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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
This 5 page report discusses the film “Magical
Death,” produced by anthropologist Napoleon Chagnon and
ethnographic filmmaker Timothy Asch. Magical Death, made in 1973,
portrays Yanomami shamans causing a trance through taking
psycho-active drug “ebene.” They do this in order to be able to
contact their spirit helpers or “hekura” for assistance and
guidance in times of sickness or adversity. Bibliography lists 3
sources.
Page Count:
5 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_BWmdeath.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
helpers or "hekura" for assistance and guidance in times of sickness or adversity. Bibliography lists 3 sources. BWmdeath.rtf "Magical Death"
By: C.B. Rodgers - October 2001 -- for more information on using this paper properly! Introduction "Magical Death" is just one of anthropologist Napoleon
Chagnon and ethnographic filmmaker Timothy Aschs collaborative projects that document the lives and culture of an indigenous Lowland South American society in Venezuela. Their more than forty films resulted in
making the Yanomami of this particular village are one of the most visually well-represented aboriginal peoples in 20th century anthropological studies. According to Tiffany and Adams (1996), the films made
by Chagnon and Asch throughout the 1970s: ". . . made over a quarter of a century ago, provide vivid - frequently startling - scenarios of an aggressively masculine world
of club fights, chest-pounding duels, treacherous feasts, sorcery, drug-ingesting, misogynist origin myths, and derogations of women as drudges and trouble-makers. These visual representations are reinforced by the Fierce People designation
in Chagnons [1968] widely-read ethnography" (pp. 169). Focus on the Yanomami Many of the films made by Chagnon and Asch focus on the day-to-day life of the Yanomami and
have titles such as Weeding the Garden, A Man and His Wife Make a Hammock, and Firewood. Magical Death, made in 1973, portrays Yanomami shamans causing a trance through taking
psycho-active drug "ebene." They do this in order to be able to contact their spirit helpers or "hekura" for assistance and guidance in times of sickness or adversity. In a
review of the movie for American Anthropologist in 1975, Eric Almquist noted that Magical Death "is a testing ground for cultural tolerance, a test which most of us would have
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