CUYAGUA

[Henley's] cinematic documentation has opened up a virtually unknown geographical area of Afro-America ... Anthropologists and historians doing comparative studies between African and African-derived cultures could benefit from many months of analysis of his film. G. Kubik

108 minutes Colour 1987

Film-maker: Paul Henley

Each part of this film has been edited so that it can be screened alone or in sequence, though certain features of Part Two may not be fully appreciated by those who have not seen Part One. Both films were made by Paul Henley during his second year as a Leverhulme Film Fellow at the National Film and Television School. In March 1987 at the Bilan Ethnographique in Paris Devil Dancers won the Prix Mario Ruspoli, awarded by the French Ministry of Culture.

No extended anthropological study of the community of Cuyagua has yet been carried out, though general background information about the social and economic conditions of the communities of African descent on the central Venezuelan coast is to be found in the references listed in the bibliography. This film would be of use to classes in anthropology, Latin American studies, religion, Afro-Caribbean culture, ethnicity, ritual, music and dance. Part Two could also be used for women's studies courses.

PART ONE—DEVIL DANCERS

52 minutes

The people of Cuyagua, a small village on the Venezuelan Caribbean coast, are descended from African slaves brought to work on the local cacao plantation in the eighteenth century. Some villagers still work on the plantation, which is now run as a co-operative. But it is only in their celebration of major Catholic feast-days that they have conserved clear traces of their forefathers' cultural traditions. Even this last residue is now threatened by the emigration of young people to the cities.

Devil Dancers is based around a portrait of the two men who direct an exclusively male ritual performed on Corpus Christi, a Catholic feast-day that falls 60 days after Easter. Between them, they describe the history of the village and explain how Devil Dancing is organised. They also tell some of the stories associated with the event. A recurrent theme is that the Devil himself, whom they refer to as "Mandinga" may be attracted by the dancing. But nobody was expecting-least of all the film-makers - that Mandinga would choose to make a dramatic personal appearance whilst the camera was actually turning. Catalogue-numbers, (16mm): RA183 £18; (VHS): RA/VHS183 £8 

PART TWO-THE SAINT WITH TWO FACES

56 minutes

The Feast of St John the Baptist begins two or three weeks after Corpus Christi, on June 23rd. According to biblical tradition, St John lived in the desert, renouncing the pleasures of this world. But the people of Cuyagua think of him as a flamboyantly dressed young man, with a passion for making merry.

Although men provide drum music and join in the dancing, the celebration of St John's Feast is a predominantly female affair in Cuyagua, based on a large body of women's songs. The Saint with Two Faces introduces some of the leading women followers of St John, both at work cleaning the beach for tourists, and at home with their children. A group of these women describe their beliefs about St John and the way in which they organise his Feast. But these preliminary scenes also serve to establish the themes that will underlie the Feast itself-an extraordinary conjunction of the sacred and the profane, of celebration and mourning. Catalogue numbers, (16mm): RA183 £18; (VHS): RA/VHS183 £8.

T. Asch, 1989. Review of the film. Visual Anthropology, Vol. 2, pp. 210-12.

G. Kubik, 1988. Review of the film. Yearbook of Traditional Music, Vol. 1, pp. 255-57.

D.F. Maza Zavala, 1968. `La Estructura Económica de Una Plantación Colonial en Venezuela'. In E. Arcila Farias et al. (eds.) La Obra Pía de Chuao 1568-1825, pp. 51-112. Universidad Central de Venezuela, Caracas. [General socio-economic background to the area.]

A. Pollak-Eltz, 1979. `Migration from Barlovento to Caracas'. In L. Margolies (ed.) The Venezuelan Peasant in Country and City, pp. 29-40. Ediva, Caracas.

Descriptions of the celebration of Devil Dancing or the Feast of San Juan in neighbouring communities are to be found in:

A.J. Ochoa Mendoza, 1954. `San Juan en Ocumare de la Costa'. Boletín del Instituto de Folklore (Caracas), Vol. 1, No. 7, pp. 181-86.

A. Pollak-Eltz, 1983. `Masks and Masquerade in Venezuela'. In N.R. Crumrine & M. Halpin (eds.) The Power of Symbols: Masks and Masquerade in the Americas, pp. 177-91. University of British Columbia Press, Vancouver.

Texts dealing with the celebration of comparable syncretic festivals in the Caribbean include:

R. Dirks, 1975. `Slaves' Holiday'. Natural History, Vol. 84, No. 10, pp. 82-90.

N. de Friedemann, 1986. `The Wooden Masks and Animal Disguises of Barranquilla Conga Groups'. In R.S. Bryce-Laporte (ed.) Street Carnivals: The New Immigrants' Contribution to Urban America. Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC.

Relevant general texts on Afro-Caribbean societies and their culture include:

R. Bastide, 1971 (1967). African Civilizations in the New World. (Trans. P. Green; first published Payot, Paris). Hurst, London.

N. Whitten & J. Szwed, 1970. Afro-American Anthropology. Free Press, New York.

If you are interested in hiring or purchasing this film please contact the Film Officer by or +44(0)20 7387 0455. 

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