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00:23I've never experienced anything, even comparable, in terms of pain.
00:29Every one of them has this thing worse than a scorpion.
00:38This is an extraordinary thing to put yourself through, especially when in order to become
00:43a man in this community, you have to do it 20 times throughout your life.
00:47It's not a joke.
00:48If you move, you'll have to finish.
00:51It's a shame for us.
00:52And for the people who are watching.
00:54Look at me.
00:58I'm Ed Stafford.
00:59As an explorer and survivalist, I've made a career out of mucking about in the wild.
01:05If I'm honest, I've never really grown up.
01:08Look at that!
01:09So now, I've set myself a mission to see how cultures across the world navigate the messy
01:21business of becoming an adult.
01:26I believe many of us in the modern world have lost our sense of identity.
01:31But I'm hoping, by immersing myself in the often extreme trials that young people face,
01:36I can figure out how these rituals make us better members of our communities.
01:42I've never experienced anything even comparable in terms of pain.
01:47By joining them on their journey, I hope I'll learn to become a better man.
01:55Maybe even grow up.
01:56It's pretty honest.
01:57Okay, he wants me to jump, but I'm going to jump now.
01:59And successfully pass my own rite of passage.
02:13I'm heading deep into the Amazon jungle to visit a people called the Satare Maui.
02:19I'm on the final leg of my journey, a two-hour boat ride up the Amazon to reach their remote
02:24village.
02:26They live on the Andira River, 80 kilometers from the nearest city.
02:33This community has a unique rite of passage ceremony that involves them putting their hands
02:38and gloves full of bullet ants.
02:42The bullet ant of all insects has the most painful sting in the world.
03:17That all felt rather stiff, if I'm honest.
03:20I think the guys knew that I was coming but I think they were a little bit nervous.
03:25My name is Edi.
03:27My name is Adriana.
03:29Adriana?
03:29Yes.
03:30Very pleasure.
03:31You know, let's face it, it's not every day that a camera and a man comes into that village
03:35wanting to partake in this ceremony, so I'm hoping that things relax a little as the
03:40stay goes on.
03:43Passa pra ele aqui, ó.
03:45Vou indo pra escolha dele aÃ.
03:46Obrigado.
03:47Que amizade do povo satereca.
03:49Muito obrigado.
03:50Seja muito bem-vindo.
03:52Muito obrigado.
03:55Que lindo.
03:56Legal.
03:58Just been given a necklace and officially welcomed to the tribe.
04:02That is a good start.
04:03Obrigado.
04:15Gießen
04:15So I believe we're going to, erm, like the center of the community.
04:19Como que dá, como você vem?
04:20Não sei o que, português é alguma valor, mas não é incrÃvel, mas não é possÃvel.
04:27Gente sabe a maioria, mas nem todo.
04:32E graças a Deus.
04:35In terms of sort of architecture, there's quite a lot of traditional houses and there's
04:40a lot of concrete structures as well.
04:46Despite their remote location, the community's position on the river means that they are
04:50open to the outside world and the modern influences that brings.
05:12Every time we stop, I keep getting bitten by ants, but they're these tiny little ones
05:15and I'm trying not to react to them at all because, obviously, compared to bullet ants,
05:19they're absolutely nothing and yet they're infuriating because they're biting my ankles
05:22and these guys are starting to laugh because I'm like literally picking these tiny little
05:26minute ants off my ankles, but they hurt.
05:30I might be in trouble.
05:32The centrepiece of the Satarema Way rite of passage is the incredibly painful tucandera ritual.
05:42Young men get stung by close to 100 bullet ants on each hand.
05:52And they have to do it at least 20 times.
06:01And one of those times is about to kick off.
06:06Okay, so this is the central area where they conduct the ceremony.
06:19Okay.
06:20My understanding of the ceremony today is that these guys are veterans.
06:25One of them has done it 34 times.
06:29It's all becoming a little bit real.
06:40It's been likened to walking on hot coves.
06:45Insect venom is scaled in terms of the pain from a one to four.
06:51And the bullet ant is number four, which is obviously the highest level of pain.
06:55To put that into perspective, the sting of an average honeybee is generally just a two.
07:01It does something to the pain pathways within the body and stops the body combating that pain.
07:07So it keeps the pain pathways open longer than you would normally feel pain in any other situation
07:13in life.
07:15So I'm going to put that out.
07:31So this is an extraordinary thing to put yourself through.
07:44It's a great thing to do.
07:48From what I understand, it's the dancing and therefore the sweating that allows the toxins to disperse.
07:54And this is to help them manage the pain.
07:58He's receiving it.
08:01As long as he's holding it, he's dancing.
08:08If it hurts, he's sending it out.
08:12One more time.
08:13Uh-huh.
08:18Thanks.
08:26And now his hands are shaking badly.
08:36You've literally got a veteran crying, shaking, trembling,
08:43experiencing a level of pain that I know I have never felt in my life before.
08:49It's scary.
08:58Okay.
09:00This is the first time that I've seen bullet ants on a glove like this.
09:09So the ants have all been sort of secured into this with their abdomen facing inwards.
09:15And obviously the stings are on the abdomen, which is why it's on the inside.
09:20How many?
09:21How many do they have here?
09:24More or less.
09:24No one can see, but there's more than 80 people.
09:2780?
09:28Uh-huh.
09:2980 each one?
09:36Oh, my God.
09:37Oh, my God.
09:43Taniko has been through the ritual more times than anybody else.
09:47And he will be my mentor for the week.
10:06Do women ever go through the ceremony?
10:08No.
10:10No.
10:10It's a danger for the young man.
10:14They might not have to physically deal with the pain, but the women do seem to help the young
10:19men throughout the emotional ordeal.
10:26It's an extreme rite of passage.
10:32So why do they do it?
10:34About 30 years it's been supposed to change the untold and knitself.
10:42They don't have to be able to run something every single day and then contract purpose.
10:45Or do they do it?
11:08This is an incredible number.
11:10Why have you done it so many times?
11:23While there's no scientific evidence to show that repeated bullet ant stings improve the
11:27immune system, I can see how it could make the boys understand and manage pain much better.
11:34Is it okay with both of you that I take part in a ceremony in a few days?
12:03I can't believe this is day one, I feel like a
12:08I've experienced so much already.
12:13The truth is, the ant has been hooked, I'm under no illusions just quite how painful this
12:19is going to be.
12:20I've never experienced anything even comparable in terms of pain.
12:42That was a pretty terrible first night of sleep I have to admit.
12:48The bullet ant ritual is still playing on my mind.
12:55It's a mix of emotions, it's a blender of butterflies and knives and all sorts of things going around
13:01my chest.
13:02I feel like the next few days are vital for me to nuance exactly my approach to how I'm
13:08going to conduct myself during the ceremony but it's occupying every part of my being right
13:15now.
13:17I'm so aware of something coming that is enormous, absolutely enormous.
13:24I guess my spidey senses were tingling as a morning storm quickly engulfs the area.
13:30So, while we wait for it to pass, Adriana asked me to help prepare some food for their meals.
14:02It's quite flamboyant, isn't it?
14:03Yeah.
14:04It's quite flamboyant, isn't it?
14:08It's quite flamboyant, isn't it?
14:08Is it always the women that do this kind of job?
14:11Yes, yes, that's my...
14:16I'm happy to make the dough, because when it arrives with the house, we have the dough
14:21ready for our family, right?
14:25OK, we're done?
14:26Yes.
14:32It's ready to do it.
14:34Excellent.
14:40Golden nuggets of pure joy.
14:46I took the moment with Adriana to find out what she thinks about the Rite of Passage.
14:57Because this ritual is especially for the man.
15:01How painful do you think it is for the man?
15:02I would think that this pain is a bit like the pain of having a baby.
15:11Yesterday I said to my son Esau, I said,
15:14now you will feel a pain, like I felt when I stopped you.
15:18But it's a bit different because the Tukandeira, it's a lot of pain.
15:25I guess this ritual is basically the big equalizer.
15:29You didn't want him to do it initially,
15:31and you've now decided that you do want him to do it.
15:34Why have you changed your mind?
15:35Because, before, he wanted to put his hand on.
15:38He was 11 years old.
15:40He was very small.
15:42So I thought he wouldn't be able to do the pain.
15:45Now he decided to put his hand on.
15:47So we don't have to say to him.
15:49Now he said that he doesn't have anyone,
15:51but he would have to put his hand on his hand.
15:54Yeah, see, see, see.
15:55I think if a 12-year-old can do it,
15:58I'm hoping that at 49 years old, I can do it as well.
16:02I'll be together.
16:03If you need, I'll help you too,
16:06and I'll help my son, right?
16:08I'll help you too.
16:13Ready?
16:14I am touched by Adriana's promise
16:16to help me through the ceremony.
16:18At this point, with the bullet ant ritual
16:20only four days away,
16:22I'm going to take all the help I can get
16:24to overcome the pain.
16:48José is helping to teach me the steps needed
16:51during the right as a way to help deal with the pain.
16:59You'd think that would be easy, wouldn't it?
17:03It's because it ends on a right foot,
17:07and then it starts with a right foot.
17:10And so I'm like, I want to do left foot.
17:23I know it's not complicated, but that's quite imbalanced.
17:30I'm not really renowned for my dancing.
17:34I think I've got it.
17:43You were really stamping hard.
17:45Was there a reason for that?
18:12I've watched him almost come apart, you know?
18:16I've watched him almost come apart, you know?
18:16I've got tears streaming down his face,
18:18body convulsing and shaking.
18:20Look, obviously, it's somewhat intimidating,
18:23to say the least.
18:27There's no rules or expectations surrounding crying.
18:31She does good.
18:32When we cry, it's not a shame.
18:34It's not a shame.
18:36It hurts.
18:37You have to jump.
18:46There is no hiding the fact that this is going to be
18:49extraordinarily more powerful than anything I would have ever felt
18:55through my nervous system before.
18:58I'm aware that my mind state will make all the difference.
19:01I think I just need to reset, recharge.
19:05The sleep will give me the resilience that I need.
19:15Morning.
19:17And traditional preparations are in full swing
19:19for tomorrow's rite of passage.
19:22Hello.
19:29Doing a work.
19:37So, we're going to get rid of this length,
19:38let's get rid of it, take a bit?
19:46I'm going to get rid of it.
19:53It's making the gloves sort of making it at home.
19:57Yeah, that's right.
20:05To do the back here, you do this.
20:11Here.
20:13And here.
20:15That's it.
20:24So what I'm doing is cutting the little strips that end up being woven together in order to make the
20:29inner gloves.
20:30The ones that the ants are actually woven into.
20:38The outer gloves are permanent and they're held within the village hall.
20:51Gloves woven, the boys' night also need to get ourselves prepared.
20:55And it's suddenly all becoming very real.
21:19The boys being painted will do the right with me.
21:22Because I always want to know the pain that they feel.
21:26Because my grandfather said that if we want to be anything that we want, we have to go through it.
21:36Mm-hmm.
21:37Tiniko's grandson, Esau, is 12 years old.
21:41And like me, he's doing the bullet ant ritual for the first time.
22:04Are you nervous about doing it for the first time?
22:07Yes.
22:07Yes.
22:08Yes.
22:08And it's my first time.
22:10It's my first time.
22:11It's a great thing, right?
22:17Yes.
22:22Yes.
22:35I see your mom or your dad giving you any last minute advice.
22:39They told me that it's not to cry on the wall and cry.
22:45Because it makes the cantor sick.
22:51She can only cry when she's already without the wall.
22:59Okay?
23:01Yes.
23:02Okay?
23:05Thank you very much.
23:05Thank you very much.
23:10My body is ready.
23:11And for the first time, I'm starting to feel more confident about the rite of passage.
23:17But Tiniko's asked to meet.
23:35I'm out here.
23:36Yes.
23:37I'm here.
23:37Ahà doi o peito.
23:40Seca a garganta.
23:41De vez en quand, a gente tem que beber um pouco.
23:43Diago.
23:43Mais outro que vai dar, que a mão da gente não...
23:45Não tem condições pra nada.
23:47Divi.
23:51Divi.
23:51Divi.
23:52Divi.
23:52Divi.
23:52Divi.
23:53Divi.
23:56Divi.
23:57Divi.
23:59Divi.
24:01Divi.
24:02Divi.
24:02Divi.
24:03Divi.
24:03Divi.
24:03Divi.
24:04Divi.
24:04Divi.
24:07Then it's going to be the pain.
24:12But if the pain is alive and you want to be more than her, then she will die.
24:20In terms of the order of the ceremony, Jose indicated to me that the reason he was in
24:26so much pain was because he went first.
24:28Obviously, I'm only going to do this once in my life.
24:31Would it be okay if I went first?
24:59That's it. There's no backing down now.
25:02I just hope I don't live to regret it.
25:12It's my last meal with the family.
25:15And Adriana has made sure we're all well-fed for the ceremony.
25:19There's the rice, the macaroni, the bread.
25:26But it also feels a bit like a condemned man's final meal.
25:32It's hot.
25:35It's hot.
25:37It's hot, it's hot.
25:41Isaiu, how do you feel tomorrow?
25:45Now that I got more anxiety, I'm going to put my hand on the first time.
25:56And Mr?
25:59I'm ready. I think so.
26:03I think so.
26:08Big day tomorrow. It has involved a lot of mental preparation.
26:14It has involved strategizing, but I feel like I'm there.
26:20And it may well be the last time in my life that I ever experienced that sensation.
26:24So I want to experience it. I want to relish in it.
26:28I want to revel in it. I want to explore it.
26:34And dare I say it, I don't want it to be over.
26:42It's the day of my rite of passage.
26:47And it wouldn't be much of a ceremony without the star of the event.
26:51Chinico is blowing a musical instrument at the front,
26:55which is part of the ceremony in terms of attracting the ants
27:00and drawing them out of their home.
27:15The tobacco smoke and rubbing of the tree aggravates the ants
27:18and drives them out of their nest, ready to sting.
27:34Wow, that's quite a lot on the pole.
27:40There's a lot of ants going into this tube.
27:44A huge amount. Every one of them has a sting.
27:49Considerably worse than a scorpion.
27:56Back in the village, while the boys and I steal our nerves,
28:02Tinico sedates the ants using leaves from the tapabera plant.
28:10This is the remedy of the tocandeira.
28:13It's to protect them.
28:17With 10 minutes or 5 minutes, they will return again.
28:24It's a skillful art.
28:26And Tinico must work fast to weave the ants into the gloves before they wake up.
28:47This is it. The sedative has worn off, and the ants are ready to attack anything and anyone that goes
28:53near them.
28:55Undeniably, there's this surge of energy that is rising in my body.
29:07It's kind of a mesh of excitement and elation and fear.
29:20I think, actually, in my life, the closest I've come to this is a boxing match.
29:25You know, somewhere where there's nowhere to hide.
29:27Somewhere where, if you mess up, it's going to be very visible to a lot of people.
29:43Once the gloves go on, I'll be entering a world of pain that I've never felt before.
29:50So the ants are going into the gloves now, being tied up.
29:54And there will be nothing I can do to stop it for over 12 hours.
30:02How does this happen?
30:03Like this?
30:07Yes.
30:08It's going to hurt.
30:09It's going to hurt, but…
30:12But you are…
30:15Get the answers!
30:18Get it.
30:18It's going to spin.
30:20It's going to spin.
30:26It's going to spin.
30:35...
30:36...
30:59I may look composed, but the pain is excruciating.
31:06Somehow, it's almost making me feel high, I'm charged with adrenaline and completely
31:12focused on the dance.
31:18The repetitive steps are giving me something to focus on, but the searing pain is like nothing
31:25I've ever felt before.
31:26.
31:27.
31:27.
31:27B-B-W-W-E-U-E-R-A-T-E-R-U-S
31:33B-B-B-W-E-U-E-R-A-T-E-R-U-S
31:36B-B-B-W-E-U-E-R-U-S
31:41B-B-W-E-U-E-R-U-S
31:58B-W-E-U-E-R-U-S
32:26I've never experienced anything to this intensity in my physicality.
32:32Literally, like, my hands are on fire, right in the heart of a fire.
32:37I've never experienced anything to this fight, right in the heart of a fire.
33:01But, no. He resisted. It was positive. His preparation was very good.
33:14If you were to spiral into a panic with this level of pain, it would be awful.
33:28It would be, then, unmanageable, by definition.
33:45If it's this hard for me, a grown man, I have no idea how the boys are going to cope.
33:51It would be, then, unmanageable, by definition, unmanageable, by definition, unmanageable, by definition, unmanageable.
34:22Now, it's all about withstanding the incredible pain.
34:31Taniko warned me there would be intense peaks to this pain.
34:37It feels like I'm hitting the first of these now.
34:41I guess this is now the phase where there's no abatement.
34:44You know, the pain is, if anything, it's growing slightly.
34:49And, if anything, it's getting more painful.
34:52And it's managing that.
35:04It's making me laugh.
35:08It's making me laugh.
35:10Like this.
35:11It's important that I don't beå“ at the começ gala.
35:37An hour after the ritual and the pain is only increasing, the decision is made to move
35:45us to the village hall so that we can be closely monitored.
36:03But it's as close to as unbearable as I can contemplate right now.
36:10Hats off to these people who do it 20 times.
36:13Crikey.
36:13What an extraordinary way of facilitating them to turn from young boys into adults.
36:24A little bit of panic that the pain is still as bad as it is.
36:29That I'm just trying to calm within myself.
36:38This is kind of the darkest part for me now.
36:51As I put my hand in the gloves first and for a longer time, I received more venom.
36:58Now, I'm struggling to cope and my team are concerned.
37:02Hello, Eiji.
37:04Hello.
37:05How are you?
37:06How are you?
37:08How are you?
37:29How are you?
37:30I can't.
37:31How are you?
37:31Yes.
37:33How are you?
37:42How are you?
37:46Oh yeah.
37:49How are you?
37:51that he was entering a system of dehydration,
37:54which is common in this moment of exposure,
37:56by the ritual itself and the toxin itself of the worm.
38:11After taking in fluids and being carefully monitored by the doctor,
38:15I am finally back on my feet.
38:19But the pain was way more traumatic than I had ever anticipated.
38:25It's kind of changed...
38:28from burning fire to they've been smashed with a sledgehammer.
38:39In the dance, I just sort of found myself next to another guy
38:43whose hands were completely messed up so that we couldn't kind of link arms.
38:49And, erm, this quite young girl called Fran came up and linked arms.
38:55There was just something so special about the fact that she'd noticed
39:00and that she cared enough.
39:03I think their role is vital, absolutely vital.
39:07And, erm, it's funny, isn't it, you go through all that pain
39:10and the thing that makes you close to tears
39:13is the care that you've been presented with and offered.
39:25Adriana, I mean, literally constantly helping me, feeding me,
39:32binding my hands.
39:40He's so close to the work.
39:46It's sad, and feel good about it.
39:52I'm hurt.
39:52Don't cry.
39:53Don't cry.
39:54Don't cry.
39:55Don't cry.
39:57Don't cry.
40:05I have never been presented with so much care and love and and I would never have got through
40:11that ceremony if it wasn't for you all. I'll never forget it.
40:20I will remember it.
40:30Thank you very much.
40:35It's very good you and Eric, to resgatar our culture, to lead us forward.
40:45It's very good what we are doing here.
40:50I don't have much more words, but I thank you very much.
40:55It's very good at the bottom of my heart and my family who are united here.
41:01I think, I came here thinking that this ceremony was all going to be about proving how tough I was.
41:08You know, proving how I could do this on my own.
41:14And it's not true, is it?
41:16It's not true of the ceremony, but it's also not true in general.
41:19You're always like, you don't have to do it all on your own.
41:23You can let people in.
41:26You can let them help you.
41:34It's beautiful. It's absolutely beautiful.
41:55I feel a bit buttered and bruised this morning, if I'm honest.
42:01That level of pain, for that amount of time, just almost doesn't feel natural.
42:09I think I've started to get an understanding of how rites of passage are really essential to communities,
42:14because on the face of it, they look like things that allow young boys to show off,
42:18to prove that they're tough, so they can become a man.
42:20Oh, it's the last one.
42:26Thank you very much.
42:27Thank you very much.
42:27Thank you very much.
42:28And maybe we'll see you in the future.
42:30Yes.
42:34The ceremony last night changed my opinion on that.
42:37It was about the community coming together.
42:40It's the very soul of the community, and it's what pulls everything together.
42:46I've been fighting my whole life, fighting to prove that I'm tough enough to survive on my own,
42:52and the inherent epiphany of last night seemed to be that you don't have to.
42:57You can come into a village, and seven days later, they're calling you part of their family
43:01and giving you so much love and support that you're reduced to tears.
43:05I mean, that's...
43:06I don't know of many things in life more powerful than that, really.
43:20Sounds like a cartoon anvil falling from the sky.
43:23All right.
43:24All right.
43:34All right.
43:36All right.
43:39All right.
43:42Bye.
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