents, outsiders who know the place well, folk tales and history with a strong feel for Niger.
Very little writing from Niger has been translated into English, and much of its cultural life has been carried by the spoken word. French is the official language, while people also speak Hausa, Zarma, Songhay, Fulfulde, Tamasheq and Kanuri, and songs, stories and histories have long been passed on aloud in many of these languages.
Paul Stoller's Fusion of the Worlds: An Ethnography of Possession among the Songhay of Niger details the spirit-possession rituals of the Songhay, their history and their place in village life along the Niger River. Mette Bovin's Nomads Who Cultivate Beauty: Wodaabe Dances and Visions looks at how the Wodaabe, mobile herders of the Sahel, think about beauty and dance, largely in Niger. Both are anthropology, rich in the detail of ritual, song and dance.
By long-time residents and outsiders who know the place well, or folk tales, poetry and history with a strong feel for Niger.
“Find a copy” goes to Bookshop.org. If you buy, we earn a small commission and independent bookshops get a share too.
A futuristic young-adult fantasy opening in the Nigerien village of Ndiffa, drawing on Sahelian Muslim village life, Tuareg and Hausa echoes, and desert landscapes.
Two American anthropologists recount their apprenticeship to Songhay sorcerers, showing spirit possession, healing and sorcery in the Songhay villages of western Niger.
Algeria Angola Benin Botswana Burkina Faso Burundi Cabo Verde Cameroon Central African Republic Chad Comoros Congo Côte d'Ivoire Djibouti DR Congo Egypt Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Eswatini Ethiopia Gabon Gambia Ghana Guinea Guinea-Bissau Kenya Lesotho Liberia Libya Madagascar Malawi Mali Mauritania Mauritius Morocco Mozambique Namibia Nigeria Rwanda São Tomé and Príncipe Senegal Seychelles Sierra Leone Somalia South Africa South Sudan Sudan Tanzania Togo Tunisia Uganda Zambia Zimbabwe