The Tribal Eye
Miniseries
David Attenborough explains the enormous growth of interest in tribal art, and explores the emotions which lie behind the masks and decorations of primitive people.
Where to Watch The Tribal Eye • Miniseries
7 Episodes
- Behind the Mask
E1Behind the MaskThe craftsmen of the Dogon people of Mali are among the finest sculptors in the world. The head of each household must tend the wooden cult figures in which the spirits of his ancestors dwell, feeding them regularly with millet and blood to ensure the fertility of the fields, the return of the seasonal rains and the health of the people. Concealed in remote desert shrines, the carvings are as meaningful to the Dogon as the Bible is to the Western world. Without their sculpture, some of the most splendid and crucial events in their lives could not take place. - Crooked Beak of Heaven
E2Crooked Beak of HeavenIn "Crooked Beak of Heaven", Attenborough discusses the art and cultures of the First Nations peoples of the Pacific Northwest of North America: The Haida of present-day British Columbia and Alaska; the Gitxsan of Skeena Country; and the Kwakwaka'wakw ("Kwakiutl") of present-day British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon. - Sweat of the Sun
E3Sweat of the SunGold has fascinated people in all cultures, representing in their minds perfection and immortality. In the pre-Columbian Indian civilization of Central and South America native craftsmen fashioned gold into the most exquisite expressions of their culture. Few of the beautiful golden artifacts of the Aztecs and Incas are left today. Most of them were melted down by the pillaging Spanish conquistadors. However, some exquisite pre-Columbian art does still exists, and narrator David Attenborough describes how these were used by priests in practical and ritual fashion, including human sacrifice. He explores the Aztec and Inca sites, describing the lives of the people who occupied them and examining those breath-taking treasures that remain. - Kingdom of Bronze
E4Kingdom of BronzeIn 1897 a group of African bronzes arrived in London that caused a sensation. Many European experts refused to believe that the bronzesmiths of the obscure ancient African kingdom of Benin in Nigeria could have developed the sophisticated technique of bronze-casting by themselves. David Attenborough traces the bronzes and the “lost wax” technique back to the craftsmen of Ife, the sacred town of the Yoruba people, predating by a century any European influence. We also see the beautiful and elegant portrait busts, plaques and standing figures which read as impressive chronicles of the elaborate court life under the autocratic Obas of Benin. - Woven Gardens
E5Woven GardensIn a wonderful combination of beauty, function and tradition, the rugs of the Gashqai Nomads of Iran perfectly mirror their lives. Wool is gathered from sheep, goats and camels. Dyes are made from juices of plants along their caravan routes. Then the jogging of the pack animals, bearing the looms with unfinished rugs, gives the weave its beautiful irregularity. And they are used against the cold, the wind, and as saddle bags and grain sacks. - Across the Frontiers
E7Across the FrontiersThis program revisits several of the locations of the previous programs to look more deeply at the relationships contemporary artists and collectors have with the art and artists of those societies, and how they may be compromising or enhancing the older traditions.
