Newari Film Project (1986.13.1-19)
odd: label: General
content: Local Numbers: HSFA 1986.13.1-19
name: label: Collection Creator
content: National Anthropological Film Center (U.S.)
label: Collection Creator
content: Johnson, Barbara
label: Collection Creator
content: Dorjee, Ragpa
label: Collection Creator
content: Reinhard, Johan
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Anthropological Film Center films of Nepal
label: See more items in
content: National Anthropological Film Center films of Nepal / Newari Film Project (1986.13.1)
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 1 Film reel (color sound, 16mm)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1978
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Human Studies Film Archives
objectType: label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Film reels
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: Film footage shot by Barbara Johnson among the Jyapu subcaste of the Newars of Tawnany Tole, Thecho village in Kathmandu Valley, Nepal: September 16, CR55, the latter part of a several hour Buddhist full-moon ceremony (the Phuni Puja during Yenya Phuni) in the Tawnany Tole courtyard. The ceremony continues outside in spite of a lasting but light rain. The several men and boys and the women who are participating sit in rows around all four sides of the courtyard's Buddha statue sharing umbrellas. The Gubaju, or Buddhist priest, wears a wide red sash diagonally across his left shoulder. The participants enclose grains of rice in their palms which they then hold vertically and close to their chests as the priest prays; when he rings a bell they chant and sing. They raise their hands in unison above their heads, lower their heads and then their hands. At the end of the song they toss the grains into the air and unfold their hands. Other villagers stand around and watch. One adolescent girl holds her 1 - 2 yr. old brother or nephew, their faces close together, subtly interacting. Then her mother teasingly play-hits her daughter's head, and the young boy imitates her, repeatedly hitting his sister/aunt, which she tolerates without protest. Phuni Puja lasted 1 -2 hours after filming stopped, and ended with the Gubaju giving tikas to all the participants. See filmmaker's daily log for a description of nighttime processions that took place in Thecho that evening, the night of the full moon. On September 17, CR 56, the morning following the Puja, some film shot in the third floor kitchen of the house next to where the filmmaker stayed. The family who lives there operates a drinking and gambling "shop" in their kitchen which attracts small numbers of local men many nights of the week.The mother is cooking while her youngest daughter, Cyrimaya, lies on the floor. Glass bottles used to store twon (rice beer) can be seen.Outside, children play in the courtyard way-house as the rain continues. Two boys wash and stack leaves left over from the ceremony the day before in the small brick lined square which encloses the image of the serpent deity or "Nag", in front of the Buddha statue. A group of 4 - 8 year old boys talk, tease and splash barefoot in courtyard puddles. Girls are crocheting in the wayhouse. Later as the sun comes out people sit near the Buddha statue. A girl continues to crochet. A mother calls to an older daughter and tells her to hurry somewhere, while she sits and enjoys playing with her young son. CR 57 continues in the late afternoon of Sept. 17. Three courtyard women work together cleaning mustard seed, winnowing it to let the debris fly out of it and letting the seeds accumulate in a large central pile.The cooperative work proceeds in a social atmosphere of talking, smiling, sharing a cigarette. The women's husbands bring them more sacks of mustard seeds, which are one of the agricultural specialties of Thecho, used to make the cooking oil used throughout the Kathmandu Valley. Thecho farmers use mustard oil for trading with other villages in the valley. Many women and children are in the courtyard at this time of day. A group of boys plays near the Buddha statue. A grandmother comes to remove a toddler who has begun to get into the seeds. Another crawling baby is tolerated by her mother, saying "be, be" meaning give, or move away, until she makes eye contact with the same grandmother, who comes to remove the child. More children are tolerated near the edge of the work area.