Scaffolding

Synopsis

On the condition that the series never be shown in Papua New Guinea, the Baruya allowed a film crew to record an entire set of male initation rituals. The Baruya live in the eastern Highlands of Papua New Guinea and the male initiation was apparently held every two years and is in four stages, the first stage beginning when a boy is nine and the final stage when he is about 20.
The ritual activities begin with the The Batuya clearing a site and bringing materials for a ceremonial house ('chimya’). The preparation, displaying and erection of the poles used for the scaffolding of the cerimonial house take several days and each aspect is performed by men at varying levels of the four stages of initation. The complexity of the society as a whole is revealed through explanation by the narrator as it is illustrated by visual example. Women play a part in the ceremony here by collecting roofing material: each bundle of roofing grass represents a boy to be initiated. Finally, fully initiated men build the walls of the ceremonial hut. They each plant a post that represents the foundation of the tribe, then each man binds his post to the others to become part of the whole.

Series

Towards Baruya Manhood, Series

Language

English

Country

Australia

Medium

Film; Film. 16mm. sd. col. 56 min.

Technical information

Black-and-white / Sound

Year of production

1972

Availability

Hire

Uses

Undergraduates. Postgraduates.

Subjects

Anthropology

Keywords

Baruya; ceremonies; initiation rites; Papua New Guinea

Credits

Director

Ian Dunlop

Producer

John Martin-Jones

Contributor

Maurice Godelier

Distribution Formats

Type

Film

Format

16mm

Production Company

Name

Australian Commonwealth Film Unit

Distributor

Name

Royal Anthropological Institute Film & Video Library, c/o Concord Media

Email

sales@concordvideo.co.uk

Web

http://www.concordmedia.org.uk/ External site opens in new window

Phone

01473 726012

Fax

01473 274531

Address

Rosehill Centre
22 Hines Road
Ipswich
IP3 9BG