Documentary Films and Videos on South Asian Religion

[SOGBS at cc.newcastle.edu.au]

This began as a response to Jonathan Silk's request on the
INDOLOGY list last June. I am posting it to the list as it may be
of use more generally.

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DOCUMENTARY FILMS AND VIDEOS ON SOUTH ASIAN RELIGION

compiled by Geoffrey Samuel

August 1994

(address until 12/94)
Department of Sociology and Anthropology
University of Newcastle
NSW 2308
Australia
fax +61 49 216902
email (until 12/94): sogbs at cc.newcastle.edu.au

(address from 1/95)
Department of Religious Studies
Lancaster University
Lancaster LA1 4YG
UK
fax +44 524 847039
email (from 2/195): [probably] G.Samuel at lancs.ac.uk

This list is work-in-progress, and does not claim to be in any way
complete. It has been assembled from a variety of sources, but I have
undoubtedly omitted many useful and worthwhile films and videos. Please
feel free to send me additions, corrections and comments.

I have included films on South Asian performing arts with religious
themes, on non-Indian religions in South Asia (Zoroastrianism, Islam) and
on Hinduism (but not Buddhism) outside South Asia.

I have not distinguished between films and videos in the listings since
most of the film material is probably now available on video. Generally
speaking, the older items were initially released on 16mm film. Note that
videos from the USA are normally in the NTSC system, those from UK and
Australia in PAL.

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ABBREVIATIONS

AA = reference to review in _American Anthropologist_

H6 = Karl G. Heider, _Films for Anthropological Teaching_. 6th edn.
American Anthropological Association, 1977

R-xxx; ref to Rolf Husmann et al. _A Bibliography of Ethnographic Film_,
G”ttingen 1992

* I have seen this item

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SOURCE LIST

N.B. Some of these addresses are probably out of date. I have given the
most recent information available to me. - G.S.

Apsara Media for Intercultural Education, 13659 Victory Boulevard, Suite
577, Van Nuys, CA 91401. Attn: Distribution. (818) 785-1498

Arthur Cantor Films, 2112 Broadway, Suite 400, New York, NY 10023, USA.
Tel.: (212) 496 5710

BBC Productions (in UK): BBC Enterprises, Sales Department, Woodlands,
Wood Lane, London W12 0TT, UK. Tel. (?071) 743 5588
(in Australia): BBC Education and Training, 11th Floor, 50 Berry Street,
North Sydney, NSW 2060, Australia. Tel. +61 2 957 6933. Fax +61 2 957 6448

BhakTV Productions Ltd, 3941 Madison Ave, PO Box 1015, Culver City, 90232,
USA

Center for Mass Communication of Columbia University Press, 136 South
Broadway, Irvington, NY 10533, USA [1974 address!]

Center Productions, 1800 30th Street, Boulder, CO 80301, USA. Tel. (800)
824 1166

Cinetel Productions Pty Ltd, 15 Fifth Avenue, Cremorne, NSW 2090,
Australia. Attn.: Frank Heimans. Tel.: (02) 953 8071. Fax: +61 2 953 7122

Colorado State University Instructional Service, Colorado State
University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA. Attn.: James Boyd. Tel (303) 491
1325. Fax (303) 491 6989

Deakin University Video Publications, Deakin University Press, Deakin
University, Geelong, VIC 3217, Australia. Tel.: (052) 27 2633, 27 2194.
Fax: +61 52 27 2020

Direct Cinema, Ltd., Box 69799, Los Angeles, CA 90069, USA. Tel. (213) 652
8000

Disappearing World Series (UK) Granada Television, 36 Golden Square,
London W1R 4AH, UK. Tel.: (071) 734 8080. Fax: +44 71 494 6280
(USA) PMI, 5547 N. Ravenswood Ave., Chicago, Illinois 60640-1199, USA..
Tel. (312) 878 7300, or Pennsylvania State University Audio-Visual
Services (see below)

Documentary Educational Resources, 101 Morse St., Watertown, MA 02172,
USA. Tel. (617) 926 0491

Film Australia, PO Box 46, Lindfield. NSW 2070, Australia. Tel.: (02) 413
8777. Fax: +61 2 416 5672. British and US enquiries through Australian
Government Film Representatives: Canberra House, 10-16 Maltravers Street,
The Strand, London WC2R 3EH, UK; Australian Information Service, 636 Fifth
Avenue, New York, NY 10020, USA.

Films Incorporated, 5547 Ravenswood Ave., Chicago, IL 60640, USA. Tel..
(800) 323 4222

First Run Icarus, 153 Waverly Place, 6th floor, New York, NY 10014. Attn:
Liz Fries. Tel (800) 876 1710; Fax (212) 989 7649

Malinis's Dances of India Troupe, 1355 Wynnstone Drive, Ann Arbor, MI
48105

Media Services, University of Texas Library, Box 830643, University of
Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX 75083-0643, USA. Tel: (214) 690 2949

Michael Camerini, Inc., 327 West 21st Street, Apt 2W, New York, NY 10011,
USA. Tel.: (212) 242 2363. Fax: (212) 242 2363

Nataraj, 12 Bristol Lane, Hadley, MA 01035. Attn: David Watson. (413) 586
8974

Pennsylvania State University, Audio Visual Services, Special Services
Building, Universty Park, PA 16802, USA. Tel. (814) 865 6314 or (800) 826
0132

RAI International Video Sales: Royal Anthropological Institute, 50 Fitzroy
Street, London W1P 5HS, UK. Tel. (071) 387 0455. Fax: +44 71 383 4235..
Attn: Gail S. Baker, Film Officer. (Some RAI material appears to be
distributed in the USA by Documentary Educational Resources, qv.)

Rounder Records, Dept. SEM, 61 Prospect Sreet, Montpelier, Vermont 05602,
USA. Attn.: Stephen McArthur. Tel (802) 223 1294, Fax (802) 229 1834

Satyam Shivam Sundaram, 425 Alexander Street, Princeton NJ 08540, USA
[from 1974]

Singer-Sharrette Productions, 336 Main Street, PO Box 68, Rochester MI
48063, USA Tel (313) 731 5199 or 656 0030

Society of St Francis, Hermitage of St Bernadine, Stroud, NSW 2425,
Australia. Tel. (049) 94 5372

South Asia Film Center, University of Wisconsin, 1269 Van Hise Hall,
Madison, WI 53706. Attn.: Distribution. Tel (608) 262-9690; Fax (608) 262
3065

Syracuse University Film Rental Center, 1455 E. Colvin Street, Syracuse,
NY 13210, USA. (1977 address!)

Traditional Healing Films/Earth Research, P.O. Box 68, 336 Main St,
Rochester, MI 48063, USA. Tel. (313) 656 0030

Under the Sun, BBC Elstree, Clarendon Road, Borehamwood, Herts WD6 1JF, UK

University of California Extension Media Center, 2000 Center St, 4th
floor, Berkeley, CA 94704. Attn.: Daniel Bickley. Tel (510) 642 0460; Fax
(510) 643 8683

Visionova, 64 Royal Park Terrace, Hillsdale, NJ 07642, USA

Wombat Prductions, Inc., 250 West 57th Street, Suite 1319, New York, NY
10019, USA. Tel. (212) 315 2502

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FILM LIST


AHIMSA, NON-VIOLENCE
(Produced by Marion Hunt and directed by Michael Tobias, 1987, 58 min.)
Distributor: Direct Cinema
R-753 = AA 91,4 (1989): 1094-95
".. about modern followers of the Jain religion in India... Because of its
vivid and colorful subject matter, its seductive narration ... and its
unique depiction of an important religious community seldom studied even
in South Asian ethnography courses, this film will be tempting to plug in
as a remedial ethnographic profile of the Jains. However to do so without
additional background material would be a _big_ mistake. The film's made-
for-television slickness will encourage students to overlook its lack of
sociohistorical context and its consistently pro-Jain hyperbole... I would
certainly use this film in my courses, but only with additional materials
to ensure a critical viewing." (from AA review, which also makes several
suggestions for additional reading)


ALTAR OF FIRE
(Robert Gardner/Frits Staal, 1976, 45 min)
Distributor: University of California Extension Media Center (film and
video)
R-270 = AA 80,1 (1978), 197-9
"... consists largely of footage taken during the course of the
performance of the Vedic Agnicarana ritual by Nambudiri Brahmins in Kerala
Province in April of 1975." Robert Paul's AA review focusses on the
dubious nature of the film's claims to "authenticity," and its lack of
contextualizing the event depicted: the makers of the film "pretend to
give us an authentic glimpse into ancient Vedic times, rendered hollow and
ethically repugnant through the patronzing, rigid, antiquarian, and
neocolonialist attitudes it reveals."


BAKE RESTUDY 1984
(Nazir Ali Jairazbhoy and Amy Catlin, 60 min)
Distributor: Apsara Media for Intercultural Education
"This videotape explores the preservation and transformation of
performance in India's southern states of Tamilnadu, Kerala and Karnataka.
It compares Arnold Adriaan Bake's unique 16mm films, photos and audio
recordings of music, dance and ritual, made in 1938, to the audio-visual
documentation collected on a revisit to the same sites by his students and
colleague, Nazir Jairazbhoy, in 1984." (details from _Asian Studies
Newsletter_ (Apr-May 1993), p.11)


BANARAS
(Michael Camerini, 22min)
Distributor: Michael Camerini, Inc. (Made in cooperation with Dept of
Indian Studies, Uni of Wisconsin, Madison)
"The feeling and mood of Banaras rather than a detailed description of any
given facet of the city. The film relies on visual images and the original
score to evoke the feeling of being in Banares. It shows the cycle of
daily activity, life on the ghats, ties the formal worship in temples to
the devotions of pilgrims and the people of the city at the river, and
explores the many different types of shrines found in the city. There are
many rhythms to the city: the pattern of daily life, the market places, 
the multiple uses of the river and of water in general, and all contribute
to the holiness of the city. In exploring these rhythms the film also
gives the viewer a feeling for the people of Banares; their faces, moods
and actvities." (details and description from H6: 30)


BEING MUSLIM IN INDIA
(1984, 30 min)
Distributor: South Asia Film Center, University of Wisconsin
No further details available


BENARES: STEPS TO HEAVEN
(Richard Riddiford, 1984, 30 min.)
Distributor: Wombat Productions
R625 = AA 89,1 (1987) 251-3
"Its 30 minutes are devoted to the city as a pilgrimage centre... leaves
this viewer with a sense of a guided tour, unattached to the actual lives
of people who live in the city and depend on its religious importance for
their livelihood... Yet its use in teaching about Hinduism, about Benares
as a pilgrimage center, about the antiquity of Hindu custom and the beauty
that can be allied with death and distress is certain..." (AA review)


CHANDALIKA: A DRAMA OF KARMA AND SOCIAL CHANGE
(video, 40 min)
Distributor: Nataraj
"From Rabindranath Tagore's book. At the lowest stratum of the Indian
caste system is the 'untouchable' or chandal. Within this caste, at one
time, were born Prakriti and her mother.  Prakriti was scorned by village
women and bewailed her birth until she met a Buddhist monk who offered her
a new point of view. There was hope, she thought, to change her karma, and
the struggle to do so and its outcome comprise the story." (Details from
_Asian Studies Newsletter_ (Spring 1990), p.5)


CHANT DES FOUS, LE
Distributor: Mot known
French film on the Bauls of Bengal made in 1978-79.


CHITTIRAI FESTIVAL
(Michael Camerini and Myra Binford,1976, 25 + 35 min)
Distributor: South Asia Film Center, University of Wisconsin
H6: 45
Filmed by  directed by Joseph Elder. On the temple festival at Madurai,
South India. Part I : Historical background; Part II : Events of the
festival. William Harman's book _The Sacred Marriage of a Hindu Goddess_,
1989, which is a description of this festival, refers to what seems to be
the same film under the title WEDDING OF THE GODDESS. This is perhaps a
longer version, since Harman gives the timings as 36 + 40 min.


THE CHRISTIAN YOGA EXPERIENCE
(1985, 32 min)
Distributor: Deakin University Video Productions
"Dr Peter Fenner from Deakin University discusses the Christian Yoga
experience with Brother Amaldas, who accompanied the Monk-Mystic, Dom Bede
Griffiths, on his visit to Australia. Order No.129"


CIRCLES-CYCLES: KATHAK DANCE
(Robert S. Gottlieb, 1989)
Distributor: University of California Extension Media Center
"The kathak tradition combines influences from both Hindu and Islamic
cultures and was cultivated in the royal courts of north India under the
nawabs and Maharajas. The themes range from simple village life to the
experiences of Hindu deities." (Details from _Asian Studies Newsletter_ 
(Spring 1990), p.5)
".. provides a clear introduction to the history and performance of
kathak... with selections from the kathak repertoire as performed by
leading artists of North India... I recommend this film wholeheartedly for
teaching and research purposes" (AA review)
R-298 = AA 93,1 (1991), 252


CLASSROOM CONVERSATION WITH A ZOROASTRIAN PRIEST
(James W. Boyd and Ron G. Williams, 48 min.)
Distributor: Colorado State University Instructional Service
"Dastur Firoze Kotwal, a Zoroastrian high priest from Bombay, in residence
for a semester at Colorado State University, provided the interview
material for this discussion about beliefs and practices of Zoroastrians."
(details from _Asian Studies Newsletter_ (Jan-Feb 1994), p.7)


DARSHAN
(Filmed and edited by Florence Davey, 30 min)
Distributor: Satyam Shivam Sundaram
R-181 = AA 76,3 (1974), 704-6
"This useful film contains brief but illuminating vignettes of four
contemporary "holy men" of North India.." (AA review)


DEVI: THE FEMININE POWER IN INDIAN RELIGIOUS TRADITION
Distributor: Nataraj
"For centuries in India there has been an indigenous folk tradition of
goddess worship, especially in Eastern and Southern India. Mahadevi is
often presented as one who responds to the needs or cries of her devotees
to destroy evil. This film explores principal aspects of the goddess in
dramatized form." (details from _Asian Studies Newsletter_ (Spring 1990),
p.5)


DIVINE MADNESS: TRANCE, DANCE AND HEALING IN GUYANA
(Philip Singer, 1978, 60 min)
Distributor: Singer-Sharrette Productions
R-700 = AA 87,2 (1985), 480-1
"an intense and intimate look at a ritual healing sequence at a Kali Hindu
temple in Albion, Guyana. The participants, primarily East Indian sugar
plantation workers of the district... come as patients, healers, and
ritualists to a religious event that derives directly from the Shaivite
Great Tradition of South India. The film is a result of close cooperation
between the anthropologist/ ethnopsychiatrist Philip Singer and the Kali
Mai _pujari_ Jaimsee Naidoo. In their joint narrative the _pujari_'s
explanations of etiology and therapy in "Kali work" are presented side by
side with Singer's psychological framework for these processes." (excerpt
from generally favourable AA review)
This seems to be an abridged and improved version of a series of three 40
minute films by Philip Singer collectively entitled TRADITIONAL HEALING IN
GUYANA : THE DIVINE MADNESS OF KALI MAI FUNCTIONAL THERAPY which were
reviewed less positively in AA 81,2 (1979), 472-3. Criticisms there
focussed on the "rambling and inconsistent narration" with its
"condescending and patronizing tone" and on the failure to "make the
subject material generally comprehensible".


DOM BEDE GRIFFITHS: A CHRISTIAN SADHU
(1985, 33 min)
Distributor: Deakin University Video Productions
"Dom Bede Griffiths discusses East-West religious dialogue and his
experiences as a monk-mystic in the Benedictine Ashram in South India. He
talks with Professor Max Charlesworth and Dr Purusottama Bilimoria of
Deakin University. Order No.128."


DUST AND ASHES*
(Michael Yorke and Naresh Bedi, 1989, 50 min)
Distributor: Under the Sun
"Every twelve years, when the Sun enters Capricorn and Jupiter enters
Aries, devout Hindus go to the great Kumbh fair at Allahabad and this year
the government is expecting 37 million people. We follow the fortunes of
four pilgrims: an ascetic, who meditates in the ice cave from where the
Ganges flows; His Holiness Jagadguru Jayendra Saraswati Swamigal; a rural
peasant from central India and a wealthy industrialist." (Note from
programme of 2nd International Festival of Ethnographic Film,  Manchester,
1990)


EUNUCHS: INDIA'S THIRD GENDER*
(50 min.)
Distributor: BBC
AA 95 (1993), 517-8
On the _hijra_ (transvestite) community of India. "Well known to Indians
is the custom a groups of _hijras_ celebrating a birth in a prosperous
household by song and dance, and by blessing the newborn... Less well
known is the caste-like structure of the _hijra_ community and its
religious cult centering on a goddess who is pleased by the sacrifice
performed by an initiated _hijra_ of "her" male genitalia. Both the caste
and the cult are detailed by Nanda [Serena Nanda, _Neither Man nor Woman_,
Wadsworth 1990]... The film "centers on a cohabiting couple, Kiran and
Hiresh, a _hijra_ and her truck-driver mate.. We see two communities of
_hihjras_, one in Rajasthan, where there is a monastery occupied by
_hijras_... The second community is a house of prostitution in Bombay. We
witness here the welcoming of two new "girls" into the house, celebrated
by an elaborate wedding ceremony." (From a joint review with JAREENA:
PORTRAIT OF A HIJDA. "Both films are visually pleasing and nonsensational
in tone."


EYES OF STONE*
(Nilita Vachani, 1989, 90 min)
(Doordarshan 16mm film)
Distributor: Not known
"A film about women and the ritual of spirit possession and cure: a ritual
of faith, rebellion and individual expression that thrives within the
confines of a stringent patriarchal order. Shot in the Bhilwara district
of Rajasthan, India, the film documents one woman's participation in the
ritual and, through it, the strengths and sadnesses of her life.
     Shanta is 19 years old. Married at the age of 10, she is the mother
of two sons. Her husband, Nandlal, a truck driver, is away on long-
distance trips most of the time.
     Shanta has been ill for five years. It all began, she says, with the
evil gaze of a 'dakan' (witch). She suffers from headaches, bodyaches and
fevers, a sense of dissociation and disinterest in the world around her.
For the duration of her cure, Shanta lives with her parents and her
brother. They have taken her to doctors, tried different medicines, but
nothing has helped. Now, the family feels that this is no 'ordinary'
illness. They pin all their hopes on the goddess, Bhankya Mata.
     Every Saturday, for five weeks, Shanta appears before the goddess.
Like hundreds of other possessed women, she goes into trance, and 'plays'
(the Hindi 'khelna'). In trance, the goddess 'comes' to her, and engages
the troublesome spirit in a battle of words, of wit, repartee, performance
and physical duress, in which the spirit must ultimately accept defeat.
     The ritualised healing is a turning point in Shanta's life. After her
cure, she puts on her make-up and resumes her normal routine. She retunrs
with her husband to his village. True to the tradition, she covers up her
face and speaks in whispers. She is now the wife and mother - cooking,
cleaning, washing, sweeping.
     The film has an inherent narrative structure as we move from Shanta's
'abnormal' outbursts during possession to her socially defined behaviour
at her husband's home. The _cinema verite_ approach weaves a tapestry of
strongly defined characters, details of a rural, low-income Rajasthani
household, personal interactions that reveal the pathos of commonplace,
everyday problems; and midst it all, an unshakeable faith in the mother
goddess, 'who knows what is best, who knows all'." (from cover note to
video)

 
FLOATING IN THE AIR FOLLOWED BY THE WIND
(Ronald Simons, 1973)
Distributor: University of California Extension Media Center
H6: 65-6
"A film ...  about Thaipusam, a Tamil Hindu religious  festival in Kuala
Lumpur, Malaysia. Worshippers pierce themselves with spears and hooks, and
carry highly decorated shoulder poles, called _kavadi_, to the place of
pilgrimage, a sacred cave. Preparations begin weeks before, and include
tutelage by a spiritual leader, a guru, who is skilled in inducing
entranced states. The trance state that occurs during the procession,
accompanied by rhythmic music and dance, prevents the worshippers from
experiencing pain." (description from LC)


FOREST OF BLISS*
(Produced by Robert Gardner and Akos Ostor and directed by Robert Gardner,
1987, 89 min)
Distributor: Arthur Cantor Films
Robert Gardner's notorious movie on Varanasi. An art film rather than an
ethnography, this is of limited use for teaching purposes, but it is
undoubtedly a fascinating case-study in creative film-making.
R-273 = _SVA Newsletter_ 4,2 (1988), 1-7 and 5,1 (1989), 2-3; _Film
Quarterly_ 41,1 (1987), 58-61; AA 91,1 (1989), 273-4; _Humanism Quarterly_
12,3/4 (1987), 97-98


FOUR HINDU SADHUS
also known as FOUR HOLY MEN: RENUNCIATION IN HINDU SOCIETY
(Mira Beym Binford and Michael Camerini, 37 min)
Distributor: South Asia Film Center, University of Wisconsin
"... examines several traditional ways in which a Hindu may renounce the
world and yet retain an integral role in society. The film focuses on four
different types of sadhus: a traditional guru who heads a monastery; a
scholar who is also the founder of a national political party; and a
recluse with no organizational ties [this makes three?]. Why did these
people choose the life of renunciation? Ho do they relate to the society
they have renounced." (details and description from H6: 67)
Also described in RAI Film Catalogue, p.19


GIVEN TO DANCE
(Produced and directed by Ron Hess, 1985, 57 min)
Distributor: South Asia Film Center, University of Wisconsin
R-332 = AA 88,4 (1986), 1040-42
On Odissi dance. Ex-temple dancers (_mahari_ or _devadasi_) speak about
their former lives to the modern Odissi dancer Madhavi Mudgal. Also
includes dances of the _gotipua_ (boy dancers) of Orissa, modern Odissi
dance performed by Madhavi Mudgal, and sequences from the chariot festival
of the Jagannath Temple at Puri. Would perhaps go well with Frederique
Marglin's _Wives of the God-King_.


HAIL MOTHER KALI: A TRIBUTE TO THE TRADITIONS AND HEALING ARTS BROUGHT TO
GUYANA BY INDENTURED MADRASI LABOURERS
(Produced and directed by Stephanos Stephanides, 1988, 60 minutes)
Distributor: Singer-Sharrette Productions
R-735 = AA 91,2 (1989), 531-33
"This video traces three days and nights of a Hindu _puja_ (healing
ceremony) in the canefields of Berbice, Guyana... The ceremony documented
is the anual Big Puja at the Blairmont Kali Temple... The goddess
incarnate seeing patients is more fully illustrated in the film DIVINE
MADNESS... While DIVINE MADNESS is appropriate for students of
ethnomedicine, clinical psychology, nursing, and related health fields,
HAIL MOTHER KALI will be more useful to students of religion, culture
history, expressive culture, and semiotics. It is not appropriate for use
with undergraduate students lacking prior introdction to Hinduism." (from
AA review)


HINDU LOAVES AND FISHES
(Produced and directed by Philip Singer, 1985, 20 min)
Distributor: Traditional Healing Films/Earth Research
R-701 = AA 88,4 (1986), 1042-43
"An ethnographic study of Hindu shamanism centred on trance-linked
materialization of objects, this film is a true workshop view of a Hindu
holy man-cum-magician... The scenario is set with a Hindu professor of
biochemistry who regards this particular yogi as his personal guru and
believes he has achieved siddhi (occult powers) through austere
meditational techniques... The actual entry of Siddha Baba... into trance
and his trance-generated comportment is exquisitely done, by far the best
segment of the film, complete with hyperventilation, groans, and sundry
other sounds..." [AA review] Agehananda Bharati's review is critical of
several aspects of the film, but it might be useful with appropriate
introduction.


THE HINDU RITUAL SANDHYA
(Produced by Doris Srinivasan, 19 min.)
Distributor: Center for Mass Communication of Columbia University Press
R-733 = 76,1 (1974), 218-9
"The film is a clear, straightforward presentation of a Smarta Brahmin
pandit performing his morning and evening prayers on the banks of a South
Indian river... The seeming multitude of gods mentioned during the prayers
are illustrated by cutaways to sculptures and paintings of them..." (from
AA review)


THE HO: PEOPLE OF THE RICE POT
(Michael and Valerie Yorke, 70 min.)
Distributor: (On hire from RAI Film Library)
"The Ho... are a secluded tribe of the Mundari-speaking group living in
the southern part of Bihar state in India. The film focusses on the life
ofe one man, his two wives and seven children in order to portray the
annual cycle of events and activities. They are shown engaged in
subsistence activities such as foraging in the forest and harvesting rice,
and in ritual and ceremonial observances... Shot over an eighteen-month
period, [the film] is able to recreate the atmosphere of everyday life for
the Ho, locating festival and ceremony firmly in the context of the
agricultural cycle..."
(Details and description from RAI Film Catalogue, p.25)


A HUMAN SEARCH: THE LIFE OF FATHER BEDE GRIFFITHS
(59 minutes)
Distributor (in Australia): Society of St Francis
"An intimate portrait of one of the greatest mystics and thinkers of this
century."


IMAGE INDIA: THE HINDU WAY
(Daniel H. Smith; series of 11 short films)
Distributor: Syracuse University Film Rental Center
R-707 = AA 74,6 (1972) 1585-87
H6: 79
"An eleven-film series on Hindu religious rites and celebrations...
photographed on location among the Tengalai Sri-vaisnava Brahmins of
Madras, Southern India... each film comes with a helpful Users' Guide" (AA
review quoted in H6)
The individual films are:

HOW A HINDU WORSHIPS: AT THE HOME SHRINE (18 min)
HINDU TEMPLE RITES: BATHING THE IMAGE OF GOD (13 min)
HINDU SACRAMENTS OF CHILDHOOD: THE FIRST FIVE YEARS (25 min)
MONTHLY ANCESTRAL OFFERINGS IN HINDUISM (8 min.)
RADHA'S DAY: HINDU FAMILY LIFE (17 min)
PILGRIMAGE TO A HINDU TEMPLE (14 min)
HINDU PROCESSION TO THE SEA (8 min)
THE HINDU SACRAMENT OF THREAD INVESTITURE (14 min)
HINDU DEVOTIONS AT DAWN (10 min)
THE HINDU SACRAMENT OF SURRENDER (8 min)
A HINDU FAMILY CELEBRATION: 60TH BIRTHDAY (9 min)


IN THE NAME OF GOD (_RAM KE NAM_)*
(Anand Patwardhan.  90 minutes)
Distributor: First Run Icarus.
"In recent years, religious fundamentalism has swept across the globe. In
India, state repression has added credibility to separatist demands, but
by far the biggest danger to the nation's secular fabric comes from groups
appealing to the 80% Hindu majority to redefine India as a Hindu nation
and to put aside Gandhi's non-violent methods. Ayodhya, city of the epic
poem Ramayana, and city of a famous 16th century mosque, provides a focus
for this tragic drama. The film documents stresses between violent
impulses and non-violent efforts to prevent the spread of religious
intolerance." (_Asian Studies Newsletter_ No.2 (1993), p.9)
Also _Asian Studies Newsletter_ (Jan-Feb 1993), p.4; (Jan-Feb 1994, p.7)


AN INDIAN PILGRIMAGE: KASHI
(Mira Reym Binford and Michael Camerini, 30 min.)
Distributor: South Asia Film Center, University of Wisconsin
 H6: 82
"The film begins with a detailed examination of an 1825 drawing of the
bathing steps of Kashi (Benares) ... and then abruptly shifts to shots of
the same bathing steps ... in the 1970s... The camera then leads us on a
tour of the pilgrimage centre... Halfway through the film, the film-makers
pick up two middle-class urban couples, natives of South India, who have
made the journey to Kashi. The two couples are asked their reasons for
coming... The film comes to life in the course of a long sequence on the
offerings to the ancestors when the narrator abandons his comments in
favour of subtitles which capture the dialogue between the priests and the
two couples... What is missing from the film is some explanation of the
sacred geography of the town and, indeed, of the cosmos... As it stands,
the film would make a suitable introduction to Indian pilgrimage for
students who are somewhat unfamiliar with the south Asian sub-continent."
(from description in RAI Film Catalogue, pp.26-27)


AN INDIAN PILGRIMAGE: RAMDEVRA
(Mira Reym Binford and Michael Camerini, 26 min.)
Distributor: South Asia Film Center, University of Wisconsin
H6: 82
R-076 = AA 78,4 (1976), 958
"Ramdev was a 15th-century warrior-saint of western India who effected
various miracles in his lifetime and whose miraculous power, according to
present-day devotees, continues to emanate from the grave where the saint
lies buried. The opening sequence of the film introduces the viewer to a
small group of Ramdev devotees living in Bombay who have decided to travel
together to the saint's shrine at Ramdevra on the occasion of the saint's
death-day... While worshipping at the shrine, one of the women in th
Bombay group becomes possessed by Ramdev. Other devotees escort the
possessed woman to a neighbouring shrine of a female disciple of Ramdev
and assist her in expressing ecstatically her devotion to Ramdev... during
the latter part of the film the camera focuses on the festival activities
of the pilgrims outside the shrine... This film touches on a number of
interesting topics in the study of Indian pilgrimage: the relationship
between the central shrine and the local organization of a cult, the
significance of women in organizing pilgrimage groups, the worship at the
same shrine of both Hindus and Muslims, and the overlay of Muslim ideas
(burial shrine of an historical personage) and Hindu ideas (Ramdev is an
incarnation of the eternal Krishna) at the same shrine. Unfortunately the
narrator does not pick up these points in sufficient detail..." There is a
good accompanying booklet; Mira Binford has also written an article on the
pilgrimage in Bardwell Smith (Ed) _Hinduism: New Essays in the History of
Religions_, Brill, Leiden 1976. (from description in RAI Film Catalogue,
pp.27-28)


IRAMUDUN (DISPELLING DEMONS)*
(Produced by Barrie Machin, 1985, 45 min.)
Distributor: Pennsylvania State Universty, Audio Visual Services
Sinhalese exorcistic dance-ritual. "This is an honest, competent, well-
made and instructive film. Together with Bruce Kapferer's book, _A
Celebration of Demons_,... it affords an excellent opportunity to study a
ritual process that has not been documented before... Questions about
meaning are (presumably) left for Kapferer's book to answer..." (from AA
review)
R-466 = AA 90,2 (1988), 493-4


THE JAINS: A RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY OF INDIA
(Marcus Banks, Caroline Humphrey and James Laidlaw, 1985, 35 min.)
Distributor: Department of Social Anthropology, Cambridge University, U.K.
Mentioned in review of AHIMSA, NON-VIOLENCE in AA 91 (1989), p.1094.


JAREENA: PORTRAIT OF A HIJDA
(Prem Kalliat)
Distributor: Visionova
AA 95 (1993), 517-8
On the _hijra_ (transvestite) community of India. "Well known to Indians
is the custom a groups of _hijras_ celebrating a birth in a prosperous
household by song and dance, and by blessing the newborn... Less well
known is the caste-like structure of the _hijra_ community and its
religious cult centering on a goddess who is pleased by the sacrifice
performed by an initiated _hijra_ of "her" male genitalia. Both the caste
and the cult are detailed by Nanda [Serena Nanda, _Neither Man nor Woman_,
Wadsworth 1990]... The film centers on Jareena, a young man from Kerala
who works, dressed as a woman, in a massage parlor in Bangalore. Includes
a birth celebration; Jareena also gives a description of her ritual
castration. (From a joint review with JAREENA: PORTRAIT OF A HIJDA. "Both
films are visually pleasing and nonsensational in tone."


JVC ANTHOLOGY OF WORLD MUSIC AND DANCE*
Distributor: Rounder Records
This is a collection of thirty videocassettes, including five volumes (45-
55 min each) on South Asia. They include several items on religious
topics, listed below.

     11. SOUTH ASIA I (INDIA I)
     11-1 Bharata Natyam classical dance: devotional dance to Siva (8
     min)
     11-2 Kathakali: "Destruction of Duryodhana" from Mahabharata (10
     min)
     11-3 Manipuri dance: "Vasanta Ras" (Krishna and gopis) (12 min)
     11-4 Kathak dance: Rama and Sita in the forest from Ramayana (6
     min)

     12 SOUTH ASIA II (INDIA II)
     12-1 Chhau from Purulia: (a) "Killing of the demon Mahishasur";
     (b) "Death of Abhimanyu" from Mahabharata (19 min)
     12-2 Chhau from Seraikela: several short items (14 min)
     12-3 Yakshagana: "Death of Abhimanyu" from Mahabharata (14 min)
     12-4 Hindi devotional song (2 min)
     12-5 Sikh devotional song (3 min)

     13 SOUTH ASIA III (INDIA III)
     13-3 Epic of Pabuji (bhopa from Rajasthan) (2 min)
     13-7 to 9 Three Baul songs from Bengal (11 min)

     14 SOUTH ASIA IV (PAKISTAN AND BANGLADESH)
     14-1 and 2 two Qawwali items by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (31 min)
     14-7 Trance ritual from Hunza (4 min)

     15 SOUTH ASIA V (SRI LANKA, NEPAL, BHUTAN)
     15-1 Excerpts from a _tovil_ (Sinhala exorcistic ritual) (8 min)
     15-10 Hindu devotional song (dapa khala) from Nepal (3 min)
     15-12 Traditional Newar dance-drama (Mahakali Pyakhan) from
     Nepal (6 min)

See critical review of the South Asian items in the anthology by Amy
Catlin and Nazir Jairazbhoy in _Asian Music_ 24,2 (Spring/Summer 1993),
159-181. The quality of these performances is very variable, as is the
mode of presentation. Some are stage performances from Japan originating
in the Asian Traditional Performing Arts festivals (e.g. 13-7 to 9, 14-
1,2); others are heavily edited for TV films. In many cases much better
material is available elsewhere (e.g. IRAMUDUN for Sinhala exorcistic
ritual; Pakistani commercial videotapes for Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan). There
are nevertheless some useful items, and further documentation is available
in F. Koizumi et al. _Dance and Music in South Asian Drama_, Academia
Music, Tokyo 1983 and other publications from the Asian Traditional
Performing Arts festivals.


KATARAGAMA*
(Produced and directed by Charlie Nairn. Anthropologist, Gananath
Obeyesekere. around 55 min.)
Distributor: Disappearing World series
R-542 = _RAIN_ 3 (1974), 8-9; AA 82,2 (1980), 579-80
Cult of the Hindu deity of Kataragama (Skandha) in Sri Lanka. Scenes of
the annual temple festival, at which devotees make offerings, fire-walk
and in some cases hang suspended by skewers, are counterposed to the story
of a family who seek Kataragama's aid to find a lost child.


KHETURNI BAYA
(Sharon Wood, 1982, 19 min.)
Distributor: Pennsylvania State University, Audiovisual Services
R-793 = AA 86,1 (1984), 240-1
A film of women's life in a Gujarati village, including some ritual
sequences. "..although one would like a more informed commentary, the film
can provide useful visual exposure to north Indian family life,
particularly the life of women, for high school or introductory college
classes dealing for the first time with Indian society and culture. Its
somewhat stereotypic description can be rounded out by a teacher
knowledgeable about [the] society..." (from AA review)


LESSONS FROM GULAM
(Directed by John Baily, 53 min.)
Distributor: RAI (UK); Documentary Educational Resources (USA)
AA 91 (1989), 836-8
".. shows how South Asian Muslims living in a mill town in northern
England gather on Sundays to speak Urdu and perform traditional music
[_qawwali_ etc.] under the guidance of a teacher named Gulam..."


THE LIVING GODDESS*
(Frank Homans, 50 min.)
Distributor: Cinetel Productions, Sydney, Australia
Film about the Kumari cult in Nepal, made with the assistance of Michael
Allen of the Department of Anthropology, Sydney University, cf. his book
_The Cult of Kumari_.


THE LONG SEARCH 
(BBC series, 1977, 13 episodes, each lasts 48 min)
Distributor: BBC
This series contains two South Asian episodes, "330 Million Gods" on
Hinduism in India and "The Footprints of the Buddha" on Theravada Buddhism
in Sri Lanka

     EPISODE 1: 330 MILLION GODS*
     "Visits various sites in India and observes the performance of
     several types of religious ceremonies. Explores the Hindu approach to
     God and the complexity of the Hindu religious experience." Ronald
     Eyre's presence throughout as the naive outsider may be obtrusive,
     but there is some nice video material, particularly the sequences in
     a Bihar village showing Saraswati Puja, the village sadhu, etc.

     EPISODE 3: FOOTPRINT OF THE BUDDHA
     "Ronald Eyre tries to come to grips with a religion that has high
     moral standards, but does not believe in a god."


LOVING KRISHNA
(Produced and directed by Allen Moore and Akos Ostor, 1985, 40 min)
Distributor: Centre Productions
R-272 = AA 89,1 (1987), 259-62
Shot in Vishnupur, West Bengal. On the role of Krishna in the life of
Vishnupur. Its last half is devoted to an eight-day chariot festival
centred around Krishna. Akos Ostor's books _Play of the Gods_ (Chicago
1980) and _Culture and Power_ (Sage 1984) provide further background. The
AA's reviewer also recommends David Kinsley's _The Sword and the Flute_
"for students and instructors unfamiliar with Hinduism and Krishna
especially".


MAHARISHI MAHESH
(Conceived and narrated by Yavar Abbas, production manager Marion Abbas,
28 min.)
Distributor: Center for Mass Communication of Columbia University Press
AA 76 (1974) 707-9
Interviews the Maharishi at his Rishikesh centre. "Why are [all the
devotees] Westerners? Could the Maharishi possibly be catering to the
rich? The interviewer puts these and other hard questions to the
Maharishi, who offers evasive replies..." (AA review)


MANIFESTATIONS OF SHIVA
(Malcolm Leigh, 1980, 60 min)
Distributor: The Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Asia Society, Inc.,
725 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10021, USA
R-421 = AA 84,4 (1982), 988-9
"Filmed in SOuth India, [the film] shows varied forms of ritual attention
to the Hindu god Shiva, with a particular focus on the ways in which
Indian artistic expression is interwoven with Shiva worship. The film is
worth viewing for its technical perfection, the extraordinary close-up
shots of devotees' faces, and for all the splendid colours and sounds that
uniquely capture the sensuous beauty of Indian art and religious life...
suffers from the brevity of its narration... most viewers will be baffled
by what they see... The film might be of use in a graduate course of
anthropological methods, to vividly drive home the initial fieldwork
frustration of observing interesting (and obviously significant) behaviour
that one is not yet equipped to understand." (from AA review)


MITHILA PAINTERS: FIVE VILLAGE ARTISTS FROM MADHUBANI, INDIA
(Ray Owens, 48 min.)
Distributor: South Asia Film Center, University of Wisconsin
"The Mithila painters of Madhubani in north India have received a degree
of notoriety in recent years. These women painters, whose art at first
adorned walls, express themselves and their topics in a distinctive
traditional style. In the video, the artists themselves come to life."
(details from _Asian Studies Newsletter_ (Jan-Feb 1994), p.8)


MUNNI: CHILDHOOD AND ART IN MITHILA
(Produced by Joe Elder, directed by Raymond Owens, Ron Hess and Cheryl
Graff, 29 min.)
Distributor: South Asia Film Center, University of Wisconsin
AA 86 (1984) 807-8
Includes some life-cycle rituals (first tonsure and wedding).


THE MURIA*
(Melissa Llewellyn-Davies [?] and Chris Curling, 1982; 50 min)
(BBC Worlds Apart series)
Distributor: RAI (UK); Films Incorporated (USA)
R-436 = AA 88,1 (1986) 271-3
"The Muria of Central India live in a forested area encircled by
mountains. Their relative isolation has allowed them some differences from
the rest of India, in particular their lack of caste. The focus of this
film is on the institution of the _ghotul_, a dormitory within the village
where all people from about the age of twelve until their marriage must
stay. This film, like the other films of the BBC Worlds Apart series,
makes extensive use of interviews and subtitles, a technique which creates
a human and sympathetic portrayal of the Muria."
See critical review of the film in AA, focussing on its "very blatant and
ethnocentric message, that the Muria system is cruel and heartless and
causes psychological distress," on its "heavy-handed and ubiquitous"
narration, etc.


MURUGA
(Yvonne Hannemann)
Distributor:
R-319 = AA 76,1 (1974), 219


OUR ASIAN NEIGHBOURS series
See RANA; SWAMI SHYAM; THE VILLAGE
 

PILGRIMAGE TO PITTSBURGH
(30 min video)
Distributor: Fred W. Clothey, University of Pittsburgh, Department of Arts
and Sciences, 2604 Cathedral of Learning, Pittsburgh, PA 15260.
"This is a documentary prepared for American audiences of the Sahasrakalas
abhisekam festival as performed by participants in the Sri Venkatesvara
Temple of Pittsburgh. It attempts to present the South Indian immigrant
community's self-perception as expressed through the ritual sequence - a
festival never before performed in North America and only rarely in
India." (Details from _Asian Studies Newsletter_ (Spring 1990), p.6)


PLEASING GOD: A TRILOGY
See LOVING KRISHNA; SERPENT MOTHER; SONS OF SHIVA


PRINCIPLES OF CASTE
(Tom Selwyn, 24 min)
Distributor: RAI
"This film analyses the religious principles behind the caste system and
how these work in a Hindu marriage ceremony. Through an interview with an
untouchable and discussion with people working in various occupations, the
viewer comes to realize how much caste comes to shape every person's
life."


RAJ GONDS* (N30: 278)
(Chris Curling, Peter Loizos, Michael Yorke and Melissa Llewellyn-Davis
[?], 55 min)
(BBC Worlds Apart series [?])
Distributor: RAI (UK); Films Incorporated (USA)
R-436 = AA 88,1 (1986) 271-3
"The once powerful Raj, or ruling Gonds, have now been reduced to the
status of a tribe that needs the protection of the Indian government for
its survival. In defiance of their poverty and lack of power, the Raj
Gonds every year celebrate Dandari, a ritual of their former authority and
of their philosophy. The symbolism of Dandari is complex; riddles and
skits allow the Gonds to laugh at their fate while certain young men,
through their dress and actions, blur the distinctions between gods and
men, between men and nature. ... Anthropologist: Michael Yorke."


RANA
(Our Asian Neighbours series. 19 minutes)
Distributor: Film Australia
One of a series of films directed primarily at secondary schools. "The
story of a young Muslim girl student living in a crowded section of Old
Delhi. The customary veiling of women (Purdah) and impending marriage by
arrangement are examined."


THE SACRED COBRA*
BBC World About Us, 1982
Distributor: ?BBC
Indian village with cobra cult


SERPENT MOTHER
(Produced and directed by Allen Moore and Akos Ostor, 1985, 30 min.)
Distributor: Centre Productions
R-272 = AA 89,1 (1987), 259-62
Shot in Vishnupur, West Bengal. On the worship of the snake goddess,
Manasha, including the _jhapan_ festival in which serpent-handlers play
with cobras. Akos Ostor's books _Play of the Gods_ (Chicago 1980) and
_Culture and Power_ (Sage 1984) provide further background. The AA's
reviewer also recommends Edward Dimock's _The Thief of Love_ (Chicago
1963) which includes a partial translation of the Manasha Mangal. 


SHAMANS OF THE BLIND COUNTRY*
(_SCHAMANEN IM BLINDEN LAND_)
(Michael Oppitz, 223 min.)
Distributor: Media Services, University of Texas Library
R-568 = AA 90,4 (1988), 1049-50
Michael Oppitz's 4 hr movie of Northern Magar shamans, Nepal
There is also a book of the film (in German).
"In the Himalayan region of West Nepal, the Magar peoples have preserved
their own distinctive version of the Classic Inner Asian tradition of
shamanism. The place of shamanism in Magar life is central, the mythology
is rich, the rituals are elaborate, and all of this has been exquisitely
documented in this colorful, moving film... both an original, informative
ethnography of Magar Shamanism and a landmark in ethnographic filming."
(AA review)


SONS OF SHIVA
Produced and directed by Robert Gardner and Akos Ostor, 1985, 28 min.)
Distributor: Centre Productions
R-272 = AA 89,1 (1987), 259-62
Shot in Vishnupur, West Bengal. "Portrays the annual three-day _gajan_
(calling) of the Lord Shiva, climaxing the many rituals of this deity
observed throughout the year... Trance dancing at critical moments of the
ritual is also shown, and several scenes give prominence to the
contributions of the Bauls, itinerant religious folk musicians famous in
Bengal." Akos Ostor's books _Play of the Gods_ (Chicago 1980) and _Culture
and Power_ (Sage 1984) provide further background; the AA's reviewer found
the account of the festival in _Play of the Gods_ pp.98-148 essential to
understand what was happening in the film.


SPIRITUAL SYMBOLISM IN INDIAN CLASSICAL DANCE
(1978, 36 min)
Distributor: Deakin University Video Publications
"An explanation and demonstration of the spiritual symbolism contained in
Indian classical dance forms. The dances are performed by Chandrabhanu,
and recorded at a Religious Experience Weekend School in 1978. Order
No.026."


SWAMI CHINMAYANANDA: SPIRITUAL ACTIVIST AND UNIVERSAL TEACHER
(1984, 45 min)
Distributor: Deakin University Video Publications
"In 1984 Swami Chinmayananda, Spiritual Activist and Universal Teacher,
visited Australia. Professor Max Charlesworth, Dr Purusottama Bilimoria
and Dr Jocelyn Dunphy from Deakin University talk with the Swami who is
well respected in the East and West for his logical approach to religion.
Order No.140."


SWAMI KARUNANANDA
(Conceived and narrated by Yavar Abbas, production manager Marion Abbas,
28 min.)
Distributor: Center for Mass Communication of Columbia University Press
R-002 = AA 76,3 (1974), 707-9
Swami Karunananda is an Australian follower of Swami Shivananda; the film
follows him about his daily duties at Sivananda's Divine Life Socety in
Rishikesh. Also includes a brief discussion of Hatha Yoga "accompanied by
what can only be described as a remarkable virtuoso performance of a
number of asanas or postures... could be used by anyone lecturing on
religion in South Asia or religion in general" (AA review)


SWAMI SHYAM*
(Our Asian Neighbours series. 20 minutes)
Distributor: Film Australia
One of a series of films directed primarily at secondary schools.
"Involvs the audience directly in experiencing an Indian Swami. Set in the
Kulu Valley within the Himayas, the film ends with one of the Swami's
three minute lessons in meditation."


TIMELESS VILLAGE OF THE HIMALAYAS*
(34 min)
Distributor: BhakTV Productions Ltd
About the pilgrimage centre of Deoprayag in the Himalayas. Some nice
scenes of devotional music etc.


THE VILLAGE*
(Our Asian Neighbours series. c.20 minutes)
Distributor: Film Australia
One of a series of films directed primarily at secondary schools.
Made in the village in Beteille's study _Caste, Class and Power_. Some
scenes of domestic ritual (e.g. women drawing protective designs on the
ground in front of their houses). Commentary is fairly basic (designed for
secondary school audiences).


VISIONS AND SOUNDS: INDIAN CLASSICAL DANCE
 (25 min)
Distributor: Malinis's Dances of India Troupe
This film is second in a series of tapes designed to introduce classical
Indian dance to the novice, and to enrich understanding and participation
by an initiated audience. Divided into seven parts, the artist explains
and demonstrates traditional accompaniment hand gestures, foot patterns
etc. The video is accompanied by a study guide which includes a brief
foreword about the history of classical dance in India." (Details from
_Asian Studies Newsletter_ (Annual Meeting 1991))


THE WAGES OF ACTION: RELIGION IN A HINDU VILLAGE
(David Thompson, 1982, 29 min.)
Distributor: South Asia Film Center, University of Wisconsin
R-750 = AA 86,3 (1984), 807-9
A short film on popular Hinduism made in Soyepur village near Varanasi.
"...useful for initiating discussion in the classroom but it is too brief
and partial to cover any aspect of village Hinduism with the thoroughness
that a specialist would require." (AA review)


WEDDING OF THE GODDESS
See CHITTIRAI FESTIVAL


WEDDING SONG: HENNA ART AMONG PAKISTANI WOMEN IN NEW YORK
(Susan Slyomovics and Amanda Dargan, ?1990)
Contact: Susan Slyomovics, Dept. of Performance Studies, NYU, 721
Broadway, New York, NY 10003, USA (212) 998 1620
AA 93,4 (1991), 1042-3
"The art of painting the hands and feet of an Indian or Pakistani bride
during a prenuptial ceremony called _mehendi_ continues to be practised
wherever Muslim communities form. The videotape profiles Shenaz Hooda, a
_mehendi_ artist who is also a cosmetics supervisor at a large drugstore
chain in Manhattan. Shenaz participates in the dance, music, and orally
improvised songs that characteristically mock the groom, the in-laws, and
the wedding ritual." (AAA Annual Meeting abstracts)
The review suggests that the film lacks clarity and needs introduction and
interpretation for student use.


THE WISDOM OF A PROPHET
(136 min.)
Distribution (in Australia): Society of St Francis
"Part One: 'A New Vision of Reality in the Light of Modern Science'; Part
Two: 'A New Vision of Reality in the Light of Christian Mysticism and
Hindu Advaita." Both parts recorded during Fr Bede Griffith's visit to
Perth, Australia in 1992."


YATRA
(Filmed and edited by Florence Davey, 15 min.)
Distributor: Satyam Shivam Sundaram
R-180 = AA 76,3 (1974), 703-4
On the Ardha Kumbh Mela, Allahabad, 1971
See dismissive AA review: "almost totally useless as a learning
resource... should be withdrawn by its distributor..."


A ZOROASTRIAN RITUAL: THE AFRINAGAN
(James W. Boyd and Ron G. Williams, 17 min.)
Distributor: Colorado State University Instructional Service
"This was filmed in Bombay and depicts one of the most commonly repeated
public ceremonies of the Zoroastrian community. It is a beautiful service
of 'blessings,' involving offerings of flowers, fruit, wine and milk."
(details from _Asian Studies Newsletter_ (Jan-Feb 1994), p.9)