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Faces of Change: Kenya

Fri, 7 Sep 2018 09:20:00 GMT

Faces of Change: Kenya
Buy Now: $495.00

The Boran are desert pastoralists in Kenya and Ethiopia who traditionally followed the rains in search for grass and water. Since the 1960s many Boran have elected to settle in a few market towns, such as Marsabit, the district capital in northern Kenya. Those who settle are in contrast to those who pursue the traditional lifestyle, particularly in terms of work, education, and social interaction with the outside world. Since 2015, the region has been on the western fringe of the on-going conflict between Kenya and the Al Shaba movement in Somalia. The films provide a backdrop to the harsh realities of this region of Kenya and the lifestyles of the residents.

"The core of this series is Kenya Boran 1 and 2, each designed to stand alone, but which together complement one another in a most useful and informative fashion. Their common subject matter is the development problems posed for rural Boran herdsmen and their families by the encroachment upon their once-isolated grazing lands of a growing town (Marsabit) and a major road (the new Nairobi-Addis Ababa Highway). These are shown in Kenya Boran 1, as two fathers and their sons discuss difficult choices between old and new ways of responding to the complexity of changes occurring around them, each emphasizing different aspects of the problem and different strategies for confronting them which, in turn, promote view speculation as to the appropriateness and the outcome of their divergent ways of dealing with change.Kenya Boran 2 expands upon these themes by focusing on the life of Peter Boru, a 16 year old former herdsboy who has gone to the government boarding school in the town; his expression of his hopes, fears and aspirations is adroitly contrasted both with those of his unschooled neighbors in the rural cattle camps and with the bleak employment opportunities facing him in the modern sector, in the course of which some of the difficulties of existing national educational practices in promoting development are isolated and explored.The hallmark of both films is their earnest commitment to permitting the Boran to define the issues that confront them in their own vernacular terms, expertly subtitled without the imposition of directed interpretative commentary… The overall result is a series of remarkably intimate and realistic scenes, attractively films with an absence of conspicuous staging or obvious show-biz; indeed, they move with a natural rhythm and pace that engenders an authentic sense of the problems, and of the sorts of ideas and feelings that individual Boran bring to bear in deciding on appropriate response to change.The prevailing tone of both films is their seriousness and deliberate instructional intent to provoke analytic responses from viewers. Their principal value lies in presenting the evidence in such a fashion as to force viewers to arrive at their own conslusions about the course of action that seems most appropriate based on the film/essay evidence." — Alan Jacobs, Western Michigan University, American Anthropologist, 1977

Films in the Kenya series

Boran Herdsmen

Boran Women
Harambee: Pull Together
Kenya Boran

About the Faces of Change Collection

Faces of Change is comprised of 25 films that examine five cultures selected for their distinct geographic locations: starting with the China Coast at sea level and moving up to Taiwan, then to Afghanistan, Kenya and finally to the mountains of Bolivia. Each location is examined through five themes: Rural Society, Education, Rural Economy, Women, and Beliefs.

This innovative collection of 16mm films and videos was funded by the National Science Foundation, produced by Norman Miller and directed by some of the finest ethnographic filmmakers of its time.

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Diary of a Maasai Village series

Wed, 5 Sep 2018 11:07:00 GMT

Diary of a Maasai Village series
Buy Now: $1,360.00

"A rich man in Maasai has children and cows.... and he has wives - many wives."

This series of five films by Melissa Llewelyn-Davies looks at daily life among the Maasai. The films are presented as a diary of a 7-week visit to a single village. The structure is episodic and the content dependent on various events or stories, some of which are developed through more than one film. The tapes can be used independently or together, to give an in-depth sense of Maasai life.

The senior man in the village is the most important Maasai prophet and magician who is known as the Laibon. He is regarded as a wealthy man because he has so many wives and children. He has 13 wives living in the village as well as a large number of children, about 20 daughters-in-law, and 30 grandchildren. All the main characters in the films are somehow related to the Laibon, who was nearly 80 years old when the films were made.

A common thread to the events of all five films is the ever-present anxiety about the state of the herds. These appear to be slowly depleting due to drought, disease and an increasing need to sell livestock for cash. Cash and/or livestock are needed by the Laibon and his kin to trade for wives, to pay off debts and to compensate for previous thefts.

Films in the Diary of a Maasai Village Series

Part 1: The Prophet's Village

Part 2: Two Ways Of Justice

Part 3: Two Mothers

Part 4: Two Journeys

Part 5: Nine Cows And An Ox

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Diary of a Maasai Village, Part 1

Thu, 30 Aug 2018 07:04:00 GMT

Diary of a Maasai Village, Part 1
Buy Now: $320.00

The Prophet's Village examines the problem of maintaining enough cattle to supply milk and meat versus selling off cattle to raise money for maize, antibiotics and pesticides; cash is also needed to pay for legal fees for Rerenko, the Laibon's son.

About the Diary of a Maasai Village series

Part 1: The Prophet's Village

Part 2: Two Ways Of Justice

Part 3: Two Mothers

Part 4: Two Journeys

Part 5: Nine Cows And An Ox

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Diary of a Maasai Village, Part 2

Thu, 30 Aug 2018 07:04:00 GMT

Diary of a Maasai Village, Part 2
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In this episode of Diary of a Maasai Village, the film follows the story of the young men of the village. Young men are ritually prohibited from eating grain. Several of them steal one of the Laibon's goats and then must make reparations.

About the Diary of a Maasai Village series

Part 1: The Prophet's Village

Part 2: Two Ways Of Justice

Part 3: Two Mothers

Part 4: Two Journeys

Part 5: Nine Cows And An Ox

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Diary of a Maasai Village, Part 3

Thu, 30 Aug 2018 07:04:00 GMT

Diary of a Maasai Village, Part 3
Buy Now: $320.00

Two Mothers focuses on gender relationships in a Maasai village. The principal events for the women are a "coming out ox" ritual and the birth of a child; for the men, the birth of a calf is the central theme.

About the Diary of a Maasai Villageseries

Thisseries of five films by Melissa Llewelyn-Davies looks at daily life among theMaasai. The films are presented as a diary of a 7-week visit to a singlevillage. The structure is episodic and the content dependent on various eventsor stories, some of which are developed through more than one film. The tapescan be used independently or together, to give an in-depth sense of Maasailife. The series includes the following five films:

Part 1: The Prophet's Village

Part 2: Two Ways Of Justice

Part 3: Two Mothers

Part 4: Two Journeys

Part 5: Nine Cows And An Ox

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Diary of a Maasai Village, Part 4

Thu, 30 Aug 2018 07:04:00 GMT

Diary of a Maasai Village, Part 4
Buy Now: $320.00

Two Journeys is the fourth episode in the Diary of a Maasai Village series. This episode contrasts the journey of Miisia's new wife back to his village with that of Tipaia's to sell cattle for Rerenko's legal fees.

About the Diary of a Maasai Villageseries

Thisseries of five films by Melissa Llewelyn-Davies looks at daily life among theMaasai. The films are presented as a diary of a 7-week visit to a singlevillage. The structure is episodic and the content dependent on various eventsor stories, some of which are developed through more than one film. The tapescan be used independently or together, to give an in-depth sense of Maasailife. The series includes the following five films:

Part 1: The Prophet's Village

Part 2: Two Ways Of Justice

Part 3: Two Mothers

Part 4: Two Journeys

Part 5: Nine Cows And An Ox

Visit Kenya to see additional products in this category.

Diary of a Maasai Village, Part 5

Thu, 30 Aug 2018 07:04:00 GMT

Diary of a Maasai Village, Part 5
Buy Now: $320.00

This final segment of the series, Diary of a Maasai Village, depicts the ceremony known as the "ox of ilbaa," from which Miisia emerges, acknowledged as a man.

About the Diary of a Maasai Villageseries

Thisseries of five films by Melissa Llewelyn-Davies looks at daily life among theMaasai. The films are presented as a diary of a 7-week visit to a singlevillage. The structure is episodic and the content dependent on various eventsor stories, some of which are developed through more than one film. The tapescan be used independently or together, to give an in-depth sense of Maasailife. The series includes the following five films:

Part 1: The Prophet's Village

Part 2: Two Ways Of Justice

Part 3: Two Mothers

Part 4: Two Journeys

Part 5: Nine Cows And An Ox

Visit Kenya to see additional products in this category.

Five Species

Wed, 29 Aug 2018 14:53:00 GMT

Five Species
Buy Now: $320.00

Three species of monkeys and two apes living in their natural habitat in Africa are compared in this video. The monkeys include the veret, the blue monkey and the black and white colobus, while the apes are common chimpanzees and eastern lowland gorillas. This footage, shot by a primatologist, includes nuances of behavior and social interaction which are not usually included in more commercial productions. Many sequences are long enough to allow the observer to watch behavior unfold between animals and learn what kinds of details to look for in live observation. The same types of behavior are recorded for each species (as much as possible) to permit comparisons to be drawn between diet and foraging patterns, infant care, locomotion and predator defense mechanisms. The videos are intended to allow the audience to see the same types of behavior by different species in different habitats and to draw the comparisons themselves. This format provides a condensed view of the life of several species thus emphasizing the variability and the adaptive nature of primates rather than focusing on the details of one form. This is a useful teaching device. The particular areas of interest in this video are the inclusion of the rarely filmed blue monkey, black and white colobus and eastern lowland gorilla, as well as the division of a monkey carcass by the chimpanzees and the interactions between humans and blue monkeys in a park in Nairobi.

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Harambee

Wed, 29 Aug 2018 13:27:00 GMT

Harambee
Buy Now: $495.00

Harambee is a traditional Swahili chant meaning heave-ho or pull together the slogan for a united Kenya. Harambee Day or Independence Day is celebrated in this small town in North Kenya with political speeches and an auction at the native school. The film shows how North Kenya- isolated for years- tries to adapt to the new concept of nationhood. Government officials from South Kenya are appointed as ambassadors to spread the idea of national unity to a people unaccustomed to it.

Films in the Kenya series

Boran Herdsmen

Boran Women
Harambee: Pull Together
Kenya Boran

About the Faces of Change Collection

This innovative collection of 16mm films and videos was funded by the National Science Foundation, produced by Norman Miller and directed by some of the finest ethnographic filmmakers of its time.

Visit Kenya to see additional products in this category.

Kenya Boran

Wed, 29 Aug 2018 11:13:00 GMT

Kenya Boran
Buy Now: $495.00

In the midst of a traditional herding territory, a growing town and a new road encroach upon a once-isolated desert people. The complexities brought about by this modernization are shown as two fathers and their sons confront difficult choices between old ways and new.

The first part of the film provides the social, economic, and political background of the Boran and introduce themes developed in detail in other films. It establishes a base line for traditional lifestyles and attitudes, increasingly subject to pressures — both intentional and incidental — for change. The second part shows the complex set of educational problems facing young people and governments in a typical Third World setting. It has special relevance in courses that focus on comparative education, socialization and learning.

In its second half, the film follows the life of Peter Boru, a sixteen-year-old former herdsboy who has become a boarding school student. Peter's life is juxtaposed to a traditional herdsboy, Dokata. The question, "Education for what?" is posed when both tradition and modern forces common to developing areas make the economic outlook bleak for young people, even if they are able to complete local educational requirements.

Films in the Kenya series

Boran Herdsmen

Boran Women
Harambee: Pull Together
Kenya Boran

About the Faces of Change Collection

This innovative collection of 16mm films and videos was funded by the National Science Foundation, produced by Norman Miller and directed by some of the finest ethnographic filmmakers of its time.

Visit Kenya to see additional products in this category.