Scope and Contents

Footage taken while Haupt travelled in India and Pakistan while stationed at the Woodstock school in Landour/Mussoorie, Uttar Pradesh, one of the so-called "hill stations" of British India. Locations of interest include Mussoorie, Allahabad (Uttar Pradesh), Jaipur (Rajasthan), Nagpur (Maharashtra), Bombay, the Portugese colony of Goa (India), and the Khyber Pass. Documentation of ethnographic interest includes: scenes of everyday Indian village life; a major mela (Hindu festival) at Allahabad (a Muslim city sacred to Hindu pilgrims), showing sadhus (holy men) undergoing various ordeals and wealthy maharajas parading on ornamented elephants; a brass carver in Jaipur; another festival in Nagpur which incorporates "initiation rituals" for young sadhus, such as men walking on coals and being suspended and swung on a tripod with metal hooks in their backs; street scenes and bazaars in Bombay; and various shots of fishing boats and women at heavy manual labor in Goa. Miscellaneous sequences include Haupt and friends on hunting expeditions, sites along the Khyber Pass, and scenes at the airport in Delhi recording the London to Melbourne air race of 1936.

Collection contains supplementary materials, namely, annotations (recorded narratives).

Legacy keywords: Villages India ; Transportation carts wagons India ; Agriculture winnowing India ; Festival melas India ; Irrigation methods of water wheel India ; Priests festivals penitence India ; Dancing drums India ; Drums dancing Alaska ; Music ; Ascetics holy men India ; Mutilation as religious penance "rope dance" India ; Fortifications hill stations Kyber Pass ; Schools missions India ; Competitions track schools India ; Amputation as religious penance holy men India ; Boats harbors India ; Processions Maharajas sadhus elephants mela India ; Initiation rites sadhus Hindu India ; Ordeals initiation rites sadhus India ; Language and culture

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 As an historical document, its contents may be at odds with contemporary views and terminology and considered offensive today.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.