Spear and Sword - A Payment of Bridewealth on the Island of Roti, Eastern Indonesia
0.0/ 10 0 votes 1988-01-01 0h 22m 0 popularity
This traditionally ethnographic sequence film focuses on the negotiations betwen representatives of two families during a payment of bridewealth. In the past the husband's group would carry a spear and a sword to hang in the wife's house. Now, a payment is made as a substitute for the spear and sword. The payment of bridewealth is a long and complex ceremony in which representatives from the husband and wife's family engage in a heated negotiation process. The bride and groom are completely excluded from the negotiations and never appear in the film.
Director: James J. Fox
