CONFRONT
Rituals can give small communities enormous voices. They have the power to captivate and influence hearts and minds, and to proclaim the presence of the gods alongside those who believe in them. Ritual can be a theater that confronts power, changing times, and political forces that shape cultures from the outside.
The second collection of A Higher Art focuses on rituals that confront forces of influence—both spiritual and tangible. Through politics, poverty, curses, and even old age, this collection explores the stability that rituals can provide for individuals who stand defiantly in the face of adversity and change
Episode 6
An exclusive portrait of a Thai spirit medium who struggles to find significance in her ancient royal bloodline at the Boun Bang Fai rocket festival in Yasothon, Thailand.
Episode 7
The Mah Meri tribe hail from seafaring ancestry, but today live within the confines of a corporate palm plantation, with very support or resources. All that’s left is who they are, as they call on their ancestry for help, turning their own culture into a ethnic performance for outsiders.
Episode 8
The burden of a ritual cycle rests on the shoulders of one family—without appeasing the spirit, Ahlone Bobogyi, a terrible curse is cast on those responsible. But in rural Monywa, poverty stands as a deeper curse in the face of ancient traditions.
Episode 9
Ancestral warriors defend the streets of a small Indonesian town from malevolent spirits. But in their ritual, they find a new purpose in defending the local culture from nationalist prejudice.
Episode 10
The Rambu Solo—Torajan Funeral ritual—is one of the most decadent celebrations of death in all of southeast Asia. Experience the full, gruesome ritual process inside a remote village and understand why the depth of traditions runs so deep in Torajan society.