The Spookiness Continues

Astrid et Raphaëlle S06E03 “Le boli maudit” (The Cursed Boli), runtime 51:15
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Astrid and Raph have tackled cases concerning UFOs, reincarnation, werewolves, Aztec gods, witches, golems, mediums, Mormons, and now— cursed statuettes.

The case is the murder of a retiree in his pottery workshop. Raph arrives at the scene in her wheelchair, a la Ironside. Among the clay objects is a boli, an African altar/shrine object which represents magic/power. But this one is filled with blood.

(L-R) Charlotte Gaccio as Delphine, Sophia Yamna as Norah, Lola Dewaere as Raphaëlle, and Benoit Michel as Nicolas.

Heritage issues are a further complication, as the boli was stolen by a French land rapist during the colonial era.

It is also believed to be cursed, meaning that Raph and Nico get to go back and forth about rationality again. An African art expert is consulted. Profiler Delphine Simon returns. Raph is not optimistic about her rehab, and asks the social skills workshop for advice. Colonialism gets more negative publicity. Raph is surprised with a job offer.


NOTES

4’29”: Fact check– True.

The African Worlds Institute (5’01”) is real, located in the real world at 12 Rue de Fillettes.

The expression mettre au placard (6’06” c.f.) means ‘put in the closet.’ I’m translating it as ‘put on the shelf’ because that’s common in English.

7’22”: The plural of boli is boliw.
      The referenced expedition is the Dakar-Djibouti Mission in 1931.
      The surrealist writer Michel Leiris was secretary-archivist on the expedition. Leiris later wrote that the group’s activities were a pretext for plunder. A 2020 musical, Theft of the Boli, was based on Leiris’s journal.

The in-show Institut Africain/African Worlds Institute (6’00” c.f.) is really a 1951 building at the University of Paris international enclave, located at 45B Blvd Jourdan. Ironically, it was L’Ancienne Maison de la France d’Outre Mer (the Old House of Overseas France), and served students from the French Overseas Territories. In 1972 it was renamed after Lucien Paye, Minister of Education 1961-62, and is now home to the Lucien Paye Foundation.

Quai d’Orsay (21’59”) is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and happens to be where Raph’s father works.

Ouagadougou (29’33”) is the capital of Burkina Faso.

Acridocarpus monodii (31’55”) is African Turpentine.
      The Cliff of Bandiagara is a UNESCO World Heritage site, comprising a 95-mile long cliff, a plateau, and settlements of the Dogon people dating from the 15th century.

There is no village of Koridogou (36’03”), but Kori is a village in the Central African Republic, and Dogou is a region in Chad.
      Montreuil is a suburb abutting Paris to the east.

Maths’up (39’56”) is some sort of national program to encourage math skills in teens and university-aged persons.

40’44”: It looks like France sent male models to colonize Africa.