Abstract
My research on the Ethnography of Performance has been making use of film, first as a memory aid which allows me to review details of the rituals that I have observed, and after, by chance, by producing a documentary film. I made that first film with the aim of letting my friends know about what I was doing in the south of India. My research lies in the field of Performance Studies and my attention is focused on several aspects of the “doing” of the ritual of the Teyyams, a cult followed by some Hinduists of a specific area, and characterized by the “transformation” of the performer into a divinity.The documentary was relatively successful and I am currently involved in the production of a new film. But in the meantime, I have lost some of the innocence which engaged me in the production of the first film, and I face some doubts.In this text I address these issues.
Highlights
I have been conducting ethnographic field research on the cult of the teyyams from North Kerala, since 2015
In 2016, I produced a documentary film1 and, at the moment of writing, I am in the process of editing a new one
I will explain the fundaments and the guidelines of my investigation into the domain of Performance Studies and of Performance theory, and explain how the ethnographic study of the cult of the teyyams contributes to my objective, providing some practical examples, in which the use of film is contemplated
Summary
I have been conducting ethnographic field research on the cult of the teyyams from North Kerala, since 2015. I will explain the fundaments and the guidelines of my investigation into the domain of Performance Studies and of Performance theory, and explain how the ethnographic study of the cult of the teyyams contributes to my objective, providing some practical examples, in which the use of film is contemplated. These explanations will hopefully allow clarification of my question: to what extent is the film documentary a useful and truthful tool for the Ethnography of Performance? With this exercise I do not mean to establish definite answers, but rather to systematize questions and identify problems and limits to the use of ethnographic documentary
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