Black Tents: Nomadism in Southern Iran
odd: label: Local Numbers
content: HSFA 2004.9.1
name: label: Collection Creator
content: Stauffer, Thomas Reynolds, 1935-
setName: label: See more items in
content: Thomas Stauffer films
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 2 Film reels (color silent; 2,347 feet, 16mm)
label: Extent
content: Sound recordings
unitdate: label: Date
content: circa 1964
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Human Studies Film Archives
objectType: label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Film reels
label: Type
content: Sound recordings
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: Edited film shot by Thomas Stauffer documenting nomadic life in southern Iran. First film reel captures daily life including: herding and tending sheep; making butter from goat's milk; washing clothes and livestock; hunting on horseback; men cleaning and cooking game, women cooking flatbread and rice; sharing a meal; making carpets and weaving on large scale (including carding sheepskin and spinning thread); men stick dancing and playing music; women dancing with scarves in large circle. Second reel captures the transportation and settlement of a camp, including: packing, loading livestock with belongings, the journey itself, and the setup of a new camp. Once settled, footage captures adults at leisure (drinking tea, smoking, playing games) and children in school (writing and performing math equations in a mixed-gender class). Footage is of men, women, and children and does not tend to follow specific individuals. Setting is arid valley surrounded by mountains; map depicting southern Iran is used to trace typical nomadic pathways through the Zagros Mountains.

Supplementary materials:  2004 sound annotation by Thomas Stauffer