Rivers of Sand (1974)

The people portrayed in this film are called Hamar They dwell in the thorny scrubland of southwestern Ethiopia about one hundred miles north of Lake Rudolph Africas great inland sea They are isolated by some distant choice that now limits their movement and defines their condition At least until recently it has resulted in their retaining a highly traditional way of life Hamar women eagerly accept their ritual whipping when boys come of age Part of that tradition was the open even flamboyant observance of male supremacy In their isolation they seemed to have refined this not uncommon principle of social organization into a remarkably pure state Hamar men are masters and their women are slaves The film tries to disclose the effect on mood and behavior of lives governed by the idea of sexual inequality