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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
03:41And Ed
03:43Anabawa
03:44Anabawa
03:46Anabawa
03:48Anabawa
03:52Thank you
03:53Thank you
03:54I'm not so not staying up a long with it
03:59What's your name it?
04:00I've got a go-go click it. Oh, no, I can't be was ack around my eye
04:06That's your name sakura mahada
04:08Sakura mahada
04:10Sakura mahada
04:14Sakura mahada
04:17Oh
04:18Anna baby
04:19Don't come here
04:21That's home
04:22Thank you
04:28Hung
04:29Hung
04:30Hung
04:30Hung
04:33Hung
04:34Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh.
04:36It's got a vocal.
04:41Gonga, koku.
04:42Gonga, gonga, gonga.
04:46Gonga ita uchab.
04:48Chop the tree.
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 okay 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.
05:46The guys are hungry, and they've got no food, and 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, we're straight out on a hunt.
06:01Hadta camps are named after their best hunters.
06:06With this community named after Socorro.
06:14His right-hand man is 17-year-old Gonga.
06:24They have volunteers, as well,
06:25as they know.
06:28If they've been near to see us,
06:34They've resorted to their beds,
06:36and they're getting ready for their parents
06:37and so hungry to sleep.
06:37Let's go to them in a rush!
06:37Can I get back to them?
06:42Go to them in a rush!
06:46They're going into a rush.
06:47What time does this murder intransitment
06:47not for picky eaters. I reckon they like squirrels. Consisting of over 30 different wild mammals
06:55including monkeys, porcupines, badgers and impala. Do you want some water?
07:03Tiff out, yeah. Other end, other end, other end, other end. Amazing. It's good water, it is good water mate,
07:26yes. Wow. I mean that's so cool isn't it?
07:30Look at that, that's extraordinary look. He's cut the bottom, drank out the bottom because he didn't know that you
07:36could unscrew the top.
07:39Why would you? Just to 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.
07:50Nice.
07:56You've got a quite a big tuberous root being exposed now.
08:02It's good is it? What's it called?
08:16Halfway between a potato and a kind of a cucumber.
08:18It's kind of got that watery inside like a cucumber hash. But with the flavour of your potato.
08:32What are we looking for mate?
08:43OK, cool. Looking for honey.
08:47For Hatsa boy to transition into manhood and complete their rite of passage, they must prove themselves as a provider
08:53for the community.
08:55So although 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 rite of passage.
09:23The white wax on the exterior of a bee's nest means that bees are actively building new combs, which should
09:30hopefully be overflowing with fresh honey.
09:33How do you get the honey out of that?
09:34How do you get the honey out of it?
09:39How do you get the honey out of it?
09:41Ooh, I'm not going to Throw me out of it.
09:51You can see how that honey are coming in.
09:54The honey is food on it.
09:54It is pooping all the honey out of it.
09:56That's the honey out of it.
09:57How do you get the honey out of it?
10:02I'm not going to get the honey out of it.
10:04angry bees. I'm not sure I particularly want to go climbing up that one. To make it even more
10:11precarious, the only way to climb is by using homemade wooden pegs. With only one squirrel
10:22successfully hunted and now shifting our focus to honey, we've returned home with little food.
10:39She looked really hungry. I'm very grateful that that tuberous rube got given to her. She looked really hungry.
10:55The Hadza'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.
11:10Not that long ago, the Hadza could easily feast on giraffes, elephant and their favourite,
11:15baboons. But that looks like a distant memory today.
11:23Dead posh service, this is. Thank you, this is perfect.
11:28Laga, laga, laga. Laga? Laga means lie down.
11:36Thank you, mate. Thank you, thank you. This is cool. So basically, this is my accommodation for the next week.
11:49I don't want to become another mouth to feed,
11:52making my need to help provide honey for this community all the more vital.
11:58Gonga, how many do we need to make?
12:00Pepe, hey mate.
12:10Gonga, some of the guys were saying there's a girl that you want to get married to.
12:14I've got a kind of girl.
12:15Well, cool weather, mate.
12:17Have you known her a long time, then?
12:19We'll try, mate, yeah.
12:21What's her name?
12:23Shumuwa.
12:29Shumuwa.
12:45For a Hadza boy to complete their rite of passage and marry,
12:49they must prove to the bride's parents
12:51that they can provide for and protect a family.
12:54But right now, it looks like we're off to slay vampires.
13:00And climbing a ten-metre-high baobab tree
13:03to raid a hive filled with bees sounds just as daunting.
13:08The beehive right in the crux of that.
13:11Say about ten metres off the floor.
13:21Let's go, let's go.
13:32A baobab tree like this could easily be 2,000 years old.
13:36Archaeological evidence found in this region
13:38reveals that Hadza have lived on these lands for over 50,000 years,
13:42which means their ancestors were likely hunting and raiding beehives like this
13:46during the Stone Age.
13:48Ganga's skill level of being able to hang on to a little peg
13:53while standing on a little peg,
13:56whilst banging in a little peg, is crazy.
13:59The East African lowland honeybee is one of the most aggressive bee species in the world,
14:04making up half of the infamous Africanised bee hybrid,
14:08known as the killer bee.
14:11He's almost at the top now, though.
14:13He's almost at the top now, though.
14:25One wrong move, and the bees could swarm Ganga and us.
14:30You can hear them up there.
14:32They are angry.
14:35I'd love to get stuck in and help,
14:37but Socorro says this is no job for a newbie.
14:42And this time, I'd have to agree.
14:44I don't have to do this.
15:01I got it!
15:06Despite still being stung,
15:08they pushed through the pain to access the prized honey.
15:15The only problem now is getting all the liquid gold down.
15:41Yeah, yeah, yeah, I got it.
15:44Got it?
15:53Oh, look at that. Beautiful.
16:01Yeah? Are you sure?
16:04Oh, 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.
16:29Ain't no knocking on doors, we knocking it down.
16:32Coliseum floors shining, reflect off the crown.
16:34Sneakers, weaky, clean, ira, ira, the sound.
16:37When I pivot off the good foot and bounce out of bounds.
16:40Well done, mate. Congratulations.
16:43Well done.
16:45Did you get stung much?
16:48Ding, ding, ding, ding.
16:48Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding.
16:51Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding.
16:55Get some honey down your mate.
16:58But this honey isn't really for eating.
17:01They had to also use it to trade and it's going to help Gonga in his mission to win his
17:05future 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 a
17:21something to trade
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 and
17:51By the end of my week here
17:53I will have to place my own hand into a wild bees nest to provide for the community
17:58Something I'm a little nervous about
18:13Huh
18:13How 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
18:19But how important is it only a couple of other side of them?
18:22Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh oh, oh, oh
18:35Do you worry that when the men go out hunting that they're not gonna come back with any food because
18:41obviously you've got kids to feed and young mouse 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 at making weapons.
20:40The neighbouring tribe appeared to be blacksmiths.
20:43We've got an arrowhead being made here,
20:46and it's all using old little scrap bricks of metal.
20:50Incredibly simple, and yet, obviously,
20:52it'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.
21:23They're bartering.
21:24And I think Sokoro is getting offered quite a while.
21:27He was hoping he was going to get offered.
21:43Happy days. You happy?
21:47Excellent.
21:4820 arrowheads and two knives.
21:53And 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 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,
22:17it's all focused towards Gonga getting married, so it's time to meet the lady herself.
22:24The Umko Oboma community is home to other hunters and their families.
22:28But with less than 400 Hadza living a traditional life in the region,
22:33every 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.
22:51Hi.
22:53Lovely to meet you.
22:54o-stad
23:11What do you think of Gonga for your daughter?
23:17It's too big.
23:18not quite cacoa while she was mum seems sold on the idea her father looks a
23:27little less convinced in general how does it has a man prove his worthiness if he
23:35was to want to marry a lady in another community how does he how does he prove
23:39himself I could see a a good cheer but I would like a
23:45They will just live together.
23:50My mother will live here.
23:53Dad will be a little girl.
23:57He will live with us.
24:03I have to be learning soon.
24:11I have to be learning soon.
24:15it seems like a bit of a tall order especially since all I've seen so far has been scrappy little
24:21squirrels but I guess some traditions die hard baboon is then so if Conga wants a wife it seems
24:27he's got a cough up a baboon and a decent amount of honey is it true that the room of
24:32the baboon
24:33is the best part oh you understood me didn't you didn't need a translator then and although I'm a
24:42bit of a newbie out here I hope I can help him on his own Hadza rite of passage my
24:54time with the
24:54Socorro community is quickly running out so now focus tends to Gonga's rite of passage and helping
25:01him get his had to bribe but simple as that and the first thing we need is not an engagement
25:14ring
25:14but an arrow deadly enough to bring down a baboon why is it for baboons you need these barbs like
25:21so they pull it the arrows out the arrowhead is lethal but without feathers it won't fly and when
25:46your whole future depends on the success of a hunt there's no room for error so keep going around
26:21click the amount of of the
26:33This is some of the happiest people that I've met in a long, long time, and they have nothing.
26:40You really do not need stuff in your life.
26:44They 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.
26:52And 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.
27:13And I think that's the key.
27:16Happy life.
27:27Thank you, mate. Thank you so much.
27:34Okay, I didn't do it all myself.
27:37But I consider that to be my first handser arrow.
27:42Thank you, mate.
27:44Happy days.
27:46Poison arrows ready, we'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, an eight-kilometre hike away under
28:17the rising African sun.
28:25So this is baboon country.
28:29And 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, classic baboon territory.
28:53Spotting movement on the horizon, Gonga 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.
29:13The 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 crescent of that tree.
30:02Okay, it's coming down.
30:03It's coming down.
30:04That was a huge baboon.
30:07Exactly what Gonga's.
30:09The future father-in-law wants it.
30:12And that big-ass baboon is looking quite impossible.
30:18Okay, there'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.
30:43But 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.
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.
31:42And all his mates are very happy to turn out with him at a stupid o'clock in the morning
31:47to go hunting.
31:49That's pretty cool, isn't it?
31:51That's what mates are for.
31:54Failing to bag a baboon 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.
32:21It'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.
32:35Eddie, we're talking.
32:37Uh-huh.
32:38We're talking about the tobacco.
32:41Have we got one?
32:42Yeah.
32:42There's tobacco.
32:44There's tobacco.
32:45There's tobacco.
32:47There's tobacco.
32:48There's tobacco.
32:49There's tobacco.
32:49There's tobacco.
32:50OK.
32:50At 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
33:05out.
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
33:15empty-handed.
33:17Success would also be a massive boost for me to at least partially complete my rite of
33:21passage as one of the primary harvesters of this wild honey.
33:25Without looking at the sun, I reckon we've got about 40 minutes of daylight.
33:32With the clock ticking, it's now or never.
33:40OK, fine going.
33:42Stage one complete.
33:43But this beehive is not going to be an easy one to get into.
33:45It's very enclosed, and the bees are very well protected.
33:51OK, so in here, yeah?
33:53OK.
34:03It's brutal work, and the longer we take, the more likely we are to aggravate the bees
34:08and potentially cause a swarm.
34:12But with Gonga's help, we gain access to the hive.
34:18Go, go, go, go.
34:28The boys 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
34:46step in to help.
34:49I came here thinking, you know what, I want to prove that I can get the honey out of myself.
34:53And as I was chopping away, and the boys are standing around, I'm thinking, that's not
34:57the way they had to do things.
35:00These boys are a group of mates.
35:01They help each other.
35:03They all muck in.
35:04They all put the effort in, and not because I'm being lazy, but I'm going to embrace that
35:10team spirit.
35:13Teamwork makes a dream way.
35:23Gonga'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.
36:07Well done, mate.
36:10That is beautiful.
36:24Everyone has now had a lot of stings.
36:26It's got to the stage where the honey out, but the bees, they just go for you.
36:31I've probably got 20 or 30 stings.
36:33There's this crazy pleasure-pain thing going on here at the moment.
36:37Everyone is high on sugar.
36:39Sugar, sugar, sugar.
36:40And in excruciating pain at the same time.
36:49Yeah.
36:50That shit.
36:53Man on the frown.
36:59Rob, wow, look round.
37:00Don't gots to be wild.
37:02Bring in the house down.
37:03Raising the roof when we're 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.
37:27I would say that was a big success.
37:29It's not a bad haul. I'm not putting my hand in there again.
37:39Will your future father-in-law be happy with that?
37:46Nice one, Konga.
37:47Good work, mate.
37:53With the honey bagged, a night upon us,
37:56we have no choice but to spend the night sleeping rough in the bush.
38:03What a day. I mean, that was, honestly,
38:06one of the most rewarding days of my life.
38:09We have honey to speed Konga's wedding on its way.
38:14Today has just shown me it's all about team.
38:17This isn't a one-man effort.
38:19This isn't Konga demonstrating his prowess on his own.
38:23Clearly, he's one of the most competent in the whole group,
38:25but it isn't about that to the Hadza.
38:27It's about sticking together.
38:29It's about turning up for each other,
38:31and it's about having fun.
38:33And they have done all three of those in bucket loads.
38:40Morning.
38:41And with everyone from the community gathered for our return,
38:44this is the moment of truth.
38:48Has Konga done enough to win the blessing of his girlfriend's parents?
39:14We tried to get a baboon, but I'm afraid it just went away.
39:18We didn't get it in the end.
39:29Konga's been a little bit shy.
39:33Maybe 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.
39:48That's so amazing.
40:00We're happy with the honey of Konga.
40:14Are you happy with the honey?
40:15Are you happy?
40:15Are you happy with the honey?
40:19Does Gongos stand a chance with your dozer then?
40:39All right, mate. Enjoy your honey.
40:41Go then. It's a lovely day.
40:42I'm not going to shake your hand because you're coming.
40:44No, I'm not going to.
40:50Nice.
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?
41:25No, no, no, no, no, no, no.
41:31Mate, can I just say thank you for giving me your time,
41:35for allowing me to live with you guys.
41:50Nice one, mate. Give us a hug.
41:53And good luck with everything.
42:02This 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 Gongos gonna get the girl.
43:07Obviously. I think he will. He's a charming man.
43:09I think it's probably more to do with his cheeky grin
43:11than it is to do with his proficiency in baboon hunting.
43:15But, whatever it is, I wish him all the best,
43:18and I'm sure he's gonna have a very happy life.
43:21Say there's a nice gift,
43:23and then they're happy.
43:36You can see yourself.
43:39It's a good one.
43:44It's worth thinking.
43:45It's worth waking us.
43:48It's worth doing it.
43:49What's happening?
43:50It is not going to happen?
43:51I'm not a man.
43:51I'm not a man.
43:53I'm not a man.
43:54I'm not a man.
43:55Thanks, mate.
43:57Keep on running.
43:57I ain't like you.
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