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00:17Am I ready?
00:18Yeah.
00:18Failure is never an option when doing a rite of passage into manhood.
00:27I'm scared.
00:37I'm Ed Stafford.
00:38As an explorer and survivalist, I've made a career out of mucking about in the wild.
00:45If I'm honest, I've never really grown up.
00:47Look at that!
00:48So now...
00:50Ready, guys?
00:53I've set myself a mission to see how cultures across the world navigate the messy business of becoming an adult.
01:05I believe many of us in the modern world have lost our sense of identity, but I'm hoping by immersing
01:12myself in the often extreme trials that young people face, I can figure out how these rituals make us better
01:19members of our communities.
01:21I've never experienced anything even comparable in terms of pain.
01:26By joining them on their journey, I hope I'll learn to become a better man.
01:34Maybe even grow up.
01:35It's very honest.
01:37Okay, he wants me to jump, but I'm going to jump now.
01:39And successfully pass my own rite of passage.
02:01I'm deep in the heart of Ethiopia's Omo Valley, heading to live with the Hama people.
02:08It's taken me three days of travel just to get here, but I'm now only an hour away from my
02:13home for the next week.
02:16In one of the most remote areas of Ethiopia, Shafala village is a community surviving on the margins of existence.
02:24While I'm here, I'll be living exactly as the Hamadou.
02:34But I also want to take part in a very special ritual.
02:38Their cattle represent everything that they own in life and are at the centre of their unique rite of passage.
02:45It involves jumping up onto the backs of a group of bulls that have been lined up and running along
02:50them at least four times without falling off.
02:54Only then can they marry.
02:56It will be an incredible challenge as I'll have just seven days to discover an athleticism that I've never really
03:03had.
03:05But for which most of these hammer boys have been building their entire lives.
03:12Right, I'll jump out.
03:19We're way off the beaten track.
03:22There's no power.
03:24No running water.
03:26We're hours away from the nearest hospital.
03:29And as this is Africa, the likelihood of venomous snakes, scorpions and other wild animal encounters is high.
03:37This really is the middle of nowhere.
03:47The hammer way of life hasn't changed much in hundreds of years.
03:52Everything is based around their livestock.
03:56But before I can make friends with the bulls, I need to meet the people.
04:01And so far, that's proving tricky.
04:04Cimbele?
04:06Cimbele?
04:07Yeah?
04:08Yes.
04:16Good local dialect, Ed.
04:18My translator, Killer, is meant to be meeting me inside Chief Cimbele's hut.
04:23So until I find that, it seems I'm on my own.
04:26And, hello again.
04:27Nagaia.
04:29Nagaia.
04:30Nagaia.
04:30Nagaia.
04:32Nagaia.
04:32I'm Ed.
04:33Nagaia.
04:34Nagaia.
04:34Nagaia.
04:35Can I come in?
04:38Cimbele, the chief is inside the house and I've run out of local dialect, I'm afraid.
04:44So I'm just going to take my bottle off and go in.
04:52DING RUNNING
04:58Nagaia.
04:58Nagaia.
04:58My name is Ed.
04:59Erm, and erm, yeah, it's an honour to be here.
05:08I am so not used to sitting on the floor.
05:16OY!
05:16OY!
05:17OY!
05:17OY!
05:17OY!
05:17OY!
05:20OY!
05:36OY!
05:39OY!
05:43OY!
05:50OY!
05:59OY!
06:02OY!
06:03OY!
06:05OY!
06:06OY!
06:07OY!
06:08OY!
06:11OY!
06:21OY!
06:21Killa!
06:21Killa, Probleme!
06:23say thank you since i wasn't born hammer being adopted is the only way that i'm going to be able
06:33to take part in the bull jumping it's a crucial first step i'm a little wadim or cut cut to
06:42give
06:42me dancing dancing i'm not a dancer
07:13for the hammer dancing helps keep community bonds strong
07:19a lot of these boys are working towards their own bull jumping ceremony
07:24and i can't help but notice that jumping seems to be a theme here
07:31by the way i'm not doing that classic cliche white man going into the middle dancing
07:43but the chief's son maggie makes it clear participation is not optional here we go
07:48oh my worst nightmare
08:02maggie's the boy i'll be doing the ball jumping ceremony with in a week's time
08:11for him it's deadly serious i need to learn as much as i can if i'm going to have any
08:16chance of
08:25succeeding
08:25it's a lot of jumping it's a lot of display of manliness and um the women are coming in and
08:31kicking dust on their feet similar to giving an invite to a school prom the girls kick the
08:37boy's shins as a kind of flirting method to try and secure a dance partner during the celebrations on the
08:43day of the ball jumping ceremony
08:46it feels very inclusive um and i do feel very accepted now within within amongst the boys certainly
08:54i feel like i'm part of the game
09:00i reckon i got off pretty lightly by not really having to do too much dancing
09:05and with my two left feet i'm glad i don't have to make a fool of myself straight off the
09:09bat
09:14dancing over and it's down to business
09:19maggie introduces me to his uncle shardo who is the local ball jumping specialist
09:23and will mentor me in the hammer way of life to the hammer the ball jumping ceremony is extremely
09:30important so they take me to a dry riverbed where they will need to test my skill level
09:36right there's more coming
09:45do you know what i can i can do this no problem i'm going to do this just jump up
09:52run along with cows
10:06jump down straight up across down
10:11yeah i'm gonna just do this
10:25all right i'm over i think it's just good having me around for the entertainment valley basically
10:36i should hang out here charge for my services and everyone will be a lot happier
10:46however the laughs soon fade and i'm putting on a brave face
10:50but my first ball jumping test is nothing short of an embarrassment
10:56there's something else that's crucial to the ceremony besides bulls
11:01ball jumping without sorghum beer would be like a wedding without cake
11:07providing a lot demonstrates the family's social standing while fostering unity between villages and
11:13marking celebrations
11:15things maggie takes me to one of the fields where they grow this gluten-free grain that's a vital
11:20source of food as well as a drink maggie's job is to keep it safe and i'm going to see
11:26if this is
11:27somewhere where i can actually help
11:30so are these all your crops
11:31I think I didn't be I'm in the I can tell him the only one
11:37I'm
11:46I'm
11:46I'm
11:47I'm
11:47I'm
11:48I'm
11:48I'm
11:49I'm
11:50I'm
11:51I'm
11:52I'm
11:52I'm
11:54I'm
11:54I'm
11:55I'm
11:56I'm
11:59I'm
12:10I'm
12:11I'm
12:11I'm
12:11I'm
12:11I'm
12:14I'm
12:15I'm
12:15Let's hope my sling-shotting is better than my cattle jumping
12:25Okay
12:26Yeah
12:32Okay, I didn't kill myself
12:39This kind of slingshot is one of the hardest
12:42Methods of hunting that I've ever actually done and an incredibly difficult to get accurate and incredibly difficult to get
12:48fast
12:50Clearly these guys have been doing all their lives in super, you know, probably knee-high and
12:58How'd you get the snap like that you can get us give me give me she gets part of that
13:03target ever
13:10Me that went over there so
13:23That was exactly the same as that what I did that is next level slingshotting
13:29All right last go then I'm gonna have to call it a day
13:35All that almost did a little snap thing
13:40Almost don't laugh at me
13:44At the moment, I feel like a total joke to the hammer at least the slingshotting wasn't as bad as
13:50the ball-jumping
13:54Back at the village my ball-jumping coach shadow has very kindly sorted me out with a roof over my
13:59head during my stay here
14:01In here, okay
14:03For me
14:05Thank you
14:08Although fairly inconvenient for me the small doorways in traditional hammer hurts are supposed to help keep the elements out
14:15Which is pretty critical in a harsh environment like this?
14:19Cool. Okay, so this is my home for the next week. It's
14:24Yeah, it's amazing that I've got somewhere to stay
14:31Cool
14:32And this mattress I think it's new actually
14:35Oh, no, look
14:38Ah, food gone
14:42This is definitely one of my more unique sleeping arrangements
14:46Ah, mate, cool
14:49See you tomorrow morning
14:53It's four by six in the morning
14:57I just feel a bit rude
14:59Staying in my house something coming out
15:09I didn't realize how little impact
15:14There has been from the outside world. There's no power at all
15:18I've seen two or three mobile phones, but they're the old sort of Nokia mobile phones. It's at night time
15:24There's no light at all. So there's no light pollution
15:27I've lived with a lot of indigenous tribes never one that was quite as authentic as this one
15:39And therefore it's all the mobile privilege to experience a culture which is so so different to my own
15:46I'm keen to immerse myself and then pick up as many of the skills that that they're using as possible
15:57To get a better handle and exactly what I've got myself into
16:02I asked chief Zembele if he can tell me more about Maggie's and my upcoming ball jumping ceremony
16:09To wear days from Maggie's rite of passage ceremony. Is it such a big event that it's causing causing you
16:16some stress?
16:18It's a big event that it's causing you some stress. It's causing you some stress. It's causing you some stress
16:25Obviously Maggie is the chief's son. He's your son
16:28If he does if the pressure of the event gets too much and he doesn't succeed
16:34Does he have another ceremony? Does he get a chance to do the whole thing again?
16:38I'm a runner and I'm a turtle. I'm a puppy and I'm a puppy and I'm a puppy and I'm
16:43a puppy and I'm a puppy
16:45I'm a puppy and I'm a puppy and I'm a puppy and I'm on a puppy so you're going to
16:50eat them
16:50And if you want to be a big a big pen that you realize you're going to eat them
16:54And you're waiting for me to eat them
16:57That that's that's good advice do it like you. Because you succeeded
17:03How big is this event like how many people will come what what can we expect can you tell me
17:09a bit more about it
17:24I can let you into a little secret. I'm not very good at the moment. I'm really not very good.
17:58And if I was to fail, would that be a shame?
18:02For me and my family as well? Or on you?
18:15In a way, I don't think I'd fully realise just how serious this ritual is. And I have now.
18:21OK. I will try and not humiliate you.
18:32I'm worried that if I don't improve a lot, I'm going to embarrass Zembele and ruin the most important day
18:40in Maggie's young life.
18:47With preparations for the bull jumping ceremony now going into overdrive,
18:51Chief Zembele's sister-in-law is hard at work making one of the ceremony's indispensable staples using sorghum.
18:59What are your names?
19:01In Waku.
19:03In Waku.
19:03Waku.
19:04Waku.
19:05Waku.
19:26Waku.
19:27Can I get involved in this?
19:47How many of these do we need to do to make the beer?
19:50that I'm confident a lot a lot and it is it is the rite of passage does it change
20:05the men in your eyes or are they more attractive are they more eligible as
20:09husbands yeah so are you two are you two married yeah yeah and how many children do you have six
20:27children I've got four do either of your husbands have other wives because I heard in this community
20:34the men can have more than one wife no just you and same with you are there's two okay and
20:43do you
20:43mind me asking how do you how do you feel about the other wife and does she become like your
20:57best
20:57friend yeah yeah that's cool that's amazing although it's unlikely in this village and most
21:09places around the world for that matter for the women to be allowed to have two husbands it's funny
21:14how polygamy tends to work more in favor of the man and when when you're not making beer in a
21:20in an
21:21average day what would you what would you guys be doing in the village half day half day long way
21:35long way to get water the sticks within the water and the balls are going on top of the sticks
22:00above the
22:00water and being steamed the kind of hard-boiled half-steamed and this is the most bizarre beer
22:09making ceremony I will process I've ever come across why are we taking this back inside
22:41good morning it's quite firm this mattress the voice of a goat is very very similar to the voice of
22:52a
22:53screaming child these chaps here who are keeping me awake for the majority of the night not terribly
23:16respectful of a good night's sleep they're not I think the idea from my mentor shadow is that let's
23:34get a small ball let's work the ante a little bit now that's clear the clear the ball clear the
23:44ball
23:49jump up sail through the air clear the ball down down down on feet turn around wink
24:06I guess you could say the stakes are high it's small and any last-minute tips
24:26tips next day good thanks okay let's jump a cow jump higher my advice jump higher go on Maggie
24:49so I mean Maggie clipped it with his foot I mean he's a he's an athletic beast
25:01okay he wants me to jump I'm gonna jump now
25:05okay
25:07just go
25:07okay
25:08hmm
25:10hmm
25:33I think that went pretty well.
25:40Maybe I clipped it a little bit harder
25:41because the reaction of the bull was slightly more dramatic.
25:46I've jumped a cow.
25:47I've jumped a cow.
25:49That's a big step forward.
25:51I'm actually quite pleased that I've done that.
25:54Also pleased that I haven't broken the back of the little bull.
26:04So, what do you think of my cow jumping?
26:09Yeah, really?
26:19So, Maggie, you actually hit the bull.
26:21Does that worry you a little bit that you didn't clear it cleanly?
26:28Yeah, yeah.
26:34I believe you. I believe you.
26:36Better join me. Better join me.
26:43In the Omo Valley,
26:44the Hammer people must make the most
26:46of what little resources are available to them.
26:50So, Sade's got an arrow and he's sharpening it up.
27:01So, there's a rope going on like a kind of tourniquet.
27:06Exactly like a tourniquet.
27:23So, the blood is actually going into a jug
27:27that has already been used to collect milk.
27:28So, it's a mixture of blood and milk in there now.
27:37That won't affect the cow.
27:39It'll be fine.
27:46Why, why are you staring at it as much as you are?
27:49Is it for everyone or is it more for the children?
28:04This gentleman here is sick and therefore, the cow has been bled
28:07in order to give him the nutrients that he needs to get better.
28:18Although hard to eat raw, blood is high in protein, iron and other vitamins and minerals
28:23that may be hard to find anywhere else out here.
28:31It's not meat, it's all come out of the cow.
28:35This is coagulated blood.
28:40But interestingly, he's referred to it as meat.
28:44I'm quite capable of eating many things,
28:47but this coagulated blood is worse than drinking blood.
28:49That is, it's chewy.
28:54Across the world, blood is used in various dishes to avoid any waste.
28:58Back home in England, it's called black pudding.
29:04Wow, look at that.
29:07It's like ribina and milk.
29:10Obviously, when there's less food, there's less water around,
29:13and you've got both nutrients and hydration.
29:19And this one does not taste too bad.
29:22That is good.
29:24For a tribe that is literally occupying an area
29:26where it is only just possible to live,
29:29they are using absolutely everything at their availability to survive.
29:34Incredible.
29:36About to join me.
29:40It's the day before the ceremony.
29:42Oh, my goodness, that's beautiful.
29:46Doesn't blood look amazing when it's being poured?
29:53We're making a mixture.
29:55I love making mixtures.
29:56We're making a mixture out of milk and blood
30:01that's been drained from the neck of a cow.
30:06And it's part of the celebration drinks for tomorrow.
30:11And it's very much part of the ceremony,
30:13is eating and feasting,
30:15but also drinking this amazing concoction.
30:20That looks amazing.
30:21It looks like sort of strawberry and chocolate milkshake.
30:25Mackey-D's.
30:28It literally does look like you've put a strawberry milkshake
30:31and a chocolate milkshake in one big bowl.
30:38Oh, it would be so, so much better, wouldn't it?
30:41It would be so much better if we spoke the same language.
30:44I'm sorry, Mackey.
30:45I will try and learn hammer next time.
30:55Nice one.
30:56Thank you, mate.
30:57That's really sweet of you.
31:03It's my last night in this hammer village.
31:06What an experience.
31:07I mean, living with the hammer has been
31:09unlike any experience I've ever had in my life before.
31:14It's been humbling time and time again.
31:16I've, um...
31:19I've been laughed at more in the past ten days
31:22than I've probably been laughed at ever in my life before.
31:25But I feel like I've come on a huge amount.
31:28The only way through was to accept that, you know, I am.
31:35Compared to hammer people, I am almost a laughingstock.
31:38If there's no surprises, I feel like I'll be all right.
31:41If there are surprises, I might struggle.
31:45I think it's time to hit my sack.
31:48So that's it for me.
32:00It's the day of the ball-jumping ceremony.
32:08And all the women of the village are blowing horns
32:11to signal to their neighbours
32:12that a boy's rite of passage is about to begin.
32:22But the ceremony can only properly start
32:24once a group of men called Mazza
32:27join to lead the proceedings.
32:32The Mazza are a group of young men
32:34who have themselves only recently done
32:36the ball-jumping ceremony
32:37and must then help the boys from nearby villages do theirs.
32:42Both practically and symbolically.
32:48We're heading down to the dry riverbed
32:50where the women have gone down to now
32:51because the Mazza have arrived.
32:54And Maggie's presence there
32:56will initiate the beginning of the whipping.
33:00And this is definitely the most contentious part of the ceremony.
33:04So I definitely want to go into this with an open mind
33:07and not a judgmental one,
33:09but it will be somewhat challenging to witness.
33:14One of the most controversial duties of the Mazza
33:17is the whipping of the village's women and girls.
33:20OK, so from what I understand, the whipping is about to start,
33:23and this is something I've never seen before,
33:25but can you tell me what the whipping represents in Hama culture?
33:35And does it take a long time for the scars to heal?
33:42So you actually bring the sticks yourself?
33:45So is part of the process
33:47that you invite the Mazza to whip you?
33:52So they're whipping you with your own stick?
33:58OK, so it's something that you would definitely want to keep in Hama culture.
34:03You wouldn't want it to be part of the Hama culture that died out.
34:22OK, and the whipping has started.
34:36it's very difficult to address this whole subject without looking through that western lens
34:44but the women are lining up to be with
34:50there's no crying out in pain and there isn't an obvious readiness to be whipped and they really
34:57want to demonstrate their loyalty support love for maggie and this is the way of doing that
35:04this is a hard one to compute it really is obviously deliberately putting myself in that
35:09space where i'm trying not to judge trying not to have um a perspective on it that isn't appropriate
35:23to their culture
35:23they're being whipped and their backs are bleeding and they're um very accepting and in fact wanting
35:30the suffering attached to demonstrating their love to maggie it's um it's such a juxtaposition it's
35:36um quite difficult especially when you're looking into the faces of the girls who
35:41an hour ago i was just laughing with
35:54i obviously can't condone anything like this and through a western lens it could be seen as degrading
36:00to women but this is not my place to judge or change these traditions embedded in their culture
36:11we're heading towards the cow jumping have to admit the old butterflies are starting to stir in my stomach
36:22hammer boys do the ball jump totally naked symbolically bringing nothing with them as
36:28they transition into adulthood but luckily i've been given a pass on that i don't think anyone wants to
36:34see a near 50 year old bloke jumping the balls naked anyway clearly it's not really about me it's
36:39about maggie but um i don't want to um i don't want to fail this one i want to i
36:44want to give it my best
36:46so one two three four five six seven eight nine ten eleven twelve thirteen fourteen fifteen sixteen seventeen cows
37:02i think this is just ridiculous there's another seven coming behind it makes 24 never even heard of 24 cows
37:12being used for the ceremony
37:14oh yeah yeah this is getting real now
37:19look at the size of the horns on that one
37:30i feel like it's my first rodeo
37:43so these cows are bigger than the ones in the in the village yeah they're bigger
37:52i'm scared
38:07hi maggie
38:13he looks nervous
38:17he looks nervous
38:37my thoughts are starting to get scrambled if i'm honest
38:40i um
38:42there's so many things there's the physical danger of doing it there's all of the attention
38:49there's the kind of ridicule there's the size of the cows there's so much going on
39:16there's so much
39:20no
39:21no
39:21no
39:22no
39:22no
39:22no
39:24no
39:25no
39:25no
39:32The smaller cows are being removed from the herd and only the big ones are going to remain.
39:50Looks like they've picked six of the biggest bulls for this.
39:53But thank God they've left a small bull in front to help us through the jump up.
40:26So Maggie sent it very gracefully I have to say.
40:30One of the bulls sort of was a bit spooked and moved out but the rest of them are still
40:34in line.
40:35I'm about to be called her.
40:39The small cow on this side has been taken away.
40:42Yeah, because that's the magical cow, I told you already.
40:45Okay, but that makes it easier to get up.
40:47Yeah, but you can start from here, no problem.
40:50Am I ready?
40:51Yeah.
41:02This cannot be happening.
41:03The last thing I want is to let Maggie, Chief Zembele and myself down by humiliating us all.
41:11The small cow that Maggie used to get over them has been taken away.
41:15That's his cow.
41:24It's not graceful, but I'm over.
41:27And that's all that matters.
41:41It's not graceful, is it?
41:57It's not graceful, is it?
42:13Well done.
42:15Well done mate.
42:16I just want to say thank you so much for letting me share your ceremony because I know this is
42:20a really special day for you so thank you.
42:25Mate, it was a pleasure. Give me a hug.
42:36I think one thing I have learned from the Hama people is that failure just isn't an option.
42:42I didn't come here to show off. I didn't come here to beat my chest.
42:44I came here to learn, and I've learned so much.
42:47It was a big success for Maggie.
42:48He's now on his way to becoming a man.
42:50His past is right of passage.
42:52But for me, it's just about the lessons that I've learned.
42:55And above everything, it's the resilience that the Hama people have shown throughout the entire week.
43:00It feels like I've been accepted amongst the Hama people.
43:04It feels like I could carve myself a life out here if I wanted to.
43:09But I'm not 100% sure that I would want to, because to live out here, you need to be
43:15ridiculously tough.
43:20Is that going to work?
43:22I need to look down for you.
43:25You like laughing at me, don't you?
43:27Oi!
43:28Marvood!
43:29Oi!
43:32Yeah!
43:38Ah, yes.
43:42Used to play football for England, eh?
43:45No, brother.
43:46Didn't you?
43:46You know, you, you?
43:48What happened?
43:49What happened?
43:49I...
43:50You know...
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