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00:11The
00:12Which I go cook cool. Yeah, go by the data back. Oh, cool
00:17Hey, yeah, I'm a coach and a mimic and I cook the training
00:22We got one get it last we've got one this tree is hollow and there's a big
00:29Beehive inside the tree and it's just a matter of making it accessible enough to get our hands in and
00:35grab the honey out
00:52I
00:52Met Stafford as an explorer and survivalist. I've made a career out of mucking about in the wild
00:59If I'm honest, I've never really grown up
01:02Look at that. So now
01:06Ready guys
01:08I've set myself a mission
01:11See how cultures across the world
01:14navigate the messy business
01:15That's becoming an adult
01:20I believe many of us in the modern world have lost our sense of identity
01:25But I'm hoping by immersing myself
01:27And they're often extreme trials that young people face I can figure out how these rituals make us better members
01:34of our communities
01:36I've never experienced anything even comparable in terms of pain
01:41By joining them on that journey. I hope I'll learn to become a better man
01:46Maybe even grow up
01:50It's belly on us. Okay. He wants me to jump I'm gonna jump up and successfully pass my own
01:57Rite of passage
02:17I'm currently in northern tanzania's great rift valley a
02:21Vast area steeped in humanities ancient history
02:24I've been traveling for 48 hours just to get here and this is now my final leg a
02:31Five-hour drive deep into one of the most remote corners of the African bush
02:35I'm heading to the Socorro community on the fringes of Lake a sea a
02:41Place often called the cradle of mankind and where human remains dating back around two million years were discovered
02:52I'm here to live with the hatter and from what I know of their right of passage into adulthood
02:57It involves using expert tracking and bush kills to find honey and big game
03:02The hadzer have been surviving on these lands for over 50,000 years
03:08And one of the last remaining hunter-gatherer tribes left in the world
03:22Okay, one of the local hadzer boys is just come out. It's nice to see a smiling face. Hello, mate
03:34Hi guys
03:37Hi
03:38Hi
03:39Hi
03:39Hi
03:52Thank you
03:53Hi
03:54Hi
03:59What's your name?
04:00Hi
04:00Hi
04:00Hi
04:00Hi
04:01Hi
04:01Hi
04:02Hi
04:02Hi
04:02Hi
04:02Ah, that's your name Sakurama Hat Ah Sakurama Hat Sakurama
04:52Not only do I not speak their language, but I can barely pronounce their names.
04:57This could be a challenging week.
04:59I appreciate being allowed to come and live with you for a small period of time in your community.
05:05The key thing for me coming here is to learn about how you guys transition young men into adults.
05:11And if it's okay with you, the thing that I'm really, really interested in learning about
05:15is how you hunt for the honey and extract the honey from wild sources.
05:22Thank you very much, mate.
05:34OK.
05:46The guys are hungry and they've got no food and they need to hunt.
05:51So it's almost perfect for me rather than sitting around and all the awkwardnesses of being introduced to a tribe.
05:57We're straight out on a hunt.
06:00Hads of camps are named after their best hunters.
06:06With this community named after Socorro.
06:10Hads of camps are named after their best hunters.
06:14His right-hand man is 17-year-old Gonga.
06:17biraz head in the middle.
06:21Tisqyaz!
06:24Jagd!
06:24I'm out!
06:25Just keep going!
06:27I'm out!
06:33Ape!
06:37You!
06:38I'm out!
06:38You're out!
06:39I'm out!
06:41I'm out!
06:44You're out!
06:46I'm out!
06:46Cod the honey!
06:47is not for picky eaters I reckon they like squirrel consisting of over 30
06:54different wild mammals including monkeys porcupines badgers and impala
07:03to fight if I yeah other end other end other end other end amazing it's good water is good
07:25water mate yes Wow I mean that's so cool isn't it look at that that's extraordinary look it's
07:32cut the bottom drank out the bottom because he didn't know that you could unscrew the top
07:39why would you just just show doesn't it how divorced from everyday life this place is thank
07:45god that plastic still hasn't infiltrated this corner of the world yet nice
07:56and you've got a quite a big tuberous root being exposed now just take a look it's good
08:02is it what's it called so I yeah door I yeah back off I should move over then I call
08:09the
08:10number halfway between a potato and a kind of a cucumber it's kind of got that watery inside
08:22like a cucumber hash but with the flavor of the potato ah what are we looking for me it will
08:34up in
08:34our presentation of the back of the back of our week I in the back of you talk we see
08:38the back of
08:38the bank and it's a robot support for the summer summer okay cool looking for honey for I had to
08:47boy to transition into manhood and complete their right of passage they must prove themselves
08:52as a provider for the community so although facing an angry swarm of bees seems daunting it's a
08:59primary food source for that to people so it's something I must help them collect if I'm to pass my
09:14own rite of passage the white wax on the exterior of a bees nest means that bees are actively building
09:28new combs which should hopefully be overflowing with fresh honey how do you get the honey out of that
09:34water for food just a lot to get the water you're moving more than 10 meters above the ground it's
10:01not exactly the kind of place that you want to be stung by a swarm of bees
10:04angry bees i'm not sure i particularly want to go climbing up that one to make it even more
10:11precarious the only way to climb is by using homemade wooden pegs
10:21with only one squirrel successfully hunted and now shifting our focus to honey
10:25we've returned home with little food
10:38she looked really hungry and very grateful that that tuberous rube got given to her she looked
10:55really hungry the hats as traditional hunting grounds have been whittled away to only 10
10:59of what it was just 50 years ago meaning less game to hunt for food yeah there's a lot of
11:07little mouths
11:07to feed not that long ago the hatzer could easily feast on giraffes elephant and their favorite
11:15baboons but that looks like a distant memory today
11:23dead posh service this is thank you this is perfect
11:28laga laga laga laga laga laga laga means lie down
11:36thank you mate thank you thank you this is cool so basically this is my accommodation for the next week
11:49i don't want to become another mouth to feed
11:52making my need to help provide honey for this community all the more vital
11:58gonga how many do we need to make pepper
12:10gonga some of the guys were saying there's a girl that you want to get married to
12:13i don't know if you know a long time yeah no longer what's her name
12:45For a Hadza boy to complete their rite of passage and marry, they must prove to the
12:50bride's parents that they can provide for and protect a family.
12:54But right now, it looks like we're off to slay vampires.
13:00And climbing a 10-meter-high baobab tree to raid a hive filled with bees sounds just as
13:05daunting.
13:08The beehive is right in the crux of that, say about 10 meters off the floor.
13:32A baobab tree like this could easily be 2,000 years old.
13:36Archaeological evidence found in this region reveals that Hadza have lived on these lands
13:40for over 50,000 years, which means their ancestors were likely hunting and raiding beehives like
13:46this during the Stone Age.
13:48Gonga's skill level of being able to hang on to a little peg while standing on a little
13:55peg, while banging in a little peg is crazy.
13:59The East African lowland honeybee is one of the most aggressive bee species in the world,
14:04making up half of the infamous Africanized bee hybrid known as the killer bee.
14:11He's almost at the top now though.
14:25One wrong move and the bees could swarm Gonga and us.
14:30You can hear them up there.
14:32They are angry.
14:35I'd love to get stuck in and help, but Socorro says this is no job for a newbie.
14:42And this time, I'd have to agree.
14:50burdened that .
14:51Tana and Yuma are repenting of�를.
14:52It'sabi, his children, how it's going to help Heinules.
15:00He's posting their Büchers right as well.
15:03Also turned around, Mathe arrives at Rao to Phra Scotschie.
15:04vie Dyb Solогaop Farmar Raven's Par dressed as сторонers.
15:05F십ua homus will speak for one friend of mine.
15:06Despite still being stung, they pushed through the pane to access the prized honey.
15:15The only problem now is getting all the liquid gold down.
15:40Yeah, yeah, yeah, I've got it.
15:44Got it?
15:54Oh, look at that. Beautiful.
16:01Yeah? Yeah. Are you sure?
16:05Oh, my God, that was amazing.
16:08Needless to say, that's one of the best-tasting honeys I've ever tasted.
16:13That tastes extraordinary.
16:16To have that as part of your natural diet.
16:21You can see why it's worth the effort of making all the steaks
16:25and going up into the tree and risking your life.
16:29Ain't no knocking on doors, we knocking it down.
16:32Coliseum floors shining, reflect off the crown.
16:34Sneakers, wiki, clean, ira, ira, the sound.
16:37When I pivot off the good foot and bounce out of bounds.
16:40Well done, mate. Congratulations.
16:43Well done.
16:45Did you get stung much?
16:47Ding, ding, ding, ding.
16:48Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding.
16:52Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding.
16:55Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding.
16:55Get some honey down your mate.
16:58But this honey isn't really for eating.
17:01They had to also use it to trade.
17:02And it's going to help Gonga in his mission to win his future wife.
17:07What could you buy with this?
17:15So you can see why it is important both as part of the rite of passage, but also is there
17:20something to trade?
17:27And the plastic bucket of fresh honey is a welcoming boost to the community's morale
17:46and by the end of my week here, I will have to place my own hand into a wild bees'
17:46nest to provide for the community something I'm a little nervous about.
17:46This plastic bucket of fresh honey should be a welcome boost to the community's morale.
17:51And by the end of my week here, I will have to place my own hand into a wild bees'
17:56nest to provide for the community something I'm a little nervous about.
18:00I will have to place my own hand into a wild bee.
18:03I will have to place my own hand into a wild bee.
18:12How important within your culture is honey?
18:15Clearly it's not just a food, is it?
18:17You use it for trade and stuff like that, but how important is it?
18:21I will have to place my own hand in my hand.
18:25I will have to place my own hand in my hand.
18:27I will have to place my own hand in my hand.
18:30I will have to place my own hand in my hand.
18:35Do you worry that when the men go out hunting that they're not going to come back with any food?
18:40Because obviously you've got kids to feed and young males to feed.
18:43And they're not going to live they're not going to live.
19:00Do you ever get tempted to go and live outside of Hasda community?
19:09Do any of you ever get tempted to go and live outside of Hasda community?
19:13had two women believe their way of life is still best for their children for
19:18them survival doesn't come from money or possessions but from community and a
19:24husband who can hunt gongo obviously is looking to get married do you think he's
19:30a good catch nice I'm already fascinated by the Hadza and how a young man's rite of passage is
19:46directly connected to the survival of the tribe and his future family here becoming a man isn't
19:52just symbolic it's life or death without barbed metal arrowheads gongo can't hunt baboons so we
20:04make the long trek through the wilderness to the areas only forge and I hope for our sake
20:09the people running it still like honey this is very different nice view the Totoga are another
20:33of Tanzania's oldest tribes the ancestors were fierce warriors and masters of making
20:39weapons the neighboring tribe appeared to be blacksmiths we've got a arrowhead being made here
20:46and it's all using old little scrap bricks of metal incredibly simple and yet obviously it's a skill
20:52that the hands of people don't have but what the had to do have is honey it's a time for
20:59a bit of
21:11bartering I'm about to go to school is getting offered quite what he was hoping he was going to get
21:29off it
21:43happy days you happy okay excellent 20 arrowheads and two knives and he gets a pot of honey everyone's a
21:56winner
22:00it's been a successful mission and Gonga now has the tools he needs to prove himself on a baboon hunt
22:07but first he wants me to meet the girl that he hopes to marry everything in terms of honey collection
22:15potentially baboon hunting it's all focused towards Gonga getting married so it's time to meet the lady
22:22herself the umko obama community is home to other hunters and their families but with less than 400
22:30Hadza living a traditional life in the region every camp is like an extended family with many Hadza being
22:37married or related to one another which is your girlfriend now in the middle she's beautiful
22:48she's beautiful hi lovely to meet you
22:59a kiki kuku kama bawa kaya kawa go and say a quite credit at all net
23:11what what do you think of Gonga for your daughter
23:21while she moves mom seems sold on the idea her father looks a little less convinced in general
23:30how does the Hadza man prove his worthiness if he was to want to marry a lady in another community
23:37how
23:37does he how does he prove himself them a kaka kaka ka kaka kaka chia awkward awkward yeah awkward
23:43cheer probably look at that but it here go go to China deep
23:50welcome Bob Bob I telling echo that I papoko Bacia Manna I think oh I don't will phone
24:15It seems like a bit of a tall order, especially since all I've seen so far has been scrappy
24:20little squirrels.
24:21But I guess some traditions die hard.
24:24Baboon it is then.
24:24So if Gonga wants a wife, it seems he's got to cough up a baboon and a decent amount
24:30of honey.
24:30Is it true that the rum of the baboon is the best part?
24:37You understood me, didn't you?
24:38You didn't need a translator then.
24:41And although I'm a bit of a newbie out here, I hope I can help him on his own Hadza
24:46rite
24:46of passage.
24:53My time with the Socorro community is quickly running out.
24:57So now, focus turns to Gonga's rite of passage and helping him get his Hadza bride.
25:11And the first thing we need is not an engagement ring, but an arrow deadly enough to bring down
25:17a baboon.
25:18Why is it for baboons, you need these barbs like, do they pull the arrows out?
25:41The arrowhead is lethal, but without feathers, it won't fly.
25:45And when your whole future depends on the success of a hunt, there's no room for error.
25:50So keep going around that one.
25:52You need some help, you need some help.
26:04You need some help, you need some help.
26:08So we need some help.
26:33This is simply the happiest people that I've met in a long long time and they have nothing
26:39You really do not need stuff in your life. They have a bow and arrow, they have a knife
26:46Even the shelter, the home that they're sleeping in, is a temporary one that will work for the season
26:51And yet it's experience and knowledge and skill level that's enabling them to actually glean an existence from the environment
26:59Being able to craft tools, being able to make weapons, being able to know all of the different hunting techniques
27:06that they need
27:07And by putting it all together, you free yourself from the need to accumulate stuff
27:12And I think that's the key
27:16Happy life
27:26Thank you, mate. Thank you so much
27:34Okay, I didn't do it all myself
27:37But I consider that to be my first hunter arrow
27:42Thank you, mate
27:43Happy days
27:46Poisoned arrows ready
27:47We're all set to hunt baboon
27:59We've been walking about two hours from camp now
28:03It's a long way away
28:05And boys are on a mission
28:09To stand the greatest chance of success
28:12We are heading to new hunting grounds
28:14An eight-kilometre hike away under the rising African sun
28:25So this is baboon country
28:29And it's stunning
28:30It's so different to the horizontal scrub
28:35If I was a baboon, I'd be hanging out on these rocks up here
28:40Classic baboon territory
28:53Spotting movement on the horizon
28:56Gonga gives the signal
28:57And we head down into the valley
29:03All of a sudden, the hunt is on
29:07That was definitely contact with the troop of baboons
29:13The shouts from that direction, that direction, and that direction
29:17Baboon
29:18In the chaos of the chase, the group has splintered
29:24I'd better keep up
29:25Because I don't really want to get lost alone out here
29:30You guys are hot on the trail of a baboon
29:34Or a troop of baboons
29:37I'm just struggling to even keep up with them
29:52Okay
29:54Baboon
29:55Right in the top of that
29:57Crescent of that tree
30:01Okay, it's coming down
30:02It's coming down
30:03That was a huge baboon
30:05Exactly what Gonga's future father-in-law wanted
30:12And that big-ass baboon is looking quite impossible
30:18Okay, there's two
30:19There's two baboons moving left to right through that underground there
30:23They're closing in on them
30:29This is it
30:30With Hong Konga ambushing the baboons with the dogs
30:33And Gonga closing in
30:34We're moments away from a possible kill
30:43But once again, confusion kicks in
30:50Gonga is constantly the one right at the front
30:53He's the one that's spearheading the whole operation
30:56But because he is so up front
30:57I'm hardly getting a glimpse of him
30:59He's the one leading the charge
31:03He's the best hunter out of this lot
31:07Then suddenly
31:09The silence is deafening
31:13By the time I catch up with the rest of the group
31:15I can immediately tell
31:17It's not good news
31:35What is very cool
31:37Is that this is Gonga
31:39Wanted to get married
31:39Found a girl he likes
31:41Wants to impress her parents
31:42And all his mates are very happy to turn out with him
31:45At a stupid o'clock in the morning
31:47To go hunting
31:49That's pretty cool, isn't it?
31:51That's what mates are for
31:54Failing to bag a baboon
31:56Is the often harsh reality for modern Hadza
32:00So we're now relying on finding a cache of honey
32:02To restore some of Gonga's fortune
32:04And save his right of passage
32:09But with light quickly fading
32:11Time is not on our side
32:18We are losing time in terms of getting the honey
32:21It's part and parcel of what Gonga needs to provide
32:25And therefore
32:26If we can just nail that
32:28That would be good
32:32But all isn't lost
32:33When Gonga is leading the brigade
32:35Eddie
32:35Eddie
32:35Bichokoko
32:37Uh-huh
32:37Bichokoko
32:39Yakubala
32:39Koteyaya tabakoko
32:40So we got one
32:42Hey
32:42Teyaya tabakoko
32:43Cheney mimi
32:43And naako
32:44Koko
32:44Yeah
32:45Eta koko
32:46Dachenei koko
32:47Mimi
32:48And naako
32:49Nice. OK, at last, we've got one.
32:54The tree is hollow, and there's a big beehive inside the tree,
32:59and it's just a matter of making it accessible enough
33:02to get our hands in and grab the honey out.
33:06I'm going to have a go at trying to extract as much of this myself as possible.
33:10I really want to nail this for Gonga,
33:12and make sure he doesn't go back to his future bride empty-handed.
33:16Success would also be a massive boost for me
33:19to at least partially complete my rite of passage
33:22as one of the primary harvesters of this wild honey.
33:25Without looking at the sun, I reckon we've got about 40 minutes of daylight.
33:31With the clock ticking, it's now or never.
33:37OK, far going. Stage one complete.
33:43But this beehive is not going to be an easy one to get into.
33:45It's very enclosed, and the bees are very well protected.
33:51OK, so in here, yeah?
33:52OK.
34:02It's brutal work, and the longer we take,
34:06the more likely we are to aggravate the bees
34:08and potentially cause a swarm.
34:11But with Gonga's help, we gain access to the hive.
34:18Go, go, go, go.
34:20I think it's an apple in the middle.
34:28The boys don't think that they can access enough of the honey
34:32from the hole that we've cut.
34:34We need to open up the secondary hole.
34:41With the beehive still deep inside the tree and the light fading fast,
34:45the other boys also step in to help.
34:49I came here thinking, you know what, I want to prove that I can get the honey out of myself.
34:53And as I was chopping away, and the boys are standing around,
34:56I'm thinking, that's not the way they had to do things.
34:59These boys are a group of mates.
35:01They help each other.
35:02They all muck in.
35:03They all put the effort in.
35:05And not because I'm being lazy.
35:09But I'm going to embrace that team spirit.
35:13Teamwork makes the dream way.
35:21Oh!
35:22Gonga's just got stung, I can see.
35:37It looks like the smoke from the fire I made
35:40has done its job in subduing the bees.
35:48This is it.
35:49Time to get some for myself.
35:53OK.
36:20It's all right.
36:23Everyone has now had a lot of stings.
36:26It's got to the stage where the honey out, but the bees,
36:29they just go for you.
36:31I've probably got 20 or 30 stings.
36:33There's this crazy pleasure pain thing going on here at the moment.
36:37Everyone is high on sugar.
36:39Sugar, sugar, sugar.
36:40And in excruciating pain at the same time.
36:43Yeah.
36:44I was like, what's going on here?
36:45No knocking on doors.
36:47Knockin' it down.
36:48Coliseum floors shining.
36:50Reflect on the crown.
36:51Sneakers weak.
36:52You can't get hurt.
36:53You can't get hurt.
36:56You can't get hurt.
36:57You can't get hurt.
37:12That was just speaking without moving his lips at all.
37:21Worth the pain. Worth the pain.
37:26I would say that was a big success.
37:29It's not a bad haul. I'm not putting my hand in there again.
37:39Will your future father-in-law be happy with that?
37:45Nice one, Konga.
37:46Good work, mate.
37:53With the honey bagged, a night upon us,
37:55we have no choice but to spend the night sleeping rough in the bush.
38:03What a day. I mean, that was honestly
38:06one of the most rewarding days of my life.
38:09We have honey to speed Konga's wedding on its way.
38:14Today has just shown me it's all about team.
38:16This isn't a one-man effort.
38:19This isn't Konga demonstrating his prowess on his own.
38:22Clearly, he's one of the most competent in the whole group,
38:24but it isn't about that to the Hadza.
38:27It's about sticking together.
38:29It's about turning up for each other, and it's about having fun.
38:32And they have done all three of those in bucket loads.
38:40Morning.
38:41And with everyone from the community gathered for our return,
38:44this is the moment of truth.
38:48Has Konga done enough to win the blessing of his girlfriend's parents?
39:14We tried to get a baboon, but I'm afraid it just went away.
39:18We didn't get it in the end.
39:20We tried to get a baboon, but I'm afraid it went away.
39:29Gonga's been a little bit shy.
39:32Maybe he's worried about the fact that he hasn't got a baboon.
39:36I think he's just feeling the public humiliation a little bit.
39:46They're all just tucking in to the honey that's so amazing.
39:48I think...
40:19Does Gonga stand a chance with your dozer then?
40:38All right, mate, enjoy your honey.
40:41Go then. It's a lovely day.
40:42I'm not going to shake your hand because you're coming.
40:44No, I'm not going to.
40:49Nice.
40:51Like they say, anything easy isn't worth having.
40:54So hopefully, on Gonga's next baboon hunt,
40:57he can successfully secure the hand of his girlfriend.
41:01If we'd got a baboon, that would have been amazing,
41:03but, you know, you can't get a baboon every time you go hunting, can you?
41:21Yeah, they're really happy.
41:22And maybe you're a step closer to marrying their daughter, no?
41:25Yeah.
41:31Mate, can I just say thank you for giving me your time,
41:35for allowing me to live with you guys?
41:50Nice woman. Give us a hug.
41:53And good luck with everything.
42:02This is such a positive end to quite an incredible journey, really.
42:07Gonga is a step closer to being able to marry the girl of his dreams.
42:10Everybody who's here is happy.
42:12I think they're all slightly high on honey again,
42:14but that's kind of cool in itself.
42:16I've learned so much over the past few days.
42:22They call these guys the happy tribe, and you can see why.
42:25They have an innate joy within them,
42:27and I do think that comes from living a simpler life.
42:30And I don't mean that in a patronizing way,
42:32I mean that in an inspirational way.
42:34I think the simpler we can all make our lives, the better.
42:40I constantly look at communities like this and worry about their future.
42:44They don't think like that.
42:45It's all about today.
42:46It's all about feeding themselves and their children today.
42:50And that, again, spills into the whole happiness thing.
42:53I just think, don't think worrying about the future is in the Hadza at all.
42:59So, no, they're not bothered about it.
43:00They're happy.
43:03Fingers crossed Gonga's gonna get the girl, obviously.
43:07I think he will. He's a charming man.
43:09I think it's probably more to do with his cheeky grin
43:11than it is to do with his proficiency in baboon hunting.
43:15But whatever it is, I wish him all the best.
43:18And I'm sure he's gonna have a very happy life.
43:20That's not really an interesting guy.
43:23What do you mean?
43:31What's your name?
43:33What do you want?
43:35Come on, you can see yourself.
43:54Thanks, mate.
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