Living Tribal in a Democracy

a feature documentary

Are tribal societies models for future societies?

Shedding light on the Chaldeans, an indigenous Aramaic-speaking people whose lineage dates back to ancient Mesopotamia, Living Tribal in a Democracy is a documentary that raises the question, “Are tribal societies models for future societies?” Due to wars, oppression, persecution, and genocide they experienced in their native land, modern-day Iraq, this group of Semites are now in diaspora, the majority living in the state of Michigan, in a city nicknamed “Little Baghdad.” We enter that world through the eyes of the filmmaker, her now-deceased mother, and a museum – the world’s first and only Chaldean museum.

TOPIC SUMMARY

The current culture and the type of information that feeds our minds, particularly the young people, are affecting us in many negative ways. This is partly a result of us moving away from family and small communities where the elderly have a strong ongoing presence and materialistic comforts and riches are not the foundation of happiness. Author Daniel Quinn wrote, “Man lived harmlessly on this planet for some three million years but the Takers have brought the whole thing to the point of collapse in only five hundred generations.” He also wrote, “The tribal life doesn’t turn people into saints; it enables ordinary people to make a living together with a minimum of stress year after year, generation after generation.”

Yet how many would ever think of choosing such a life? Due to misunderstandings, people hang on to the idea that we’re living an advanced system and that participating in a lifestyle that has historically proven by the ancients to be beneficial for our society and the environment might be a step backwards. The good thing is that, in recent years, many have started to simplify their life and even tried to learn from their tribal sisters and brothers whose activities are so well coordinated and inter-linked that they operate as a super-family. Regardless of one’s gender or age, every person has a vital role to play in the welfare of the community. The more we learn about the ancients, the more we’ll understand the wisdom of the ages and how to apply it to our everyday life and our future. Today is an opportunity for us to create a better world for our children and grandchildren.

A Film by Weam Namou

Born in Baghdad to an ancient lineage called the Chaldeans (Neo-Babylonians who still speak Aramaic), Weam Namou is the Executive Director of the Chaldean Cultural Center, which houses the first and only Chaldean Museum in the world. She’s an Eric Hoffer award-winning author of 13 books, an international award-winning filmmaker, journalist, poet, and an Ambassador for the Authors Guild of America [Detroit Chapter], the nation’s oldest and largest writing organization. She hosts a half-hour weekly TV show, and she’s the founder of The Path of Consciousness, a spiritual and writing community, and Unique Voices in Films, a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization. Namou’s feature script “Pomegranate” was selected quarter-finalist by Francis Coppola’s Zoetrope.

Her book The Great American Family is optioned by 5 Streams of Los Angeles, California, and the feature documentary is now represented by Jeff Porter Pictures of Beverly Hills, California.