1 Film reel (silent color reversal; 1,050 feet, 16mm)
Container:
Item 2015.7.1-1
Type:
Archival materials
Moving Images
Film reels
Date:
1955-1956
Scope and Contents:
This film footage was assembled from 3 reels. The first two of these reels were from the Knips family trip to Hunza in the autumn of 1955. (The HSFA holds translations of journal entries of both Walter and his wife Eva Knips concerning this trip. To see these materials, consult the archivist.) The third reel is comprised mostly of family film of the Knips children, but also includes street scenes at what may be part of the commemoration of Matam.
Reel 1: Hunza #1. The Knips family's journey from their home in Karachi to the Hunza Valley opens with shots of their five-year-old daughter Franziska on the train from Karachi, a view from the train of people along a river washing laundry; arid countryside with scrub brush; train's arrival at Khanewal Junction train station; (it's likely that the train journey continued to Rawalpindi where the family spent the night at the Flashman's Hotel); their luggage is loaded onto a buggy or tonga (likely to be delivered to the Rawalpindi airstrip from where the family will take off); the view from a plane (a decommissioned Dakota transport aircraft) enroute from the city of Rawalpindi (Pakistan) to the town of Gilgit (situated in the region of Kashmir but administered at the time by a Pakistani Political Agent; the 2 hour flight was considered one of the most challenging routes in the world at the time); Eva, Walter Knips' wife, and Franziska walk with a guide on the residential grounds of the Political Agent in Gilgit; local man and his shy young daughter, wearing a traditional cross-stitch embroidered cap, emerge from behind flowers; the young girl and Franziska pose for the camera; next morning's early departure by jeep from the Gilgit Agency; the view from the jeep of a bridge across the Hunza River, and the axle-wide road in the foothills; Franziska in the jeep; Franziska on a small mountain pony with a personal guide; scenes which take place after their arrival in Baltit: men dancing, drumming, and playing horns; a man in european dress, the Mir (Muhammad Jamal Khan, the last Ismaili ruler of Hunza), leads a group of local men dressed in open woolen cape-like coats and wearing the traditional soft-rounded rolled-up hat (a pakol); Mir in western dress with Franziska and two of his daughters in local dress; cattle graze as a small local child chases them and plays; a large residence on a hilltop—the palace; mountains and rolling landscape around the residence; local people in a courtyard perform daily tasks (knitting, rhythmic grinding of grain) and pose for the camera; a western couple sits in the sun, men bring fruit and set up a carpet for seating, a seated woman carding wool—most likely from sheep or Yak; drumming musicians with Mir's daughters and Franziska in the background as Eva passes by; local man sits on the ground and uses his legs to stretch the inside of an animal skin (goat?); young woman, the Mir's eldest daughter, appears in a white shawl draped over her head and sits against the snow covered mountain scenery; Eva holds a green mango? sits beside and talks to a smiling local man; Mir's oldest daughter and her two younger sisters and Franziska sit and wave to the camera; Walter Knips enjoys fruit—mango?; a procession of the Mir in western dress and carrying a camera, the Mir's wife, the Rani, in a green shawl/scarf carries a drawstring bag, her lady-in-waiting follows behind, along with the Mir's oldest daughter in white shawl and the Mir's brother in a brown jacket—all settle on the previously laid down rug; Eva carries a camera and joins the Mir encouraging him to a stroll; Mir's brother briefly appears; Eva joins earlier mentioned westerners in the sun and Walter, in a black beret, joins in; Mir's oldest daughter carries knitting needles and knitting to her mother seated with Eva on the carpet; several women of the household dressed in red; local children carrying younger siblings; Eva joins other westerners seated in the sun with their young pony-tailed daughter and a Jack Russell-like terrier dog.
Reel 2: "Hunza #2. This is a continuation of Reel 1 and begins with more footage of Baltit: Franziska Knips with the Mir's two young daughters as seen earlier; scenes of the a gathering in the palace garden in which the Mir, Muhammad Jamal Khan, appears in elaborate official dress, as he shows off his saber first to Eva Knips and another woman (blonde), then to Walter and a second european man; the Mir and his wife, the Rani, stroll alone and then pose for photos with a group of Europeans—Eva in plaid skirt stands next to the Mir; Eva takes photos of a small formally dressed boy—the Mir's youngest son; Eva carries the boy as she walks with the Rani; the small boy poses with a formally dressed young girl who runs into the scene—the boy and girl are the Mir's youngest of nine children—they dance in a circle; Franziska and her two friends, the princesses, play what looks like ring-around-the-rosy; local men are seated in a row and stand as they are being filmed—they have assembled in an open air court presided over by the Mir (barely visible in the rear corner)—the Mir is both ruler and judge and regularly hears his community's grievances and requests; procession of local men departs from the court; an orchard with children and men in the trees collecting apples; men stirring large pans of yak milk? and grain? over a fire; Eva attempts to cross a rope and plank ladder bridge under the watchful eyes of 2 locals; grazing yaks are baited by the terrier mentioned earlier; Franziska, along with another western child and a western woman, watches the yaks; a herdsman ropes a yak through the nose; local children and the Mir's youngest son now dressed in a small brown coat somersault and play. Footage continues with scenes of people organizing for the caravan-like journey from Baltit to the Mir's winter palace. Locals stand along the edge of the rocky road, westerners mount yaks—Eva in a beige windbreaker and visor cap, Franziska right behind, then the Rani in a dark shawl and white gloves which she wears to shield her hands from sun exposure to prevent discoloration and wrinkling, locals walk along side, villagers watch and salute the procession; Eva passes by astride her yak saddled with a red saddle blanket; food is laid out/handed out; children pose for the camera; Eva positions herself to take photos from a balcony as the Mir, dressed in riding clothes and a brown topi hat, rides into the polo arena on a white horse surrounded by the advancing crowd led by drummers and pipers; the Mir dismounts and greets locals who stand and hold out their food offerings; locals arrange themselves along the edge of the polo field; Franziska and the princesses are briefly seen on the viewing platform before scampering off with the Mir and his brother in tow; the Mir's oldest son—the crown prince—and two of his younger sisters appear in front of a snow- covered mountain backdrop as Franziska joins in the rear; a scene of three local women beating and turning wool with sticks; mountain scenery; Walter Knips in a black felt hat with the Mir and his brother; a smiling local and others file out of a building with Eva, the Mir, and his brother among them; a local man with a strap of rifle cartridges across his chest stands in front of a mountain scene; a rider and his horse struggle to traverse a deep and rapidly flowing river; polo match scenes show chickens and black sheep running around in the midst of the game; Eva and Franziska, in coat and hat, are seen shaking hands in farewell with the Mir and his brother before mounting a yak; as a guide looks on, Eva and Walter test what it's like to cross a river on a precarious rope and plank bridge. Footage continues with the journey home. A jeep packed full of people, including Eva and Franziska and the terrier (which did not belong to the Knips family); views from the jeep; an airplane taking off at Gilgit airstrip; a view of mountains from the airplane; then a view from the train as it passes many newly constructed homes on the outskirts of Karachi before pulling into the station; the very end of the reel offers a very brief glimpse of a man standing on the platform, dressed in white clothes and turban—this is Abdul, the Knips family's head manservant awaiting their arrival.
Reel 3. 1956: Franziska Knips, age 6, and her brothers, Georg, age 3, and Karl, age 1, play with each other on the terrace of their home in Karachi; Georg plays with a wooden scooter; Eva with camera and the new German nanny, Barbara, appear on a desert-like terrain outside of the home with the three children; as Eva films, the Knips' father Walter and the nanny play-act a chase scene with the children; (interspersed is footage of a local construction crew, passing freshly mixed mortar/cement chain-gang style up a primitive scaffolding); family scenes on the home terrace in Karachi continue with Franziska, Georg, nanny Barbara, Eva in a black and white strapless sun dress carrying Karl to his play pen; scenes of the terrace show a seating area and oleander planters; manservant Abdul and his helpers salute for the camera; Eva drives a car (a 1956 Fiat Multipla) into the carport; nanny Barbara emerges along with the three children; Walter appears and waves his hat as he strolls the courtyard and stops to smell the oleander blossoms with nanny Barbara, Franziska, the two boys, and the family's white dog, a Spitz; Karl practices rocking back and forth on his knees on the grass; Walter drives up in a blue and white Chevrolet; Franziska with the family's white dog; nanny Barbara with Georg, Eva with Franziska seated on the grass; Georg plays with a puppet on a stick. Footage moves to scenes of locals assembled, playing cymbals, large gongs, and drums; a caravan of local men surrounds an elevated and ceremonially decorated platform or litter?; dramatic and incredibly rapid sword wielding skills are displayed by young boys; stick and sword fighting by older men as drumming continues; a parade of local women and children passes; scenes of bare-chested older men and young boys, swaying back and forth as they swing their arms to rhythmically beat their chests (This could be part of Matam, a devotional ceremony of mourning and lamentation commemorating the martyrs of the Battle of Karbala in 680. Here the self-flagellation is performed with hands but there are other cases where knives, swords, or blades are used to self-inflict chest lacerations); a young girl dressed in formal costume and elaborately pleated head wear dances; a man riding his camel along the beach near Karachi.
Collection Restrictions:
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.
Collection Rights:
Contact the repository for terms of use.
Collection Citation:
The Walter Friedrich Knips films, Human Studies Film Archives, Smithsonian Institution
