- 7 hours ago
Ed Stafford's Rite of Passage Season 1 Episode 4
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00:03I'm feeling it.
00:05I'm very aware of what I'm about to enter.
00:11This isn't just beating your chest and showing off and showing how alpha male you are.
00:16This is a vehicle for growing up.
00:25I guess that's the essence of rite of passage, isn't it?
00:32I'm Ed Stafford.
00:34As an explorer and survivalist, I've made a career out of mucking about in the wild.
00:40If I'm honest, I've never really grown up.
00:45So now...
00:46Ready, guys?
00:48I've set myself a mission to see how cultures across the world navigate the messy business of becoming an adult.
01:00I believe many of us in the modern world have lost our sense of identity.
01:05But I'm hoping, by immersing myself in the often extreme trials that young people face,
01:11I can figure out how these rituals make us better members of our communities.
01:16I've never experienced anything even comparable in terms of pain.
01:22By joining them on their journey, I hope I'll learn to become a better man.
01:29Maybe even grow up.
01:31It's very honest.
01:32Okay, he wants me to jump out on the journey now.
01:34And successfully pass my own...
01:37rite of passage.
01:58I'm in the far north of China, in Inner Mongolia.
02:04It's a wild open country and rough terrain spreading out in all directions.
02:10I'll be traveling to a remote region located in the expansive grasslands of Shilingor League.
02:18Where I'll be spending a week with a Mongol family.
02:22The nomadic Mongols have led a traditional pastoral lifestyle on this grassland since the time of Genghis Khan.
02:32From what I know about their rite of passage,
02:35their training to become a fierce and Mongol warrior is as much a part of their ancient culture as it
02:41is a rite of passage.
02:42It involves three manly games.
02:45Horse riding.
02:48Archery.
02:50And wrestling.
02:53Skills once essential on the battlefield.
02:57Today, Mongolian men are still expected to excel in these sports to pass their rite of passage.
03:04At a traditional festival of games called Nadam.
03:09It's all about technique and strength.
03:12And perhaps the truest form of showing that strength is Mongolian wrestling.
03:17With just seven days here, wrestling is what I've chosen to focus on.
03:21So basically, I've got a week of being thrown around and battered and bruised.
03:25Which should be fun.
03:30At the end of my stay, my wrestling skills will be put to the test at the local Nadam festival.
03:36If I can put up a good fight and beat an opponent,
03:39I reckon I will have burnt my stripes in this Mongol rite of passage.
03:46This really is in the middle of nowhere.
03:51I can't help but notice that while remote, we aren't far from the comforts of the modern world.
04:06I'll be staying on an isolated farm with Temel,
04:09who is the head of the family out here on the grassland.
04:12Hello.
04:13Oh, Tano.
04:14Nice to meet you.
04:15My name's Ed.
04:16Tano.
04:19Is this your son?
04:21I'm Tano.
04:22Hi.
04:22Tano.
04:30Temel invites me to meet the rest of his family in their traditional yurt,
04:34known as a ger in Mongolian.
04:37Since Temel and his family now live in a modern house,
04:39the ger now serves as a comfortable area to socialize.
04:43This is beautiful.
04:43His family will be hosting me for the following week.
04:47His wife, Daoren Tuya.
04:50His brother, Erdin.
04:52His two sons, 23-year-old Nacho and 13-year-old Amuri.
05:14Homemade nook tea.
05:18I'm going to try this.
05:26And how do you make a living here?
05:28Is it all from livestock?
05:31And how many animals do you have?
05:39How much of this land around us that we can see is yours?
05:47Wow, that's a huge amount.
05:49Okay, so pretty much everything we can see is yours.
05:53Do you mind me asking how old you are?
05:5749, that's the same as me.
05:58Same as me, we're the same age.
06:02Temel's son, Nacho, is a professional Mongolian wrestling coach
06:05and he's considered a champion of Shilungor League.
06:09And do you think that 49 years old is too old to wrestle?
06:17Would you be able to teach me how to wrestle?
06:28Good.
06:29I'm a little bit nervous, I have to say.
06:34Before training officially starts, the guys decide to size me up.
06:37Okay, 49-year-old against 49-year-old.
06:49You let me win, you let me win.
06:55You're a very good host, thank you.
06:59Come on, mate.
07:01Come on, mate, let's do it.
07:04Go.
07:12Good game.
07:14You've got a strong son.
07:15Strong son.
07:17Boyed up by beating a 13-year-old.
07:19Ready?
07:20It's time to take on the big gun.
07:22Son.
07:23Oh, my goodness, mate.
07:28Wow, okay, you're strong.
07:31You're strong.
07:33Okay, that's quite sobering.
07:36It's clear that I've got some serious catching up to do with my new coach.
07:43Seemingly not one to waste any time, Nacho cracks the whip and starts my training immediately.
08:10Oh, well, that joke definitely got lost in translation.
08:14When entering the fighting ground, the wrestlers perform a ritual dance to signify their confidence
08:20and readiness to do battle.
08:26With the movement supposed to symbolize powerful animals.
08:29You run in like a Mongolian.
08:37Okay, it really is quite simple, isn't it?
08:40But I'm moving more like I belong at the bottom of the food chain.
08:53With the dance over, each wrestler raises his hand as his name is called.
09:19Nacho and his brother, Amuri, have already wrestled at Nardom, so this week it'll only be me
09:24that's really going through a rite of passage.
09:26But before I start, I'll need my gear.
09:30One of the most important parts of a Mongolian wrestler's uniform
09:34is called a jodag.
09:38An open-chested jacket used for gripping opponents during matches.
09:42This week it's called a long- forge.
09:52The second time I know is the first time I'm on which I have alreadyvezed myself.
09:58This is the same.
10:02For people in which I have not been the same.
10:05There are three of the dances, which I brought in.
10:09You have to find one.
10:10And then you have to find a new movement.
10:11You have to find two of the dances, which I have to give you,
10:14OK, so lesson one is all about gripping.
10:19That can't be too hard.
10:21Yeah, very easy.
10:23Let's go.
10:25Put your eyes on the ground and...
10:29Blatter!
10:33Basically, I need to seize my opponent's grip points.
10:43And break free when he takes mine.
10:49Nothing seems to be working.
10:53Breaking free from Nacho is just impossible.
10:59I'm so sorry.
11:01I don't know what you're going to do.
11:02I'm so sorry.
11:06I don't know.
11:08I'm sorry.
11:09It's a bad thing.
11:11You're so sorry.
11:13You're so sorry.
11:15I'm sorry.
11:16I don't know what to do.
11:24I'm going to take a look at him.
11:58Can we stop for half an hour?
12:00Not five seconds, half an hour.
12:03My brain's fried.
12:05Obviously, this is an intensive period of training.
12:09If I don't have time to mentally digest it and physically recover, I'm not going to advance.
12:13That's my take on it.
12:18I think the thing that's holding me back at the moment, which you're pointing out very
12:23clearly to me, is that I'm trying too hard all the time.
12:26And then because I'm trying so hard, I'm exhausting myself within seconds.
12:33Currently, it's day one.
12:34I'm at the very beginning of my journey.
12:36But if I was to enter it today, I wouldn't do well, would I?
12:52This must be one of the toughest rites of passage I'll be faced with.
12:56Right now, I'm not sure if I could throw anyone at the Nardum festival.
13:00I need to raise my game fast.
13:12Felt like the princess and the pea last night.
13:16The guys don't seem to have mattresses here.
13:19Some on a hard wooden board on nine blankets, basically.
13:24And yet there was a lump just underneath my chest.
13:30Wrestling this morning, joyous.
13:33I knew there'd be a catch.
13:36Outside the gear, Nacho has already set up the gym.
13:40Morning, mate.
13:42Right, I'm looking forward to this.
13:43What are we doing?
13:44Okay, great.
13:46Are we headbutting them?
13:48No.
13:49No, no, no.
13:49Okay.
13:50All right, good.
13:51I'm good.
13:51Okay.
13:52I'm good.
13:53I'm good.
14:02All right, so we're already starting to burn.
14:06Are you counting?
14:09I thought you were counting.
14:15This is a lovely way to spend the morning.
14:18142.
14:19This is not my usual gym workout,
14:22but I can see how it builds the strong grip needed in Mongolian wrestling.
14:26It's not hurting,
14:27but it's obviously quite wearing on the arms.
14:37No one likes to show up, you know.
14:42Okay, that's 200.
14:44Needless to say,
14:45I don't do a lot of this in everyday life.
14:48230.
14:49300.
14:50It's starting to get hard, actually.
14:52Okay, that's 400.
15:0298.
15:0399.
15:05500.
15:14Have you ever heard of the concept of recovery
15:17within exercise?
15:19I've heard of it, but I'm not going to do it.
15:23It's okay.
15:32Nacho tells me that we have to spend the day doing farm work
15:36instead of doing any wrestling training.
15:39But to be honest,
15:40I'm not sure this is the best use of my time out here,
15:43especially with Nardom quickly approaching.
15:51Cool.
15:51Let me have a crack at this, then.
15:55So, you want all the soil that way?
16:18I've noticed that out here, they don't really use any farming machinery.
16:22It seems like it's all done by hand.
16:25And I'm starting to think this is all part of Nacho's plan.
16:30All right, what do you want?
16:37Well, their hair notoriously always wins the race, doesn't it?
16:43So, Nacho's approach is a bit more slow,
16:46a bit more conserving energy.
16:48I could go on all day.
16:50It's almost tantric.
16:51It's almost tantric.
16:58But yeah, there's a set of contrasts
17:00between his approach to life and mine.
17:06How old were you when you started?
17:35And what would you, I guess,
17:37what would you like to achieve in your life?
17:39What do you aspire to?
17:40What would be the ultimate goal for you?
17:50And is that possible, do you think?
17:59Love your confidence, mate.
18:04So I'm being trained by the best,
18:06therefore I've got no excuses, have I?
18:09It's fun.
18:09It's fun to learn from somebody who's not like you.
18:12That's actually probably where I'm going to grow the most.
18:15This is already beginning to be fascinating
18:17just in terms of what I'm going to learn,
18:19not just about farming,
18:20not just even about wrestling,
18:22but about how to approach life.
18:27For the Mongols out on the grassland,
18:29one of the most legendary natural foods,
18:31which is believed to help them keep fighting fit,
18:34is a nice big glass of fermented horse milk,
18:37known as IRAG.
18:43Traditionally, IRAG is made by Mongolian women
18:46in family workshops like this one,
18:48with the Mongol women adding a vital part
18:51to their economy this way.
18:55Today, Nasu's IRAG goes beyond family gatherings.
18:59It's also sold in local shops and markets.
19:04Does the horse milk, therefore, cost a lot of money?
19:11I've never really seen a horse's udders before.
19:23And do you put a lot of your strength
19:25down to drinking horse milk?
19:40I think I might start marketing it in England.
19:44Horse milk for bodybuilders and wrestlers
19:48and rugby players.
19:51And we'll share the profits.
19:53This time next year, we'll be millionaires.
20:00A little problem, yeah?
20:03Yes, yes.
20:04Excellent.
20:07According to many experts,
20:08fermented horse milk really is a great lactose alternative.
20:12It's high in vitamins and minerals
20:14and has immune-boosting compounds to boot.
20:17Once the milk is collected,
20:19it's taken straight to the nearby getter
20:21to begin fermentation.
20:22Good.
20:24And this in here, this is all fermented, yeah?
20:28It smells sharp.
20:31It's not nice.
20:32It's tolerable, I would say.
20:33You know, it's the sort of thing
20:34that you wouldn't naturally eat or drink
20:38unless it was good for you.
20:41Okay.
20:45This will be the first time
20:46trying fermented horse milk.
20:51Oh, it's got a tang to it.
20:59Would this have been drunk
21:00in the time of Genghis Khan?
21:02Yes.
21:03Yeah?
21:03Yes.
21:04Yes.
21:05Yes.
21:05Yes.
21:06Yes.
21:07Yes.
21:07Yes.
21:08Yes.
21:18So to really take my wrestling skills up a notch,
21:22Nacho takes me to the nearby city of Xilin Haotu
21:25to train alongside a group of young,
21:27semi-pro Mongolian wrestlers.
21:30Up!
21:31Up!
21:32Up!
21:35Up!
21:35Up!
21:36Up!
21:37Up!
21:37Up!
21:37Up!
21:38Up!
21:39I think they're the guys
21:40who have been selected
21:41as young potential professionals.
21:46They should be quite an elite group of wrestlers
21:49and, yeah, it'll be interesting to see
21:50what I can learn from this.
21:53So in terms of level,
21:54how do they compare to you?
22:01There's that confidence again.
22:03I bet Nacho would actually make
22:04a pretty good lawyer back in England.
22:08Literally just smashed him on the ground so easy.
22:12Very good.
22:13After watching for a while,
22:16it's time to quite literally
22:17throw myself into action.
22:21Wow.
22:21Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
22:24Oh, no.
22:34Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no,
22:36no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
22:50Okay, I mean smashed, but he did pick the very best of the entire group.
22:57Let's go up against me.
23:01All right, we've got a smaller guy now.
23:02Let's see what I can do.
23:18Looks like my training with Nacho
23:20is starting to pay off.
23:21Time out.
23:23I'm very good.
23:25I just hope I'm doing him proud.
23:28So I don't think the word rest exists in Mongolian.
23:31So the concept of time out definitely does not exist in Mongolian.
23:35I'm not sure.
23:36You just need to train the VG.
23:37I don't know.
23:39All right, let's go.
24:01Grass on concrete.
24:04There's no give in this astroturf.
24:08I did see stars at that point.
24:10But he's half my size, so I had to get up and carry on fighting.
24:24Ahead of tomorrow's Nardim,
24:26there's one last place Nacho says we should visit
24:29for some spiritual preparation.
24:59Ovu's a cairns made out of piles of
25:00of rocks that serve as both territorial markers
25:03and ritual altars for the Mongols.
25:12You've brought your wrestling kit up here.
25:30Nacho is now cleansing literally the wrestling equipment that he's going to use as well,
25:35so that everything is pure, everything is ready.
25:42The reason Nacho has brought me up here is to give me an understanding of just how
25:46this ritual isn't something individual.
25:49It's not just for a wrestler who wants to win tomorrow.
25:53It's tying it into a bigger significance of an understanding that we're all part of something a lot bigger, you
26:00know.
26:17For me, this is a less conventional rite of passage.
26:20There is no ceremony, he's not jumping over a bull or putting his hand in gloves full of ants.
26:24However, if you look at what he's learning through doing what he's doing,
26:29you know, through aspiring to be the best in his country at wrestling,
26:33he is confronting his own demons.
26:35He is learning about responsibility, about discipline.
26:39He's becoming stronger.
26:40He's having to mentally be confident and mature.
26:44He's all of the same qualities that are nurtured in a person through a rite of passage ceremony
26:49are also being nurtured in the young wrestlers through their sport.
26:52And maybe it's actually a more translatable thing to Western world
26:56because we do take part in sports.
26:58We do take part in physical endurance events.
27:01And maybe they can be used as a kind of rite of passage,
27:04as a way of developing yourself.
27:17I don't think a rite of passage has to be a ceremony.
27:20I don't think, almost, I don't think it has to be a deliberate rite of passage.
27:23If you're going through something which allows you to transition from,
27:27for example, a young, immature, selfish boy
27:30into a mature, responsible, community-orientated man,
27:34then that's a rite of passage.
27:37As a traveller through these lands,
27:40paying respects at the Ovu is seen as a huge sign of respect,
27:43one which will hopefully give me safe passage as I continue my journey.
28:12Oh, it's even got my name on it.
28:13Look at that.
28:14Look at that.
28:25While I've been lucky to experience the famous Mongol hospitality during my time here,
28:32this is really quite special.
28:34It signifies for me turning a corner, being accepted to an extent by the family.
28:42And Nacho is, you know, softly spoken at first, but he's warming up now.
28:47It really took me back when Nacho was saying to me, he was like,
28:54you're wearing yourself out, you know, you're trying too hard.
28:58You're, you, there's no bit of you that's relaxed.
29:01You're just on 100% of the time.
29:03And it was as if he was being a life coach to me rather than a wrestling coach.
29:10He, he couldn't have been describing better my life.
29:13You know, if I've come here to learn about a culture that has a right of passage ceremony,
29:19but I do genuinely feel like this is helping me at my time in life.
29:23I turned 50 this year and, you know, I've stopped having kids now.
29:26You know, this is, this is a new chapter in my life, a new phase.
29:31It's extraordinarily relevant to me.
29:33And it's, it's, um, really causing me to address certain parts of my life
29:40and, um, consciously evolve through them, I think, um,
29:44which is exactly what a right of passage is meant to do.
29:47One, two, three, ten, ten.
30:26Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh.
30:47Today is finally the big day.
30:50Today is the Nardum.
30:58Don't know.
31:01So because I'm taking part in the NADAM,
31:04which is a festival of sports, basically,
31:06I have to wear the traditional garb.
31:11The wrestling's good. I'm good with it.
31:13If I get two round two, for me, that's a win.
31:16For me, that is above, probably, my expectations.
31:22If I don't embarrass Nacho, then that's also a win.
31:32And just as the festival is about to start, the heavens open.
31:43The horses apparently have been spotted, so they're 12 kilometres away they started,
31:48which is apparently a 15-minute run.
31:51And this is the finish line.
31:54There you get four seasons in one day in Mongolia.
31:57I'd like to experience some other seasons right now.
32:00Thank you very much.
32:00We've done the wet bit.
32:02Look at that, look at that, look at that.
32:06They're all children.
32:14It's ridiculous, isn't it?
32:16Half an hour ago, poofing it down with rain.
32:18Now, glorious sunshine, worried about sunburn.
32:24So we've had the horse racing.
32:26This is the archery being set up behind me.
32:44This is the archery being set up behind me.
33:05As the archery event draws to an end, the wrestling is about to begin.
33:12And in Mongolian wrestling, its winner stays on until a champion is crowned.
33:16How many people are wrestling today?
33:18Three, four, four.
33:23While most people will be watching the men compete, there is also a junior tournament,
33:29which Nacho's brother, Amori, will be vying to win.
33:33I'm here.
33:34The sun's out.
33:34Might as well enjoy it.
33:45I'm feeling it.
33:47I'm very aware of what I'm about to enter.
34:07Thanks, Tim.
34:08I appreciate it, mate.
34:10I'll do you proud, I hope.
34:11Going in first with the two experts.
34:16This signifies that they're very good.
34:18Sometimes I do wonder about my own mental health.
34:22Crikey.
34:30I'm having three players.
34:31I'm having three people.
34:39I'm handling three, four.
34:50I'm having another one.
34:51You, you, you see what happens?
35:01here comes the moment of truth
35:38first round done i'm so relieved that i've proven that i'm not a total failure
35:43and can continue this rite of passage
35:54so it's round two my name's just been called
36:05here
36:06here
36:06I'm the father.
36:08I'm the father.
36:11I'm the father.
36:43Okay, so I do not feel comfortable about that, huh?
36:46Are they deliberately giving me easy opponent?
36:49Oh, I think that's the same thing.
37:03This is now round three.
37:09It feels quite surreal to be in this position.
37:12This is actually the quarter-finals.
37:16It's down to the last eight people.
37:20Fingers crossed I don't have to wrestle Nacho this round.
37:27Or the big lad.
37:42Okay, this guy also looks like a bit of a brute, and he's in it to win it.
37:46I just need to relax and not do anything stupid.
38:06You could feel he could have put me down at any moment there.
38:09Oh, thank you.
38:13Got my earnings.
38:18Very good.
38:20600 RMB, which is 60 quid.
38:23So I can get the kids some presents on the way home.
38:25That's nice.
38:25And I got to round three, which is extraordinary and far beyond what I thought I was going to achieve.
38:31Achieve, there was a lot of good luck at home.
38:35The big
38:35Yeah, the big challenge of me.
38:38There was no big challenge in my team, but I was a big challenge.
38:49Okay so it's the semi-finals. Nacho's in with a good chance. He's in with a good chance.
38:54He's up against the guy that beat me.
38:56Come on son.
39:13Yes he's won.
39:14He's won.
39:19Very cool that we've got two brothers in the final.
39:21Marie and Nacho.
39:24You know, could have two winners.
39:35Nacho's up against the biggest Mongolian I've ever seen in my life.
39:43Come on mate, come on.
39:52So yeah, Murray's won.
39:55That's cool.
39:56He might be a little shy around me, but clearly he's on track to follow in his brother's footsteps.
40:02And now we focus on Nacho.
40:06He's lasting longer than anyone else has lasted against him.
40:10He's doing well.
40:13He's trying to lift him up.
40:17True.
40:17Come on.
40:21Oh, he's gone.
40:28Sorry, Nacho is on the floor, and that is the end of it.
40:33A dream for the day.
40:35Never mind.
40:36The beast won.
40:39Well done, mate.
40:42Well done.
40:42Never mind.
40:46You can tell he's disappointed, isn't he?
40:51I think Nacho really wanted to win that one.
41:05Champion.
41:06Champion time.
41:08Congratulations.
41:12Cool.
41:13I just want to say thank you all for having me to stay.
41:16You've been an amazing family.
41:17It's been such a privilege to live with you, to train with you, but just to take part in the
41:22whole thing.
41:23So, thank you very much indeed.
41:25No problem.
41:46Thank you, guys.
41:51Get some help, mate.
41:52Yeah.
41:54The main thing for me, though, was what I've learned along the way.
41:57And the key thing has been to relax.
42:00You know, going like a bull in the china shop through a fight, but also through life, isn't doing me
42:05any favors.
42:07And Nacho has taught me that I really do need to relax.
42:20I think it's definitely something I'll take into my wider life, because it is true.
42:24I do try too hard, and I think it's all well and good when you're young, going a thousand percent
42:31all of the time.
42:32But as you get older, and I am going through my own rite of passage this year, this year I
42:37turned 50, and you can't carry on living like that into your elder years.
42:42Therefore, my lesson is, relax, enjoy, enjoy the moment, enjoy the game that is live.
43:03Lo and behold, I've been entered into the fermented horse milk drinking competition.
43:12Hey!
43:16That is much harder to drink anything, and also my false tooth was, like, waggling down as I was drinking
43:23and dipping down.
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