Browse Titles - 31 results
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The Ainu Bear Ceremony
directed by Neil Gordon Munro, 1863-1942; produced by Royal Anthropological Institute (London, England: Royal Anthropological Institute, 2001), 29 mins
The RAI has reedited the original film of this ceremony among the Ainu people of Japan. In the bear ceremony, now no longer performed, a specially reared bear was reverently killed and its flesh and blood eaten by the participants. The film shows a series of ritual acts with some commentary on their meaning.
Sample
directed by Neil Gordon Munro, 1863-1942; produced by Royal Anthropological Institute (London, England: Royal Anthropological Institute, 2001), 29 mins
Description
The RAI has reedited the original film of this ceremony among the Ainu people of Japan. In the bear ceremony, now no longer performed, a specially reared bear was reverently killed and its flesh and blood eaten by the participants. The film shows a series of ritual acts with some commentary on their meaning.
Date Written / Recorded
1931
Field of Study
Anthropology
Content Type
Documentary
Contributor
Neil Gordon Munro, 1863-1942, Royal Anthropological Institute
Author / Creator
Neil Gordon Munro, 1863-1942
Date Published / Released
2001
Publisher
Royal Anthropological Institute
Topic / Theme
Ainu, Ethnozoology, Tribal and national groups, Cultural change and history, Religious beliefs, Social customs, Religious rites and ceremonies, Ethnography
Copyright Message
Copyright 2001. Used by permission of Royal Anthropological Institute. All rights reserved.
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Barbara and Her Friends in Candombleland
directed by Carmen Opipari, fl. 1997 and Sylvie Timbert (London, England: Royal Anthropological Institute, 1997), 58 mins
In the divine Afro Brazilian cult Candomble is an initiation religion centred around possession. The filmmakers concentrate on children who introduce and guide us to this world. The children play at Candomble. Passing from simulation of the representation, the children touch on the possession dance. Many are eager...
Sample
directed by Carmen Opipari, fl. 1997 and Sylvie Timbert (London, England: Royal Anthropological Institute, 1997), 58 mins
Description
In the divine Afro Brazilian cult Candomble is an initiation religion centred around possession. The filmmakers concentrate on children who introduce and guide us to this world. The children play at Candomble. Passing from simulation of the representation, the children touch on the possession dance. Many are eager to be possessed. The film explores what Candomble may offer them.
Field of Study
Anthropology
Content Type
Documentary
Contributor
Sylvie Timbert, Carmen Opipari, fl. 1997
Author / Creator
Carmen Opipari, fl. 1997, Sylvie Timbert
Date Published / Released
1997
Publisher
Royal Anthropological Institute
Topic / Theme
African Brazilian, Religious rites and ceremonies, Children's play, Social dances, Spiritual possession, Religious beliefs, Candomblé, Ethnography, Africans, Brazilians
Copyright Message
Copyright 1997. Used by permission of Royal Anthropological Institute. All rights reserved.
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Black Mountain
directed by Amin Hajee; produced by Charlotte Whitby-Coles (London, England: Royal Anthropological Institute, 2008), 1 hour 25 mins
A once unremarkable site of multi-faith pilgrimage to a Sufi Saint has been transformed and its local history rewritten - the film documents the journey of Charlotte, a student undertaking her PhD research in India, who, whilst researching religious pilgrimages, stumbles upon the politicisation of a pilgrimage sit...
Sample
directed by Amin Hajee; produced by Charlotte Whitby-Coles (London, England: Royal Anthropological Institute, 2008), 1 hour 25 mins
Description
A once unremarkable site of multi-faith pilgrimage to a Sufi Saint has been transformed and its local history rewritten - the film documents the journey of Charlotte, a student undertaking her PhD research in India, who, whilst researching religious pilgrimages, stumbles upon the politicisation of a pilgrimage site in western India. The research suggests that the pilgrimage site of Kalo Dungar or Black Mountain, situated in the Rann of Kutch, Guj...
A once unremarkable site of multi-faith pilgrimage to a Sufi Saint has been transformed and its local history rewritten - the film documents the journey of Charlotte, a student undertaking her PhD research in India, who, whilst researching religious pilgrimages, stumbles upon the politicisation of a pilgrimage site in western India. The research suggests that the pilgrimage site of Kalo Dungar or Black Mountain, situated in the Rann of Kutch, Gujarat, provides a micro-example of current political issues in India today, where by the ‘unity in diversity’ of the country is slowly being broken-down destroying any hope of communal peace.
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Field of Study
Anthropology
Content Type
Documentary
Contributor
Charlotte Whitby-Coles
Author / Creator
Amin Hajee, Charlotte Whitby-Coles
Date Published / Released
2008
Publisher
Royal Anthropological Institute
Speaker / Narrator
Charlotte Whitby-Coles
Topic / Theme
Indian, Pilgrimage, Fundamentalism, Saints, Religious differences, Islam, War, Hinduism, Political causes, Ethnography, Indians (Asian)
Copyright Message
Copyright 2008. Used by permission of Royal Anthropological Institute. All rights reserved.
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Daba / Na Shaman
directed by Cai Hua; produced by Cai Hua (London, England: Royal Anthropological Institute, 1999), 40 mins
After more than a quarter of a century without any form of religious ceremony, the Na, an ethnic group living on the Himalayan plateau, began openly practising their religion again in the early 1990s. Their priests are called daba. Among the few old shamans who are still living today, Dafa Luzo is the most remarka...
Sample
directed by Cai Hua; produced by Cai Hua (London, England: Royal Anthropological Institute, 1999), 40 mins
Description
After more than a quarter of a century without any form of religious ceremony, the Na, an ethnic group living on the Himalayan plateau, began openly practising their religion again in the early 1990s. Their priests are called daba. Among the few old shamans who are still living today, Dafa Luzo is the most remarkable. As the main character in the film, we see him looking after his farm and his family, as well as performing rituals to expel all un...
After more than a quarter of a century without any form of religious ceremony, the Na, an ethnic group living on the Himalayan plateau, began openly practising their religion again in the early 1990s. Their priests are called daba. Among the few old shamans who are still living today, Dafa Luzo is the most remarkable. As the main character in the film, we see him looking after his farm and his family, as well as performing rituals to expel all unclean spirits and demons and honour the ancestors. His main worry, and his greatest hope, is to make sure his knowledge is safely handed down to the next generation.
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Field of Study
Anthropology
Content Type
Documentary
Contributor
Cai Hua
Author / Creator
Cai Hua
Date Published / Released
1999
Publisher
Royal Anthropological Institute
Person Discussed
Dafa Luzo, fl. 1999
Topic / Theme
Chinese, Mosuo (Na), Farm life, Demonic possession, Mountains, Shamanism, Religious rites and ceremonies, Ethnography, Na
Copyright Message
Copyright 1999. Used by permission of Royal Anthropological Institute. All rights reserved.
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Daba / Na Shaman (Teacher's Edition)
directed by Cai Hua; produced by Cai Hua (London, England: Royal Anthropological Institute, 1999), 41 mins
View Teaching Guide for this video.
After more than a quarter of a century without any form of religious ceremony, the Na, an ethnic group living on the Himalayan plateau, began openly practising their religion again in the early 1990s. Their priests are called daba. Among the few old shamans who are still livin...
Sample
directed by Cai Hua; produced by Cai Hua (London, England: Royal Anthropological Institute, 1999), 41 mins
Description
View Teaching Guide for this video.
After more than a quarter of a century without any form of religious ceremony, the Na, an ethnic group living on the Himalayan plateau, began openly practising their religion again in the early 1990s. Their priests are called daba. Among the few old shamans who are still living today, Dafa Luzo is the most remarkable. As the main character in the film, we see him looking after his farm and his family, as well...
View Teaching Guide for this video.
After more than a quarter of a century without any form of religious ceremony, the Na, an ethnic group living on the Himalayan plateau, began openly practising their religion again in the early 1990s. Their priests are called daba. Among the few old shamans who are still living today, Dafa Luzo is the most remarkable. As the main character in the film, we see him looking after his farm and his family, as well as performing rituals to expel all unclean spirits and demons and honour the ancestors. His main worry, and his greatest hope, is to make sure his knowledge is safely handed down to the next generation.
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Field of Study
Anthropology
Content Type
Instructional material
Contributor
Cai Hua
Author / Creator
Cai Hua
Date Published / Released
1999
Publisher
Royal Anthropological Institute
Person Discussed
Dafa Luzo, fl. 1999
Topic / Theme
Farm life, Demonic possession, Mountains, Shamanism, Religious rites and ceremonies, Chinese, Na
Copyright Message
Copyright © 1999. Used by permission of Royal Anthropological Institute. All rights reserved.
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Disappearing World, War of the Gods
directed by Brian Moser, fl. 1960; produced by Brian Moser, fl. 1960, in Disappearing World (London, England: Royal Anthropological Institute, 1971), 1 hour 7 mins
While relying on a polemical stance directed against the cultural genocide wrought by missionaries, War of the Gods also contains a wealth of information and detail about Amazonian Indian cosmology, social life and sexual division of labour. Two groups of Indians from the Vaupes region of Colombia are shown, the M...
Sample
directed by Brian Moser, fl. 1960; produced by Brian Moser, fl. 1960, in Disappearing World (London, England: Royal Anthropological Institute, 1971), 1 hour 7 mins
Description
While relying on a polemical stance directed against the cultural genocide wrought by missionaries, War of the Gods also contains a wealth of information and detail about Amazonian Indian cosmology, social life and sexual division of labour. Two groups of Indians from the Vaupes region of Colombia are shown, the Maku, who live mainly by hunting and gathering, and the sedentary Barasana, who live mainly by farming. The film contrasts the belief sy...
While relying on a polemical stance directed against the cultural genocide wrought by missionaries, War of the Gods also contains a wealth of information and detail about Amazonian Indian cosmology, social life and sexual division of labour. Two groups of Indians from the Vaupes region of Colombia are shown, the Maku, who live mainly by hunting and gathering, and the sedentary Barasana, who live mainly by farming. The film contrasts the belief systems and way of life of the Indians, presented by the anthropologists who worked and lived with them, with those of Protestant and Catholic missionaries. The Protestants, North American Fundamentalists from the Summer Institute of Linguistics, are said to have used their organisation as a cover in order to be allowed to work with the Indians, because open Protestant missionary activity would not have been acceptable to the authorities. No attempt is made to gloss over the complexities of contact between Whites and Indians: the Barasana themselves want change, and the missionaries' influence is undoubtedly more beneficial to the Indians than that of rubber gatherers. Included in this film is an interview — using voice-over — with a Maku shaman, and there are scenes from the Barasana moloka, the communal house which is a centre of social and domestic activity. The climax of the film is a contrasting look at a church service at the S.I.L. headquarters, a Barasana ritual dance (accompanied by the ritual use of the hallucinogen yage), and a Mass at the Catholic mission attended by some of the Indians who took part in the ritual dance. Some missionaries who have seen this film consider that its editing is unfair to the S.I.L., but the head of another important missionary organisation has said that it should be screened during missionary training courses.
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Field of Study
Anthropology
Content Type
Documentary
Contributor
Christine Hugh-Jones, fl. 1971, Stephen Hugh-Jones, 1945-, Peter Silverwood-Cope, fl. 1971, Brian Moser, fl. 1960
Author / Creator
Brian Moser, fl. 1960, Christine Hugh-Jones, fl. 1971, Stephen Hugh-Jones, 1945-, Peter Silverwood-Cope, fl. 1971
Date Published / Released
1971
Publisher
Royal Anthropological Institute
Series
Disappearing World
Topic / Theme
Colombian, Cultural change and history, Religious beliefs, Missionaries, American Indians, English
Copyright Message
Copyright © 1971 by the Royal Anthropological Institute
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Disappearing World, Kataragama: A God for All Seasons
directed by Charlie Nairn, fl. 1974; produced by Charlie Nairn, fl. 1974, in Disappearing World (London, England: Royal Anthropological Institute, 1973), 53 mins
In ever-increasing numbers Sinhalese of all religions (Muslims, Christians and Buddhists) are turning to Kataragama, an ancient Hindu God, at times of trouble and desperation. Once a year pilgrims make the journey to Kataragama's shrine in southeast Sri Lanka (Ceylon) to fulfil vows by performing acts of penance a...
Sample
directed by Charlie Nairn, fl. 1974; produced by Charlie Nairn, fl. 1974, in Disappearing World (London, England: Royal Anthropological Institute, 1973), 53 mins
Description
In ever-increasing numbers Sinhalese of all religions (Muslims, Christians and Buddhists) are turning to Kataragama, an ancient Hindu God, at times of trouble and desperation. Once a year pilgrims make the journey to Kataragama's shrine in southeast Sri Lanka (Ceylon) to fulfil vows by performing acts of penance and worship in payment for a favour received. Kataragama is called on to help with a wide range of problems (unemployment, sickness, exa...
In ever-increasing numbers Sinhalese of all religions (Muslims, Christians and Buddhists) are turning to Kataragama, an ancient Hindu God, at times of trouble and desperation. Once a year pilgrims make the journey to Kataragama's shrine in southeast Sri Lanka (Ceylon) to fulfil vows by performing acts of penance and worship in payment for a favour received. Kataragama is called on to help with a wide range of problems (unemployment, sickness, examinations, personal relationships) and is appealed to by people of all social backgrounds, notably the growing middle class and urban dwellers. A good third of the film is concerned with the annual festival, showing the often gruesome and sensational acts which the pilgrims perform including fire-walking, and the piercing of body and tongue with needles – all acts designed to obtain forgiveness and grace. One man is suspended from hooks in his back – a self-torture undertaken with apparent joy by a man who, like many others that perform such acts, feels himself (after a time) to be possessed by the God's spirit. These rather sensational acts are interwoven with the story of a peasant family whose son has disappeared, leading them eventually to seek help from Kataragama. The unfolding of this personal drama (with reconstruction of early episodes, and voice-over to detail their thoughts and feelings) forms the context for the events we see at the festival. The effect of the interweaving of these two `stories' is to place the otherwise purely exotic spectacle of the pilgrims' acts of penance within a universally understandable social context – that of the despair of a family whose young son is lost. The unplanned return of the boy, apparently in response to the family's appeal to Kataragama, provides a dramatic and moving finale to a film which has been compared in some respects to the great Italian neo-realist films. Clearly this film is an important one both for anthropologists and those concerned with ethnographic film per se.
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Field of Study
Anthropology
Content Type
Documentary
Contributor
Gananath Obeyesekere, 1930-, Charlie Nairn, fl. 1974
Author / Creator
Charlie Nairn, fl. 1974, Gananath Obeyesekere, 1930-
Date Published / Released
1973
Publisher
Royal Anthropological Institute
Series
Disappearing World
Topic / Theme
Sri Lankan, Religious beliefs, Sri Lankan people, Religious practices, Spanish
Copyright Message
Copyright © 1973 by the Royal Anthropological Institute
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Disappearing World, The Quechua
directed by Carlos Pasini Hansen, fl. 1994; produced by Carlos Pasini Hansen, fl. 1994, in Disappearing World (London, England: Royal Anthropological Institute, 1974), 52 mins
This film is set in a community of peasant agriculturalists 2 1/4 miles above sea level in the southern Peruvian Andes. Concentrating on a single family, the film explores aspects of religious and secular life. The first part of the film shows a pilgrimage to a Christian sanctuary situated close to the residence o...
Sample
directed by Carlos Pasini Hansen, fl. 1994; produced by Carlos Pasini Hansen, fl. 1994, in Disappearing World (London, England: Royal Anthropological Institute, 1974), 52 mins
Description
This film is set in a community of peasant agriculturalists 2 1/4 miles above sea level in the southern Peruvian Andes. Concentrating on a single family, the film explores aspects of religious and secular life. The first part of the film shows a pilgrimage to a Christian sanctuary situated close to the residence of the most powerful of the Central Andean mountain spirits (Apus) illustrating the syncretism of Catholic and pre-Hispanic local religi...
This film is set in a community of peasant agriculturalists 2 1/4 miles above sea level in the southern Peruvian Andes. Concentrating on a single family, the film explores aspects of religious and secular life. The first part of the film shows a pilgrimage to a Christian sanctuary situated close to the residence of the most powerful of the Central Andean mountain spirits (Apus) illustrating the syncretism of Catholic and pre-Hispanic local religious traditions. In the second part of the film we see a fertility rite for sheep, and the attempts of certain members of the community to procure government assistance for a motor road to the village which would link them more closely with the rest of Peruvian society. This film portrays the Quechua of the village of Camahuara as being in a sense sealed off from the rest of the world, but it also shows how their way of life is integrated with the Peruvian economy. It has been criticised for emphasising that the desire for change is coming from inside the traditional society rather than being forced on it from without.
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Field of Study
Anthropology
Content Type
Documentary
Contributor
Michael Sallnow, fl. 1974, Carlos Pasini Hansen, fl. 1994, Mark Edwards, fl. 1974
Author / Creator
Carlos Pasini Hansen, fl. 1994, Michael Sallnow, fl. 1974
Date Published / Released
1974
Publisher
Royal Anthropological Institute
Series
Disappearing World
Speaker / Narrator
Mark Edwards, fl. 1974
Topic / Theme
Quechua, Gender roles, Cultural change and history, Pilgrimage, American Indians, Jews
Copyright Message
Copyright © 1974 by the Royal Anthropological Institute
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Disappearing World, Some Women of Marrakech
directed by Melissa Llewelyn-Davies, fl. 1974; produced by Melissa Llewelyn-Davies, fl. 1974, in Disappearing World (London, England: Royal Anthropological Institute, 1977), 54 mins
In Marrakech, traditional attitudes to women prevail perhaps more strongly than in other Moroccan cities. This is especially true for those women who live by the standards of traditional ideals in the Medina, the old city of Marrakech still enclosed by its ancient walls. This film attempts to say something about w...
Sample
directed by Melissa Llewelyn-Davies, fl. 1974; produced by Melissa Llewelyn-Davies, fl. 1974, in Disappearing World (London, England: Royal Anthropological Institute, 1977), 54 mins
Description
In Marrakech, traditional attitudes to women prevail perhaps more strongly than in other Moroccan cities. This is especially true for those women who live by the standards of traditional ideals in the Medina, the old city of Marrakech still enclosed by its ancient walls. This film attempts to say something about women such as Aisha and Hajiba – two main characters – who have experienced the hardships of life for women in such a society. Aisha...
In Marrakech, traditional attitudes to women prevail perhaps more strongly than in other Moroccan cities. This is especially true for those women who live by the standards of traditional ideals in the Medina, the old city of Marrakech still enclosed by its ancient walls. This film attempts to say something about women such as Aisha and Hajiba – two main characters – who have experienced the hardships of life for women in such a society. Aisha's husband is an unskilled labourer and so she is forced to find work cooking and cleaning. Hajiba has been thrown out of her natal home by the brother who became household head on her father's death and she works as a dancer (shaykha) in a troupe entertaining men for money. For both of them the ideal of seclusion remains unrealisable, economic factors taking them out into the public world of men. The all-women film-crew were privileged to be allowed to attend a series of events involving women – a visit to the steam baths, a religious celebration, a wedding, a visit to a shuwafa (fortune teller), a possession cult trance and a trip to the market to buy cloth. At many of these social events the guests entertain each other, and the film is remarkable not least for sequences showing women dancing and playing musical instruments, the brilliant colours of their dress and surroundings adding to the visual interest. Some Women of Marrakech is important for the manner in which it situates these `ethnographic events' in relation to the division between women in the private world and men in the public world, providing an analysis which puts in the foreground questions of women's consciousness, sexuality and male/female division.
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Field of Study
Anthropology
Content Type
Documentary
Contributor
Elizabeth Warnock Fernea, Melissa Llewelyn-Davies, fl. 1974, Gill Shepherd, fl. 1977
Author / Creator
Melissa Llewelyn-Davies, fl. 1974, Elizabeth Warnock Fernea
Date Published / Released
1977
Publisher
Royal Anthropological Institute
Series
Disappearing World
Speaker / Narrator
Gill Shepherd, fl. 1977
Topic / Theme
Moroccan, Family relationships, Religious beliefs, Gender roles, Moroccans
Copyright Message
Copyright © 1977 by the Royal Anthropological Institute
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Disappearing World, Umbanda
directed by Stephen Cross, fl. 1977; produced by Stephen Cross, fl. 1977, in Disappearing World (London, England: Royal Anthropological Institute, 1977), 53 mins
Umbanda is a syncretic religious movement, combining elements from orthodox Catholicism with submerged African and indigenous Indian spiritual beliefs. In spite of past attempts to suppress it, Umbanda flourishes in the heterogeneous culture of contemporary urban Brazil. The film somewhat ambitiously seeks to give...
Sample
directed by Stephen Cross, fl. 1977; produced by Stephen Cross, fl. 1977, in Disappearing World (London, England: Royal Anthropological Institute, 1977), 53 mins
Description
Umbanda is a syncretic religious movement, combining elements from orthodox Catholicism with submerged African and indigenous Indian spiritual beliefs. In spite of past attempts to suppress it, Umbanda flourishes in the heterogeneous culture of contemporary urban Brazil. The film somewhat ambitiously seeks to give an exposition of the eclectic repertoire of the Umbanda movement. There is lengthy coverage of ritual performances, including intervie...
Umbanda is a syncretic religious movement, combining elements from orthodox Catholicism with submerged African and indigenous Indian spiritual beliefs. In spite of past attempts to suppress it, Umbanda flourishes in the heterogeneous culture of contemporary urban Brazil. The film somewhat ambitiously seeks to give an exposition of the eclectic repertoire of the Umbanda movement. There is lengthy coverage of ritual performances, including interviews with mediums and their clients, which emphasise the role the movement plays in the management of personal malaise and affliction experienced as a by-product of change and urbanisation. The concluding sequences of the Sea Goddess, Yemenya – identified with the Virgin Mary – show the annual Umbanda festival where half a million participants from all over the country assemble on the beaches of Säo Paulo. The film's strength lies in its graphic footage of spiritual possession and healing but it has been criticised for not providing a fuller account of the functioning of Umbanda groups, and the movement's articulation with the political authorities in Brazil.
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Field of Study
Anthropology
Content Type
Documentary
Contributor
Peter Fry, 1941-, Stephen Cross, fl. 1977
Author / Creator
Stephen Cross, fl. 1977, Peter Fry, 1941-
Date Published / Released
1977
Publisher
Royal Anthropological Institute
Series
Disappearing World
Topic / Theme
Brazilian, Mediums, Religious beliefs, Brazilian people, Jews
Copyright Message
Copyright © 1977 by the Royal Anthropological Institute
×
