The Bambara, who number about one and a half million, are the largest group in Mali. They are known for the beauty of their sculpture and the richness of their mythology. The film takes us to Markala, on the banks of the Niger, and follows the annual festival of the masks. This festival which mixes music, dance and masks known as Sogow, constitutes a continual return to their sources an a means of affirming their cultural identity. The bambara Sogow, however, are more than just masks. The head is generally of brightly painted wood, but the body which is animated by dancers hidden within, takes the form of a cloth tent from which emerge large animated puppets and marrionettes. These mobile theaters refer to mythological themes andd scenes of everyday life which include elements of western influence. Today, these exhibitions are on the way to losing their ritual significance. For at least 900 years, Mali has been in contact with islam. This, together with economic factors and the impact of western culture, has been breaking down the traditional religions. Today, only the initiates know the true significances of the masks. Their oral culture is menaced and the initiates die with their secrets. « Bambara masks » was made with the assistance of Youssouf Cissé, a Malian anthropologist at present researcher at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) in Paris. He has been studying for twenty years the civilizations of his country and he recounts in the film the misfortunes of Mousso Koroni, the sexually insatiable, a mythological personality who incarnates disorder. According to the myth, the creation of the world results from the struggle between two female personalities: Faro, who acted in the name of God the creator, and Mousso Koroni, who spread disorder. A disorder that God contained without totally succeeding and which contributes to the equilibrium of the world.