FILMAKERS LIBRARY

ANTHROPOLOGY

From the renowned Under the Sun series of BBC, this trilogy focuses on the Hamar, an isolated people of southwestern Ethiopia whose traditional lifestyle has been barely touched by the war and the famine in the north. The films concentrate on the powerful and outspoken Hamar women, particularly Duka who in the films matures from a young unmarried girl to a wife and mother with two young children. The twenty-year relationship of the anthropologist with the Hamar people allowed for a remarkably spontaneous portrayal.

1. The Women Who Smile

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 teenage pregnancy and growing old to relationships with men. Although the men are dominant, the women are not servile and on occasion will mock the posturing of the men. The women's high spirits are revealed during the harvest celebrations and the blessing ceremony for a new baby. Young women avoid the watchful eyes of their elders as they flirt and dance.

2. Two Girls Go Hunting

This tells the story of Duka and her young friend Gardi, as they prepare to marry men they have never met. For Hamar girls, marriage means huge sacrifices and is full of longing, sadness and excitement. The film follows the build-up to the marriages, from the all night vigil with her girlfriends, to her farewells when she is taken away at dawn to the village of her husband's family. The new mother-in-law shaves the bride's hair, butters her body and prepares her for the first traumatic weeks in a new home.

3. Our Way of Loving

Duka is now a mother with a two-year-old daughter and a six-month-old baby boy. 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. Like every Hamar woman, she accepts this behavior for she believes it is a man's way of loving.

The film witnesses Sago's cousin's ceremonial initation into manhood. At the ceremony Duka and the other women sing and dance themselves into a frenzy before being ritually whipped until their backs bleed. As they return home, Sago and Duka talk about their hopes for their children. Later, we see Sago and Duka's reaction to seeing television for the first time, as they watch the earlier film of their courting days.

Royal Anthropological Institute Film Prize
Margaret Mead Film Festival, 1993,1994
African Studies Association, 1998
Society for Visual Anthropology, 1995

Video or DVD. Each program: 52 min. Video or DVD. Sale $295. Video rental $75.

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