Ring of Fire: An Indonesian Odyssey
Encyclopedia
The Ring of Fire: An Indonesian Odyssey is a series of five documentary
films that documented the ten-year voyage of two filmmakers, brothers Lorne Blair and Lawrence Blair
, through the world's largest and least known archipelago, sailing with pirates and witnessing veiled forms of human sacrifice along the way.
, the Blair Brothers arrived in Indonesia
from England in 1972. The Indonesian archipelago was still dominated by ancient indigenous beliefs and the Blair Brothers spent over two decades documenting the ecology
of the islands and the spiritual beliefs of its peoples. One major result was the Emmy-nominated BBC/PBS television series Ring of Fire, a masterwork of modern adventure and ethnographic film.
Documentary
A documentary is a creative work of non-fiction, including:* Documentary film, including television* Radio documentary* Documentary photographyRelated terms include:...
films that documented the ten-year voyage of two filmmakers, brothers Lorne Blair and Lawrence Blair
Lawrence Blair
Lawrence Blair, Ph.D. is an anthropologist, author, explorer and filmmaker. Born in England, he is now a resident of Bali, Indonesia for the past 35 years.-Life and Career:...
, through the world's largest and least known archipelago, sailing with pirates and witnessing veiled forms of human sacrifice along the way.
The five films
- Spice Island Saga: The Blair brothers follow the footsteps of naturalistNaturalistNaturalist may refer to:* Practitioner of natural history* Conservationist* Advocate of naturalism * Naturalist , autobiography-See also:* The American Naturalist, periodical* Naturalism...
Alfred Russell Wallace on a BugisBugisThe Bugis are the most numerous of the three major linguistic and ethnic groups of South Sulawesi, the southwestern province of Sulawesi, Indonesia's third largest island. Although many Bugis live in the large port cities of Makassar and Parepare, the majority are farmers who grow wet rice on the...
sail boat in search of the Bird of ParadiseBird of paradiseThe birds-of-paradise are members of the family Paradisaeidae of the order Passeriformes. The majority of species in this family are found on the island of New Guinea and its satellites, with a few species occurring in the Moluccas and eastern Australia. The family has forty species in 14 genera...
to the Aru IslandsAru IslandsThe Aru Islands are a group of about ninety-five low-lying islands in the Maluku province of eastern Indonesia. They also form a regency of Indonesia.-Geography:...
near New GuineaNew GuineaNew Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
. - Dance of the Warriors: The brothers sail to the islands of KomodoKomodo (island)Komodo is one of the 17,508 islands that make up the Republic of Indonesia. The island has a surface area of 390 km² and over 2000 inhabitants. The inhabitants of the island are descendants of former convicts who were exiled to the island and who have mixed themselves with the Bugis from...
where they encounter the Komodo DragonKomodo dragonThe Komodo dragon , also known as the Komodo monitor, is a large species of lizard found in the Indonesian islands of Komodo, Rinca, Flores, Gili Motang and Gili Dasami. A member of the monitor lizard family , it is the largest living species of lizard, growing to a maximum length of in rare cases...
, SumbaSumbaSumba is an island in eastern Indonesia, is one of the Lesser Sunda Islands, and is in the province of East Nusa Tenggara. Sumba has an area of 11,153 km², and the population was officially at 611,422 in 2005...
where they witness human sacrificeHuman sacrificeHuman sacrifice is the act of killing one or more human beings as part of a religious ritual . Its typology closely parallels the various practices of ritual slaughter of animals and of religious sacrifice in general. Human sacrifice has been practised in various cultures throughout history...
, New Guinese where they meet the AsmatAsmat peopleThe Asmat are an ethnic group of New Guinea, residing in the Papua province of Indonesia. Possessing one of the most well-known and vibrant woodcarving traditions in the Pacific, their art is sought by collectors worldwide...
, and finally BaliBaliBali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east...
where they build a homeHomeA home is a place of residence or refuge. When it refers to a building, it is usually a place in which an individual or a family can rest and store personal property. Most modern-day households contain sanitary facilities and a means of preparing food. Animals have their own homes as well, either...
in a village. - East of KrakatoaKrakatoaKrakatoa is a volcanic island made of a'a lava in the Sunda Strait between the islands of Java and Sumatra in Indonesia. The name is used for the island group, the main island , and the volcano as a whole. The island exploded in 1883, killing approximately 40,000 people, although some estimates...
: The Blairs descend into a newly erupted volcanoVolcano2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...
, meet a legendLegendA legend is a narrative of human actions that are perceived both by teller and listeners to take place within human history and to possess certain qualities that give the tale verisimilitude...
ary artistArtistAn artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
and witness the funeral rites of the kingKing- Centers of population :* King, Ontario, CanadaIn USA:* King, Indiana* King, North Carolina* King, Lincoln County, Wisconsin* King, Waupaca County, Wisconsin* King County, Washington- Moving-image works :Television:...
of the Toraja people of the CelebesSulawesiSulawesi is one of the four larger Sunda Islands of Indonesia and is situated between Borneo and the Maluku Islands. In Indonesia, only Sumatra, Borneo, and Papua are larger in territory, and only Java and Sumatra have larger Indonesian populations.- Etymology :The Portuguese were the first to...
. - Dream Wanderers of BorneoBorneoBorneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
: The brothers go in search of the nomadic Punan Dyaks. - Beyond the Ring of Fire: Lawrence Blair returns to a lost paradiseParadiseParadise is a place in which existence is positive, harmonious and timeless. It is conceptually a counter-image of the miseries of human civilization, and in paradise there is only peace, prosperity, and happiness. Paradise is a place of contentment, but it is not necessarily a land of luxury and...
at the outer edge of the known world eight years later on a retrospectiveRetrospectiveRetrospective generally means to take a look back at events that already have taken place. For example, the term is used in medicine, describing a look back at a patient's medical history or lifestyle.-Music:...
voyage to many of the islands first visited and others never previously filmed.
The making of the films
Financed by Ringo StarrRingo Starr
Richard Starkey, MBE better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for The Beatles. When the band formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He became The Beatles' drummer in...
, the Blair Brothers arrived in Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
from England in 1972. The Indonesian archipelago was still dominated by ancient indigenous beliefs and the Blair Brothers spent over two decades documenting the ecology
Ecology
Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...
of the islands and the spiritual beliefs of its peoples. One major result was the Emmy-nominated BBC/PBS television series Ring of Fire, a masterwork of modern adventure and ethnographic film.