Dear colleagues—

Some years ago a colleague shared a digital copy of this vanishingly hard-to-find film with me. You can download this large file (over 2GB!) from here for the next week.

In addition, I’ve compiled a list of Multimedia Resources (Films and Videos, Audio Recordings, Archives) relating to modern Vedic traditions in my 2017 annotated bibliography on this topic for Oxford Bibliographies Online > Hinduism > “Vedic Oral Tradition.” This document, complete with hyperlinks, is visible only behind library paywalls. Another caveat: the bibliography is a work-in-progress and is overdue for an update. If you notice significant omissions, please let me know and I will do my best to address them.

Beyond that, alongside the efforts of Jan, Borayin, and others, my own multimedia projects relating to Vedic pedagogy and ritual performance in South India can be readily viewed online. 

Yours,
Finnian

Finnian M.M. Gerety
Visiting Assistant Professor of Religious Studies
[Affiliated] Faculty of Contemplative Studies and Center for Contemporary South Asia
Brown University

On Feb 13, 2021, at 2:37 PM, Witzel, Michael <witzel@fas.harvard.edu> wrote:

To all Vajapeyins:

I have an electronic copy of the Poona performance, made a few years ago from a VCR cassette tape.
But it is around 650 MB, so I would have to send it to interested colleagues via WETRANSFER, so that you can download it.

I also have a photocopy of the Vajapeya booklet, but it is in my (closed) office and it would  have to be scanned.
Perhaps someone already has a scanned copy …

So please let me know. After a day or two I will send the film to interested parties.

There also is a film of a Pravargya, done at Delhi, maybe a decade later. I think Jan Houben has it (as do I).

Finally there are multiple snippets of the Pravargya as part of the 2011 Agnicayana held at Panjal, Kerala. Some are in Youtube, if you look for Atiratra  (Athiraathra) [NB not the Indian cinema movie!).

Best wishes,

Michael


On Feb 13, 2021, at 1:59 PM, Herman Tull <hermantull@gmail.com> wrote:

Are the materials Madhav cites the same as the Van Buitenen materials?

David Knipe's book, Vedic Voices: Intimate Narratives of a Living Andhra Tradition, has an entry in the bibliography for Van Buitenen's 1956, 13-pg, unpublished typescript that accompanies the film. (Perhaps he has the typescript in his possession.)Also, the entry for Van Buitenen's papers, held at the UC library, suggests that there are at least field notes to the film in their collection (but perhaps not the actual typescript that accompanied the film).
https://www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/scrc/findingaids/view.php?eadid=ICU.SPCL.BUITENEN#idp148150056

A 1977 multi-authored document written by Knipe, Morgan, Dell, McDermott, and Smith, "Focus on Hindusim: A-V Resources for Teaching Religion," indicates that even in 1977, the film was no longer to be found.

This was brought up years ago in the Indology list. In 2010, Jarrod Whitaker sent out the following:

Fri Nov 12 08:43:07 EST 2010 
Does anyone know how I can get hold of a copy of the film: Atha Vajapeyah Somayagah: The Vajapeya Sacrifice produced by J.A.B. van Buitenen, 1955. My inter-library loan people sent me this message: "We have exhausted all possible ILL sources.
There are no libraries that own this item that are ILL suppliers. Additionally, I have conducted online research and have been unable to locate the film as cited."

Herman Tull

On Sat, Feb 13, 2021 at 1:25 PM Alfred Hiltebeitel via INDOLOGY <indology@list.indology.info> wrote:

I too would like t see this.  Alf
Sent from my iPad

> On Feb 13, 2021, at 11:18 AM, jmdelire <jmdelire@ulb.ac.be> wrote:
>
> Dear friends,
>
> I am also interested in receiving accesses to these very useful items
>
> Best regards,
>
> Jean Michel Delire
>
>
> Le 13.02.2021 16:47, NK a écrit :
>> Dear colleagues,
>> Would anyone happen to have Vājapeya 1955 Performance Committee
>> manual:
>> _The Śrauta Ritual and the Vājapeya Sacrifice_. Poona: Vājapeya
>> Performance Committee, 1955 .
>> And the film by Dr J.A.B. van Buitenen of the Vājapeya in Poona and
>> 13-page unpublished  typescript "_Vajapeya: English commentary_"
>> (1956)  accompanying the film.
>> With thanks and best wishes,
>> Yours,
>> Natalia Korneeva
>> _______________________________________________
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