Publication
Watertown, MA : Documentary Educational Resources, c2008 (1988). Two discs, 91 min.
Call number
DVD / Front Desk
Original publication date
1988
Collections
CSS Library Notes
Description: this feature-length documentary explores the traditional dance, Music and spiritual world of that Yupik Eskimo people of Emmonak, a remote village at the mouth of the Yukon River on the Bering Sea coast.
The drums of winter gives an infinite look at a web life of which most of us haven't seen only glimpses. Dance was once the heart Yupik Eskimo spiritual and social life. It was the bridge between the ancient and the new, the living and the dead and a persons own power and the greater powers of the unseen world.
In the drums of winter, the people of Emmonak Telus group actuality's and interviews, how their history, social values and spiritual believes or woven around the songs and dances that have been handed down to them through the generations. We also learned that is not just old songs that are important: new songs and dance movements are created to reflect modern life with all its complexities. Each time a person gets up to dance, you strengthening the continuity of the ages, and insuring survival of his culture.
The film follows the elders of Emmonak as they prepare for the coming ceremonial gathering (potlatch) with a neighboring village. In the Kashim (qasgiq or men's house) they practice their songs and painstakingly work out the motions of the dances. Each movement has meaning and plays a part in telling a story. In the days before television, radio, bingo and weekly basketball games, dance with the sole means of entertainment.
Throughout the film, archival photographs and film footage accompany the words of the early missionaries who brought Christianity to the area. These sequences provide historical context for the film and give us a strong sense of the resilience of Yup'ik culture, having survive despite a century of missionary suppression.
FY2006 / jvsn
The drums of winter gives an infinite look at a web life of which most of us haven't seen only glimpses. Dance was once the heart Yupik Eskimo spiritual and social life. It was the bridge between the ancient and the new, the living and the dead and a persons own power and the greater powers of the unseen world.
In the drums of winter, the people of Emmonak Telus group actuality's and interviews, how their history, social values and spiritual believes or woven around the songs and dances that have been handed down to them through the generations. We also learned that is not just old songs that are important: new songs and dance movements are created to reflect modern life with all its complexities. Each time a person gets up to dance, you strengthening the continuity of the ages, and insuring survival of his culture.
The film follows the elders of Emmonak as they prepare for the coming ceremonial gathering (potlatch) with a neighboring village. In the Kashim (qasgiq or men's house) they practice their songs and painstakingly work out the motions of the dances. Each movement has meaning and plays a part in telling a story. In the days before television, radio, bingo and weekly basketball games, dance with the sole means of entertainment.
Throughout the film, archival photographs and film footage accompany the words of the early missionaries who brought Christianity to the area. These sequences provide historical context for the film and give us a strong sense of the resilience of Yup'ik culture, having survive despite a century of missionary suppression.
FY2006 / jvsn
Library's review
Filmed in 1988 in Emmonak, Alaska a remote village where the Yukon empties into the Bering Sea, the Yup'ik Eskimo villagers prepare for a potlach ceremony and the arrival of neighboring villagers. Archival footage is mixed with interviews with elders, scenes of family life, preparing the dance
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hall, fixing costumes, practicing traditional and new dance steps and songs, and portions of the ceremony itself. Subtle and moving. In 2006 the Library of Congress' National Film Preservation Board choose this film and 24 others for it's permanent preservation collection for it's cultural and aesthetic importance. Made by ethnographic filmmakers Sarah M. Elder and Leonard J. Kamerling. Two discs, total runtime of 91 min. Show Less
Physical description
4.75 inches
Language
Original language
Yupik languages