African IRON - on YouTube

There are some available documentries of the last traditional iron smelting in Africa. These were recorded back in the late 1960s - early 1970's. Preview clips have recently shown up on YouTube:

Inagina: The Last House of Iron

Swiss archaeologist Eric Huysecom and cameraman Bernard Augustoni work with 13 master smelters to recreate the building of a traditional furnace for smelting iron in Mali. There has not been any traditional iron smelting in Africa since the 1960's, in part due to the importing of cheaper substitutes. The building of the furnaces and the work involved in the actual production is deeply entwined with ritual, symbolism and gender. This film describes in great detail every aspect of the event, from the selection of the site of the reconstruction - which is the oldest remaining furnace site in the region, last active in 1961 - to the final result. This is an important film for African Studies, Archaeology, Religion, Ritual, Technology and Gender.

a film by Eric Huysecom, (Geneva) and Bernard Augustoni
distributed by Documentary Educational Resources. Purchase: http://www.der.org/films/inagina.html
 

The Blooms Of Banjeli

The Blooms of Banjeli documents research in Banjeli, Togo on iron-smelting technology, its rituals, and the sexual prohibitions surrounding it. Including rare historical footage from the same village in 1914, it provides a unique technological record of the traditional method of preparing a furnace to smelt iron. This documentary offers an interesting approach to our understanding of the relationship between conceptions of gender and technology in traditional African society. The people of Banjeli liken the furnace to a woman's body, which is 'impregnated' by the smelter. The process of smelting is compared to that of giving birth, the furnace being the womb and the iron bloom, the newborn. a film by Carlyn Saltman with Candice Gaucher and Eugenia Herbert distributed by Documentary Educational Resources. Purchase: http://www.der.org/films/blooms-of-banjeli.html