In the movie Waiting for Harry we see art as a ritual as well as an essential part of social life and visual communication. The first part of the ritual painting of the coffin and bones for the funeral rites is building the private shade area where the men work. The shade area separates the men who are concerned with the ceremonial duties and the women who collect the food. The shade is important because each ritual has its own special area where it takes place. (The painting, the dancing, the placing of the coffin, etc. Even the tribal land they're camping on is sacred.) It is an area designated for making a certain kind of special. Next, the men begin planning what they're going to paint on the coffin and where to place the auspicious signs. Each person is assigned what to paint. This is not the time for "careless art, " as Robert Layton might call it, but instead highly specific art. In fact, the art for this ritual is representative; the pictures have meaning. They're meant to be visually communicative. It's not even enough to paint the symbols on the coffin if they're not done well. Paintings done correctly brings honor to the deceased man. We're told that the last time Les Hiatt attended one of these ceremonies the other group took one look at the coffin, proclaimed it unfit, and walked away. There is some criticism around a few of the pictures but luckily the men are satisfied. I thought it was interesting that this ritual ceremony unites people largely through the experience of art who don't even speak the same language. This whole interaction itself is quite a ritual expression of art, the way the coffin and then the bones are painted, the carving of the sand sculpture. The Anbarra people further incorporate art into their ritual and social life by painting their bodies for the funeral ceremony. This is something everyone partakes in from men to women and even children. The art that is being done is a way of passing on cultural tradition since Frank says "we build it now like they did in the old days before the Europeans." While many of the Anbarra people were dressed like Europeans, their art is one thing that continually distinguishes them from Western culture.
As far as the relationship between the anthropologists/ filmers and the people they're studying, it seems like the Anbarra people have accepted Les Hiatt. Frank refers to him as a brother and says that he will be responsible for his and Harry's burials one day. He seems to want to tell his story through the film which I think is really great. But I am surprised that Harry allowed the ceremony to occur in the daytime so that it could be filmed. For something so serious as the burial of a beloved uncle and the crossing of his spirit into the afterlife I would have thought that a little more tradition would be observed. It's great that we're able to learn about the culture of these people but it's rather sad that they have to be changed so that we can learn about them.
You're right, the presence of art in the ceremony was highly crucial to it being done properly. The film was a definite expression of the lengths small-scale subsistence groups go through to make sure that their beliefs are properly honored. You did a nice job stressing the importance of the ritual being undertook properly.
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