The RAI has reedited the original film of this ceremony among the Ainu people of Japan. In the bear ceremony, now no longer performed, a specially reared bear was reverently killed and its flesh and

For the people of Olympos, a small mountain village on the Greek island of Carpathos, preserving tradition is of great importance, not least as a source of income. The parading 'brides' of the Virgin

Anne and Rosemary both chose to bury their husbands in the woods, whereas Tony was certain he didn't want a vicar at his wife's funeral. Focusing on the experiences of three grieving widows, the film

Until it was conquered by the British in 1897, the city of Benin, in what is now Nigeria, was the centre of a powerful kingdom. Its rulers, the Obas of Benin, were mysterious, secluded figures who

Cemeteries are not only places for the dead. They are also spaces in which the living interact with each other – and with the dead. “Cultivating Death” depicts the different ways in which

The communal rituals of most villages of the Eastern Niger Delta focus on two great classes of spirits - the heroes and the water people. The heroes once lived with the men, founded their

A detailed account of domestic life in the Sepik area of Papua New Guinea, mainly from the women’s point of view. It describes their everyday activities in the ‘gardens’ in order to produce

Among the Yoruba of Western Nigeria and Dahomey the Gelede cult honours the earth spirits, the ancestors and especially the Great Mother. The festival filmed here emphasises the status of women and

Performed by the Chewa secret societies, Gule Wamkulu is a form of masked dance which takes place at male initiation ceremonies, funerals, and other major celebrations. Acting as a medium between the

During the day, Isnar is a community paramedic who works in the local clinic and runs an arts and drugs rehabilitation centre for young people in Fortaleza on the coast of Northeast Brazil. But by

Religious life in the village is highly gendered, with female shamans dominating most religious activities. These shamanesses and their gods are organised as a “court”, which expresses a

In Malta, devotion to the Virgin Mary is very fervent, particularly in the village of Naxxar, where the most important annual feast, taking place over several days, is dedicated to her honour. But

These companion films examine the philosophy and ritual practices of the followers of a holy man popularly known as Embah Wali. The movement, centred in Blitar, East Java, regards wayang as a model

The Hamat’sa (or “Cannibal Dance”) is the most important—and highly represented ceremony of the Kwakwaka’wakw (Kwakiutl) people of British Columbia. This film traces the history of

Four million Tiv people form the major culture of the Benue state of southern Nigeria. They are popularly known as the greatest democrats in Africa as their society is based on fraternal cooperation

The film Alfred Haddon made in 1898 in the Torres Straits, lasting for less than a minute, is the world's first example of anthropological cinema. 'The Masks of Mer' tells the extraordinary story of

In 1993, Anthony Forge filmed the cremation of an older woman from an affluent ‘commoner’ family. As her body was moved from her family compound to the cremation tower, men of the ward seized the

Located on the North China Plain about 200 miles south of Beijing, 'Song Family Village' is home to about 1,300 people. Some 80% of all villagers are members of a single lineage of the Song surname.

In isolated mountain hamlets in Nigeria’s Jos Plateau the Ngas have traditionally observed the movements of the moon in the night sky. The moon is a key symbol in Ngas cosmology, believed to

The film begins as the groom’s side gathers the animals and money for a bridewealth payment, and discusses problems that might arise in negotiating the exchange. In ritual silence, they walk to the

A model of Stonehenge has been built in rural New Zealand, functioning like the original not only in its astronomical alignment but also in its role as a ceremonial site. The film explores what

Once a year a ritual is held in a Javanese village. After a distribution of food, men dance with professional female dancers. Their allegedly sexual ethos makes these ‘tayuban’ unacceptable as

‘The Temple in the Sea’ looks at ritual and religious practice at a well-known Hindu shrine and its associated cremation grounds in Central Trinidad. Documenting the daily life of the Temple, and

Held every October in the city of Matsuyama, the Dogo Autumn Festival is one of the most violent religious festivals celebrated in Japan. Eight teams of men carrying massive portable wood shrines

'We Don't Need a Grave' attempts to show how the people who choose Shizenso rather than the typical family grave try to accept one's death. Shizenso is a natural mortuary practice that has no

This ethnopsychiatric film shows the management of psychiatric disorders by the Yoruba of Nigeria. There are two basic types of institutions to deal with psychiatric disorders. First there are