This film is part of Free

Ukhrul Medical Tour

A doctor and party visit the villages of eastern Manipur in India's far north east

Amateur film 1934 11 mins Silent

Overview

A doctor and party visit the villages of the mountainous Ukhrul district - with both medical supplies and a 16mm cine-camera in tow. The doctor, ETN Taylor, made a number of amateur films preserved in the BFI National Archive. His Ukhrul tour (in what is now the state of Manipur, northeast India) is an important record of encounters with the Tangkhul tribes of the area.

The medical mission has a humanitarian purpose but also, inevitably, a colonial structure. Its British leaders, Indian helpers and tribal subjects each play different roles within the tour and the film.