Waiting for Harry

The film Waiting for Harry is anthropologist LES Hyett’s documentation of an aborigine funeral. They take us through the process of re-entombing the bones of Harry's uncle, following the proper burial rituals of that culture. When most noteworthy points of the film was the clear commitment that Henry had to documenting the funeral and the culturally important record for the tribe. Twice during this 52 min. documentary, he is shown speaking to the tribe but the film was for them, not just for whites or anthropologists or the film crew. They are aware of the films longevity and ability to document just not just the moment, but the words and thoughts of those in it. If funeral is not a short ritual. The process of re-entombing took longer than 3 weeks to complete. To authenticate the funeral it was necessary for many “important” people to be present, Harry being the most important of these important people. It is necessary for Harry to prove the symbols drawn on the coffin, for him to approve the painting of the bones, and for him to be present at the actual funeral. There are several very distinctive traits of ritual, and through that art, which we seen the film. The place in which the coffin is prepared is built particularly for that purpose, and is seen as a special man's place where women don't go. Religion, reflection, and art are seen to be the epitome of behavior., and generally reserved for men. Only at one time in the film did we observe a women creating an object, but perhaps this creation is the to them as a craft, not an art, if there is no metaphorical meaning to the object as there is with the painting of the coffin and the metaphorical animals portrayed. The songs connected to the meaning of the dances and other the artistic behaviors, giving the events multiple layers. The use of body paint was seen repetitively in the film and I wonder about the meaning of the red orcher that was used on the bones compared to the weight he that was used by the living dancers. To drawn symbols on the coffin were explained to us but the meaning of the colors used, if there were any.  Music was heard throughout the film.  Perhaps because the movie was made for the tribe themselves, they didn't feel it was necessary to elaborate on the “common knowledge” metaphors and meaning.