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ed staffords rite of passage s Episode 3 Engsub
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00:25This 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
00:34get our hands in and grab the honey out
00:52I'm in Stafford as an explorer and survivalist I've made a career out of
00:58looking at air in the wild if I'm honest I've never really grown up so now
01:06ready guys I've set myself a mission to see how cultures across the world navigate the messy
01:15business of becoming an adult I believe many of us in the modern world have lost our sense
01:23of identity but I'm hoping by immersing myself in the 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 their journey I hope I'll learn to become a better man
01:49maybe even grow up
01:52okay he wants me to jump out I'm going to 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
02:35I'm heading to the socorro community on the fringes of lake a place often called the cradle of mankind
02:43and where human remains dating back around two million years were discovered
02:52I'm here to live with the Hadza 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 has just come out it's nice to see a smiling face hello mate
03:34hi guys
03:39um
03:51I'm a man. I'm a man. I think I'm not gonna stay in a fall on with it
03:59What's your name is I better go go get it. Oh, no, I can't be was sacro mom ah
04:05That's your name Sakurama Hat-a Sakurama Hat-a Sakurama Hat-a Sakurama Hat-a
04:33Honk-onk-onk-onk-onk-onk
04:36Honk-onk-onk-onk-onk-onk-onk-onk
04:45Eaka A
04:49I
04:50Cool. Nice to meet you all.
04:53Not only do I not speak their language,
04:55but I can barely pronounce their names.
04:57This could be a challenging week.
05:00I appreciate being allowed to come and live with you
05:03for a small period of time in your community.
05:05The key thing for me coming here is to learn
05:07about how you guys transition young men into adults.
05:11And if it's OK with you,
05:12the thing that I'm really, really interested in learning about
05:15is how you hunt for the honey
05:17and extract the honey from wild sources.
05:24Thank you very much, mate.
05:31OK.
05:47The guys are hungry, and they've got no food,
05:49and they need to hunt.
05:51So it's almost perfect for me.
05:53Rather than sitting around and all the awkwardnesses
05:55of being introduced to a tribe,
05:57we're straight out on a hunt.
06:01Hadza camps are named after their best hunters.
06:06With this community named after Socorro.
06:14His right-hand man is 17-year-old Gonga.
06:21And as well, the NPCs!
06:24We're not late at throw.
06:28Should we go?
06:37We're not done.
06:40Wait a second!
06:42Sparta!
06:43Stephen governments.
06:43Sparta!
06:43Give her a quarter of the couple.
06:46We're going to the house!
06:46I do think a place and...
06:47We're going to the ceiling.pfff!
06:47not for picky eaters I reckon they like squirrel consisting of over 30 different
06:55wild mammals including monkeys porcupines budgers and impala
07:02just want to fight if I yeah other end other end other end other end amazing it's good water is
07:25good water mate yes Wow I mean that's so cool isn't it look at that that's extraordinary
07:31look he's cut the bottom drank out the bottom because he didn't know that you could unscrew
07:37the top why would you just just show doesn't it how divorced from everyday life this place is
07:45thank God that plastic still hasn't infiltrated this corner of the world yet nice
07:56you've got a quite a big tuberous root being exposed now it's good is it what's it called
08:04so I yeah door I yeah back off a shoe move over then I'm cool then I'm a half way
08:16between a potato and
08:17a kind of a cucumber it's kind of got that watery inside like a cucumber hash but with the flavor
08:24of potato ah what are we looking for me a well up in our population of the back of a
08:36week I in a
08:37good book you talk with you there but who double and any double but support for the summer summer
08:43okay cool looking for honey for had to boy to transition into manhood and complete their
08:50right of passage they must prove themselves as a provider for the community so although facing an
08:56angry swarm of bees seems daunting it's a primary food source for the Hatsa people so it's something I
09:04must help them collect if I'm to pass my own right of passage the white wax on the exterior of
09:25a bees nest
09:26means that bees are actively building new combs which should hopefully be overflowing with fresh honey
09:33honey how do you get the honey out of that wow okay with the hive more than 10 meters above
10:01the ground
10:01it's not exactly the kind of place that you want to be stung by a swarm of angry bees I'm
10:06not sure I
10:07particularly want to go climbing up that one to make it even more precarious the only way to climb is
10:14by using homemade wooden pegs with only one squirrel successfully hunted and now shifting our focus to honey
10:26we've returned home with little food she looked really hungry and very grateful that that tuberous rube got
10:44given to her she looked really hungry the hatches traditional hunting grounds have been whittled away
10:59to only 10 percent of what it was just 50 years ago meaning less game to hunt for food yeah
11:06there's a lot
11:07of little mouths to feed not that long ago the Hatsa could easily feast on giraffes elephant and their
11:15favorite baboons but that looks like a distant memory today dead posh service this is thank you this is
11:28perfect you like a lot like a lot like a lot like a lot like a lot like a means
11:31lay down hey I'm at a
11:33copy copy thank you mate thank you thank you this is cool so basically this is my accommodation for the
11:43next week I don't want to become another mouth to feed making my need to help provide honey for this
11:54community all the more vital Gonger some of the guys were saying there's a girl that you want to get
12:13married to I got married to I got a kind of girls oh cool have you known her a long
12:18time then
12:18what a child mate yeah I'm not long what's her name shoot more two more
12:45for a hands a boy to complete their right of passage and marry they must prove to the bride's parents
12:51that they 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
13:15I'm gonna have an apartment you're gonna call a couture
13:21so sure that's that way that way
13:23but I'm actually like this could easily be 2,000 years old archaeological evidence found in this region
13:38reveals that Hadza 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 Gonger's skill level of being able to
13:51hang on to a little peg while standing on a little peg whilst banging in a little peg is is
13:58crazy the East
14:00African lowland honeybee is one of the most aggressive bee species in the world making up half of the infamous
14:06africanized bee hybrid known as the killer bee he's almost at the top now though
14:25one wrong move and the bees could swarm Gonger 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
14:42and this time I'd have to agree
15:06despite 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
15:38emm
15:39Eddie
15:39oh yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah I got it
15:50Oh, 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.
16:14That 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.
16:40Well done, mate.
16:42Congratulations.
16:45Did you get stung much?
16:47Ding, ding, ding, ding.
16:55Get some honey down here, mate.
16:58I'm going to eat.
16:59But this honey isn't really for eating.
17:01They had to also use it to trade.
17:03And it's going to help Gonga in his mission to win his future wife.
17:07What could you buy with this?
17:09I'm going to eat.
17:10I'm going to eat.
17:13I'm going to eat.
17:14I'm going to eat.
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.
17:51And 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.
18:13How 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?
18:35Do 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.
19:00Do any of you ever get tempted to go and live outside of Hasda community?
19:09Despite the challenges of raising a family in the African bush,
19:13Hadda women believe their way of life is still best for their children.
19:18For them, survival doesn't come from money or possessions,
19:22but from community and a husband who can hunt.
19:26Gonga obviously is looking to get married.
19:30Do you think he's a good catch?
19:38Nice.
19:42I'm already fascinated by the Hadza and how a young man's rite of passage is directly connected
19:47to the survival of the tribe and his future family.
19:51Here, becoming a man isn't just symbolic, it's life or death.
19:59Without barbed metal arrowheads, Gonga can't hunt baboons.
20:04So we make the long trek through the wilderness to the area's only forge.
20:08And I hope, for our sake, the people running it still like honey.
20:23This is very different.
20:27Nice view.
20:32The Tatoga are another of Tanzania's oldest tribes.
20:35Their ancestors were fierce warriors and masters of making weapons.
20:40The neighbouring tribe appeared to be blacksmiths.
20:43We've got an arrowhead being made here, and it's all using old little scrap bricks of metal.
20:50Incredibly simple, and yet, obviously, it's a skill that the Hadza people don't have.
20:55But what the Hadza do have is honey.
20:58It's a time for a bit of bartering.
21:26Socorro is getting offered quite what he was hoping he was going to get offered.
21:53And he gets a pot of honey.
21:56Everyone's a winner.
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.
22:12Everything in terms of honey collection, potentially baboon hunting, it's all focused towards Gonga's getting married, so it's time to
22:21meet the lady herself.
22:24The Umko Obomah community is home to other hunters and their families, but with less than 400 Hadza living a
22:31traditional life in the region,
22:32every camp is like an extended family, with many Hadza being married or related to one another.
22:39Which is your girlfriend?
22:41In the middle.
22:48She's beautiful.
22:49She's beautiful.
22:49She's beautiful.
22:50She's beautiful.
22:52Hi.
22:53Lovely to meet you.
23:00What have you seen in the family?
23:02We'll get to chama ripory goat children since he coming tole Ohoobie.
23:11What 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 heads a man prove his worthiness if he was to want to marry a lady in another
23:37community how does he how does he prove himself then I could cook a car for good year I could
23:42occur a good year but I will cut that up but it here I could call that I can't be
23:48the Dima
23:51Bob at an echo at our pop-up call at our mana I think oh I don't look for book
23:59job at the corner
24:15It seems like a bit of a tall order, especially since all I've seen so far has been scrappy
24:21little squirrels, but I guess some traditions die hard.
24:24Baboon it is then.
24:25So 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?
24:39You 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 Sakura 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?
25:21Do they pull the arrows out?
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, there's no room for error.
25:50So keep going around that.
25:53So keep going around that.
25:59So keep going around that.
26:23So keep going around that.
26:24So keep going around that.
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.
26:43They have a bow and arrow.
26:45They have a knife.
26:46Even the shelter, the home that they're sleeping in, is a temporary one that will work for
26:50the season.
26:52And yet, it's experience and knowledge and skill level that's enabling them to actually
26:57glean an existence from the environment.
26:59Being able to craft tools, being able to make weapons, being able to know all of the
27:05different hunting techniques that they need.
27:07And by putting it all together, you free yourself from the need to accumulate stuff.
27:13And I think that's the key.
27:16Happy life.
27:26Thank you, mate.
27:28Thank you so much.
27:34Okay, I didn't do it all myself.
27:37But I consider that to be my first Hanza arrow.
27:42Thank you, mate.
27:44Happy days.
27:46Poisoned arrows ready.
27:47We're all set to hunt baboon.
28:00We've been walking about two hours from camp now.
28:04It's a long way away.
28:06The boys are on a mission.
28:09To stand the greatest chance of success, we are heading to new hunting grounds.
28:15An eight-kilometre hike away under the rising African sun.
28:25So this is baboon country.
28:30And it's stunning.
28:31It'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 and 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.
29:14There's shouts from that direction, that direction, and that direction.
29:17Baboon.
29:18In the chaos of the chase, the group has splintered.
29:25I'd better keep up, because 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, it's coming down.
30:04That 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.
30:31With Hong Konga ambushing the baboons with the dogs, and Gonga closing in, we're moments away from a possible kill.
30:38What's going on?
30:40What's going on?
30:43But once again, confusion kicks in.
30:50Gonga is...
30:51He is constantly the one right at the front.
30:53He's the one that's spearheading the whole operation, but because he is so up front, I'm hardly getting a glimpse
30:59of him.
31:00He's the one leading the charge.
31:03He's the best hunter out of this lot.
31:08Then suddenly, the silence is deafening.
31:13By the time I catch up with the rest of the group, I 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
31:47in the morning to go home to her.
31:49That's pretty cool, isn't it?
31:51That's what mates are 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 right
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.
32:26And therefore, if we can just nail that, that would be good.
32:32But all isn't lost when Gonga is leading the brigade.
32:35Eddie!
32:37Uh-huh.
32:40Have we got one?
32:47Nice.
32:50OK, 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 to 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 and make sure he doesn't go back to his future bride empty
33:15-handed.
33:17Success would also be a massive boost for me to at least partially complete my rite of passage as one
33:22of the primary harvesters of this wild honey.
33:25Without looking at the sun, I reckon we've got about 40 minutes of daylight.
33:32With 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.
33:46It's very enclosed, and the bees are very well protected.
33:51OK, so in here, yeah?
33:53OK.
34:02It's brutal work, and the longer we take, the more likely we are to aggravate the bees and potentially cause
34:09a swarm.
34:11But with Gonga's help, we gain access to the hive.
34:28The bees don't think that they can access enough of the honey from 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, the other boys also step in to
34:47help.
34:49I came here thinking, you know, 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, I'm thinking, that's not the way they had
34:58to do things.
35:00These boys are a group of mates. They help each other. They all muck in. They all put the effort
35:05in.
35:05And not because I'm being lazy.
35:09But I'm going to embrace that team spirit.
35:13Teamwork makes a dream way.
35:15Teamwork makes a dream way.
35:21Teamwork makes a dream way.
35:22Oh!
35:22Gonga's just got stung, I can see.
35:31Teamwork makes a dream way.
35:38It looks like the smoke from the fire I made has done its job in subduing the bees.
35:48this is it time to get some for myself
35:55okay
36:07well done mate that is beautiful
36:24Everyone 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 in excruciating pain at
37:09the same time
37:12that was just speaking without moving his lips at all
37:22worth the pain worth the pain I would say that was a big success it's not a bad
37:30hole I'm not putting my hand in there again
37:39well your future father-in-law will be happy with that go crock up a pack up a pack up
37:44a
37:44go buy a go to shop a nice one go get quite a bit of a cook ok ok ok
37:49ok ok ok ok ok ok ok ok ok ok ok ok ok ok ok ok ok ok ok
37:53with the honey bagged a night upon us we have no choice but to spend the night sleeping rough in
37:58the bush what a day I mean that was honestly one of the most rewarding days of my life and
38:09we have
38:10honey to speed Gonga's wedding on its way today has just shown me it's all about team this isn't a
38:18one-man effort this isn't Gonga demonstrating his prowess on his own clearly he's one of the most
38:23competent in the whole group but it isn't about that to the Hadza it's about sticking together it's
38:29about turning up for each other and it's about having fun and they have done all three of those
38:35in bucket loads morning and with everyone from the community gather for our return this is the
38:46moment of truth has 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 gotten a little bit shy maybe he's worried about the fact that he hasn't got a baboon I think
39:36he's just feeling the public humiliation a little bit they're all just tucking into the honey that's so
39:58Amazing
40:00Yeah, I'm people that I need a wonderful but let me back
40:06With dollar could get or talk with that in your my lack of
40:10Who are there? Oh no state that they are
40:19Does Gongos stand a chance with your dozer then?
40:39All right, mate, enjoy your honey.
40:41It'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.
40:55So, hopefully, on Gongos' 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.
41:23And maybe you're a step closer to marrying their daughter, no?
41:26Yeah.
41:26Yeah.
41:31Mate, can I just say thank you for giving me your time,
41:35for allowing me to live with you guys.
41:47Nice for me. Give us a hug.
41:53And good luck with everything.
42:03This is such a positive end to quite an incredible journey, really.
42:07Gongos is a step closer to being able to marry the girl of his dreams.
42:10Everybody who's here is happy.
42:11I think they're all slightly high on honey, again,
42:15but 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 patronising 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.
42:46It'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 Hadza at all.
42:59So, no, they're not bothered about it. They're happy.
43:04Fingers crossed Gong is going to 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 going to have a very happy life.
43:21In the past, he said,
43:23that's what he wanted to do with his daughter.
43:30He said,
43:35I'm sorry.
43:37You can see yourself.
43:38Come on!
43:39Come on, he told me.
43:43You're not scared.
43:44He's fine.
43:45Come on, he told me to be the victim.
43:47What did he say?
43:48How did he say?
43:49Come on.
43:50I feel y'all.
43:50You're not scared.
43:51I'm a man and I'm bummer.
43:53I like that.
43:55Thanks, mate.
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