The MacDougalls] capture and convincingly portray the Turkana as individuals who are caught up in their world and vicissitudes.B. Blount
72 minutes Colour 1981
Film-makers: David and Judith MacDougall
In this final segment of the MacDougalls' trilogy on the Turkana of northern Kenya, they consider the role of women in the society. The film begins with a diary as the MacDougalls allow the audience to follow them while they search for an elusive wedding they want to film. Along the way they stay with friends and talk with them about the role of Turkana women.
Three sisters talk about the parts of life that are important to them, the nomadic life, the traditions, taking care of the animals. The Turkana are polygamous and many men have five or more wives. When the MacDougalls ask about jealousy, one woman replies that they are talking about their own culture, not the Turkana. Among the Turkana a man is not fully married until he has more than one wife; to have only one wife is a misfortune. As a Turkana woman points out, a society that has only one wife per household is one where houses are bought and not built by the inhabitants. Wives need each other because of the work they do. A wife alone would carry a heavy burden, building the house, taking care of the herds, and seeing to all the other parts of life. A first wife is often the one who asks her husband to take a second wife and no new wife is chosen without the approval of the other wives.
The MacDougalls continue their stay as the wedding season approaches. They keep asking about prospective marriages but everyone is vague. Only God knows when a marriage will be. Strangers begin to arrive in the area, however. They are men looking for wives. They play games, talk, and wait. Finally Kongu wants to take Akai, a woman young enough to be his daughter, as his fifth wife and negotiations for the bridewealth begin. A problem is evident when Akai doesn't want to get married and runs away. According to one man, women have recently begun to go off with men of their own choosing.
The MacDougalls use a provocative style for this film, asking the Turkana about their ideas for relevant questions and about which important aspects of life they should film. At one point they give the camera to a Turkana woman and ask her to film.
It is suggested that this film be shown with the other films of the "Turkana Conversations" trilogy (Lorang's Way and The Wedding Camels, both discussed in the RAI Film Library Catalogue, Volume I). Catalogue number (16mm): 7RA100 £21.
G. Best, 1983. Culture and Language of the Turkana, N.W. Kenya. Carl Winter, Heidelberg. [A linguistic analysis.]
B. Blount, 1984. Review of the film. American Anthropologist, Vol. 86, pp. 803-6.
University of Durham, 1983. Durham University South Turkana Expedition. Durham.
P.H. Gulliver, 1955. The Family Herds: A Study of Two Pastoral Tribes on East Africa , the Jie and Turkana. Routledge & Kegan Paul, London.
P.H. Gulliver, 1960. `Jie Marriage'. In S. Ottenberg and P. Ottenberg (eds.) Cultures and Societies of Africa. Random House, New York.
D. MacDougall, 1975. `Beyond Observational Cinema.' In P. Hockings (ed.)Principles of Visual Anthropology, Mouton, The Hague.
D. MacDougall, 1978. `Ethnographic Film: Failure and Promise'. Annual Review of Anthropology, Vol. 7, pp. 405-25.
D. MacDougall, 1982. `Unprivileged Camera Style'. RAIN, No. 50, pp. 8-10.
C. Young, 1982. `MacDougall Conversations'. RAIN, No. 50, pp. 5-8.
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