'Incidents from Daily Life of Aborigines in the Mann Ranges' is the final film production documenting the Board for Anthropological Research (BAR) expedition to Mann Range, South Australia during 25 May - 6 August 1933.
The BAR party consisting of NB Tindale (AA 338) and CJ Hackett (AA 122) who travelled by rail to Oodnadatta and then the 280 miles to Ernabella by truck. There the party was met by the leaseholder S Ferguson, whose nephew, A Brumby (AA 42), was secured as cameleer and guide. The party departed Ernabella on 13 June with a string of camels, loaded with equipment and food for two months journey along the Musgrave Ranges and on to the Mann Range. For a detailed itinerary and locations visited by the party see Tindale, NB & Hackett, CJ 'Preliminary report on field work among the aborigines of North-West of South Australia, May 31 to July 30th, 1933. Oceania, IV (1) 1933, pp.101-105.
During this time the BAR expedition members met and journeyed with members of the Pitjandjara and Jankunkjadjara peoples. Film shot by NB Tindale during this expedition was made into a final film production entitled 'A day in the Life of the natives of the Mann Range' which comprises footage shot on three successive days of a journey across the Mann Range and in the sand desert south of it. This production consists of Reels 1 - 3, and in addition Reel 4 consists an 'Initiation Ceremony' held at Konapandi. In total of 1,500 ft of film was exposed during the Mann Range expedition.
Tindale, Hackett and their party return to Ernabella on 30 July 1933 where they awaited the arrival of the Board for Anthropological Research party for the 'Ernabella' expedition which took place from 6-24 August 1933. See: Tindale's journal (AA 338/1/9), pp. 628, 663.
The original master copies of the Mann Range expedition films were processed in the BAR Film Catalogue as B#17 - B#20. This expedition film was previous held in the NB Tindale collection (AA 338) and was transferred into the BAR collection (AA 346) in December 2005.
The South Australian Museum Archives Master Preservation tape consists of (AA 346/9/7/1 - AA 346/9/7/4). Duration 39 minutes 05 seconds, with intertitles.
Note that film taken during the Mann Range and Ernabella (AA 346/9/8) expeditions have been used in both final film productions. Where possible this footage has been cross referenced with the corresponding time codes.
In this summary all intertitles are italicised and within quotation marks. All spelling within intertitles have been left as originally spelt. Language and terms which reflect the author's attitude or that of the period in which the item was produced may be considered inappropriate today.
The method adopted by BAR expeditions to undertake research and record the results involved assigning a unique number to each individual (here called 'individual subject number'). This number was given the expedition symbol as a prefix, and remained consistent throughout the research. This expedition was assigned the symbol 'I.' All individuals recorded during the expedition were assigned an individual subject number, for example [I27]. Where possible the 'individual subject number' of those who appear in film have been noted.
The time coded summary is in minutes and seconds. Following the summary of this film is a list of references. Formats Held: 16mm, SP Betacam, Digital Betacam, Access DVDs.
Summary (Time Coded): Taken from Access DVD 3 (AA 346/9/8/45)
00:00 'Mann Range, SA, 1933.'
00:00 'Cultural Sensitivity Warning.'
00:00 'The Museum Board of South Australia © 1933.'
01:30 'Mann Range, 1933. Reel One.'
01:35 'Adelaide University Anthropological Expedition. Native Reserve, May-June, 1933.'
01:44 'Incidents from Daily Life of Aborigines in the Mann Ranges.'
01:49 'Photography and Arrangement by Norman B Tindale Ethnologist SA Museum.'
01:54 Scene of the vicinity of Mann Range showing the mountain ranges and a distant view of the plains.
02:11 'Summary of events in winter when one hundred Pitjandjara natives moved across Mann Ranges towards sandhills near Tomkinson Range.'
02:17 Fade in as dawn breaks on the camp where people sleep around their low burning fires.
02:32' Chill of the clear night, with temperature of 22o Fahr. makes the old man restless; talk leads to a quarrel.'
02:38 Distant view of camp, men are seen walking excitedly around.
02:49 'DAYBREAK. An old man has been accused of incest and is parading his wrath.'
02:55 Distant view of camp, movement of persons from fire to fire. See: (AA 338/1/9), p.463.
03:16 'Children are only mildly interested in adult quarrels.'
03:20 Two girls watch the quarrel.
03:38 'SUNRISE. Women stir, carrying suggestions for the day's journey from camp to camp.'
03:42 Women walk from one camp to another.
03:55 Children warm themselves at a fire shelter behind a breakwind.
03:59 'Cold keeps them huddled by the fires even in their play.'
04:03 Further shot of children sheltering behind a breakwind.
04:22 'No food remains from yesterday; a woman brings water from rockhole for thirsty ones.'
04:26 A woman carries water back to camp.
04:36 'MORNING. Torn between desire for warmth and necessity of day's journey in search of food.'
04:42 An Australian Aboriginal man sits warming himself by a fire, his spears lay beside him.
04:52 The camp prepares to move.
05:18 'Forenoon is spent in traveling towards the next water.'
05:22 'Ten miles is normal journey for family parties.'
05:25 About 120 men, women and children leave camp on a ten mile journey lighting many fires along the route to keep warm. Firesticks are also carried.
05:30 'For warmth each person carries a fire stick.'
05:33 Families walk with their possessions and dogs.
05:59 'The cold breeze causes a halt to replenish firesticks.'
06:04 The group stops to replenish their firesticks, they then gather their possessions and continue on their journey.
06:37 'Women burdened with almost all the family possessions.'
06:41 Women walk carrying children as well as loaded bark dishes and digging sticks.
06:55 'Crossing a rocky pass in the ranges (Trew Gap).'
06:59 The group negotiates the rocky ground.
07:43 'FORENOON. Another pass; children show signs of thirst.'
07:48 Footage of a rocky pass.
07:55 'No water remains in the rocky crevice.'
07:59 A child searches for water amongst the crevices.
08:06 'One man remembers a small temporary water catchment.'
08:10 A man walks up a hill.
08:19 'His signals means "there is no water."'
08:23 The man signals from the hill.
08:31 The group continues on their journey.
08:52 'Another rockhole yields a copious draught.'
08:55 Children drink from a waterhole.
09:23 'Figs (Ficus platypods) grow among rocks about the pool.'
09:28 Fig tree and its fruit. See: (AA 338/1/9), p.515.
09:40 'NOON. Scattering in sandhill country to gather food.'
09:44 The group spreads out over the sandhills in search of food. (AA 346/1/9), p.475.
10:17 'Preparing a firestick to aid in the hunt.'
10:22 The preparation of firesticks, carried by a man and a boy.
10:44 'Wild dingo tracks claim attention.'
10:48 A man and boy follow dingo tracks.
11:25 'Tame representative of the animal they hunt.'
11:29 A tame dingo.
11:33 'Burning the twig mound of the house-building rat (Leporillus conditor).'
11:39 Fire consumes the twig mound. See: (AA 338/1/9), pp.539-541.
11:46 'Dogs capture the native rat.'
11:50 The fire drives the rat from its nest, which is then caught by dogs.
11:59 Man looks into a burrow .
12:05 Mann Range 1933. End of Reel One.
12:23 Mann Range 1933. Reel Two.
12:25 Hunting euro (a species of rock-frequenting kangaroo).
12:32 'Fire aids men in driving euro along the range.'
12:35 Australian Aboriginal men follow the euro's escaping the fire.
12:54 'Racing towards escaping euro; an animal is speared.'
12:58 Men ambush and spear the euro.
13:20 'Children collect smaller game while men are hunting.'
13:24 A young Australian Aboriginal boy pushes over a dead tree in search of food.
13:41 'Dead native poplar trees (Cononocarpus) yield borer grubs.'
13:46 The boy continues his search for food.
14:00 'A lad catches a wren (Amytornis) a porcupine grass.'
14:04 An Australian Aboriginal boy runs past the camera. See: (AA 338/1/9) p.509.
14:07 An Australian Aboriginal man holds the wren in his hand.
14:10 'Another has unearthed a blind marsupial mole (Notoryctes).'
14:14 A boy holds a marsupial mole (Notoryctes typhlops). See: (AA 338/1/9), pp. 297- 301, 426.
14:24 The marsupial mole walks on the surface then burrows itself into the ground.
14:36 'Obtaining desert kurrajongs seed pods (Brachychiton); water shortage prevents systematic gathering.'
14:41 An Australian Aboriginal woman and boy approach a Kurrajong tree, where the boy throws sticks to dislodge the seeds. See: (AA 338/1/9), p.565.
14:59 'Kurrajong tree: - crows (Corvus cecilae) feed upon the seeds.'
15:04 Crows rise from the kurrajong tree. See: (AA 338/1/9), p.541.
15:21 'Child discovers quantities of undigested kurrajongs seeds deposited by crows beside rockhole.'
15:26 Boy with kurrajongs seeds. See: (AA 338/1/9), p.525.
15:44 'He plays at milling the seeds.'
15:47 Playing with the seed.
15:52 'His mother winnows and prepares seed for grinding.'
15:56 Women winnowing seed at camp. See: (AA 338/1/9), p.535.
16:33 'After milling it is cooked as a damper toasted seeds are relished.'
16:39 Scenes at the woman's camp.
16:52 'Un-ground seeds clog the teeth.'
17:07 Further scene with women and children.
17:08 'AFTERNOON. Footsore hunters journey towards the new camp.'
17:12 The men return to a new camp with what they have captured from their day's hunting.
17:23 'Thirsty ones drink at soakage; others wait for women to fetch water to camp.'
17:30 Men drinking at a water soakage.
17:39 'Some hunters cook and dismember their kill (note broken spear).'
17:44 The men return to new camp with the animals caught in the hunt.
18:19 'Early arrival on lookout for newcomers.'
18:22 Men and children await the arrival of others, and signal their whereabouts.
18:34 'Obtaining a firestick, he commences cooking a dingo.'
18:38 A Pitjandjara man removes the tail and scalp from the dingo, then prepares the dingo for cooking. See: (AA 346/1/9), p.405.
19:06 'Breaking limbs and singeing fur while the oven is being warmed.'
19:12 Further preparations of the dingo for cooking.
20:05 'LATE AFTERNOON. Feeding becomes general; women have not yet arrived.'
20:10 Men eat the cooked meat.
20:31 'One sleeps after his meal; another strolls about.'
20:34 Man asleep beside a fire.
20:45 A Pitjandjara man walks towards the camera outstretching his arm.
21:11 'Others commence to make and repair their weapons.'
21:16 Men commence to grease and repair their spears.
21:26 'Mann Range 1933. End of Reel Two.'
21:38 'Mann Range 1933. Reel Three.'
21:41 'Burning a design on a man's wooden hair-pin.'
21:45 A Pitjandjara man burns designs on a hair-pin. See: (AA 338/1/9), p.403.
22:03 'Repairing the broken spear.'
22:06 The broken spear ends are prepared.
23:22 'Spear-thrower handle yields store of gum for splice.'
23:26 Further preparations of the broken spear ends.
23:39 'Softening kangaroo sinews to lash the junction.'
23:43 Softening the sinew by chewing, applying spinifex gum to the broken spear ends, then lashing the spear ends together with the softened sinew. See: (AA 338/1/9), p.385.
24:42 'Some children arrive and obtain meat from their elders.'
24:48 Children eating. See: (AA 338/1/9), p.419.
25:14 'Marrow is a delicacy.'
25:17 A child uses a rock to crush the bone and to obtain the marrow.
25:46 'Food and play go together.'
25:50 Children play and eat. Children playing pickaback and swaying from tree branches. See: (AA 338/1/9), p.465.
27:21 'Women folk are sent to the rockhole for water.'
27:26 'Younger children play while mothers bale out water.'
27:29 Women gather water with children nearby. See: (AA 338/1/9), p.419.
27:51 'Radiating from the rockhole are lines of stepping stones along which to play.'
27:57 A child runs along the stepping stones. See: (AA 338/1/9), p.527.
28:09 'Water-carriers return.'
28:11 Women return to camp carrying water in wooden dishes. See: (AA 338/1/9), p.419.
28:21 A child drinks water from a dish.
28:35 'Mulga grass keeps the water from splashing.'
28:39 Close up of the mulga grass in the dish full of water.
28:48 'DUSK. Firewood is an essential for the cold night.'
28:53 Bringing firewood to camp, an old man prepares his night camp behind a break-wind.
29:23 'Preparing a sleeping place behind break-wind.'
29:25 A woman brings water to her camp and prepares a place to sleep.
29:45 'Chill of evening draws everyone to the fire; only dogs are restless.'
29:50 People gather close around the fires.
30:16 'NIGHT. Fires burn bright.'
30:18 Multiple camp fires burn as the sun goes down.
30:27 'Mann Range 1933. End of Reel Three.'
30:31 Start of footage taken during the Harvard Adelaide Expedition film: 'Pygmoid Natives of the Atherton Tableland.' 1938-1939.
30:31 An Australian Aboriginal man on the far bank of a river poles a raft closer to the camera, he smokes a pipe.
31:03 On his raft he has an axe and some wood which he picks up.
31:05 End of footage relating to the Harvard Adelaide Expedition film 'Pygmoid Natives of the Atherton Tableland.' 1938-1939. See: (AA 346/9/13/1) Time Codes 11:26 - 11:53.
31:08 'Initiation Ceremonies 1933.' Reel Four.
31:08 Restricted Content Starts.
40:04 Restricted Content Ends.
40:04 'Initiation Ceremonies 1933. End of Reel [Four]'
Tribal / language groups recorded during this expedition as recorded in the Data Cards (AA 346/4/15).
Tindale Tribes: Jangkundjara; Pitjandjara; Antakirinja; Ngalea; Ngadadjara; Kukatja (NT).
AIATSIS Tribal / Language Groups: Yankuntjatjara; Pitjantjatjara; Antakarinja; Luritja; Ngatatjara.