Wedding Camels, The

• 1980 ----- color ----- 107 min ----- 16mm/vhs
• (Turkana Conversations by David and Judith MacDougall) The Turkana are semi-nomadic herders who inhabit the dry thorn country of northwestern Kenya. To the Turkana, herds mean security and wealth; bridewealth is the cement that holds society together. In a marginal environment where survival may depend on the number of one's friends and kin, a wedding is less a celebration of the union of two people than an opportunity to forge an alliance between two families. Arranging the number and type of animals to be given as bridewealth demands an intricate balance between psychology and economics. (In Turkana with English subtitles)
• Topics: (Africa, Anthropology: Cultural)