Battack / Batak People of Sumatra Malaysia (1929)
1929 · Short film · 12 min
Synopsis
This black & white silent educational film is a study of the Battak people of Sumatra, Indonesia, conducted by the Anthropology Department of Harvard University. Copyright 1929. Opening title: Peoples And Cultures of the World - The Battak of Sumatra (:07-:49) (also spelled Batak). Sumatra, one of the largest islands of the Malay Archipelago. Map of Asia, Australia, New Zealand, New Guinea, An arrow points out where Sumatra is in relation. Map of Sumatra, Boreno, Malay Peninsula. Battak Country in Sumatra is pointed out. Northwestern highlands. A village of the Battak. Palm trees, a village hut. Village at the base of a mountain (:50-2:42). Houses are built on piles to be above the ground. The tops of the houses. People walk around the village. Many houses in a row. A villager is bent over as he ties wood sticks together. A baby stands as an adult walks down a ladder. A woman who is the Battak village. A woman has a baby and children, they stare at the camera. Men look at the camera (2:43-5:14). A Battak man smiles at the camera, shows his blackened teeth. A woman wears a silver ornament. She smiles. Women with ornaments look at the camera. Battak use long pointed sticks and plow the field as a unit (5:15-7:12). A woman eats a betel-nut and line, a narcotic for the Battak people. A rice mill where women pound the grain into flour. Inside a house, women find cool places to sit and weave. A woman weaves as children sit near her (7:13-9:00). Men are seated, some are standing.…
Uploader's description on archive.org
Details
- Running time
- 12 minutes
- Collection
- Ephemeral Films
Subjects on the Internet Archive
- 1929
- Battack
- Batak
- Sumatra
- Malaysia
- Harvard
- Stock Footage
