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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.
02:47And then the other two weeks she's a star-spoken host for her
02:59Howdy.
03:02I'm drawing a main hold of all of theКА
03:05It's a big pleasure.
03:07It's a great pleasure.
03:07It's a great pleasure.
03:10It's a great pleasure.
03:12I'm waiting for you.
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?
03:29Yes.
03:30You know, let's face it,
03:33it's not every day that a camera and a man
03:35comes into their village wanting to partake
03:37in this sort of ceremony,
03:38so I'm hoping that things relax a little
03:40as 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,
04:18the centre of the community.
04:20Not sure what my Portuguese is good,
04:22but it's not amazing.
04:23I'm understanding the majority,
04:25but not everything.
04:32In terms of sort of architecture,
04:37there'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
04:50means that they are open to the outside world
04:52and the modern influences that brings.
04:57And we're also happy,
04:59because we're going to see
05:01for centuries and centuries
05:02that we maintain the culture
05:04of the people of Santorum Avelli.
05:12Every time we stop,
05:13I keep getting bitten by ants,
05:14but they're these tiny little ones
05:16and I'm trying not to react to them at all,
05:17because, obviously, compared to bullet ants,
05:19they're absolutely nothing,
05:20and yet they're infuriating
05:21because they're biting at my ankles
05:23and these guys are starting to laugh,
05:24because I'm, like,
05:25literally picking these tiny little
05:26minute ants off my ankles,
05:28but they hurt.
05:30I might be in trouble.
05:32The centrepiece of the
05:33Satarema Way rite of passage
05:35is the incredibly painful
05:37tucandera ritual.
05:42Young men get stung
05:43by close to 100 bullet ants
05:45on each hand.
05:53And they have to do it
05:54at least 20 times.
06:02And one of those times
06:03is about to kick off.
06:06OK, so this is the central area
06:09where they conduct the ceremony.
06:19OK.
06:21My understanding of the ceremony today
06:23is that these guys are veterans.
06:25One 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
06:49from a one to a four.
06:51And the bullet ant is number four,
06:53which is obviously the highest level of pain.
06:55To put that into perspective,
06:57the sting of an average honeybee
06:58is generally just a two.
07:01It does something to the pain pathways
07:04within the body
07:04and stops the body
07:06combating that pain.
07:07So it keeps the pain pathways open
07:09longer than you would normally feel pain
07:12in any other situation in life.
07:16Something to do.
07:32This is an extraordinary thing
07:35to put yourself through.
07:48From what I understand,
07:50it's the dancing and therefore the sweating
07:52that allows the toxins to disperse.
07:54And this is to help them manage the pain.
07:58He's already receiving it.
08:02He's already receiving it.
08:03He's already receiving it.
08:06As long as he's waiting,
08:07he's dancing.
08:08If it hurts a lot,
08:09he's sending it out.
08:12One more time.
08:13Uh-huh.
08:18Thanks.
08:26And now his hands are shaking badly.
08:36You've literally got a veteran
08:38crying, shaking, trembling,
08:43experiencing a level of pain
08:45that I know I have never felt in my life before.
08:49It's scary.
08:56Oh, my God.
08:59What can I do?
09:00What's your name?
09:01This is the first time that I've seen
09:03bullet ants on a glove like this.
09:09So the ants have all been sort of secured into
09:13this, with their abdomen facing inwards,
09:15and obviously the stings are on the abdomen,
09:18which is why it is on the inside.
09:43Teniko has been through the ritual more times than anybody else, and he will
09:48be my mentor for the week.
10:07Do women ever go through the ceremony?
10:14They might not have to physically deal with the pain, but the women do seem to help the
10:19young men throughout the emotional ordeal.
10:26It's an extreme rite of passage.
10:33So why do they do it?
10:35So why do they do it?
10:36So why do they do it?
10:36So why do they do it?
10:39So why do they do it?
10:39So why do they do it?
11:11So why do they do it?
11:12So why do they do it?
11:22While there's no scientific evidence to show that repeated bullet ant stings improve the
11:27immune system, I can see how it could make the boys understand and manage pain much better.
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, it's a blender of butterflies and knives and all sorts of things going around my
13:01chest.
13:03I feel like the next few days are vital for me to nuance exactly my approach to how I'm going
13:09to conduct myself during the ceremony, but 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.
14:02It's quite flamboyant, isn't it?
14:04Yeah.
14:05It's quite flamboyant, isn't it?
14:08Is it always the women that do this kind of job?
14:23Okay, we're done?
14:26Yes.
14:32It's ready.
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.
15:12Yesterday I told my son Esau, I said,
15:14Now you're going to feel pain, like I felt when I stopped you.
15:18But it's a bit different because the tucanus is a lot of pain.
15:25I guess this ritual is basically the big equalizer.
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?
15:36Because 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 be able to do the pain.
15:45Now he decided to put his hand on his hand, so we don't have to say to him.
15:50Now he said that he doesn't have anyone, but he would have to put his hand on his hand.
15:54Yeah, see, see, see, see.
15:55I 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.
16:04If you need, I'll help you too. See how I'll help my son, right?
16:09Yeah, me too.
16:14I am 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 think that would be easy, wouldn't it?
17:03It's because it ends on a right foot, and 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. Was there a reason for that?
17:47No, it's since when I plugged my hand in your pillow...
17:52...because my, after being, was bigger pain than her.
18:02From what I can have already experienced as a dancer,
18:03She is the one who stays with all her liquid, with all the venom in her hand.
18:08That's why the pain is stronger.
18:13I've watched him almost come apart, you know.
18:16Tears streaming down his face, body convulsing and shaking.
18:21Obviously, it's somewhat intimidating, to say the least.
18:27There's no rules or expectations surrounding crying.
18:31She does well. When we cry, it's not a shame, it's nothing.
18:36It hurts. You have to jump.
18:46There is no hiding the fact that this is going to be extraordinarily more powerful
18:52than anything I would have ever felt through my nervous system before.
18:59I'm aware that my mind state is, will make all the difference.
19:02I think I just need to reset, recharge.
19:05Sleep will give me the resilience that I need.
19:07Eh-eh-eh.
19:15Morning.
19:17And traditional preparations are in full swing for tomorrow's rite of passage.
19:29Turn around.
19:3000 Merciar dead.
19:37I'm just taking down by Center Valley.
19:45Now I Jacque...
19:54Forgive me if I can still take those sublimines at home.
19:59Some speakers remain laggy.
20:06To make the back, you do this here, and here, and here, and here, and here, and here.
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.
20:51Gloves woven, the boys and I also need to get ourselves prepared, and it's suddenly all
20:57becoming very real.
20:59They take the paint and paint it, so they don't look like it, right?
21:05So, they follow the ritual.
21:12How long will they stay on the body?
21:16Seven days.
21:19The boys being painted will do the right with me.
21:37Teniko's grandson, Esau, is 12 years old, and like me, he's doing the bullet ant ritual
21:43for the first time.
22:04Are you nervous about doing it for the first time?
22:07Yes.
22:08Yes.
22:08Yes.
22:09And it's my first time.
22:10It's a great thing.
22:15It's a great thing, right?
22:18Yes.
22:21Yes.
22:23Yes.
22:27Yes.
22:30Yes.
22:31I'm nervous.
22:36I see your mom or your dad giving you any last minute advice.
22:39Yes.
22:41They 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.
23:00Okay?
23:01Yes.
23:02Are you okay?
23:05Thank you very much.
23:06Thank you very much.
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 Teniko's asked to meet.
23:22I wanted to explain to you how the pain is, how the pain is, how she does, how the process
23:30of her.
23:33When she attacks a lot, like Jose was here, it hurts the chest.
23:40It hurts the chest.
23:41It has to be a bit of water.
23:43But it's another thing that it's going to do.
23:44We don't have any conditions for anything.
23:51The pressure of the pain, we don't have to force it.
23:57We have to relax.
23:59We have to just hold it.
24:01If it's slow, the blood comes and falls.
24:07Then the pain comes and falls.
24:08Then the pain comes and falls.
24:12But if the pain is alive, if you want to be more than it, it's going to die.
24:20It's easier to die.
24:21Like the order of the ceremony, Jose indicated to me that the reason he was in so much pain
24:26was because he went first.
24:28And obviously, I'm only going to do this once in my life.
24:31Would it be okay if I went first?
24:59that's it there's no bucking down now
25:02I just hope I don't live to regret it
25:12it's my last meal with the family and Adriana has made sure we're all well fed for the ceremony
25:26but it also feels a bit like a condemned man's final meal
25:30it's hot
25:33It's hot
25:35It's hot
25:36It's hot
25:47It's hot
26:17It's hot
26:20It may well be the last time in my life that I ever experienced that sensation
26:25so I want to experience it
26:27I want to relish in it
26:28I want to revel in it
26:30I want to explore it
26:34and dare I say it
26:35I 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
26:52Shiniko is blowing a musical instrument at the front
26:55which is part of the ceremony in terms of attracting the ants and drawing them out of their home
27:15The tobacco smoke and rubbing of the tree aggravates the ants and drives them out of their nest ready to
27:21sting
27:35Wow, that's quite a lot on the pole
27:40There's a lot of ants going into this tube
27:44Huge amount
27:46Every one of them has a sting
27:49Considerably worse than a scorpion
27:56Back in the village
27:58While the boys and I steal our nerves
28:02Tiniko sedates the ants using leaves from the tapabera plant
28:06This is the remedy of the tocandeira
28:14It's to amortize it
28:24It's a skillful art
28:26and Tiniko must work fast to weave the ants into the gloves before they wake up
28:47This is it
28:48This is it
28:49The sedative has worn off
28:50and the ants are ready to attack anything
28:52and anyone that goes near them
28:55Undeniably there's this surge of energy
29:01that 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
29:21The closest I've come to this is a boxing match
29:24You know, somewhere where there's nowhere to hide
29:27Somewhere where if you mess up
29:29It's going to be very visible to a lot of people
29:43Once the gloves go on
29:44I'll be entering a world of pain
29:47that I've never felt before
29:50So the ants are going into the gloves now
29:52and being tied up
29:55And there will be nothing I can do to stop it
29:57for over 12 hours
29:58More hours
30:05So it will hurt
30:09It will hurt
30:10It will hurt
30:11It will hurt
30:13But you...
30:15Go
30:15Go
30:15Go
30:16Go
30:17Go
30:18Go
30:18Go
30:18Go
30:19Let's go, let's go.
30:59I may look composed but the pain is excruciating somehow it's almost
31:07making me feel high I'm charged with adrenaline and completely focused on the
31:13dance the repetitive steps are giving me something to focus on but the searing
31:24pain is like nothing I've ever felt before
31:44it's not my baby I'll be happy I'll be happy
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.
32:55My thought was to put it and send it out, but he didn't resist.
33:04The preparation was very good.
33:14If you were to spiral into a panic with 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, it would be awful.
33:54If it's this hard for me, it would be awful.
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.
34:44The pain is, if anything, it's growing slightly.
34:50If anything, it's getting more painful.
34:52And it's managing that.
34:55If anything, it's getting more painful.
35:10It's important that I don't cry in the rain.
35:15Thank you very much.
35:21Thank you very much.
35:38An 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.
36:13Crikey.
36:13What 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.
37:02I'm struggling with my hand.
37:03Hello, Angie.
37:04Hello, how are you?
37:06How are you?
37:10How are you?
37:12I'm going to observe your vital signals.
37:15Yes, yes.
37:16I'm going to observe your vital signals.
37:19Yes.
37:26I'm going to observe your circulation.
37:32Yes.
37:32What are you?
37:32For the demas 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 a system of dehydration,
37:54which 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.
38:25It's kind of changed from burning fire
38:30to have been smashed with a sledgehammer.
38:39In the dance, I just sort of found myself next to another guy
38:43whose hands were completely messed up,
38:45so 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
39:00and 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,
39:10and 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,
39:30feeding me, binding my hands.
39:40But I don't know the thing that I've heard.
39:46These are the things to bless my hands.
39:47I feel like my hands are broken.
39:52That's why I found myself.
39:55I feel like this is broken.
39:57I feel like this is broken.
39:59I feel like this is broken.
40:03Thanks.
40:05I've never been presented with so much care and love, and I would never have got through
40:11that ceremony if it wasn't for you all.
40:14I'll never forget it.
40:35It's very good to see you and Eric, to rescue our culture, to take it forward.
40:45It's very good what we're doing here.
40:50I don't have a lot of words, but I thank you very much from the bottom of my heart and
40:57my family that's united here.
41:01I think, I came here thinking that this ceremony was all going to be about proving how tough
41:08I was, you know, proving how I could do this on my own, and it's not true, is it?
41:17It's not true of the ceremony, but it's also not true in general.
41:19It's like, you don't have to do it well on your own.
41:33It's beautiful.
41:35It's absolutely beautiful.
41:56I feel a bit buttered and bruised this morning, if I'm honest.
42:01That level of pain for that amount of time just almost doesn't feel natural.
42:09I think I'm starting to get an understanding of how rites of passage are really essential
42:13to communities, because on the face of it, they look like things that allow young boys
42:17to show off, to prove that they're tough, so they can become a man.
42:33And the ceremony last night changed my opinion on that.
42:38It was about the community coming together.
42:40It's the very 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
42:51my own.
42:52And the inherent epiphany of last night seemed to be that you don't have to.
42:57You can come into a village and seven days later, they're calling you part of their family
43:01and giving you so much love and support that you're reduced to tears.
43:06I mean, that's...
43:06I don't know of many things in life more powerful than that, really.
43:20It sounds like a cartoon anvil falling from the sky.
43:23I.
43:35I love you.
43:37I don't know of many things in just a moment.
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