Cinema
Bridewealth for a Goddess
Chris Owen · 2000
Synopsis
In the Wahgi Valley, near Mount Hagen, Ru Kundil, chief of the Kawelka, organises the cult of Amb Kor, an ancient goddess from whom the clan expects fertility, protection and prosperity. Over many years, the film follows the preparations for this complex ritual: Ru's vision, the experts who guide the participants, the headdresses of which each colour has its meaning, the mobilisation of the group's wealth, leading to the dance and the sharing of the sacred pig before thousands of witnesses.
Context
Owen shot the film with the anthropologist Andrew Strathern and two Papuan collaborators, Joseph Ketau and Ru Kundil himself, following the ritual through the years its preparations took: fourteen years according to the notes of the Australian national archive, about fifteen according to its distributor. Seventy-two minutes long, in the local language with English subtitles, it is presented as the last celebration of this cult. The American Anthropological Association awarded it its prize for excellence in 2001.
Who it is for
An ethnographic documentary, slow and meticulous, with English subtitles; it calls for an interest in ritual.
Prizes and reception
Grand Prix Nanook in Paris in 2000, it has been shown at the ethnographic film festivals of London, Osaka and Rio de Janeiro.
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