Learning on ScreenStone and Gum Working
- Synopsis
- The object of the series of films was to create a scientific record of the traditional life of Aboriginal people in the Western Desert of Australia. They concentrate on the subsistence technology of the Mandjindjara and the Ngadadjara tribes. The family involved had been living for a short period on a mission station, but returned to the desert at the request of the film crew to make the films. Parts 11-29 are intended to show a ‘typical’ two-day period for three Patantja families camped near a clay plan (water hole) during a period when water and food are plentiful. In reality, the shooting took two weeks. Sometimes the actions were filmed as they naturally occurred. On other occasions the film unit asked for some activity to be carried out at a particular time for filming. The families had been given clothes by a patrol a few weeks previously, but they removed these again at the request of the film-makers.
Djungurai and his wife were asked by the crew to prepare a spinifex gum and then Djungurai works stone (collected from the quarry) to make a scraper, knife-blade and hand-chopper. He repairs his spear-thrower by replacing the scraper, and shows how the tools are used and sharpened. - Series
- People of the Australian Western Desert, Series
- Language
- English
- Country
- Australia
- Medium
- Film; Film. 16mm. sd. b&w. 25 min.
- Technical information
- Black-and-white / Sound
- Year of production
- 1966-70
- Availability
- Hire
- Uses
- Undergraduates. Postgraduates.
- Subjects
- Anthropology
- Keywords
- Aboriginal peoples; Australia; families; social anthropology
Credits
- Director
- Ian Dunlop
- Producer
- John Martin-Jones
Distribution Formats
- Type
- Film
- Format
- 16mm
Production Company
Sponsor
- Name
Canberra
- Address
- Australia
Distributor
- Name
Royal Anthropological Institute Film & Video Library, c/o Concord Media
- 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
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