Cultural Anthropology, Ethnography, and Folk Culture Videotapes in the Media Resources Center, UC Berkeley

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The JVC Video Anthology of World Music and Dance.

A comprehensive (31 volume) compilation of world dance and music.

Dance Research Journal v25, n2 (Fall, 1993):49-51.

[Kroeber, A.L.] Samuel Barrett Interviews A.L. Kroeber, 1960

Samuel Barrett, the first Ph.D in Anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley, interviews anthropologist A.L. Kroeber, the first faculty member in the UC Berkeley Department of Anthropology. 1:09 minutes.

Margaret Mead: An Observer Observed.

Dealing with the controversies as well as the accomplishments of Margaret Mead's life, this program weaves together a story of a scientist, adventurer and international celebrity whose ideas shaped how we think about ourselves. 1995. 85 min. Video/C 5058

Margaret Mead, Taking Note.

Anthropologist Margaret Mead was largely responsible for popularizing anthropology in America. From her pioneering studies of children to her speeches about the fate of the environment, Mead was both a student of the world and its teacher. c1981. 60 min. Video/C 4156

Der Menschen Forscher

Presents a provocative and powerful examination of the life and theories of famed Austrian anthropologist Rudolf Poch. A major figure in the history of 20th-century European anthropology, Poch did field work in New Guinea and the Kalahari, and during World War I, did research in POW camps studying the physical attributes of Russian prisoners. He used these studies to substantiate his theories on racial purity and superiority later used by the Nazis. The program poses a variety of questions central to the very nature of anthropology, its uses and abuses. 1992. 60 min. Video/C MM609

Modern Myths

All communities embrace organizing principles that are indispensable to their cohesion, imposing order on chaos and allowing individuals to function in groups. Many of these principles are related through myths. In this program, the transformation of the earlier "savior" myth into the modern myth of the "hero" is examined. Also discussed are how social myths such as "progress" facilitate modern industrial societies, and the myth of the "star" as a social construct that provides the audience with an object on which to project its ideals. 1999. 53 min. Video/C 9674

Modern Tribalism

Journey into America's primitive soul in this graphic, unflinching and startlingly touching documentary about the resurgence of humanity's oldest and most intense rituals. From garden-variety tattooing, to frenzied effigy-burning festivals, to the disturbing extremes of body-piercing, this documentary explores the cultural context surrounding this underground movement. 2002. 77 min. DVD 1403

Mondo Cane.

A classic bit of sensationalist "documentary" featuring thirty sequences of eccentric human behavior, including cannibalism, pig killing, dog meat restaurants in Taiwan, human laceration in Italy, social customs of New Guinea, the "death houses" of Singapore, Ginkha soldiers dressed as women, Rossano Brazzi's violent fans, social attitudes towards overweight women in various cultures, pet cemetaries, etc. Videocassette release of a motion picture originally produced in 1961. 107 min. Video/C 4903

Morning with Asch.

Jayasinhji Jhala, professor of Anthropology at Temple University, interviews filmmaker, educator and visual anthropologist, Timothy Asch, in his Los Angeles home. Asch, expresses his views on his life and work and reveals intimate perspectives on confronting his death from cancer. Excerpts from Asch's films representing his groundbreaking fieldwork with the Yanomamo and the indigenous peoples of Indonesia are woven into the dialogue. 1955. 45 min. Video/C 4812

Description from Documentary Educational Resources catalog

Political Organization

This program profiles the four major forms of political organization: bands, tribes, chiefdoms, and states. Groups studied are the Kung of southwestern Africa, the Mendi of New Guinea, the chiefdom of the Kpelle of Liberia, and concept of a state as exemplified by the theocratic government of Tibet which is presently in exile in India. 1983. 29 min. Video/C MM1

The Prize of the Pole

Documentary of Inuit Hivshu a.k.a. Robert E. Peary II, on a quest to trace the story of his great grandfather while coming to terms with his own ethnic identity. Through archival footage, photos and audio recordings chronicles Peary's exploration of the Arctic over more than twenty years and his controversial 1909 claim to be the first man to reach the North Pole. Also explores the activities of Franz Boas, the "father" of American anthropology, who viewed the Eskimos as barbarians, as "living fossils" for scientific study, focusing on the fate of the six Eskimos who traveled to New York with Peary, including the sole survivor, Minik, a six-year-old boy. Directed by Staffan Julen. 2006. 78 min. DVD 8637

Description from First Run Icarus catalog

Religion and Magic

While all cultures exhibit some religious practices andbeliefs, the forms taken are diverse. The animism practiced by American Indians, the mixture of ancient religion and Roman Catholicism among the Highland Maya, the ritual of Eka Dasa Rudra among the Balinese and successful and unsuccessful modern movements serve to illustrate the thesis. c1983. 30 min. Video/c 578

Return of the Tribal: Body Piercing

For some people, body modification is a form of pop expression, while for others it is a rite of passage and a symbol of belonging. This program travels through the United States, Ethiopia, and Sri Lanka to examine different types of body modification practiced today, including body painting, tattooing, scarification, body piercing, and structural alteration. 2000. 50 min. Video/C 8900

Rouch in Reverse.

A film by Manthia Diawara. French ethnologist/filmmaker, Jean Rouch discusses his work with Manthia Diawara. Includes a cross-section of Rouch's work with clips from his documentary Les Maitres Fous, his cinema verite classic, Chronique D'ete, and his pioneering masterpiece Moi, Un Noir(Treichville). Throughout the interview Diawara places Rouch's films in the context of the on-going struggle of Africans to construct their own vision of modernity. c1995. 51 min. Video/C 4484

Description from California Newsreel catalog

Description from California Newsreel catalog

Rouch's Gang (De bende van Rouch)

Follows the film crew of "Madame l'Eau" and provides a glimpse behind the scenes as director Jean Rouch and his four friends from Niger make their film. This outsider's view of "Madame l'Eau" provides insight into how Rouch approaches his films. In most of his films, Jean Rouch has used his four African friends; Damoure Zika, Lam Ibrahim Dia and Tallou Mouzourane as actors and Moussa Hamidou as sound man. Rouch has been their friend for more than forty years and this complex bond of friendship serves as the theme for this documentary. 1998. 70 min. Video/C 6566

Description from First Run/Icarus catalog

Ruins: A Fake Documentary

Counterfeiting is a practice with broad implications, from the merest of fake objects to entire histories shaped as facsimile. Here filmmaker Lerner collates early colonial misconceptions of the Mexican populace, a jumble of ethnographic and political distortions. From there he charts the process that recontextualizes archeological objects as art. At the center of the film is master forger Brigido Lara, whose pre-columbian objects have been exhibited in major museums throughout the U.S. and Europe. A film by Jesse Lerner. 1999. 78 min. Video/C 9205

The Sacred

All communities hold something sacred, whether it is a supreme being, nature, or life itself. This program explores the role of the sacred in societies, from the most primitive forms of animism to the contemporary secular institutions that have sacred attributes. The importance of ritual, signs, and specific individuals in disparate cultures is addressed by noted anthropologists. The program also addresses the role of myth, stressing the universal presence of the mother goddess in all early religions. 1997. 48 min. Video/C 9677

Shamanism: A Universal Science

This program cuts across cultures and national boundaries to delve into the world of Shamanic medicine. Shamans from four countries, ritualistic dancers, an anthropologist, a psychologist, a doctor, and others investigate this form of traditional healing, contrasting it with Western medical science. The interviews took place at the Shamanism and Healing Congress, held in Pavia, Italy. Originally produced in 1998. 38 min. Video/C 6821

Strangers Abroad: Pioneers of Social Anthropology.

The Shackles of Tradition. Profile of the German scientist who is considered the founding father of American anthropology, beginningwith his investigations of the relations between Eskimo migrations and the physical geography of their region and extending to his fieldwork among the Indian tribes of the Northwest Coast of America. c1990. 52 min. Video/C 3852

Everything is Relatives. William Rivers, who originally trained as a doctor, did work as a pioneering psychologist in the First World War. This background enabled Rivers to bring a scientific approach to anthropology and to set the trend for anthropologists to go and visit the cultures they are studying rather than stay at home and theorize. River's did his major field work with Torres Strait Australian aborigines and with a hill tribe in Southern India, the Todas. 1990. 52 min. Video/C 3853

Off the Verandah. Bronislaw Malinowski was the anthropologist who really changed the way field studies were carried out. He worked on a remote group of Pacific islands, The Trobriands, and lived for long periods among the people he was studying and made their lives intelligible to the West. 1990. 52 min. Video/C 3854

Coming of Age. Chronicles the life and career of Margaret Mead, one of the most controversial anthropologists and fieldworkers of her day. Includes original footage from American Samoa, New Guinea and Bali. 1990. 52 min. Video/C 3855

Strange Beliefs. Sir Edward Evans-Pritchard was the first trained anthropologist to do work in Africa, where he lived among the Azande in Zaire and studied their belief in witchcraft and later worked with the Neur tribe in the Sudan. 1990. 52 min. Video/C 3856

Taking Pictures.

Australian documentary filmmakers explore the issues and pitfalls of filming across cultural boundaries through interviews and samples of their films of Papua New Guinea including Trobriand Cricket, First Contact, The Shark Callers of Kontu, Joe Leah's Neighbors, Black Harvest, Cannibal tours, and others. It also covers the work of indigenous Papua New Guinea filmmakers and their own experience making sense of film and culture. Featuring: Gary Kildea, Dennis O'Rourke, Chris Owen, Bob Connolly, Robin Anderson, Steve McMillan, Martin Maden, Ian Dunlop, Kuman Kolain. 1996. 56 min. Video/C 4933

A World of Differences: Understanding Cross-cultural Communication.

Highlights the potentials for misunderstanding when different cultures interact. Examines problem areas of food, gestures, idioms, ritual and courtesy, touch and personal space, emotion, parents and children, courtship and marriage, and intercultural couples. 1997. 35 min. Video/C 4716

A World of Food: Tastes & Taboos in Different Cultures.

Examines some of the attitudes that make food a fascinating focus of powerful cultural and individual differences. In this film food choices are divided into 7 primary categories and a variety of individuals from various cultures and ethnic and religious affiliations are interviewed concerning what they are willing to eat and why. Professor Dane Archer, UC Santa Cruz, presenter. c2000. 36 min. Video/C 7468

A World of Gestures: Culture & Nonverbal Communication.

Gestures from different cultures around the world are explored. People from many nations are shown performing all kinds of gestures pecular to their culture. Also explored are the meaning, function and origin of gestures. c1991. 27 min. Video/C 2429

Description from California Newsreel catalog

Africa

Africa Speaks!

Narrator, Lowell Thomas. Documentary account of Paul Hoefler's photography expedition through central Africa in 1928-1929. Containing many varied and interesting shots of African tribes and wildlife, the film footage from it was later interpolated into many jungle-themed adventure movies. Originally released as a motion picture in 1930. 60 min. Video/C MM536

Angano...Angano: Tales from Madagascar.

Contemporary storytellers recount the founding myths of Malagasy culture, the creation of man and woman, the origin of rice cultivation, the reason for animal sacrifice. 1989. 64 min. Video/C 3771

Baka: People of the Forest

Depicts a journey to a rain forest in southeastern Cameroon, home of the Baka people. The camera follows a family -- father, mother, and two young sons -- for an intimate look at everyday life in a hunter-gatherer society. Viewers join the Baka by day as they harvest honey, catch fish, and use forest plants to make medicines and see them by night as legends are passed on and as a family prepares for the birth of a baby. Originally produced in 1988. 61 min. Video/C 9539

Behind the Mask (Tribal Eye)

Examines some of the carved ceremonial masks of the Dogon tribe of Nigeria. Shows how these artifacts are created and explains how they are used in the Dogons' sacred rituals. 1976. 52 min. Video/C 176

Bitter Melons. (!Kung San Series).

Portrays the difficulty of survival in the central Kalahari Desert in southern Africa, in a zone where game is scarce because waterholes are dry most of the year. A native musician performs songs about animals, the land, and the social life. Includes traditional music, dances, and children's games. Director/camera, John Marshall. 1991. 30 min. Video/C 3427

Description from Documentary Educational Resources catalog

Bo-ru, the Ape Boy.

This documentary gives an example of a boy who was raised by apes, found by an African tribe and assimilated into their village. Presents remarkable ethnographic photography of Africa in the early 1930s. "Produced and directed in the heart of Africa by Major C. Court Treatt." Originally produced in 1930. 35 min. Video/C MM535

Dance, Voodoo, Dance (Benin).

Among the many ethnic groups of Benin, two in particular stand out as practitioners of the ancient rites of voodoo. This program explains who the voodoo practitioners are as well as the mythical origins of their cult; it also shows the music and dance of these two groups. c1992.15 min. Video/C 3028

Debe's Tantrum (!Kung San series).

When 5 year old Debe is not allowed to accompany his mother on a gathering expedition he resorts to a temper tantrum to get his way. 199-?. 9 min. Video/C 3424

Description from Documentary Educational Resources catalog

Deep Hearts

An ethnographic portrayal of the Bororo people of Niger, showing an annual ritual dance, which symbolizes their beliefs about containing and controlling their feelings of love. Photography, Robert Gardner, Robert Fulton; editors, Robert Gardner, Robert Fulton. 1979. 58 min. DVD 5508

Description from Documentary Educational Resources catalog

Hamar Trilogy.

Catalog description from Filmakers Library

The Women Who Smile The first program in a trilogy focusing on the Hamar, an isolated people of Southwestern Ethiopia. In this film Duka, a young unmarried Hamar girl, learns what awaits her in life from the older women of her tribe. Their often humorous conversations range from pregnancy and growing old to relationships with men. Although the men are dominant, the women are not servile. Shows harvest celebrations and the blessing ceremony for a new baby. 1996. 50 min. Video/C 4513

Two Girls Go Hunting. The second program in a trilogy focusing on the Hamar, an isolated people of Southwestern Ethiopia. This film shows Duka and her friend, Gardi, as they prepare to marry men they have never met. The film follows Duka, from the build-up to the marriage, from the all night vigil with girlfriends, to farewells when the bride is taken away at dawn to the village of her husband's family, the arrival in the village and the preparation of the prospective bride for the ceremony by the mother-in-law. 50 min. Video/C 4514

Our Way of Loving. The third program in a trilogy focusing on the Hamar, an isolated people of Southwestern Ethiopia. This film shows Duka, now a mother with two young children. Her life is dominated by caring for them and her husband, Sago. Although Sago and Duka seem to have an affectionate marriage, he beats her when provoked. She accepts this behavior for she believes it is a man's way of loving. Film also shows the ceremony of Sago's cousin's initiation into manhood. 1994. 50 min. Video/C 4515

Healers of Ghana.

Explores the traditional medical practices of the Bono people of central Ghana and how their healers are accommodating the conflict between the arrival of Western medicine and their religious beliefs. Traditionally, Bono tribal priests undergo a painful spiritual possession, during which deities reveal to them the causes of illnesses, which plants to use to treat them, who is perpetrating witchcraft, and which villagers might be endangering society through improper behavior. 1993. 58 min. Video/C 5002

Herdsmen of the Sun (Wodaabe les bergers du soleil)

A documentary film of the Wodaabe people of the Sahara/Sahel region with a focus on the courtship rituals of the tribe. Once a year in what amounts to a beauty pageant, the young men dress up and parade in front of the women. Each woman must then chose and spend the next few nights with the man she finds most beautiful. Directed by Werner Herzog. 1988. 54 min. DVD 6506; vhs Video/C 9557

The Hunters (!Kung San series).

In this classic documentary, the Kalahari Bushmen of Africa wage a constant war for survival against the hot arid climate and unyielding soil. 'The Hunters' focuses on four men who undertake a hunt to obtain meat for their village. The chronicle of their 13-day. Writer/director, John Marshall. 1957. 72 min. Video/C 3428

Description from Documentary Educational Resources catalog

Jaguar.

A film by Jean Rouche. A documentary of three men from Niger who leave Niger to seek wealth and adventure in the coastal cities of Ghana then called the Gold Coast. Film portrays conditions that existed in West Africa in the 1950's when it was possible to travel freely and there was an exhilarating sense of opportunity in the air. 198-. 93 min. Video/C 3459 [also on DVD 3911, Disc 3 without English subtitles]

Description from Documentary Educational Resources catalog

Jean Rouch

Presents ten films by ethnologist Jean Rouch, along with interviews of the filmmaker, famous for his Niger-based films. All films in French without English subtitles

Disc 1. Cine-Transe: Les Maitres fous (1956, 28 min.) -- Mammy Water (1956, 18 min.) -- Les Tambours d'avant/Tourou et Bitti (1972, 9 min.) ; Cine-conte: La chasse au lion a l'arc (1967, 77 min.) -- Un lion nomme l'Americain (1972, 20 min.) --- Disc 2. Cine-Plaisir: Jaguar (1967, 88 min.) -- Moi, un noir (1959, 70 min.) --- Disc 3. Cine-Rencontre: Petit a petit (1971, 92 min.) -- La pyramide humaine (1961, 88 min.) -- Disc 4. Cine-Rouch: Jean Rouch raconte a Pierre-Andre Boutang (104 min.) -- A propos de Jean Rouch, conversation Bernard Surugue et Patrick Leboutte -- Le double d'hier a rencontre demain / un film de Luc Riolon et Bernard Surugue (2004, 10 min.) -- Le Veuves de 15 ans / un film de Jean Rouch (1965, 24 min.)DVD (PAL, Region 9) DVD 3911

Description from Documentary Educational Resources catalog

Jean Rouch: Premier Film : 1947-1991 (First Film, 1947-1991)

Filmmaker Jean Rouch improvises a new commentary for his first film made in 1947, "In the land of the Black Magi" (Au pays des mages noirs). He explains the sacrifices he made due to the producer ; his footage was re-edited with a new ending, new titles, stock footage, "tropical muzak," and a newsreel-style narration heavy on drama and highlighting the exotic. Here the insight of Rouch emerges as he "finishes" and restores the film, improvising a new commentary and transforming it into a new form in which the film's true meaning is illuminated and the humanity of the subjects restored. 27 min. DVD 4951

Description from Documentary Educational Resources catalog

A Joking Relationship (!Kung San series).

Examines humor as an important part of institutionalized kinship behavior among the !Kung Bushman. 199-. 13 min. Video/C 3429

The King Does Not Lie: the Initiation of a Priest of Shango

Documentary showing the ritual and ceremony associated with the initiation of a priest of Shango, the Thundergod of the traditional Yoruba religion. Takes place in a contemporary Puerto Rican community among New World practitioners of the ancient religion, Santeria. c1992. 44 min. Video/C8425

Kingdom of Bronze (Tribal Eye).

Traces the development of skillful bronze casting techniques practiced by the Beni tribe of Nigeria. 1976. 52 min. Video/C 180

Lion Hunters (La chasse au lion a larc)

A film by Jean Rouch. An ethnographic study which follows a band of Niger hunters from the elaborate preparations for lion hunting through the actual kill. Lion hunting is reserved by tradition to the Gao, a group of professional hunters, masters of the techniques and rituals of poison-making. The film describes the intricacies of brewing the poison for the arrows and discusses the passion of the kill. 1965. 68 min. Video/C 9740 [also on DVD 3911, Disc 1 without English subtitles]

Description from Documentary Educational Resources

Lorang's Way (Turkana Conversations; 1).

A multifaceted portrait of Lorang, a prosperous member of the Turkana tribe, seminomadic, isolated herders who inhabit the dry thorn country of northwestern Kenya, to whom the possession of livestock represents wealth. c1977. 69 min. DVD 3116; also VHS Video/C 2430

Description from Documentary Educational Resources catalog

Les Maitres Fous (The Mad Masters

This film documents the Haouka cult, a religious movement which was widespread in Niger and Ghana from the 1920's to the 1950's. Shows them living and working in Accra and participating in a primitive tribal ceremony. A film by Jean Rouch. 1986?. 29 min. Video/C 3460 [also on DVD 3911, Disc 1 without English subtitles]

Mammy Water: In Search of the Water Spirits in Nigeria.

Film features Mammy Water (a water deity worshipped in Nigeria) rituals and interviews devotees and their leaders. 1991? 59 min. Video/C 2360

Description from Documentary Educational Resources catalog

Marriage of Marimu = Arusi ya Mariamu.

Dramatization reflecting traditional African cultural patterns, focusing on healing with herbal remedies. c1985. 36 min. Video/C 3580

Mbeni: Dance of the Akamba

Mbeni dance, performed by the Akamba community of Kenya is renowned for its fast paced and precise movements that are prompted by heavy drumming and terse instructions by the dance leader, referred to as ngumii. Adapted from ancient dances, it was given a facelift by soldiers returning from serving in the World War II, injecting into it many military characteristics including marching, saluting, shouting of instructions, shooting demonstrations, etc. Director-producer, Charles Muthini. c2007. 23 min. DVD 9075

The Mende (Disappearing World).

Documentary on the life and customs of the Mende, West African people of the rain forests of southern Sierra Leone and adjacent parts of Liberia. c1991. 51 min. DVD 7124 [preservation]; vhs Video/C 3431

A Month for the Entertainment of Spirits: African-Guyanese Spiritualist Ceremonies

Documents the rituals practiced by Blacks who follow the "cumfa" religion, which is based on dancing, drumming, and spirit possession and is influenced by African and Christian traditions. During August (the month in which Guyanese slaves were emancipated), descendants of Yoruba ex-slaves engage in libation ceremonies to communicate with their ancestors. Three other ceremonies are also documented. 1991. 29 min. DVD 8212 [preservation copy]; vhs Video/C MM793

N!ai, the Story of a !Kung Woman.

A compilation of footage of the !Kung people of Namibia from 1951 through 1978. Focuses on the changes in the life of these people as seen through the reflections of one woman, N!ai. A film by John Marshall and Adrienne Miesmer. 1980. 60 min. Video/C 259

Naked Africa.

A bogus bit of sensationalism which purports to survey the manners and mores of "contemporary" Africans in 1957. Reynolds, a "noted journalist," observes that parts of the continent have been westernized. However, these scenes are of rural Africa where white men have rarely visited. They focus on native girls performing the "python dance", a rite that celebrates their arrival at womanhood, lions stalking and killing zebras and antelopes, and 18-year old tribal youths undergoing a ritual of manhood. 1996. 70 min. Video/C 4904

Naked Spaces: Living is Round.

Exquisitely photographed, rich in detail and texture this film explores the daily rhythms and ritual life in the rural environment of six West African countries. This sensuous and philosophical journey explicitly challenges documentary and ethnographic film language, throwing into question prevailing formulas for visual ethnographic studies. 1985. 135 min. Video/C 6235

Trinh Minh-ha bibliography

Ndumo: Dance of the Agikuyu

The Agikuyu community is endowed with a rich cultural heritage in which music and dance is highly valued. Ndumo, an integral part of this heritage is strictly a girls' dance and was originally performed during the times of plenty harvests in special arenas known as ihaaro. This dance facilitated courtship for the girls thus they were expected to be morally upright and exhibit the best dancing and singing skills. 2006. 28 min. DVD 9076

The Nuer.

Presents the most important relationships and events in the lives of the Nuer, Nilotic people in Sudan and on the Ethiopian border. Demonstrates the vital significance of cattle and their central importance in all Nuer thought and behavior. Includes extensive use of Nuer music and poetry. Produced by Hilary Harris, George Bridenbach and Robert Gardner. 1971. 75 min. DVD 5495; vhs Video/C 3398

Description from Documentary Educational Resources catalog

N/um Tchai: The Ceremonial Dance of the !Kung Bushmen (!Kung San series).

Documents a formalized Bushman curing ceremony in the Kalahari Desert area of South West Africa by showing an all-night n/um tchai (medicine dance) in which a number of men go into trance and exercise special curing powers. Divided into two parts: the first reviews and explains typical dance scenes; the second shows the ceremony without narration. A film by John Marshall. 1969. 20 min. Video/C 3421

Description from Documentary Educational Resources

Orphans of Passage (Disappearing Worlds series)

For five years, the Uduk people of southern Sudan have fled civil war and domestic strife. In 1988, they were attacked by Sudanese government forces and escaped to Ethiopia. When the Ethiopian government fell, they were caught up in another brutal conflict. Since then, they have crossed the Sudanese-Ethiopian border five times seeking safe haven. Along the way they lost possessions, children, and a way of life, but in the midst of the horror, they found a new understanding of who they are, and a new religion--Christianity. Producer/director, Bruce MacDonald ; anthropologist, Wendy James. c1993. DVD 7811 [preservation copy]; vhs Video/C 3437

Patterns of Subsistance: Hunter-Gatherers and Pastoralists

This is the first of a two-part examination of various subsistance patterns. Selected roles among the Kung, the Mbuti and the Nuer of Africa, the Netsilik Eskimos, and the Basseri of Iran are used to illustrate the patterns and relationships. 1983. 30 min. Video/C 577

Pygmies of the Rain Forest

Details the everyday life of the Mbuti Pygmies in the remote Ituri Forest of Zaire, Africa whose mode of living has remained essentially unchanged for thousands of years. As nomads they grow no crops but instead utilize all of the resources of the forest for their daily needs: the building of shelters, creation of clothing, food gathering and hunting. Producer, director, and writer, Kevin Duffy. 1976. 51 min. Video/C 4723

Rivers of Sand

Portrays the people called the Hamar who live in the scrubland of southwestern Ethiopia. Points out that in this society, men are masters and women are slaves. Shows how this sexual inequality affects the mood and behavior of the people. A film by Robert Gardner. Originally produced as a motion picture in 1973. 83 min. DVD 5507; Video/C 4485

Description from Documentary Educational Resources catalog

Sangoma.

In South Africa, traditional healers have always been regarded with suspicion by practitioners of Western medicine. New efforts to integrate traditional healers into primary health care, nutritional education, and AIDS work holds some promise for a public health system under siege. 1996. 54 min. Video/C 4635

Simba

Records Martin and Osa Johnson's expedition to East Africa, the chief purpose of which was to capture on film rapidly disappearing African wildlife as well as East African peoples (Samburu, Dorobo, etc.) and their customs. Includes extensive footage of elephants, giraffes and lions. Also shown is the lion-spearing ceremony perfomed by the Lumbwa (part of this sequence was filmed by Carl Akeley and Alfred J. Klein). The film opens with an introduction by Martin and Osa Johnson. Originally released in 1928. Filmed in East Africa during the second Martin Johnson African Expedition, 1923-1928. Introduction recorded in New York, ca. 1932. 83 min. 7326

Sons of the Moon: Ngas of Central Nigeria.

Tells how the moon is a key symbol in the cosmology of the Ngas, an agricultural people who live in isolated hamlets in Nigeria's Jos Plateau. This documentary, told from the point of view of a traditional Ngas bard, traces the moon's influence on Ngas work and thought during a single growing season. c1984. 25 min. Video/C MM562

Sorcerers of Zaire.

Explores the life of the rural Chokwe tribe of southwestern Zaire, where hardship and starvation are a way of life. To assure that their modest food supply is distributed fairly, the Chokwe use a complex system of reprisals in which sorcerers are hired to resurrect ancestral ghosts to haunt those who hoard goods, causing them sickness and death. Focuses on four patients and two healers, following them through their traditional medical treatments. Also shows the rigorous initiation ritual in which masked dancers help prepare boys for manhood. 1993. 51 min. Video/C 5003

Strange Beliefs. (Strangers Abroad)

Sir Edward Evans-Pritchard was the first trainedanthropologist to do work in Africa, where he lived among the Azande in Zaire and studied their belief in witchcraft and later worked with the Neur tribe in the Sudan. 1990. 52 min. Video/C 3856

Tribal Religions (Les Religions Tribales; Religiones Tribales)

Hans Kung travels to Australia to investigate the beliefs of today's Aborigines through body painting, music and dance. He then journeys to Africa to gain insights into tribal culture through modern rites that include torchlight processions, dance, and animal sacrifice. The influence of Christian missionaries is also examined. 56 min. Video/C 9676

Turkana Conversations Trilogy.

. These three documentaries on the Turkana - a relatively isolated semi-nomadic herders who inhabit the dry country of northwestern Kenya--are among the most important and influential ethnographic films of the last 20 years. (1)Lorang's Way. A Portrait of the head of the homestead and one of the important senior men of the Turkana. 69 min. DVD 3116; also on VHS Video/C 2430. (2)The Wedding Camels. The marriage of one of Lorang's daughters. 108 min. DVD 3117; also on VHS Video/C 2431 (3)A Wife Among Wives. An investigation of how the Turkana, and especially the women, view marriage. Produced by Judith MacDougall,David MacDougall. c1977. 68 min. DVD 3118; also on VHS Video/C 2432

Wedding Camels - Description from Berkeley Media LLC catalog

Lorang's Way - Description from Berkeley Media LLC catalog

A Wife Among Wives - Description from Berkeley Media LLC catalog

Warrior Marks.

A film by Alice Walker and Pratibha Parmar. A poetic and political film about female genital mutilation. Includes interviews with women from Senegal, Burkina Faso, Gambia, the United States, and England. 1993. 54 min. Video/C 3348

Women Make Movies catalog description

Walker, Alice. Warrior Marks: Female Genital Mutilation and the Sexual Blinding of Women / Alice Walker and Pratibha Parmar. 1st ed. New York: Harcourt Brace, c1993.(UCB Bancroft GN484 .W35 1993; UCB Grad Svcs XMAC.W18.W37 Modern Authors Collection; UCB Main GN484 .W35 1993; UCB Moffitt GN484 .W35 1993)

ABC-CLIO Video Rating Guide for Libraries

Grewal, Inderpal Kaplan, Caren. "Warrior Marks: Global Womanism's Neo-Colonial Discourse in a Multicultural Context." Camera Obscura 5-11, September 1996

Hamilton, Amy. "Warrior Marks." (includes related articles) off our backs v23, n11 (Dec, 1993):2 (5 pages).

James, Stanlie M. "Shades of Othering: Reflections on Female Circumcision/Genital Mutilation." Signs, Summer 1998 v23 i4 p1031(1)

UC users only

Minor, Diane. "Warrior Marks: Joyous Resistance at Walker Film Debut." (documentary film by Alice Walker) National N O W Times v26, n2 (Jan, 1994):7.

Simonds, Cylena. "Missing the Mark." (female mutilation in movie 'Warrior Marks') Afterimage v21, n8 (March, 1994):3.

The Wedding Camels (Turkana Conversations; 2).

Shows the preparations for the wedding of the daughter of Lorang, one of the senior men of the region. Explores the quarrels and customs which surround the wedding. Produced by Judith MacDougall,David MacDougall. c1976. 108 min. DVD 3118; also on VHS Video/C 2432

A Wife Among Wives(Turkana Conversations; 3).

An ethnographic documentary on the Turkana of northern Kenya. This is an inquiry into the Turkana view of marriage. Produced by Judith MacDougall,David MacDougall. c1981. 68 min. DVD 3118; also on Video/C 2432

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Women of Manga (Niger- Africa).

Program is devoted to the women of a warrior tribe whose origin is ancient but unknown and which lives today in eastern Niger. Focuses on the traditions including the complicated painting, hairstyles, facial scars and jewelry. c1992. 12 min. Video/C 3025

The Women's Olamal: The Organisation of a Maasai Fertility Ceremony.

Film examines the events that lead up to a fertility ceremony of the Maasai women in Loita, Kenya. Explanations and insights into the significance of the ceremony are in the form of interviews with the women themselves. 199-?. 114 min. Video/C 3726

Yoruba Crafts

Short clip from field recording by UC Berkeley anthropologist William Bascom. 1950-1951. 4:03 min.

Latin America and the Caribbean

Alejandro Mamani: A Case Study in Culture and Personality

Alejandro Mamani, an elderly Bolivian Aymara Indian, is the subject of this ethnographic study of mental illness and the approach of death. Did he go mad or did he simply make use of accepted social mechanisms of his culture to relinquish his life? Also examined is the ethical dilemma faced by the ethnographers. 1983. 29 min. Video/C MM6

Amazon Journal

This documentary chronicles recent political events in the Brazilian Amazon beginning with the assassination of Chico Mendes in 1988 and ending with the massacre of Yanomami Indians in 1993. This five year journey provides an illuminating perspective on the volatile changes of this era and analyzes the complex interaction between semi-isolated indigenous societies and "outsiders.". 1995. 58 min. Video/C 9561

Description from First Filmakers Library catalog

Amazonia, Voices From the Rain Forest.

Reviews the ecology of the rainforest, the indigenous indians attitudes towards the forest and their increasing concern for its protection as the fragile ecosystem is threatened with destruction by outside commercial developers. 1991. 69 min. Video/C 2564

Appeals to Santiago

Describes an eight-day Mayan Indian fiesta in Tenejapa, Mexico held in honor of one of the town's patron saints, James. Narration consists of the participants own explanation of events and their personal duties and offerings during the festival. Produced by Duane Metzger and Carter Wilson for the University of California, Irvine. 1969. 28 min. Video/C MM775

At the Edge of Conquest: The Journey of Chief Wai-Wai

Looks at the situation of the Waiapi Indians, a small isolated tribe that came in contact with the outside world in the late 1970's. Today they are threatened by gold miners, by the Brazilian government's proposal to reduce their land by 10% and a plan to construct a highway through their territory. This film focuses on their charismatic leader, Chief Wai-Wai as he travels from his remote village to Brazil's capitol hoping to shape the destiny of his people. 1992. 28 min. Video/C 9562

Description from First Filmakers Library catalog

The Ax Fight.

A four-part analysis of a fight in a Yanomamo Indian village between local descent groups. Includes an unedited record of the event; a slow-motion replay of the fight; a discussion of the kinship structure of the fight; and an edited version. Producers/directors, Timothy Asch, Napoleon A. Chagnon. c1975. 30 min. Video/C 3425

Description from Documentary Educational Resources catalog

The Aymara: A Case Study in Social Stratification

This documentary explores the economic and social stratification of heterogeneous Northern Bolivia. The inequities of a sharp class division between the Spanish-speaking mestizos and the Aymara Indians of Bolivia is examined. 1983. 29 min. DVD 7379 [preservation copy]; vhs Video/C MM2

Banderani

Documents an important festival among the Quechua Indians in the Bolivian Andes. Captures the music, dancing, and drinking associated with the festivities and shows an unusual slingshot game in which both men and women participate. Produced and directed by Jeanine Moret. 1987. 28 min. Video/C MM592

Before We Knew Nothing: With the Ashaninka of Eastern Peru

A portrait of the life and culture of the Ashaninka (also called the Campa), who inhabit the Amazon rainforest of eastern Peru, as well as a profound reflection on the experience of living and filming among people who continue to resist acculturation. Filmmaker, Diane Kitchen, spent seven months living with the Ashaninka. Her camera reveals the activities of men and women, the lush tropical environment, and the emotional climate of daily life. 1989. 62 min. Video/C 4358

Birth and Belief in the Andes of Ecuador

Covers women's beliefs and traditional medicine surrounding pregnancy and childbirth in Ecuador through intimate portraits of four Andean women. Deprived until recently of modern medical care, rural Andean women have managed their reproductive practices by relying on an ethnomedical system that retains pre-Columbian magical elements. c1994. 28 min. Video/C MM816

Capoeira Bahia.

Dance master Bira Almeida and his students demonstrate various forms of the Capoeira, a unique martial arts dance developed in Brazil by African descendants 400 years ago. Includes historical segments of performances by Capoeira dancers plus instruction in basic movements of the dance. 1983. 70 min. Video/C 4332

Caribbean Eye

1991. 26 min. each installment (unless otherwise noted)

Community Celebrations: Other Caribbean Festivals. This program takes a look at the various folk festivals (other than carnivals) throughout the Caribbean area which help create and sustain a sense of community in a region with a culturally diverse population: the Hindu festival of Phagwa in Trinidad and Guyana; the La Rose and La Marguerite flower festivals in St. Lucia; the Johnkunnoo of Jamaica, Belize and the Bahamas; Masquerade in Guyana and St. Kitts and the Hosein festivals of Trinidad and Jamaica. Video/C 9805

Caribbean Carnivals. This program shows the Trinidad Carnival and then visits carnivals in Dominica, Grenada, St. Vincent, St. Kitts, Antigua, St. Lucia, Barbados, Jamaica and Martinique, looking at their unique forms and examining their shared role which is essentially the liberation of the spirit. DVD 9813; also on VHS Video/C 9813

The Games We Play Like children everywhere, Caribbean children grow up singing and playing games which shape the attitudes and expectations of their roles in later life. This program looks at some of the games Caribbean children play, as well as adult games, such as draughts in Barbados, dominoes in Dominica, All Fours in Trinidad, Warri in Antigua, and cricket, played all over the Caribbean region. Video/C 9815

Carnaval: Adios a la Carne.

Presents a documentary concerning a religious festival held by the people of Humahuaca, Argentina. VHS format (PAL) In Spanish without subtitles. 199-? 27 min. Video/C MM526

Carnival in Q'eros

Shows the remarkable carnival celebrations of a remote community of Quechusa Indians high in the Peruvian Andes. The Q'eros play flutes and sing to their alpacas in a ritual to promote the animals' fertility. The film shows how the music evolves from individual, to family, to ayllu, to community, a structure of spiritual activity distinct from the structure of kinship. The Q'eros sing and play separately from each other, producing a heterophonic sound without rhythmic beat, harmony, or counterpoint -- a "chaotic" sound texture that exemplifies a key connection between the culture of the Andes and that of the Amazon jungle. Directed by Juan Nunez del Prado and John Cohen. Dist.: Berkeley Media. 1991. 32 min. DVD 7844

Carnaval in Salvador Da Bahia.

An anthropological journey to Brazil to study Carnaval. 1983. DVD 7420; vhs Video/C 2297

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Children's Magical Death.

In this film about the Yanomamo Indians who live near the headwaters of the Orinoco River in Southern Venezuela, a group of young Yanomamo Indian boys imitate a ritual performed by their fathers. They pretend to be shamans, blowing ashes into each other's noses and chanting to the spirits. 1974. Producers, Timothy Asch, Napoleon A. Chagnon. 8 min. Video/C 3426

Description from Documentary Educational Resources catalog

The Chinampas.

Describes the Chinampa, a traditional Mexican agricultural system, and traces its long history. Shows modern day threats to this system and discusses measures to save the Chinampa. 1990. 31 min. Video/C MM908

Dancing with the Incas

Explores the lives of three Huayno musicians in a contemporary Peru torn between the military and the Shining Path guerrillas. The film examines the roots of Huayno music as well as its contemporary forms. Rather than focusing on a single community or ethnic group, the film investigates a broad cultural region and illustrates what happens to it as it confronts the commercial traditions and demands of the West. Camera, directed and produced by John Cohen. Dist.: Berkeley Media. 1991. 58 min. DVD 7845

Divine Horsemen: the Living Gods of Haiti.

Maya Deren's film chronicles a journey into the world of the Voudoun religion of Haiti. c1985. 52 min. Video/C 1924

Dream People of the Amazon: The Achuar

The Achuar people in southeast Ecuador live in a part of the Amazon rain forest as pristine today as it was a thousand years ago. In order to protect their rainforest from exploitation and avoid the environmental and cultural devastation suffered by their indigenous neighbors only a few hundred miles away, they have formed alliances with environmental protection agencies in the outside world seeking to gain official recognition as a bioreserve, closed to exploitation. Written, produced and directed by Lawrence M. Lansburgh. 2005. 32 min. DVD 6115

Eduardo the Healer

Presents the life and philosophy of Eduardo Calderon, a Peruvian folk healer. Includes his methods of diagnosis and a curing ceremony. 1978. 54 min. Video/C 7666

Encyclopedie de la Mythologie Maya Yucateque: Les Labyrinthes Sonores.

Contents: Tome 4, 6-7. H-wan tul. Le Way kot. Les arouches: La Harana ou danse des bouviers (6 min.); Carnaval Maya (8 min.); Sevillane pour un cochon defunt (22 min); Une conversation avec Juan Kob (11 min.). -- Tome 8:1. Chak, pluie et ses chevaux, Pt. 1: Pourquoi chanter la pluie? (20 min.); Variations sur un theme de pluie (32 min.); Le Bolon ixim, divination Maya (15 min.) -- Tome 8:2. Chak, pluie et ses chevaux, Pt. 2: Chanter et danser la pluie qui tombe (88 min.); Chevaux de pluie (46 min.); Boisson de l'arbre secret (4 min.); L'art du faiseur (20 min.); Une visite (8 min.). In French, Maya, and Spanish (without subtitles). 1997. PAL format. Video/C 5516

The Feast

Examines the first stages of alliance formation between two mutually hostile Yanomamo Indian villages in southern Venezuela and northern Brazil. Describes in detail the preparations for a feast involving the inhabitants of the villages and presents scenes of chanting, dancing, and trading at the feast.Producers, Timothy Asch, Napoleon Chagnon. 1988. 1970. 29 min. Video/C 7649

A Festa da Moca (The Girl's Party).

Showcases how the Nambiquara people in Brazil's far northwest are using video to revive waning cultural practices. Narration in English with Nambiquara dialogue and Portuguese credits. 1988. 18 min. Video/C 4288

The Healer in the Indigenous Communities of the Highlands of Chiapas (El curandero en los pueblos indigenas de los altos de Chiapas)

A documentary of how a Mayan healer is called upon by people in the community to cure the sick. The healer reveals his Mayan healing practices--a combination of indigenous rituals and Christianity. c2000. 34 min. Video/C MM850

The Huichols: History, Culture, Art

The Huichols, who live in the western Sierra Madre of central Mexico, are best known for their peyote rituals, their shamanistic practices, and their colorful, intricate textiles. However, like many indigenous peoples, the Huichols have no written history. The continuation of their culture depends on the vitality of their oral traditions. Rosalio "Chilio" Rivera Sanches and Luis Gonzales Carrio, from the small village of Las Guayabas, are working to preserve the oral traditions and histories of their people. They share some of the history, culture, traditional tales, and art of the Huichols. Director, Ryan Noble. c1996. 27 min. Video/C MM796

Ika Hands.

Shows the daily life of a small group of Ika Indians who live in the highlands of Northern Colombia who are thought to be survivors of the Mayans. They live a strenuous and isolated life in terrain extending between five and fifteen thousand feet, economically dependent on small gardens and domestic animals. A film by Robert Gardner. 1988. 58 min. DVD 5509

Description from Documentary Educational Resources catalog

Inca Cola

Documents how the Inca are the "invisible" city dwellers of modern Peru. Their ancestors created a self-sufficient agricultural society, but those skills have been lost in the migration to cities and hopeless poverty. Looks at their life in Lima and how some regard this as the center for a modern Inca revival. 1987. 30 min. DVD 6873 [preservation copy]; vhs Video/C 9947

Jane Moroita: Our Celebrations.

The filmaker, a member of the Waiapi tribe of Brazil, demonstrates the use of videotape to record and preserve the "image" of the Waiapi culture. Three tribal celebrations are shown with running commentary by the filmaker. 33 min. Video/C 4547

The JVC Video Anthology of World Music and Dance. (The Americas II, Mexico, Cuba, Bolivia, Argentina)

Presents on film examples of music and dance from the Americas documented by accompanying text written by area specialists. 57 min. Video/C 3541

Kantik'i Maishi (Songs of Sorghum).

This documentary is about the sorghum harvest celebrations that take place in Curacao and Bonaire and the changes that have taken place over the last few centuries. In English and Papiamento with English subtitles. 58 min. Video/C 6185

The Kayapo: Out of the Forest. (Disappearing World).

Documents the opposition of the Kayapo Indians of central Brazil to the construction of a hydroelectric dam at Altamira. Includes the demonstration by 600 Kayapo against the proposed dam and their success in stopping its construction. 52 min. DVD 7810 [preservation copy]; vhs Video/C 3436

Keep the River on Your Right: A Modern Cannibal Tale

In 1955, Tobias Schneebaum disappeared into the depths of the Peruvian Amazon. He had no guide, no map and the vague instruction to keep the river on his right. A year later he emerged from the jungle ... naked, covered in body paint, and a modern-day cannibal. Now, 45 years after his original visit, he is reunited with the very tribesmen he both loved and who gave him nightmares for nearly half a century. Also includes footage of Schneebaum giving lectures about art and tribal homosexuality among the Asmat, a tribe in Indonesian New Guinea. 2000. 94 min. Video/C 9199

Description from Documentary Educational Resources catalog

The Last of the Hiding Tribes.

A record filmed over 30 years, 1967-1998.

Pt. 1, The Fate of the Kidnapper. In 1979 the Brazilian government gave Chico Prestes a plot of land in the state of Rondonia, in the Western Amazon, in an area regularly hunted by the unknown Uru Eu Wau Wau tribe. One day Chico returned from the forest to find two sons killed and the youngest taken by the Indians. The resulting 18-year quest to determine the fate of this son highlights the Amazon as a battleground between Indians and invading colonists. 50 min. Video/C 6627

Pt. 2, The Return From Extinction. This film tells the remarkable recent history of the hiding Panara tribe, who fled into the deepest part of the Amazon forest. Through extraordinary footage from the 1960's, this film shows Claudio Villas Boas and his team from Brazil's Indian Protection Service as they make the first attempts to contact the Panara before a planned development road exposes them to 'civilization.' In spite of Claudio's efforts after the road is built, the tribe is virtually wiped out by diseases so with the aid of his brother Orlando, Claudio manages to fly 79 survivors out to the Xingu National Park. Now, after 20 years, the Brazilian government has recognized the Panara's claim to their ancestral homeland, and they are going back home. 50 min. Video/C 6628

Pt. 3, Fragments of People. In 1983 four members of the Ava-Canoeiro tribe were contacted by a settler in the Serra de Mesa and taken into care by Brazil's Indian Agency. When the only woman of child-bearing age in this small remnant group gave birth to twins, the Indian Agency's Department for Unknown People began a search for another group of Ava-Canoeiro, rumored to be out in the scrubland, to provide potential mates for the two children so the tribe would not be doomed to extinction. 50 min. Video/C 6629

Magical Death.

Director, photographer, narrator, Napoleon A. Chagnon. The film is a vivid portrayal of shamanic activity, as well as an exploration of the close connection between politics and shamanism in Yanomamo culture. 30 min. Video/C 3725

Description from Documentary Educational Resources catalog

A Man and His Wife Make a Hammock: Moawa and Daeyama Make a Hammock.

Producers, Timothy Asch, Napoleon A. Chagnon. In this film about the Yanomamo Indians who live near the headwaters of the Orinoco River in Southern Venezuela, a Yanomama Indian headman weaves a hammock while his wife and baby watch. 9 min. Video/C 3422

Description from Documentary Educational Resources catalog

A Man Called Bee: Studying the Yanomamo

Follows anthropologist Napoleon Chagnon as he collects anthropological field data among the Yanomamo Indians of southern Venezuela. Includes considerable information about the Yanomamo, such as their system of kinship ties, their religious beliefs and ceremonies, and the growth and fissioning of their widely scattered villages. 1975. 42 min. Video/C 9949

Description from Documentary Educational Resources catalog

Mountain Music of Peru

A portrait of the folk music, culture and lifestyle of the people of Qeros, high in the Peruvian mountains. The musical thread that runs through the Andes extends back past the ancient culture of the Incas, and it is strong enough to have successfully resisted both the Spanish conquest and the forces of modern Western culture. This musical journey travels from small towns and remote mountain villages to the capital city of Lima, showing how Peru's popular music connects even the most isolated people. Written, narrated, produced and directed by John Cohen. Dist.: Berkeley Media. 1984. 59 min. DVD 7843

Moxos Mitico.

An anthropological documentary film examining the history, customs and environment of the Mojo Indians living in Moxos, Bolivia.1984. In Spanish. PAL format. 19 min. Video/C 5595

The Music of the Devil, The Music of the Bear, The Music of the Condor

Film visits the heart of the Andes to capture the atmosphere of the annual music festivals, showing ceremonies of the Aymara Indians who dress as devils, bears and sacred spirits that come to life at carnival time. The mythology of the powerful Inca gods is explained, as well as their influence in the daily lives of the Aymara. 54 min. Video/C 4366

Ñakaj: Fabula Andeium

Interviews and dramatizations tell the Peruvian story of the ~Nakaj, night prowlers who intoxicate their victims with sparkling dust so that their "essential" fat can be stolen. In Quechua with English subtitles and credits. c1993. 20 min. Video/C MM682

La Ofrenda: The Days of the Dead.

In Mexico, on the first days of November, the dead come to visit. They are received and given offerings of their favorite food, flowers, and momentos of their presence on earth. La Ofrenda takes a non-traditional look at the celebration in Mexico and the United States. A film by Lourdes Portillo. Dist.: Direct Cinema. 50 min. Video/C 1778

On Wings of Faith (En Alas de la Fe).

A visit to two festivals held in the North Sierra of Puebla, Mexico; one to honor Saint Michael the Archangel in the town of San Miguel Tzinacapan; the other for Saint Francis of Assisi in Cuetzalan. Mexican and mesoamerican dancers celebrate their oral traditions, magical medicine, petition for favors and give thanks to their patron saints through the medium of dance. 28 min. Video/C 4420

Quechua (Disappearing World.)

The Quechua Indians live in the Andes Mountains, in an isolated part of Peru. Unlike many tribes in remote areas, they desperately want a road to link them with the outside world and its benefits, especially the tourist trade. 51 min. DVD 7813 [preservation copy]; vhs Video/C 3439

Quilombo Country

Provides a portrait of rural communities in Brazil that were either founded by runaway slaves or began from abandoned plantations. This type of community is known as a "Quilombo", from an Angolan word that means "encampment." As many as 2,000 quilombos exist today. Written, directed, photographed, and edited by Leonard Abrams. 2006. 75 min. DVD 7851

Ritual Encounter: The "Danzaq" in Huacana

Scissors dancers act as the intermediaries between the people of the Peruvian Andes and the gods of the mountains. This ethnographic documentary shows the 'dansaq' or dancers impersonating the 'Alacran', the 'Halcon' and the 'Paqary' who dance during the Quechua Water Festivity that coincides with the Catholic festivity honoring Saint Isidore, the Farmer. Presents the festival that took place in the district of Huacana, in the Province of Sucre in Ayacucho in July 1997. During the festivity, the scissors dancers play a crucial role in renacting the symbolic universe of a culture that struggles to survive. [1998.] 40 min. Video/C 8400

Sacred Games: Ritual Warfare in a Maya Village.

Presents how the Maya people see the world and how their symbolic world is renewed in the annual carnival celebrations. 59 min. Video/C 2426

Samba da Criacao do Mundo.

Each year the Rio de Janeiro 'samba schools' (neighborhood organizations devoted to celebrating Carnival) choose a narrative or theme to produce for the parade. This video shows one pageant based on the creation legend of the Nago, performed by the Beija-Flor Samba School. Includes music, singing and dancing, splendid costumes, and scenes from the parade interspersed with the same characters in natural settings. 57 min. Video/C 4229

Song of the Earth: Traditional Music from the Highlands of Chiapas (Son de la tierra)

Tzotil elders explain the significance of traditional music and the role of musicians in their communities and talk about the influence of western music and dress on youth and express their hopes that indigenous youth will maintain their traditions and culture. 2002. 17 min. Video/C MM851

The Spirit of TV.

Shows how the Waiapi, a small and recently contacted Tupi-speaking group in far northern Brazil, have used videos to document their own cultural practices, to discover the existence of other Tupi-speaking groups they had not known about, and to receive the experience of other indigenous groups that have confronted common problems such as land rights. In Tupi and Portuguese with English subtitles. 18 min. Video/C 4283

The Toured: The Other Side of Tourism in Barbados.

This provacative documentary portrays the experience of tourism from the point of view of those who are "toured", in this case on the Caribbean Island of Barbados. Bajians talk about the realities of making a living in a tourist economy and witnessing one's traditional culture change under the impact of foreign visitors. 39 min. Video/C 6186

The Tree of Life.

This film documents the 1500 year old voladores (flyers) ritual performed by the Totonac Indians of Puebla, Mexico which is perhaps the oldest surviving dance in the Western hemisphere. It is accompanied by flute and drum music and narration taken from 15th century Nahuatl poetry. 30 min. Video/C 3555

Tug of War.

Producers, Timothy Asch, Napoleon A. Chagnon. In this film about the Yanomamo Indians who live near the headwaters of the Orinoco River in Southern Venezuela, women and children of the village play a game of tug-of-war. 9 min. Video/C 3423

Video Cannibalism.

Shows the introduction of video technology to a small tribe of Brazilian natives, the Enauene-Naue Indians, and their use of the camera to create a motion picture of their own about native contact with gold prospectors. 18 min. Video/C 4287

Voices of the Orishas

This is an ethnographic documentary which demonstrates the survival and strength of the Yoruba cultural and religious heritage in the contemporary life of Caribbean African-Hispanics. The program was filmed in Havana among practicioners of Santeria, and documents a ritual ceremony that features dancing, singing, praying and drum beating, invoking the twenty-two Orishas, or deities of the Yoruba religion. 1993. 37 min. Video/C 5518

Description from Documentary Educational Resources catalog

The Warao

An ethnographic documentary on the Warao people who live surrounded by water at the mouth of the Orinoco River delta in eastern Venezuela. Shows scenes of routine life including a shaman's curing ritual and methods of conflict resolution. 1978. 55 min. Video/C MM764

The Yucatec Maya: A Case Study in Marriage and the Family

Raymond Colli, a middle-aged Mayan of the Yucatan region of Mexico, and his extended family are the subjects of this case study. The interdependence and cyclical nature of living, working and learning in a "slash and burn" horticultural environment are examined. 1983. 29 min. Video/C MM7

[Waiapi] Caxiri or Manioc Beer.

Examines the role of caxiri, a native beer, in the social and cultural life of the Waiapi Indians of Brazil. An important part of Waiapi life, caxiri is imbibed daily by men, women and children. This documentary describes the preparation of caxiri, as well as its use in community festivals and celebrations. 1988. 39 min. Video/C 9940

Waiapi Body Painting and Ornaments.

Documents the methods and cultural significance of body painting and ornamentation used by the Waiapi Indians of Brazil, who use this medium to express their myths and reinforce their sense of Waiapi identity. 1988. 19 min. Video/C 9937

Waiapi Instrumental Music.

Examines a variety of wind instruments used by the Waiapi Indians of Brazil, the setting in which each is played, and the Waiapi's practice of dividing vocal and instrumental music based on sex. 1988. 58 min. Video/C 9936

Waiapi Body Slash and Burn Cultivation.

Shows how the Waiapi Indians of Brazil use slash and burn cultivation to clear the rain forest in order to grow food. Cultivation techniques and taboos are linked to gender and parenthood roles. 1987. 24 min. Video/C 9938

[Waiapi] Music, Dance and Festival Among the Waiapi Indians of Brazil.

Examines five Waiapi Indian festivals and shows the importance of manioc beer in the festivals, the variety of musical instruments and songs, and how Waiapi identity and societal order are reinforced by these communal celebrations. 1988. 39 min. Video/C 9939

We Gather As a Family. (Eu Ja Fui Seu Irmao)

Indians from the Kokrenum and Kraho villages in the Para state of Brazil, come together to encourage their youth to celebrate and conserve their cultural heritage by experiencing an initiation ceremony. Among other things, the ceromony consists of singing, body-painting, and preparations for the long, trenuous relay race through the savanna carrying and passing huge logs shoulder-to-shoulder. 32 min. Video/C 4419

Yanomami: Keepers of the Flame.

Follows an expedition of explorers as they make contact with the Yanomami Indians of Brazil who are considered to be the last Stone Age tribe in the Amazon. Considers the social and ecological consequences to the Yanomami people as outside developers continue to encroach upon their habitat. Dist.: Video Project. 58 min. Video/C 2565

Yanomami: A Multi-disciplinary Study.

Describes the field techniques and findings of teams from such disciplines as human genetics, anthropology, epidemiology, dentistry, linguistics, and medicine as they conduct a biological-anthropological study of the Yanoama Indians in the jungles of Venezuela and Brazil. Shows many details of Yanomamo life and culture and assesses the impact of acculturation on social and genetic patterns. Produced by Timothy Asch and Napoleon Chagnon. 1970. 43 min. Video/C 9905

Yo Soy Hechicero (I Am a Sorcerer)

It's all in a day's work for Juan Eduardo Nunuz, a Cuban refugee who leads a religious congregation in a backyard garden shed in a subdivision near Atlantic City, New Jersey. This neopagan religious cult deals in spirit possession, animal sacrifice, mythic storytelling and physical healing. Juan Eduardo's wife, a Pentacostal, claims that her husband is an instrument of Satan. 48 min. Video/C 4669

Yo Soy Hechicero web site

Aztec, Maya, Inca, Olmec

Central America: The Burden of Time (Legacy; 5)

The sophisticated civilizations of the Aztecs, the Maya, and the Inca, their near obliteration by the Conquistadores, the parts that survive today, and their influence on our lives today. 57 min. Video/C 3021

The Highland Maya: A Case Study in Economic Anthropology

Examines the complex interweaving of economics and religion known as the "cargo" system, which is found among the Highland Maya of Mexico and Guatemala. 1983. 29 min. Video/C 9999

The Incas.

Chronicles the Inca civilization and how it was built up into one of the best run civilizations ever. Also explores how current archaeologists are attempting to better understand the inner workings of the impressive civilization. 60 min. Video/C 275

Incidents of Travel in Chichen Itza

This ethnographic film depicts how New Agers, the Mexican state, tourists and 1920s archaeologists all contend to "clear" the site of the Maya city of Chichen Itza in order to produce their own idealized and unobstructed visions of "Maya" while the local Maya themselves struggle to occupy the site as vendors and artisans. 1997. 90 min. Video/C 9033

Description from Documentary Educational Resources catalog

The Living Maya

A four part documentary chronicling the everyday life of a present-day Mayan family as it tries to cope with modern society. 1977.

The Living Maya: Part 1. In this first segment the North American anthropologist explains his personal and professional motives for working with Maya Indians in Yucatan, Mexico. Shows the expedition embarking, arriving in the Yucatan, and beginning work in a village. 59 min. Video/C 8486

The Living Maya: Part 2. In this second segment the North American anthropologists doing field work in Yucatan, Mexico, consider the family members individually and as a unit in the village as they seek to understand the Mayan view of the world and examine how this view has shaped their society. 59 min. Video/C 8487

The Living Maya: Part 3. In this third segment the anthropology team witnesses ancient ceremonies consecrating new corn fields. Contrasts the conflicts between ancient traditions and the attraction of modern urban life when two young boys from the village plead with their parents to let them go to the city. 59 min. Video/C 8488

The Living Maya: Part 4.This final segment witnesses the return to the village in Yucatan, Mexico of two young boys who found city life lonely. The parents, who initially opposed their going to the city and who were already in debt, are confused and angry. Traditional values have been turned up-side-down by this series of events. 59 min. Video/C 8489

The Lost World of the Maya.

From the series, Nova ; follows Eric Thompson, an authority on Mayan civilization, as he embarks on a pilgrimage through Central America. Describes ruins existing in such ancient cities as Tikal, Palenque, Yaxchilan, and Quirigna, and re-creates the Maya's daily life. Concludes with a description of the theories that have been used to explain why Mayan civilization fell. 36 min. Video/C 250

Maya Lords of the Jungle.

Visits ancient sites on the Yucatan Peninsula where new findings are forcing a reappraisal of the past of the Mayans. Researchers display and interpret their findings, setting aside the errors of the pst, and quietly working a revolution in pre-Columbian archaeology. 60 min. Video/C 303

Monuments of Ancient Mexico.

Shows the first Meso-American civilization of the Olmecs, through the rise and decline of other civilizations such as the Mayas, Toltecs, and Aztecs. 25 min. Video/C 2614

Popol Vuh: The Creation Myth of the Maya.

An animated film which uses original images drawn by Quiche Maya Indians in the seventh century on funerary pottery to illustrate the Popol vuh, which is the sacred book of the Maya and includes their creation story and birth of the hero twins. Narration in English. 29 min. DVD 8615; vhs Video/C 2425 (English language version); Video/C 5620 (Spanish language version); Video/C 2803 (Tzeltal language version)

Religion and Magic.

While all cultures exhibit some religious practices and beliefs, the forms taken are diverse. The animism practiced by American Indians, the mixture of ancient religion and Roman Catholicism among the Highland Maya, the ritual of Eka Dasa Rudra among the Balinese and successful and unsuccessful modern movements serve to illustrate the thesis. 30 min. Video/C 578

La Reina del Barrio (The Queen of the Barrio).

During the 40 days of Carnival in Montevideo, Uruguay, groups called "murgas," of 18 t0 20 men perform in open-air stages throughout the barros of the city. Before the end of the Carnival, murgas from different barrios compete in a major theater. Their shows, which combine song, drama, and comedy, satirize the main events of the year and are critical of Uruguayan politics and culture. c2001. 32 min. Video/C MM695

Return of the Maya.

Recounts the excavation of the ancient Mayan City, Edzna, by Mayan refugees from Guatamala currently living in Mexico. Includes an examination of the current social and economic conditions of these immigrants who are ancestors of the Mayas who originally built this ancient city. Dist.: Video Project. 29 min. Video/C 2566

Sacred Games: Ritual Warfare in a Maya Village.

Presents how the Maya people see the world and how their symbolic world is renewed in the annual carnival celebrations. 59 min. Video/C 2426

Sweat of the Sun (Tribal Eye).

Visits various sites of ancient Inca and Aztec splendor and examines gold artifacts that escaped the pillaging of the Spanish conquerors. Discusses the significance of these objects and describes how they were used by Aztec and Inca priests in practical and ritual fashion. 52 min. 3/4" UMATIC Video/C 178

Swidden Horticulture Among the Lacandon Maya.

Documentary shows the subsistence cycle of the Lacandon Maya who live in the rainforest of Southern Chiapas, Mexico. Focusing on one family, the film traces each step of the swidden (slash and burn) cycle through successive stages of a horticultural season. A film by R. Jon McGee and Michael Kruse. 1986. 29 min. Video/C MM603

Weavers in Ahuiran: Michoacan, Mexico.

Documents the weaving techniques, social organization, and economic situation for women weavers in a weaving village in Michoacan, Mexico. Examines the changes in weaving style and materials, how they are taught by mothers to daughters and explores the changes caused by the long absences of the women's husbands, who leave for migrant farm work in the U.S. c1991. 53 min. Video/C MM685

Indigenous Peoples of North America SEE Indigenous Peoples/North & Central America videography