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About
A group of Yanomami boys, ages four to ten, pretend to be shamen and imitate the drug-taking and hekura-spirit-calling ceremonies of their fathers. The children, using ashes as their "drug," blow it up each others nostrils and chant and dance as if under the influence of ebene. Near the end they attempt to draw out the evil spirits in a "sick" boy and effect a shamanistic cure.
This short film of children's "play" explores how children imitate their parents and prepare for adult life. Young boys can become real shaman at the age of 16 or 17. The film, Magical Death, also part of the Yanomamö series portrays a shamanistic event in the same community.
Children's Magical Death was restored by DER with funding from the National Film Preservation Foundation.
This film is included on the Yanomamö Shorts compilation DVD. This two-disc set includes the following remastered titles on Disc One: Arrow Game, Children's Magical Death, Climbing the Peach Palm, A Father Washes His Children, A Man and His Wife Make a Hammock and Weeding the Garden. Also included on Disc One: Firewood, Tapir Distribution and Tug-of-War. Disc Two includes: Dedeheiwä Rests in His Garden, Children Roasting Meat, A Woman Spins, Children Make a Toy Hammock, Sand Play, Playing in the Rain, Mouth Wrestling, and Young Shaman.
Films in the Yanomamö series:
Arrow Game *†
A Father Washes His Children *†
Firewood *
Jaguar, a Yanomamö Twin Cycle Myth
A Man and His Wife Make a Hammock *†
A Man Called Bee: Studying the Yanomamö †
Moonblood: A Yanomamö Creation Myth †
Myth of Naro, as told by Dedeheiwä
Myth of Naro, as told by Kaobawä
Yanomamö: A Multidisciplinary Study
* included on the Yanomamö Shorts compilation
† included in the Yanomamö Films: Remastered, Vol. 1 set
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