#video #ed staffords rite of passage s Episode 3 Engsub
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00:00I
00:13I
00:13I
00:22We got one get last we 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'm in Stafford as an explorer and survivalist. I've made a career out of mucking about
00:58In the wild if I'm honest, I've never really grown up
01:03So now
01:06Ready guys
01:08I've set myself a mission
01:11To see how cultures across the world navigate the messy business
01:16becoming 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
01:31I can figure out how these rituals make us better members of 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
01:46Well, I wish to go okay, Eric, but noise maybe even grow up
01:50It's belly on us. Okay. He wants me to jump out. I'm gonna jump out and successfully pass my own
01:57Rite of passage
02:17I'm currently in northern tanzania's great rift valley a vast area steeped in humanity's ancient history
02:25I've been traveling for 48 hours just to get here and this is now my final leg
02:30A five-hour drive deep into one of the most remote corners of the african bush
02:36I'm heading to the socorro community on the fringes of lake easi
02:40A place often called the cradle of mankind and where human remains dating back around 2 million years were discovered
02:52I'm here to live with the hunter 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 Hadza 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 Hadza boys is just come out. It's nice to see a smiling face. Hello, mate
03:34I
03:35Guys
03:37I
03:38Ed
03:39Ed
03:42Ed
03:43Anabawa
03:44Anabawa
03:45Anabawa
04:08Anabawa
04:16Anabawa
04:17Anabawa
04:19Anabawa
04:20Anabawa
04:21Anabawa
04:21Anabawa
04:24Anabawa
04:27Anabawa
04:31Anabawa
04:33Anabawa
04:34Anabawa
04:34Anabawa
04:34Anabawa
04:37Anabawa
04:52Not only do I not speak their language, but I can barely pronounce their names.
04:57This could be a challenging week.
05:00I appreciate being allowed to come and live with you for a small period of time in your
05:04community.
05:05The key thing for me coming here is to learn about how you guys transition young men into
05:10adults.
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.
05:24Thank you very much, mate.
05:25Thank you very much.
05:54All the awkwardnesses of being introduced to a tribe, we're straight out on a hunt.
06:00Hats of camps are named after their best hunters, with this community named after Socorro.
06:14His right-hand man is 17-year-old Gonga.
06:17We're here now.
06:26We're here for you.
06:27Okay, let's get out of the way for the world.
06:28Let's go.
06:33Okay.
06:37Okay, now.
06:38Let's get out of here.
06:42See you next time.
06:42Everyone?
06:42Wait!
06:43Let's get out of here!
06:45the Hadza diet is not for picky eaters I reckon they like squirrel
06:53consisting of over 30 different wild mammals including monkeys porcupines
06:57budgers and impala to fight if I yeah other end other end other end other end
07:23amazing it's good water is good water mate yes Wow I mean that's so cool isn't it look at that
07:31that's extraordinary look he's cut the bottom drank out the bottom because he didn't know that
07:36you could unscrew the top why would you just just show doesn't it how the voice from everyday
07:43life this place is thank God that plastic still hasn't infiltrated this corner of the world yet
07:55nice you've got a quite a big tuberous root being exposed now just a little it's good is it what's
08:04it cool so I yeah door are you back off a shoe move over then I'm a cool then I'm
08:11a half way
08:16between a potato and a kind of a cucumber it's got you kind of got that watery inside like a
08:22cucumber
08:23hash but with the flavor of no potato ah what are we looking for me well I'll be now quotation
08:35of
08:35October call call we kind of a break on you talk with you there but who double and any double
08:40but
08:40support for the summer summer okay cool looking for honey for had to boy to transition into manhood and
08:49complete their right of passage they must prove themselves as a provider for the community so
08:55although facing an angry swarm of bees seems daunting it's a primary food source for the Hatsa people
09:03so it's something I must help them collect if I'm to pass my own right of passage
09:23the white wax on the exterior of a bees nest means that bees are actively building new combs which
09:30should hopefully be overflowing with fresh honey how do you get the honey out of that
09:58with the hive more than 10 meters above the ground it's not exactly the kind of place that you want
10:03to be stung by swarm of angry bees I'm not sure I particularly want to go climbing to make it
10:10even
10:10more precarious the only way to climb is by using homemade wooden pegs with only one squirrel successfully
10:23hunted and now shifting our focus to honey we've returned home with little food
10:38she looked really hungry I'm very grateful that that tuberous rube got given to her she looked really
10:55hungry the Hatsa's traditional hunting grounds have been whittled away to only 10% of what it was just 50
11:01years ago meaning less game to hunt for food yeah there's a lot of little mouths to feed not that
11:11long
11:11ago the Hatsa could easily feast on giraffes elephant and their favorite baboons but that looks like a
11:18distant memory today dead posh service this is thank you this is perfect like I got like I got like
11:31I got I got
11:33a copy copy thank you thank you this is cool so basically this is my accommodation for the next week
11:44I
11:49don't want to become another mouth to feed making my need to help provide honey for this community all the
12:09more vital Gonga some of the guys were saying there's a girl that you want to get married to
12:16have you known a long time no long what's her name Shukmoha Shukmoha Shukmoha
12:45for a Hatsa boy to complete their right of passage and marry they must prove to the bride's parents that
12:51they can provide for and protect a family but 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 daunting
13:08the beehive right in the crux of that say about 10 meters off the floor
13:32above a tree like this could easily be 2,000 years old archaeological evidence found in this region
13:38reveals that had to have lived on these lands for over 50,000 years which means their ancestors were
13:44likely hunting and raiding beehives like this during the stone age Gonga's skill level of being able to
13:51hang on to a little peg while standing on a little peg while I was banging in a little peg
13:57is is crazy
13:59the East African lowland honeybee is one of the most aggressive bee species in the world making up half of
14:05the infamous africanized bee hybrid known as the killer bee he's almost at the top now though
14:25one wrong move and the bees could swarm Gonga and us you can hear them up there they are angry
14:35I'd love to get stuck in and help but Socorro says this is no job for a newbie and this
14:43time I'd have to agree
15:04got it despite still being stung they pushed through the pain to access the prized honey
15:15the only problem now it's getting all the liquid gold down
15:41get it
15:46a
15:46a
15:47a
15:47a
15:47a
15:47a
15:48a
15:48a
15:48a
15:48a
15:48a
15:48a
15:48a
15:54Oh look at that. Beautiful.
16:01Yeah? Yeah. Are you sure?
16:05Oh my God, that's amazing. Needless to say, that's one of the best tasting honeys I've ever tasted.
16:13That tastes extraordinary. To have that as part of your natural diet.
16:21You can see why it's worth the effort of making all mistakes and going up into the tree and risking
16:27your life.
16:29Ain't no knockin' on doors, we knockin' it down. Coliseum floors shine and reflect off the crown. Sneakers weak and
16:36clean, it wreck the sound. When I pivot off the good foot and bounce out of bounds.
16:40Well done, mate. Congratulations. Well done. Did he get stung much? Ding, ding, ding, ding.
16:55Let's get some honey down your mate.
16:58But this honey isn't really for eating. They had to also use it to trade and it's going to help
17:04Gonga 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 as something
17:21to trade.
17:22And the boys are so happy.
17:27And the plastic bucket of fresh honey is a welcoming boost to the community's morale.
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.
18:12How important within your culture is honey? Clearly it's not just a food, is it? You use it for trade
18:18and stuff like that. But how important is it?
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.
18:43But what's your goals, how important is it? When they've got kids to feed, they're not going to feed.
18:59Do you ever get tempted to live outside of Hasta community?
19:05I believe in the language and the culture, have a lot of people except for food and that's what they're
19:12here.
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
19:53just 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 for you the toga are another
20:33of Tanzania's oldest tribes their ancestors were fierce warriors and masters of making
20:39weapons the neighboring tribe appeared to be blacksmiths we've got a arrowhead being made
20:46here and it's all using old little scrap bricks of metal incredibly simple and yet obviously it's
20:52a skill that the Hatsa people don't have but what the Hatsa do have is honey it's a time for
21:00a bit of
21:00bartering got Seaguro's getting offered quite what he was hoping he was gonna get offered
21:43Happy days, you happy?
21:47Excellent.
21:4820 arrowheads and two knives, and he gets a pot of honey.
21:55Everyone's a winner.
22:00It's been a successful mission, and Gonga now has the tools he needs
22:04to prove himself on a baboon hunt.
22:07But first, he wants me to meet the girl that he hopes to marry.
22:12Everything in terms of honey collection,
22:15potentially baboon hunting,
22:17it's all focused towards Gonga's getting married,
22:20so it's time to meet the lady herself.
22:24The Umkoa Bulma community is home to other hunters and their families.
22:28But with less than 400 Hadza living a traditional life in the region,
22:32every camp is like an extended family,
22:35with many Hadza being married or related to one another.
22:39Which is your girlfriend?
22:41In the middle.
22:48She's beautiful.
22:48She's beautiful.
22:50She's beautiful.
22:51Hi.
22:52Lovely to meet you.
23:00Is it a beautiful.
23:02Every day.
23:06She's beautiful.
23:07She's beautiful.
23:09She's beautiful.
23:11Like the world.
23:16Yeah.
23:21She's beautiful.
23:23Yeah, she's beautiful.
23:24Here I am.
23:25her father looks a little less convinced in general how does the heads a man prove his
23:33worthiness if he was to want to marry a lady in another community how does he how does he prove
23:39himself I think oh don't go go go go go go go go go
24:15It seems like a bit of a tall order,
24:18especially since all I've seen so far has been scrappy little squirrels.
24:22But I guess some traditions die hard.
24:25So if Gonga wants a wife, it seems he's got to cough up a baboon
24:28and a decent amount of 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,
24:43I hope I can help him on his own Hadza rite of passage.
24:53My time with the Socorro community is quickly running out.
24:56So now, Focus turns to Gonga's rite of passage
25:00and helping him get his Hadza bride.
25:11And the first thing we need is not an engagement ring,
25:14but an arrow deadly enough to bring down a baboon.
25:18Why is it, for baboons, you need these barbs?
25:21Like, do they pull the arrows out?
25:24Why is it, for baboons, you need these barbs, like, do they pull the arrows out?
25:37Why is it, for baboons?
25:39Why is it, for baboons?
25:40Why is it, for baboons?
25:41Why is it, for baboons?
25:42The arrowhead is lethal, but without feathers, it won't fly.
25:46And when your whole future depends on the success of a hunt,
25:49there's no room for error.
25:50So keep going round that.
25:52We're all here.
25:55We're all here.
25:59I thought, well, I'm here.
26:08I'm here.
26:10I'm here.
26:13I'm here.
26:33This is some of 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, we'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 8km hike away under the rising African sun
28:25So this is baboon country
28:29And it's stunning, it's so different to the horizontal scrub
28:36If 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
28:58And we head down into the valley
29:03All of a sudden, the hunt is on
29:07That was definitely a contact with a troop of baboons
29:13The shouts from that direction, that direction and that direction
29:16Baboon
29:18In the chaos of the chase
29:20The 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
29:32Of 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
30:03That was a huge baboon
30:06Exactly 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
30:27They're closing in on them
30:29This is it
30:30With Hong Konga ambushing the baboons with the dogs
30:33And Gonga closing in
30:35We'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, I'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, the silence is deafening
31:13By the time I catch up with the rest of the group
31:15I can immediately tell it's not good news
31:36What is very cool is that this is Gonga wanted to get married, found a girl he likes, wants to
31:41impress her parents, and all his mates are very happy to turn out with him at a stupid o'clock
31:46in the morning to go home to get married and find a girl he likes, wants to impress her parents,
31:48and all his mates are very happy to turn out with him at a stupid o'clock in the morning
31:48to go home to work with him.
31:49That's pretty cool, isn't it?
31:51That's what makes it for
31:54Failing to bag a baboon is the often harsh reality for modern Hadza
32:00So we're now relying on finding a cache of honey to restore some of Gonga's fortune and save his rite
32:06of passage
32:09But with light quickly fading time is not on our side
32:18We are losing time in terms of getting the honey
32:20It's part and parcel of what Gonga needs to provide
32:25And therefore if we can just nail that, that would be good
32:32But all isn't lost when Gonga is leading the brigade
32:35Ready?
32:36Bichokoko
32:37Uh-huh
32:38Bichokoko yako barakotayetabakoko
32:41Have we got one?
32:42Yeah
32:43Bichokoko yako yako yako yako yako yako yako yako yako yako yako yako yako yako yako yako yako
32:50Nice, okay at last we've got one
32:54Tree is hollow and there's a big beehive inside the tree
32:59And it's just a matter of making it accessible enough to get our hands in and grab the honey out
33:06I'm gonna 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
33:26I reckon we've got about
33:2940 minutes of daylight
33:31With the clock ticking
33:33It's now or never
33:40Okay part going stage one complete but this beehive is not going to be an easy one to get into
33:45It's um very enclosed and the bees are very well protected
33:51Okay so in here yeah
33:52Okay
33:53Okay
34:03It's brutal work
34:04And the longer we take the more likely we are to aggravate the bees and potentially cause a swarm
34:11But with Gonga's help we gain access to the hive
34:30We need to open up the secondary hole
34:41With the beehive still deep inside the tree and the light fading out
34:45The other boys also step in to help
34:49I came here thinking you know what
34:51I want to prove that I can get the honey out myself
34:53And as I was chopping away
34:54And the boys are standing around I'm thinking
34:56That'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 a dream way
35:18Oh!
35:22Gonga's just got stung I can see
35:38It looks like the smoke from the fire I made has done its job in subduing the bees
35:48This is it
35:50Time to get some for myself
35:51OK
35:53OK
36:08Well done mate!
36:10That is beautiful
36:23Everyone has now had a lot of stings it's got to the stage where the honey out but the bees
36:29they just go for you I've probably got 20 or 30 stings there's this crazy pleasure
36:35pain thing going on here at the moment everyone is high on sugar and an excruciating pain at
36:42the same time
36:56with the style feeling on the prowl rock while the ground don't got to be wow bringing the house down
37:03raising the roof when we ready to bust out the gate with a boost
37:13that was just speaking without moving his lips at all
37:22worth the pain worth the pain
37:26I would say that was a big success it's not a bad haul I'm not putting my hand in there
37:32again
37:39will your future father-in-law will be happy with that
37:52with the honey bagged a night upon us we have no choice but to spend the night sleeping rough in
38:02the bush what a day I mean that was honestly one of the most rewarding days of my life we
38:10have honey
38:10to speed Gonga's wedding on its way today has just shown me it's all about team this isn't a one
38:18-man
38:18effort this isn't Gonga demonstrating his prowess on his own clearly he's one of the most competent in
38:24the whole group but it isn't about that to the Hadza it's about sticking together it's about turning up
38:30for each other and and it's about having fun and they have done all three of those in bucket loads
38:40morning and with everyone from the community gather for our return this is the moment of truth
38:48has Gonga done enough to win the blessing of his girlfriend's parents
39:14we tried to get a baboon but I'm afraid it went away we didn't get it in the end
39:29Gonga's been a little bit shy maybe 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 into the honey that's so amazing
40:00are you happy with the honey that I'm going to provide let me but not but one one way
40:05with dollar could get or talk with that in here by the corporate who are there or no state that
40:13yeah that's it does going to stand a chance with your daughter then
40:38all right mate enjoy your honey go then it's a lovely day I'm not going to shake your hand because
40:43you're coming in
40:51like they say anything easy isn't worth having
40:54so hopefully on Gonga's next baboon hunt he can successfully secure the hand of his girlfriend
41:01if we got a baboon that would have been amazing but you know you can't you can't get a baboon
41:06every time
41:06you go hunting and maybe you're a step closer to marrying their daughter no could i to go cook
41:31May can I just say thank you for giving me your time for allowing me to live with you guys.
41:37Thank you
41:52and good luck with everything this 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 everybody is here is happy
42:11I think they're all slightly high on honey again but that's kind of cool in itself I've learned so
42:17much over the past few days they call these guys the happy tribe and you can see why they have
42:25an
42:25innate joy within them and I do think that comes from living a simpler life and I don't mean that
42:31in a patronizing way I mean that in a inspirational way I think the simpler we can all make a
42:36lives the better I constantly look at communities like this and worry about their future they don't
42:45think like that it's all about today it's all about feeding themselves and their children today and
42:51that again spills into the whole happiness thing I just think don't think worrying about the future
42:56is in the hands at all so no they're not bothered about it they're happy
43:03fingers crossed Gonga's gonna get the girl obviously I think he will he's a charming man I
43:09think it's probably more to do with his cheeky grin than it is to do with his proficiency in baboon
43:14hunting but whatever it is I wish him all the best and I'm sure he's gonna have a very happy
43:20life
43:35you can see yourself
43:54thanks great
43:55you
43:56you
43:56you
43:57you
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