Human Studies Film Archives
Joseph G. Moore films of Jamaica
Moore, Joseph Graessle, 1904-1983
HSFA.1992.01
Archival Resource Key
Film reels
black-and-white silent sound
16mm
Linear feet
1957-158
English
.
Scope and Contents
Collection consists of outtake footageof anthropologist Joseph G. Moore's work in Jamaica shot by a CBS crew, 1957-58, as well as the edited film aired on the CBS program Lamp Unto My Feet. Collection also contans associated texts,sound recordings, annotations (recorded narratives), and field notes.
Please note that the contents of the collection and the language and terminology used reflect the context and culture of the time of its creation. As an historical document, its contents may be at odds with contemporary views and terminology and considered offensive today. The information within this collection does not reflect the views of the Smithsonian Institution or Anthropology Archives, but is available in its original form to facilitate research.
Conditions Governing Use
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open for research. Please contact the archives for information on availability of access copies of audiovisual recordings. Original audiovisual material in the Human Studies Film Archives may not be played.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Received from Benson Latin American Collection, The University of Texas at Austin in 1992 and Susan Moore in 2007.
Preferred Citation
Joseph G. Moore films of Jamaica, Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Institution
Processing Information
Titles are supplied by the archivist for untitled films.
Caribbean Area
Jamaica
silent films
Sound films
Jamaican Revival and Kumina
Archival Resource Key
Film reels
black-and-white silent; 19,131 feet
16mm
1957-1958
Scope and Contents
Outtakes are from an episode of the CBS television series Lamp Unto My Feet. Footage was shot in conjunction with anthropologists Joseph G. Moore and George E. Simpson and Mrs. Ruth Moore in west Kingston, Jamaica, and in rural sites in and around Morant Bay, eastern Jamaica. Documentation shot in Trench Town, west Kingston, features scenes of various services in the Revival church of Malachi "Kapo" Reynolds, a well known Revival leader during the 1950s and 1960s. Documented are singing, dancing, sermonizing, trumping (onset to possession), and possession. Footage shot in the Morant Bay area includes similar scenes from a rural Revival service including the "breaking of a table" and "traveling" in the open Revival yard. Kumina footage includes preparations of a dancing booth for a "black and white" ceremony and a "tombing." This visual documentation reveals the close relationship between Revival and Kumina in rural Jamaica during this period. Also included are market scenes in Morant Bay and street scenes in various parts of Kingston.
Local Number
HSFA 1992.1.1
Folk Religion in Jamaica
Archival Resource Key
Film reels
black-and-white sound
16mm
Scope and Contents
Edited program, Folk Religion in Jamaica from CBS seriesLamp Unto My Feet cut from the 1957-58 film footage.
Local Number
HSFA 2007-013