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Ed Staffords Rite Of Passage S Episode 2 Engsub
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00:22I've never experienced anything even comparable in terms of pain.
00:38This is an extraordinary thing to put yourself through, especially when in order to become
00:43a man in this community, you have to do it 20 times throughout your life.
00:58I'm Ed Stafford, as an explorer and survivalist, I've made a career out of mucking about in
01:04the wild. If I'm honest, I've never really grown up.
01:08Look at that!
01:09So now, I've set myself a mission to see how cultures across the world navigate the messy
01:21business of becoming an adult. I believe many of us in the modern world have lost our sense
01:29of identity. But I'm hoping by immersing myself in the often extreme trials that young people
01:36face, I can figure out how these rituals make us better members of our communities.
01:42I've never experienced anything even comparable in terms of pain.
01:47By joining them on their journey, I hope I'll learn to become a better man.
01:55Maybe even grow up.
01:56It's Billy Amos!
01:58Okay, he wants me to jump up. I'm going to jump up.
02:00And successfully pass my own rite of passage.
02:13I'm heading deep into the Amazon jungle to visit a people called the Satare Maui.
02:19I'm on the final leg of my journey, a two-hour boat ride up the Amazon to reach their remote
02:24village.
02:27They live on the Andira River, 80 kilometres from the nearest city.
02:33This community has a unique rite of passage ceremony that involves them putting their hands
02:38in gloves full of bullet ants.
02:42The bullet ant of all insects has the most painful sting in the world.
02:58Hello!
03:00Hello!
03:01Hello!
03:05It's a pleasure!
03:07Hello, I'm João.
03:10I'm João.
03:11Hello!
03:11I'm CN!
03:12I'm aguarding you!
03:13Thank you!
03:14Thank you!
03:14Okay.
03:17That all felt rather stiff, if I'm honest.
03:21I think the guys knew that I was coming,
03:23but I think they were a little bit nervous.
03:25My name is Edgy.
03:28No, it's Adriana.
03:29Adriana?
03:30Yes.
03:30You know, let's face it, it's not every day
03:33that a camera and a man comes into their village
03:36wanting to partake in this sort of ceremony,
03:38so I'm hoping that things relax a little as the day goes on.
03:58Just been given a necklace
03:59and officially welcome to the tribe.
04:02That is a good start.
04:15So I believe we're going to, like, the centre of the community.
04:20Not sure what my Portuguese is good, but it's not amazing.
04:23I'm understanding the majority, but not everything.
04:36In terms of sort of architecture, there's quite a lot of traditional houses
04:40and there's a lot of concrete structures as well.
04:46Despite their remote location,
04:48the community's position on the river means that they are open
04:51to the outside world and the modern influences that brings.
04:57And we're also happy because we're going to see
05:00for centuries and centuries that we maintain the culture of the people of Santarino.
05:05I love it.
05:12Every time we stop, I keep getting bitten by ants,
05:14but they're these tiny little ones, and I'm trying not to react to them at all
05:17because, obviously, compared to bullet ants, they're absolutely nothing,
05:20and yet they're infuriating because they're biting at my ankles,
05:23and these guys are starting to laugh because I'm, like,
05:25literally picking these tiny little minute ants off my ankles.
05:28But they hurt.
05:30I might be in trouble.
05:32The centerpiece of the Satarema way rite of passage
05:35is the incredibly painful tucandera ritual.
05:42Young men get stung by close to 100 bullet ants on each hand.
05:52And they have to do it at least 20 times.
06:02And one of those times is about to kick off.
06:06OK, so this is the central area where they conduct the ceremony.
06:19OK.
06:21My understanding of the, um, ceremony today is that these guys are veterans.
06:26One of them has done it 34 times.
06:29It's all becoming a little bit real.
06:41It's been likened to walking on hot coves.
06:45Insect venom is scaled in terms of the pain from a one to a four.
06:51And the bullet ant is number four, which is obviously the highest level of pain.
06:55To put that into perspective, the sting of an average honeybee is generally just a two.
07:01It does something to the pain pathways within the body
07:04and stops the body combating that pain.
07:07So it keeps the pain pathways open longer than you would normally feel pain
07:12in any other situation in life.
07:16So I'm going to put up.
07:32This is an extraordinary thing to put yourself through.
07:44The secret is to make movements for your body.
07:48From what I understand, it's the dancing and therefore the sweating
07:51that allows the toxins to disperse.
07:54And this is to help them manage the pain.
07:56what...
07:57I'll listen to them.
08:01What day are you doing?
08:11What a day that's recent.
08:26And now his hands are shaking badly.
08:36He's literally got a veteran crying, shaking, trembling,
08:43experiencing a level of pain that I know I have never felt in my life before.
08:49It's scary.
08:56Hey.
08:58OK, boy, can I see you?
09:01This is the first time that I've seen bullet ants on a glove like this.
09:09So the ants have all been sort of secured into this
09:13with their abdomen facing inwards,
09:15and obviously the stings are on the abdomen,
09:18which is why it's on the inside.
09:21How many do you have here?
09:24More or less, no one can see it, but there's more than 80.
09:2880?
09:28Mm-hmm.
09:2980 each one?
09:36Oh, my God.
09:43Taniko has been through the ritual more times than anybody else,
09:47and he will be my mentor for the week.
10:07Do women ever go through the ceremony?
10:09No.
10:14They might not have to physically deal with the pain,
10:17but the women do seem to help the young men throughout the emotional ordeal.
10:26It's an extreme rite of passage.
10:33So why do they do it?
11:08I mean, this is an incredible number. Why have you done it so many times?
11:15I don't know.
11:23While there's no scientific evidence to show that repeated bullet ant stings improve the immune system,
11:28I can see how it could make the boys understand and manage pain much better.
11:33Yeah.
11:34Is it okay with both of you that I take part in a ceremony in a few days?
12:03I can't believe this is day one.
12:07I feel like I've experienced so much already.
12:13The truth is, the auntie's been hooked.
12:16I'm under no illusions just quite how painful this is going to be.
12:21I've never experienced anything even comparable in terms of pain.
12:47The bullet ant ritual is still playing on my mind.
12:55It's a mix of emotions.
12:56It's a blend of butterflies and knives and all sorts of things going around my chest.
13:03I feel like the next few days are vital for me to nuance exactly my approach
13:08to how I'm going to conduct myself during the ceremony,
13:11but it's occupying every part of my being right now.
13:17I'm so aware of something coming that is enormous, absolutely enormous.
13:25I guess my spidey senses were tingling as a morning storm quickly engulfs the area.
13:31So, while we wait for it to pass, Adriana asked me to help prepare some food for their meals.
13:37You're going to mix and then you're going to do this here.
13:41The flour is very important there.
13:43Because if you don't have flour, no one eats at the time of food.
13:50Farine is a carbohydrate made of manioc root.
13:56And is a staple part of the Amazonian diet when there is no fish or meat to eat.
14:02It's quite flamboyant, isn't it?
14:08Is it always the women that do this kind of job?
14:16Okay, we're done.
14:26Yes.
14:32It's ready to do it.
14:34Excellent.
14:40Golden nuggets of pure joy.
14:47I took the moment with Adriana to find out what she thinks about the right of passage.
15:01How painful do you think it is for the man?
15:04I think that this pain is a bit like a pain of having a baby.
15:11Yesterday, I told my son Esau, I said,
15:14Now you're going to feel a pain.
15:16How did I feel when I stopped you?
15:18But it's a bit different because the tucanus,
15:21it's a lot of pain.
15:24It's a lot of pain.
15:25I guess this ritual is basically the big equalizer.
15:28Yeah.
15:29You didn't want him to do it initially and you've now decided that you do want him to do it.
15:34Why have you changed your mind?
15:35Because, before he wanted to put his hand on his hand, he was 11 years old.
15:40He was very small.
15:42Then I thought he wouldn't hold the pain.
15:45Now he decided to put his hand on his hand.
15:48So we don't have to say anything.
15:50Now he said that he doesn't have anyone.
15:51But he would have to put his hand on his hand on his hand.
15:54Yeah, yeah.
15:54Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
15:56I think if a 12-year-old can do it, I'm hoping that at 49 years old, I can do
16:01it as well.
16:02I'll be together.
16:03If you need, I'll help you too.
16:06I'll also see how I'll help my son, right?
16:09Yeah, me too.
16:14I'm touched by Adriana's promise to help me through the ceremony.
16:18At this point, with the bullet ant ritual only four days away,
16:22I'm going to take all the help I can get to overcome the pain.
16:48Jose is helping to teach me the steps needed during the right as a way to help deal with the
16:54pain.
16:59You'd think that would be easy, wouldn't it?
17:03It's because it ends on a right foot.
17:07And then it starts with the right foot.
17:10And so I'm like, I want to do left foot.
17:23I know it's not complicated, but that's quite imbalanced.
17:30And I'm not really renowned for my dancing.
17:34I think I've got it.
17:43You were really stamping hard.
17:45Was there a reason for that?
17:47I've watched him almost come apart, you know?
17:48I've watched him almost come apart.
17:48It's because I was amused.
18:12I've watched him almost come apart, you know, tears streaming down his face, body convulsing
18:19and shaking that, obviously, it's somewhat intimidating, to say the least.
18:27There's no rules or expectations surrounding crying.
18:47There is no hiding the fact that this is going to be extraordinarily more powerful than anything
18:53I would have ever felt through my nervous system before.
18:58I'm aware that my mind state is, will make all the difference.
19:02I think I just need to reset, recharge.
19:04Sleep will give me the resilience that I need.
19:15Morning.
19:17And traditional preparations are in full swing for tomorrow's rite of passage.
19:22What is it?
19:29The room has turned around, you can, too.
19:40The room has turned around and it will turn around...
19:40It's like it's an hour or so.
19:42That's pretty good to be able to get started.
19:43I can't pass, I can't.
19:47My main room has turned around and it's like the time he's left and job.
19:49I can't move.
19:51The room has turned around to the ground and he's left and left and left.
19:53It's all as making the gloves sort of making it at home.
19:58Yeah.
19:59Yeah.
20:00Yeah.
20:00That's right.
20:05To do the back, you do this.
20:11Here.
20:13And here.
20:16That's it.
20:24So what I'm doing is cutting the little strips that end up being woven together in order
20:28to make the inner gloves, the ones that the ants are actually woven into.
20:38The outer gloves are permanent and they're held within the village hall.
20:54And it's suddenly all becoming very real.
20:58And they take the paint and paint it.
21:02And it's not going to be like it, right?
21:05So...
21:08She...
21:09She follows the ritual.
21:13How long will they stay on the body?
21:16Seven days.
21:19The boys being painted will do the right with me.
21:22Because I've always wanted to know the pain that they feel.
21:27Because...
21:27My grandfather said that...
21:30For anything that we want, we have to go through this.
21:36Uh-huh.
21:37To Niko's grandson, Esau, is 12 years old.
21:41And like me, he's doing the bullet ant ritual for the first time.
22:08I can see it in your eyes.
22:15It's a big thing, right?
22:18Uh-huh.
22:19Uh-huh.
22:20Uh-huh.
22:36I see your mom or your dad giving you any last-minute advice.
22:39They told me that it's not to cry on the luke, nor to cry.
22:46Because it makes the cantor sick.
22:51She can only cry when she's already without the luke.
23:00You're welcome.
23:02You're welcome.
23:10My body is ready.
23:12And for the first time, I'm starting to feel more confident about the rite of passage.
23:17But Taniko is asked to meet.
23:46We don't have any conditions for anything.
23:51With the pressure of the pain, we don't have to force it.
23:57We have to relax.
23:59We just have to hold it.
24:00If it's slow, the blood comes and falls.
24:07Then we're making that pain.
24:12But if the pain is alive, you want to be more than her,
24:15she will cry.
24:20In terms of the order of the ceremony,
24:22Jose indicated to me that the reason he was in so much pain
24:26was because he went first.
24:28Obviously, I'm only going to do this once in my life.
24:31Would it be okay if I went first?
24:36It's not a joke.
24:37If you're a mess, you'll have to finish.
24:40If we call you, it's for you to go right there.
24:45And if we call you, you don't come,
24:48you'll be scared, you'll be angry for us.
24:52And for the people who are looking.
24:59That's it. There's no backing down now.
25:02I just hope I don't live to regret it.
25:12It's my last meal with the family.
25:16And Adriana has made sure we're all well-fed for the ceremony.
25:20There's the rice, the macaroni, the bread.
25:26But it also feels a bit like a condemned man's final meal.
25:30All right.
25:32Ah.
25:32It's hot.
25:36It's hot.
25:37It's hot.
25:41It's hot on the morning.
26:08big day tomorrow it has involved a lot of mental preparation it has involved
26:17strategizing but i feel like i'm there and it may well be the last time in my life that i
26:23ever
26:23experienced that sensation so i want to experience it i want to relish in it i want to revel in
26:30it
26:30i want to explore it and um dare i say it i don't want it to be over
26:42it's the day of my rite of passage
26:47and it wouldn't be much of a ceremony without the star of the event
26:52chiniko is blowing a um musical instrument at the front which is part of the ceremony in terms of
26:59attracting the the ants and drawing them out of their home
27:15the tobacco smoke and rubbing of the tree
27:17aggravates the ants and drives them out of their nest ready to sting
27:50wow
27:56back in the village while the boys and i steal our nerves
28:02tiniko sedates the ants using leaves
28:05from the tapabera plant
28:24it's a skillful art and tiniko must work
28:27fast to weave the ants into the gloves before they wake up
28:47this is it the sedative has worn off and the ants are ready to attack anything and anyone that
28:53goes near them undeniably there's this surge of energy um that is rising in my body
29:07it's kind of a mesh of excitement and elation and fear
29:20i think actually in my life the closest i've come to this is um a boxing match you know somewhere
29:26where there's nowhere to hide somewhere where if you mess up it's going to be very visible to a lot
29:31of
29:42people
29:43once the gloves go on i'll be entering a world of pain that i've never felt before
29:50so the ants are going into the gloves now being tied up
29:54and there will be nothing i can do to stop it for over 12 hours
30:02but in the end
30:06if
30:07as you
30:09it's doing it
30:09it's going to be more
30:13it's going to be more
30:13but you
30:17it's going over
30:20a
30:22you
30:24it's
30:25it's going over
30:27hey
30:27yeah
30:28it's going to be
30:35...
30:37...
30:38...
30:42...
30:43...
30:43...
30:44...
30:45...
30:59I may look composed but the pain is excruciating.
31:06Somehow it's almost making me feel high, I'm charged with adrenaline and completely
31:13focused on the dance, the repetitive steps are giving me something to focus on but
31:23the searing pain is like nothing I've ever felt before.
31:43I'll see you later.
31:45I'll see you later.
31:47But I don't know what to do, but I don't know what to do, but I don't know what to
32:02do.
32:26I've never experienced anything to this intensity in my physicality.
32:33Literally, like, my hands are on fire, right in the heart of a fire.
33:14If you were to spiral into a panic,
33:17with this level of pain, it would be awful.
33:28It would be then unmanageable by definition.
33:45If it's this hard for me, a grown man, I have no idea how the boys are going to cope.
33:51If it's this hard for me, I don't know what to do.
34:22Now it's all about withstanding the incredible pain.
34:31Taniko warned me there would be intense peaks to this pain.
34:38It feels like I'm hitting the first of these now.
34:41I guess this is now the phase where there's no abatement.
34:44Yeah, the pain is, if anything, it's growing slightly.
34:50If anything, it's getting more painful.
34:53And it's managing that.
35:10It's important that I don't cry in the rain.
35:37An hour after the ritual and the pain is only increasing.
35:43The decision is made to move us to the village hall so that we can be closely monitored.
36:03But it's as close to as unbearable as I can contemplate right now.
36:10Hats off to these people who do it 20 times.
36:12Crikey.
36:14What an extraordinary way of facilitating them to turn from young boys into adults.
36:24a little bit of panic that the pain is still as bad as it is.
36:29that I'm just trying to calm within myself.
36:38This is kind of the darkest part for me now.
36:52As I put my hand in the gloves first and for a longer time, I received more venom.
36:58Now, I'm struggling to cope, and my team are concerned.
37:02Hello, Aji.
37:04How are you?
37:05How are you?
37:09How are you?
37:12I'm going to look at your vital signals.
37:15Yes, yes.
37:26How are your vital signals?
37:30I'm going to look at your circulation, yes?
37:32Yes.
37:33For the Dema and the inclamation.
37:39It's been four hours that I don't have peace.
37:43So I'm concerned about it.
37:46Okay.
37:49So my concern was that he was entering into a dehydration
37:53which is common in this moment of exposure
37:56and by the ritual itself and the toxin itself.
38:11After taking in fluids and being carefully monitored by the doctor,
38:16I am finally back on my feet.
38:19But the pain was way more traumatic than I had ever anticipated.
38:24It's kind of changed from burning fire to have been smashed with a sledgehammer.
38:33Right.
38:39In the dance, I just sort of found myself next to another guy whose hands were completely messed up
38:45so that we couldn't kind of link arms.
38:49And this quite young girl called Fran came up and linked arms.
38:56There was just something so special about the fact that she'd noticed and that she cared enough.
39:03I think their role is vital, absolutely vital.
39:08And it's funny, isn't it, you go through all that pain and the thing that makes you close to tears
39:13is the care that you've been presented with and offered.
39:26Adriana, I mean, literally constantly helping me, feeding me, binding my hands.
39:40We're gonna keep in mind.
39:43I don't know what you're doing.
39:46We're gonna keep in mind.
39:51You're gonna keep in mind.
40:01I finished your seat, I feel like you're gonna have.
40:05I have never been presented with so much care and love and and I would never have got through
40:11that ceremony if it wasn't for you all I'll never forget it
40:20I will remember
41:01I think I came here
41:03thinking that this ceremony was all going to be about proving how tough I was you know
41:09proving how I could do this on my own and it's not true is it it's not true of the
41:17ceremony
41:18but it's also not true in general it's like you don't have to do it well on your own you
41:23can let
41:23me let people in we can let them help you
41:33it's beautiful it's absolutely beautiful
41:53okay I feel a bit buttered and bruised this morning if I'm honest that level of pain for that amount
42:03of
42:03time just almost doesn't feel naturally I think I'm starting to get an understanding of how rites
42:12of passage are really essential to communities because on the face of it they look like things
42:16that allow young boys to show off to prove that tough so they can become a man
42:34the ceremony last night changed my opinion on that it was about the community come together it's the it's the
42:41very soul of the community and it's what pulls everything together
42:46I've been fighting my whole life fighting to prove that I'm tough enough to survive on my own and the
42:53inherent epiphany of last night seemed to be that you don't have to you can come into a village and
42:59seven days later they're calling you part of their family and and giving you so much love and support that
43:04you're reduced to tears I mean that's I don't I don't know of many things in life more powerful than
43:09that really
43:20sounds like a cartoon anvil falling from the sky
43:23but I'll just say
43:35it's okay
43:35it's okay
43:36and smoke it was great
43:37it's okay
43:38it's okay
43:39it's okay
43:39it's okay
43:39end
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