Friday, October 21, 2011
Waiting For Harry
Watching the movie "Waiting for Harry", I was amazed with the length and process of the funeral and all the aspects that go into planning and building the event. I have a fascination with funerals and how they are conducted within different cultures and religions. This funeral was really visually beautiful because of the process in which it was planned and the duration of time it took in order to fulfill the ritual. The hut where the bodies were kept served as a multi purpose structure for men to meet and gather, which was interesting because they were next to the bones, It was like they were including the dead in there leisure time. I liked the art that was drawn on the log coffin where crows would perch and how it told a story. My favorite part of this ritual was the painting of the bones. It reminded of me of sugar skulls in the mexican culture. Sugar skulls are used during day of the dead and are decorations around cemeteries or decoration around shrines created for a deceased loved one. The celebratory aspect of the funeral is very visually beautiful also and I appreciated the history behind each part. The relationship between death and music is amazing. All songs were either about the deceased or about the funeral process. Many all cultures or religions have a strong connection to music when concerning a funeral. Also, the connection with animals and death are very appealing to me because of how they help tell the story and are part of the healing too.
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To put it in terms of last weeks's talk about making sense...it seems like the Anbarra people are making sense of death through their dancing, singing, chanting, painting, etc. These are not only expressions of art with cultural history behind them, but it is n example of making sense on a personal level. It was neat to see how fundamental art is to the actual history of these people.
ReplyDeleteI like that you wrote about music and dance in the funeral and mentioned death. Watching the film, it is sort of easy to forget that death is the reason for this whole ritual...it doesn't seem particularly sad. When we watch the film, it's easy to see all the art making and forget the real emotion that's the driving force. Thanks!
I can agree with you that the funeral process of the Anbara people was really fascinating. The detail and time put into was incredible. Music does have so much of an effect during important rituals and ceremonies in any culture. It was interesting how their funeral and its process was so full of joy while sending the deceased to the next world. There was virtually no sadness (unless I missed something) which is amazing to imagine because I think most Americans see funerals as these sad events, but really they are meant to celebrate someone's life.
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