- 6 hours ago
ed staffords rite of passage s Episode 3 Engsub
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00:11The
00:12Which I go cook cool yako, but I got a tobacco cook
00:17They are tobacco coach in a mimic and not cook the training
00:22We got one get last we got one this tree is hollow and there's a big
00:29Beehive inside the tree and it's just a matter of making it accessible enough to get our hands in and
00:35grab the honey out
00:52I'm at Stafford as an explorer
00:54And survivalist. I've made a career out of mucking about in the wild
00:59If I'm honest, I've never really grown up
01:03So now
01:06Ready guys
01:08I've set myself a mission
01:11To see how cultures across the world navigate the messy business
01:16becoming an adult I
01:20I
01:21Believe many of us in the modern world have lost our sense of identity
01:25But I'm hoping by immersing myself
01:27And they're often extreme trials that young people face I can figure out how these rituals make us better members
01:34of our communities
01:36I've never experienced anything even comparable in terms of pain
01:41By joining them on that journey. I hope I'll learn to become a better man
01:46No, maybe even grow up
01:51Okay, he wants me to jump and I'm gonna jump up 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
02:24I've been traveling for 48 hours just to get here and this is now my final leg a
02:31Five-hour drive deep into one of the most remote corners of the African Bush
02:36I'm heading to the Socorro community on the fringes of Lake Easi a
02:41Place often called the cradle of mankind and where human remains dating back around two million years were discovered
02:52I'm here to live with the hatter and from what I know of their right of passage into adulthood
02:57Involves using expert tracking and bush kills to find honey and big game
03:02the hadzer have been surviving on these lands for over 50,000 years and
03:09One of the last remaining hunter-gatherer tribes left in the world
03:22Okay, one of the local hadzer boys is just come out. It's nice to see a smiling face. Hello, mate
03:34Hi guys
03:37I go and I'm a coco and
03:41Ed
03:42Anapa
03:43Anaba
03:44Anaba
03:46Anaba
04:10Anaba
04:40Sakuroma
04:42Gonga
04:45Gonga that would chop chop the tree
04:51Cool nice to meet you
04:52Not only do I not speak the language, but I can barely pronounce their names
04:57This could be a challenging week
05:00I appreciate being allowed to come and live with you for a small period of time in your community
05:05It's a key thing for me coming here is to learn about how you guys transition young men into adults
05:11And if it's okay with you the thing that I'm really really interested in learning about is
05:15How you hunt for the honey and extract the honey from wild sources?
05:20Look what I tell it by luck or call with a quite political tip. I bet I got not on
05:23my problem. Thank you very much me
05:30Okay
05:47Yeah
05:47Guys are hungry and they've got no food and they need to hunt so it's almost perfect for me rather
05:53than sitting around and all the awkwardnesses of
05:56Being introduced to a tribe we're straight out on a hunt
06:01Hatsa camps are named after their best hunters
06:06With this community named after Socorro
06:14His right-hand man is 17 year old Gonga
06:45Hatsa
06:46The Hatsa diet is not for picky eaters. I reckon they like squirrels
06:53Consisting of over 30 different wild mammals including monkeys porcupines badgers and impala
07:05Either end other end other end other end
07:10Other end
07:23amazing it's good water is good water mate yes wow I mean that's so cool isn't it look at that
07:31that's extraordinary look he's cut the bottom drank out the bottom because he didn't know that
07:36you could unscrew the top why would you just just show doesn't it how divorced from everyday life
07:43this place is thank 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
08:02it's good it's good is it what's it called
08:15half way between a potato and a kind of a cucumber it's kind of got that watery inside like a
08:22cucumber
08:23hash but with the flavor of your potato ah what are we looking for me well I've been a quotation
08:35of
08:35the back of the back of the week I in a good book on you talk with you there but
08:38who tabbing and any
08:40double but support for the summer summer okay cool looking for honey for had to boy to transition into
08:48manhood and complete their rite of passage they must prove themselves as a provider for the community
08:55so although facing an angry swarm of bees seems daunting it's a primary food source for the Hatsa
09:00people so 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 bees nest means that bees are actively building new combs which
09:30should hopefully be overflowing with fresh honey how do you get the honey out of that
09:58with the hive more than 10 meters above the ground it's not exactly the kind of place that you want
10:03to be stung by swarm of angry bees I'm not sure I particularly want to go climbing to make it
10:10even
10:11more precarious the only way to climb is by using homemade wooden pegs with only one squirrel successfully
10:23hunted and now shifting our focus to honey we've returned home with little food
10:38she looked really hungry I'm very grateful that that tuberous rube got given to her she looked really
10:55hungry the Hatsa's traditional hunting grounds have been whittled away to only 10% of what it was just 50
11:01years ago meaning less game to hunt for food yeah there's a lot of little mouths to feed
11:10not that long ago the Hatsa could easily feast on giraffes elephant and their favorite baboons but that
11:17looks like a distant memory today dead posh service this is thank you this is perfect you like a
11:28like a like a like a like a I get me slide down hey I have a copy copy thank
11:37you mate thank you thank
11:38you I've got a call this is cool so basically this is my accommodation for the next week I don't
11:49want to
11:50become another mouth to feed making my need to help provide honey for this community all the more vital
12:12there's no time you know long what's her name shoot more shul more
12:45For a Hadza boy to complete their rite of passage and marry, they must prove to the
12:50bride's parents that 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 10-meter-high baobab tree to raid a hive filled with bees sounds just as
13:05daunting.
13:08The beehive is right in the crux of that, say about 10 meters off the floor.
13:32A baobab tree like this could easily be 2,000 years old.
13:36Archaeological evidence found in this region reveals that Hadza have lived on these lands
13:41for over 50,000 years, which means their ancestors were likely hunting and raiding beehives like
13:46this during the Stone Age.
13:48Gonga's skill level of being able to hang on to a little peg while standing on a little
13:55peg, while 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 Africanized bee hybrid known as the killer bee.
14:11He's almost at the top now though.
14:25One wrong move and the bees could swarm Gonga and us.
14:30You can hear them up there.
14:32They 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.
14:47We've got food in the world.
14:50While this is not a good thing,
14:53we've got food in the world.
14:57We've got food in the world.
15:01We've got food.
15:02A bit of food.
15:03Let's get food.
15:05Let's get food.
15:06Despite still being stung, they pushed through the pane to access the prized honey.
15:15The only problem now is getting all the liquid gold down.
15:40Yeah, yeah, yeah, I've got it.
15:44Got it?
15:49Oh, 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.
16:13That 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, wiki, clean, ira, ira, the sound.
16:37When I pivot off the good food and bounce out of bounds.
16:40Well done, mate. Congratulations.
16:44Well done.
16:45Did you get stung much?
16:47Ding, ding, ding, ding.
16:48Oh, I got it.
16:52Oh, I got it.
16:54Oh, I got it.
16:54Oh, I got it.
16:54Oh, I got it.
16:55Get some honey down your mate.
16:58But this honey isn't really for eating.
17:00They 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?
17:09What could you buy with this?
17:15So you can see why it is important, both as part of the rite of passage, but also as something
17:21to trade.
17:22And the boys are so happy.
17:27And the plastic bucket of fresh honey is a welcoming boost to the community's morale.
17:46This plastic bucket of fresh honey should be a welcome boost to the community's morale.
17:51And by the end of my week here, I will have to place my own hand into a wild bees
17:56nest to provide for the community something I'm a little nervous about.
18:13How 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?
18:22.
18:35Do you worry that when the men go out hunting, that they're not gonna 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.
19:26Ganga, obviously, is looking to get married. Do you think he's a good catch?
19:41Nice.
19:42I'm already fascinated by the Hadda and how a young man's rite of passage
19:46is directly connected to 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, Ganga 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.
20:31The Tetoga 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, 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.
21:43Happy days, you happy?
21:47Excellent.
21:4820 arrowheads and two knives and he gets a pot of honey.
21:55Everyone's a winner.
22:00It's been a successful mission and Gonga now has the tools he needs to prove himself
22:05on 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 is all focused towards Gonga
22:20getting married, so it's time to meet the lady herself.
22:24The Umkowa-Boma community is home to other hunters and their families.
22:28But with less than 400 Hadza living a traditional life in the region, every camp is like an extended
22:35family with many Hadza being married or related to one another.
22:39Which is your girlfriend?
22:41In the middle.
22:47She's beautiful.
22:49She's beautiful.
22:51Hi.
22:53Lovely to meet you.
23:21She's beautiful.
23:25her father looks a little less convinced in general how does it has a man and prove his
23:33worthiness if he was to want to marry a lady in another community how does he how does he prove
23:39himself I think oh I don't want to talk about what you call no what I'm a shot question you
24:08can
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 Congo 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 you understood me didn't you didn't need a translator then and although I'm
24:42a bit of a newbie out here I hope I can help him on his own Hadza rite of passage
24:46my time 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 hands up right 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 late
25:21today
25:21they pull the arrows out the arrowhead is lethal but without feathers it won't fly and when your whole
25:46future depends on the success of a hunt there's no room for error so keep going around them
26:08so make that attack above your machete right oh
26:13oh
26:14oh
26:15oh
26:15oh
26:16oh
26:16oh
26:16oh
26:17oh
26:17oh
26:18oh
26:19oh
26:20oh
26:20oh
26:20oh
26:20oh
26:21oh
26:21oh
26:22oh
26:23oh
26:24oh
26:24oh
26:25oh
26:25oh
26:29oh
26:30oh
26:30oh
26:30oh
26:30oh
26:30oh
26:31oh
26:31oh
26:34oh
26:35oh
26:35oh
26:35oh
26:35oh
26:35oh
26:35that 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, they have a knife.
26:46Even the shelter, the home that they're sleeping in,
26:49is a temporary one that will work for the season.
26:51And yet it's experience and knowledge and skill level
26:55that's enabling them to actually glean an existence from the environment.
26:59Being able to craft tools, being able to make weapons,
27:02being able to know all of the different hunting techniques that they need.
27:07And by putting it all together,
27:09you free yourself from the need to accumulate stuff.
27:13And I think that's the key.
27:16Happy life.
27:26Thank you, mate. Thank you so much.
27:34Okay, I didn't do it all myself.
27:37But I consider that to be my first hunter arrow.
27:42Thank you, mate.
27:44Happy 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.
28:06Them boys are on a mission.
28:09To stand the greatest chance of success,
28:12we are heading to new hunting grounds,
28:14an eight-kilometre hike away under the 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,
28:37I'd be hanging out on these rocks up here.
28:40Classic baboon territory.
28:53Spotting movement on the horizon.
28:56Gonga gives the signal,
28:58and we head down into the valley.
29:03All of a sudden, the hunt is on.
29:07That was definitely a contact with a troop of baboons.
29:13There's shouts from that direction,
29:15that direction, and that direction.
29:17Baboon.
29:18In the chaos of the chase,
29:20the group has splintered.
29:24I'd better keep up,
29:26because 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.
30:02It's coming down.
30:03That was a huge baboon.
30:07Exactly 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
30:22through that underground there.
30:27They're closing in on them.
30:29This is it.
30:30With Hong Konga ambushing the baboons with the dogs,
30:33and Gonga closing in,
30:35we're moments away from a possible kill.
30:43But once again, confusion kicks in.
30:50Gonga is...
30:51He 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 for him,
30:58I'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,
31:09the silence is deafening.
31:13By the time I catch up with the rest of the group,
31:16I can immediately tell it's not good news.
31:36What is very cool
31:37is that this is Gonga.
31:39Wanted to get married,
31:40found a girl he likes,
31:41wants to impress her parents,
31:42and all his mates are very happy
31:44to turn out with him
31:45at 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
31:56is the often harsh reality
31:57for modern Hadza.
32:00So we're now relying on finding
32:02a cache of honey
32:02to restore some of Gonga's fortune
32:04and save his rite of passage.
32:09But with light quickly fading,
32:11time is not on our side.
32:18We are losing time
32:19in terms of getting the honey.
32:21It's part and parcel
32:22of what Gonga needs to provide,
32:25and therefore,
32:26if we can just nail that,
32:28that would be good.
32:32But all isn't lost
32:33when Gonga is leading the brigade.
32:35Eddie,
32:36I'm going to go.
32:37Uh-huh.
32:38I'm going to go.
32:39I'm going to go.
32:40I'm going to go.
32:40I'm going to go.
32:41Have we got one?
32:42Yeah.
32:47Nice.
32:50OK, at last, we've got one.
32:54The tree is hollow,
32:55and there's a big beehive
32:58inside the tree,
32:59and it's just a matter
33:00of making it accessible enough
33:02to get our hands in
33:03and grab the honey out.
33:06I'm going to have a go
33:07trying to extract as much of this
33:08myself as possible.
33:10I really want to nail this for Gonga
33:12and make sure he doesn't go back
33:14to his future bride empty-handed.
33:17Success would also be a massive boost for me
33:19to at least partially complete
33:21my rite of passage
33:22as one of the primary harvesters
33:24of this wild honey.
33:25Without her looking at the sun,
33:27I reckon we've got about
33:2940 minutes of daylight.
33:32With the clock ticking,
33:33it's now or never.
33:40OK, far going.
33:41Stage one complete.
33:43But this beehive
33:44is not going to be an easy one
33:45to get into.
33:45It's very enclosed,
33:48and the bees are very well protected.
33:51OK, so in here, yeah?
33:52OK.
34:02It's brutal work,
34:04and the longer we take,
34:06the more likely we are
34:07to aggravate the bees
34:08and potentially cause a swarm.
34:11But with Gonga's help,
34:13we gain access to the hive.
34:24The bees don't think
34:29that they can access
34:32enough of the honey
34:32from the hole that we've cut.
34:34We need to open up
34:36the secondary hole.
34:41With the beehive
34:42still deep inside the tree
34:44and the light fading fast,
34:45the other boys
34:46also step in to help.
34:49I came here thinking,
34:50you know what,
34:51I want to prove
34:52that I can get the honey
34:52out myself.
34:53And as I was chopping away
34:54and the boys are standing around,
34:56I'm thinking,
34:57that's not the way
34:58they 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.
35:06And not because
35:07I'm being lazy,
35:09but I'm going to embrace
35:10that team spirit.
35:13Teamwork makes a dream way.
35:21Oh!
35:23Gonga's just got stung,
35:24I can see.
35:38It looks like the smoke
35:39from the fire I made
35:40has done its job
35:41in subduing the bees.
35:48This is it.
35:49Time to get some
35:51for myself.
35:53OK.
36:08Well done, mate!
36:11That is beautiful.
36:19It's all right.
36:24Everyone has now
36:25had a lot of stings.
36:26It's got to the stage
36:27where the honey out,
36:28but the bees,
36:29they just go for you.
36:31I've probably got
36:3120 or 30 stings.
36:33There's this crazy
36:35pleasure pain thing
36:36going on here at the moment.
36:37Everyone is high on sugar.
36:39Sugar, sugar, sugar!
36:40And in excruciating pain
36:42at the same time.
36:44Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!
36:46Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!
36:48Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!
36:51Sneakers, we keep in
36:52a different way of the sound
36:53when I pivot off the hood
36:55put a bounce on the bounce
36:56getting wild with the style
36:57filling on the prowl
36:59rock while the growl
37:00don't got to be wild
37:01bringing the house down
37:03raising the roof
37:04when we ready to bust
37:05out the gate with a boost
37:07Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!
37:10Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!
37:13That was just speaking
37:14without moving his lips
37:16at all.
37:16Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!
37:22Worth the pain.
37:23Worth the pain.
37:25Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!
37:27I would say that was a big
37:28success.
37:29It's not a bad hole.
37:31I'm not putting my hand
37:32in there again.
37:33Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!
37:34Don't pay yourself,
37:35better run back.
37:37We run the game,
37:38they run back.
37:39Will your future father and
37:41will be happy with that?
37:42Yeah.
37:46Nice one, Gonga.
37:48Good work, mate.
37:48Good work, mate.
37:50We got up, yup, yup, yup,
37:52we got up.
37:53With the honey bagged,
37:54a night upon us,
37:55we have no choice but to
37:57spend the night
37:57sleeping rough in the bush.
38:03What a day.
38:04I mean, that was honestly
38:06one of the most rewarding
38:08days of my life.
38:10We have honey to speed,
38:12Gonga to speed,
38:12Joe's wedding on its way.
38:14Today has just shown me
38:15it's all about team.
38:16This isn't a one-man effort.
38:19This isn't Gonga
38:20demonstrating his prowess
38:21on his own.
38:22Clearly he's one of the
38:23most competent in the
38:24whole group,
38:25but it isn't about that
38:26to the Hadza.
38:27It's about sticking together,
38:29it's about turning up
38:30for each other,
38:31and it's about having fun.
38:33And they have done all three
38:34of those in bucket loads.
38:40Morning.
38:41And with everyone from
38:42the community gathered
38:43for our return,
38:44this is the moment of truth.
38:48Has Gonga done enough
38:49to win the blessing
38:50of his girlfriend's parents?
39:14We tried to get a baboon,
39:16but I'm afraid it went away.
39:18We didn't get it in the end.
39:29Gonga's been a little bit shy.
39:33Maybe he's worried about the
39:34fact that he hasn't got a baboon.
39:36I think he's just feeling
39:37the public humiliation a little bit.
39:46They're all just tucking in
39:47to the honey that's so amazing.
40:00Are you happy with the honey
40:01that Gonga brought back?
40:19Does Gonga stand a chance
40:20for the Odooza then?
40:22Does Gonga stand a chance
40:30for the Odooza then?
40:31OK.
40:33OK.
40:34OK.
40:39All right, mate.
40:40Enjoy your honey.
40:41Go then.
40:41It's a lovely day.
40:42I'm not going to shake your hand
40:43because you're coming.
40:44No, I'm not going to do it.
40:47No, I'm not going to do it.
40:49Nice.
40:51Like they say, anything easy
40:53isn't worth having.
40:54So hopefully, on Gonga's next baboon hunt,
40:57he can successfully secure the hand
40:59of his girlfriend.
41:01If we'd got a baboon, that would have been amazing,
41:03but, you know, you can't get a baboon
41:06every time you go hunting, can you?
41:21Yeah, they're really happy.
41:23And maybe you're a step closer
41:24to marrying their daughter, no?
41:25Yeah.
41:26Yeah.
41:31Mate, can I just say thank you
41:33for giving me your time,
41:35for allowing me to live with you guys.
41:50Nice one, mate.
41:51Give us a hug.
41:53And good luck with everything.
42:03This is such a positive end
42:04to quite an incredible journey, really.
42:07Gonga is a step closer
42:08to being able to marry the girl of his dreams.
42:10Everybody who's here is happy.
42:12I 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
42:23and 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 patronizing 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.
42:45It's all about today.
42:46It's all about feeding themselves and their children today.
42:51And that, again, spills into the whole happiness thing.
42:53I just think, don't think worrying about the future is in the Hadza at all.
42:58So, no.
43:00They're not bothered about it.
43:01They're happy.
43:04Fingers crossed, Gong is going to get the girl.
43:07Obviously.
43:07I think he will.
43:08He'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.
43:36You can see yourself.
43:54Thanks, mate.
43:56Thanks, mate.
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