A Rite of Passage

Object Details

Collection Collaborator: McElwee, Ross; Blitz, Daniel; Bishop, John Melville; Baker, Peter; Ritchie, Claire; Young, Robert; Terry, John; Galvin, Frank; Bestall, Clifford; Gardner, Robert; Asch, Timothy, 1932-1994
Collection Creator: Marshall, John, 1932-2005
Collection Collaborator: Marshall, Lorna

See more items in: John Marshall Ju/'hoan Bushman film and video collection; John Marshall Ju/'hoan Bushman film and video collection / Series 2: Published Films and Videos

Sponsor: Finding aid has been funded through generous support from the Arcadia Fund.

Collection Citation: The John Marshall Ju/'hoan Bushman Film and Video Collection, 1950-2000, Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Institution.

Collection Rights: Contact the repository for terms of use. Information on reproduction and fees available from repository.

Scope and Contents: This short film, shot in 1952-53 with some additional shooting in 1955, explores the "marking" ceremony that is held for young Ju/'hoan men after they hunt and kill their first large animal. In A RITE OF PASSAGE, /Ti!kay, a boy of thirteen, shoots his first wildebeest with an arrow. /Ti!kay's father, Kan//a, and, Crooked /Qui help the young hunter track, skin, and butcher the animal. After the meat is brought back to the village, a scarification ceremony takes place, symbolizing the importance of hunting and /Ti!kay's passage into social manhood. Titles, audio, and some film from an unpublished earlier, longer version of this film exist; see 2005.11.51 in Series 3.

Collection Restrictions: The John Marshall Ju/'hoan Bushman Film and Video Collection is open for research. Please contact the Archives for availabilty of access copies of audio visual recordings. Original audiovisual material in the Human Studies Film Archives may not be played. Materials relating to Series 6 Production Files are restricted and not available for research until 2048, 2063, 2072. Kinship diagrams in Series 13 are restricted due to privacy concerns. Various copyrights and restrictions on commercial use apply to the reproduction or publication of film, video, audio, photographs, and maps.