"This is the Omo Valley." "I'm on a three-month expedition in the far south of Ethiopia." "Truly, crocs..." "They're just indiscriminate and they scare the hell out of me." "The Omo Valley is one of the most ethnically diverse parts of Africa." "It's a land of nomads, warriors and hunters, whose traditions are little changed by the outside world." "I really truly do have a feeling of dread about this." "I'm Bruce Parry." "I'm going to be travelling through an unpredictable, dangerous terrain." "Many of the tribes are locked in battle, fighting bitter, bloody feuds." "In which direction are there friendly people?" "That's it?" "No one else?" "I want to find out what life is like in this desolate place." "I believe the best way to do this is to live with the people I meet on my journey, to experience their culture first-hand, to become, for a short while, one of the tribe." "But before I start my journey down the Omo Valley," "I want to catch up with some old friends." "Last year I'd spent a month living with the Suri, a tribe famous for their stick fighting rituals." "I left with a permanent reminder of my stay, a scar on my upper arm." "I promised the Suri I'd come back to see them." "I thought they'd remember me, but I never expected such a warm welcome." "It's so, so lovely to see them again." "I was really worried about coming here." "It's quiet arrogant to think they're all gonna remember you but this meeting has just been fantastic." "I'd brought a copy of the film we made last year." "This is Bargulu." "I had wonderful time living with him and his wife, Nabala." "The Suri were an amazing people to spend time with." "But one of the things that struck me about them was their hatred and fear of a neighboring tribe, the Bume." "The Suri have fought the Bume as long as anyone can remember." "I wondered then what they were like, if they really could be so evil." "Now I've come back to visit the Bume and find out for myself." "But I'm not looking forward to telling my friends this when the film is over." "Even now, they know that I'm talking about these people and there's deadly silence when a minute ago it was all very jovial." "They've picked on the fact that I'm mentioning that word and so much of what I've heard from the Suri here has been really quite atrocious, about mutilation of women, about unprovoked violence, and... as far as the stories that these people have told me," "they seem like quite a rough lot." "I tell Bargulu that I'm planning to walk along a river that flows into Bume land." "Going to the river along to the Bume is unthinkable." "Even if they see a small kid, they will simply kill it." "They will kill you." "Despite what Bargulu says," "I don't think the Bume will attack me, because I'm an outsider." "Anyway, I'm not going to turn around now." "Tomorrow I'm going to travel south, across this ridge into Bume territory." "The next morning, my journey proper begins." "Though Bargulu was worried about me, he said he understood what I had come here to do, but he wouldn't allow me to walk along the river to the Bume." "He had fought them in that area only a week ago." "Even as a white guy it would be too dangerous." "He tells me it is safer to drive a longer way around." "I don't argue with him." "It may be a safer route, but it's one few people seem to use." "I'm intrigued by the Suris' warnings about their enemy." "My guide, Zablon, who's travelled extensively in this area tells me that many tribes around here fear the Bume." "I want to find out what they've done to deserve such a terrible reputation." "We stop at the edge of Bume territory." "Zablon and I are going to walk from here with one of the crew while the rest drive ahead." "I think that the best way to enter a tribe's territory is on foot." "It gives me a feel for the environment that people live in, that I wouldn't get if I was sat in a vehicle." "It's the right way, to be on foot, I think." "It's the best way to assimilate yourself into culture, it's how they are, it's how I should definitely be going." "But, of course, there's still the unknown." "I'm in Africa, this is the plains, buffalo and all sorts of other wild animals." "So, I'm very excited, but still I just don't know what's ahead of me." "I'm leaving the hills behind, and taking my first steps into the Omo Valley." "I'm walking into a forgotten corner of Africa." "Though it's officially in Ethiopia, this side of the Omo Valley is a kind of no-man's-land close to the borders of Sudan and Kenya, where tribal wars, like the one between the Suri and the Bume" "are all but ignored by the outside world." "After a day of trekking and a night under the stars, we walk out on to a dry, blasted plain dotted with termite mounds." "It couldn't be more different from the lush hills where the Suri live." "Baking hot, it's still early morning, it's dusty, it's arid." "This little area here is quite green, because this is a dried-up river bed and there's a little bit of water flowing underneath, but where I've been trekking for the last day and a half, it's just, it's treacherous, really." "It's a big difference between here, Bume land, and the Suri territories, so noticeable." "By mid-morning, the heat's almost unbearable." "Then we reached the river, which flows down from Suri land in the north." "And this is what it looks like in Bume territory." "In Suri land, the river flows, beautiful, crystal clear river with green pastures either side." "And here I am, the same river, but it's just completely disappeared." "It's gone underground and here I'm at one of the wells the Bume use to try and collect their water." "Three metres down, there's no sign of moisture." "This is such a desolate place." "A little further on, we find one with water." "If I'm gonna live with the Bume, this is what I'm gonna to have to drink." "It is pretty minging, actually." "Bits of goat piss." "It's got feathers in there." "Joy." "Joy, Zab." "Look forward to that." "These wells are our first sign that we're close to a Bume village." "We catch sight of some people in the distance." "But they're more scared of me than I am of them." "They really don't know what to make of me." "It's obvious they haven't seen many outsiders." "There's only women and children here." "I wonder where the young men are, the fighters the Suri are so scared of." "The crew has found a translator in a large village a few miles away." "Soya learnt his English from missionaries who were in the area until a few years ago." "I've got a lot to learn and Soya will help me." "My first lesson is that the people here don't like to be called "Bume"." "The word "Bume" means a bad smell, and that's from another language, that's how is described the Nyangatom people." "I see, so I won't use Bume ever again, no." "So just the word now is Nyangatom for the people here." " Yes, for the people." " I understand." "If you go there and if you call them Bume, they'll just..." " They're not happy." " Yes, not happy." "So though other tribes insult them by calling them Bume, the Smelly Ones, they call themselves Nyangatom, the Yellow Guns." "This is the first time." "We're just about to walk into a Nyangatom village compound." "I'm just trying to get all the etiquette right before I go in." "It sounds really busy." "Lokorlam village is surrounded by a wall of thorn." "Soya tells me it's to keep livestock in and enemies out." "It's been a long walk, quite glad to get that off my back." " You all right?" " Yeah, yeah, good." "While I make some new friends," "Zablon meets with the elders and asks if I can spend some time in the village." "He offers them sacks of the coffee husk they drink, some money, and more than enough food to keep me during my stay." "It's so incredibly sensitive." "Not only do we have to get it right for these people here and not exploit them and get the sort of payment right, we've also got to make sure that we don't disrupt the balance between this village and the surrounding villages," "and that's so incredibly sensitive and important." "After a few hours, I'm called to meet Ajam, the chief, in his compound." "He's covered in ritual scars." "I've heard that the Nyangatom mark sections of their upper body like this when they kill an enemy." "My translator tells me the chief has killed three men." "Two of them were Suri." "...for my arrival..." "Behind him is a heavy-duty machine gun, loaded and ready." "The elders are happy for me to stay in the village." "The chief says I can live with his family, but I'm not gonna get any special treatment from him." "You will be my son for the next days." "The arrangement is sealed over a calabash of coffee." "I've just had my first Nyangatom blessing, a face full of coffee." "It's so hot and dry that most of the villagers sleep outside." "I bed down in the chief's compound, and record my first night with the Nyangatom in my infra-red camera." "This is our home." "We sleep on these skins, and there in the corner pride of place, on the mantelpiece is our trusty machine gun." "And then the rest of the gang, that's the chief." "And the rest of us lot will sleep out, and, of course, absolutely under the stars." "I can't see." "No roof here." "So what have we got for dinner?" " This is a calabash, yeah?" " This is a calabash." " And what is the food?" " The food is porridge." "What is porridge made of?" "Made of sorghum powder." " Yes." " Yes." "Lokorlam is a village of a hundred or so people." "So far I've met women, children and elders." "To understand why the tribe is so feared, I need to meet the young men, the warriors." "But that will have to wait, I've got work to do." "This is for me?" "My Lord!" "Wow, thank you very much." "Look at that." "My first shepherd's crook, and it really is a crook, isn't it?" "It's very similar to the ones back home." "Sorry, am I falling apart?" "Fantastic." "How am I ever gonna do this out there?" "It's not gonna happen." "It's the dry season, and it's hardly rained in months." "Ajam, the chief, tells me my first job is to dig out the well." "This is a delicate operation." "One mistake and it could all cave in." " Just the sand." " Just the sand?" "OK." "The Suri just walk down to the river to drink but the Nyangatom have to work hard to get their water." "These wells are so huge, and need constant maintenance." "Getting this slushy sand out." "This water is for the goats, but the children get in first." "I'm so parched, I join them." "And blow first, that's a good idea." "If you blow first, you get rid of the seeds and the bits of grass." "Takes a genius to figure that out." "It's really nice, it's cool." "It's such a hot day." "It' so nice having something cool." "And, of course, it's hardly fine, it's just straight out of the ground." "A bit of my feet in there, but other than that and a few seeds and bits of grass, but it's pretty good." "I spend the rest of the day herding goats with the young boys." "These animals browse on bushes, so they're well suited to this arid land." "The boys shepherd the goats but it's the women who milk them." "This is Nakua, the youngest of the chief's three wives." "Doesn't like me doing it." "Come on now, baby." "You known you like it." "Bloody hell!" "Poor thing." "OK." "OK, enough." "Yeah." "All I've eaten for the past few days is goat's milk and a bit of porridge." "I ask Nakua what very do when food is scarce." "Times are hard, but that doesn't stop the kids having a lot of fun." "We sing and dance late into the night." "They're just so much fun." "I tried doing this jumping dance with them but I just can't get it right." "They always seem to laugh at me." "I don't quite know what I've got wrong but it's so dark I can't see, but if..." "It's great fun, look at them." "Next morning, I'm told that the young men are back in the village after days out herding the cattle." "I'm finally going to meet the warriors who are on the front line with the Suri and other enemy tribes." "What are all your names?" "Names, what are all your names?" " Rolamine." " Rolamine?" " My name is Challis." " Challis Rolamine." " Challis Rolamine." " Challis." "I'll remember Challis." "It's the men's job to guard the animals." "The best pasture is a few miles to the west, which takes them close to their nearest tribal enemies, the Turkana." "I'm going to join Challis and the others for the day." "How close are the nearest Turkana?" "You will see them when we go there." "The Nyangatom are more heavily armed that the Suri." "They were the first tribe in the Omo Valley to get hold of AK-47s." "They've had a steady supply ever since civil war broke out in Sudan in the 1980s." "Of course I feel entirely ridiculous, walking around like someone stepped out of the Bible, and all of my friends here of the same age group, are there with weapons rather than crooks and..." "T- shirts rather than quilts." "As we get to the edge of their territory, the men load their weapons." "I notice one of the men has marks on his body like the chief." "He says when you kill an enemy you must be scared to release the bad blood." " You killed a man?" " Mm." "OK, could you tell me the whole story?" "As well as getting scars, he tells me he was renamed after he killed his first man." "He is now called Lokiramo, "man who killed Suri. "" "After making so many friends with the Suri last year, it's unsettling to be here with men who'd be proud to kill them." "After a couple of hours grazing, we moved the herd to new pastures." "We're now even closer to enemy territory." "One of the boys felt a bit sorry for me with my little shepherd's crook, so he's given me a gun to play with." "These ones come from the Sudan, as have most of them that these guys here have." "This one's..." "It's got another ten in there, I think." "Yuck." "The Nyangatom used to be one of the smallest and weakest tribes in the Omo Valley, easy targets for their neighbours." "But weapons like this gave them the means to fight back and settle some old scores with enemies like the Suri." "One episode, 20 years ago, has becomes part of Nyangatom legend." "Nyangatom cross the river and went up to the... out to Suri land." "Then the Nyangatom go get them hiding themselves in the bush and they were not ready at that time." "They were not ready..." "And so many, so many Suri was killed at that time, more than 600." "Entire villages were wiped out, as the Nyangatom took their revenge." "Something like river, yes, like river." "So that's why they say that Nyangatom are dangerous, with that battle in 1986, European calendar." "They tell me that the massacre was retaliation for an earlier atrocity." "Who knows when the tribes first started fighting, but today they are the bitterest of enemies, and will shoot each other on sight." "If Nyangatom are a lot, if they are about 15 or 20... we will kill them and we will take all their properties, all their guns and we will go on shooting bullets, shooting the gun in the village." "And the older men say like that, and they say, "Continue killing Suri man." ""Continue with killing Suri man." ""We like you if you killed Suri man" they say that, the elders." "Challis tells me that each successive generation of Nyangatom men has a special name." "His age group are known as the Ibex." "Now they're of fighting age, their duty is to defend the tribe and the cattle." "I'm with the right guys if I want to understand why the Nyangatom have such a fearsome reputation." "The men just don't look after the cows, they live off them too." "I've seen this done before by the Suri." "But unlike them, the Nyangatom like their blood well stirred." "It probably explains why the last time I drank this it all congealed going down my throat." "Like spaghetti." "The clotted blood is separated from the rest to make it easier to drink." "But the congealed mass isn't going to be wasted." "As a guest, I'm first to be served." "This is for, this is just to eat, yeah?" "It's a bit like all the hairs and goo you find at the bottom of the bath plug, when you take them out, it's kind of how it felt actually, wasn't very pleasant." "It's about the first protein I've had, the whole time I've been living with the Nyangatom." "Every other day, every other meal I've had has been just sorghum maize and a bit of milk." "So it's quite a welcome change, having a bit of blood." "And these guys when they're out with the cows, drink blood and milk every day, that's their only staple." "My days with the Nyangatom pass in the heat and the dust." "It's so fine, this soil, it's like..." "it's dust really, it's not sand." "The slightest breeze it just gets whipped up into the air." "It covers everything." "This land is so parched and over-grazed that the soil is simply blowing away." "Unlike the Suri village I stayed in last year," "Lokorlam is more of a temporary herding camp." "Rather than mud huts, these are made of woven twigs, which can be quickly packed up and moved in times of need." "I wonder why nomadic people like the Nyangatom don't just move on to better pastures." "To show me why, Ajam and the men from the Ibex group escort me to a hill on the edge of their territory." "Look at this!" "Wow, what a great view!" "Fantastic!" "Tell me in which direction are there friendly people?" "That's it?" "No one else?" "Out of all this, just that little area there." "Hemmed in by enemies, the Nyangatom have nowhere to go." "All the tribes in the Omo Valley are fighting over increasingly scare resources of water and land." "And though the Suri are the Nyangatom's oldest enemies," "Ajam says they have more trouble with the tribes to the south." "Lake Turkana is slowly drying up, pushing all the tribes northwards." "So while the Suri are under pressure from the Nyangatom, the Nyangatom are under pressure from the Turkana and the other tribe to the south." "The Nyangatom are battling for their survival, and I can see why they need a dedicated fighting force, the Ibex." "My days are spent with Challis and his friends, herding their cattle and gradually getting to know the men." "They tell me of the battles they've fought and the ceremonies that are held to honour the warriors." "The rivers are all dried up, so I go with the Ibex men to wash at a hot spring." "It's been my first wash in about..." "well, over a week." "They just told me it's really, really, really, hot." "It's hot enough outside, so I dread to think what it's gonna be like in there." "After you, Challis." " You go in?" " No, no, no..." "Thanks, guys." "I feel like I'm starting to bond with Challis and his two friends." "They're keen to show me everything the Ibex do." "I ask whether I can see one of their ceremonies." "They say they'll have to seek the elders permission." "Thank you for doing this, Challis." "A few days later, the old men from the village gather with the Ibex." "I thought I was just here to watch, but the elders announce they're going to give me a Nyangatom name." "Lokorlam, after the village I'm staying in." "The elders then go further." "They give permission for me to become an honorary member of the Ibex." "Today is a real seminal day for me." "I feel actually that they, they want me to become an Ibex, which is really nice, really nice." "My first steps towards becoming a Nyangatom warrior are sealed... with blood." "To the Nyangatom, an elder's spit contains the power of his words, and is a potent blessing." " Is that too much?" " Yeah." "My initiation into the Ibex will be completed in a week's time at another ceremony." "I've given the chief's family some meat to thank them for letting me stay in their compound." "Fantastic." "This soup is like a beef stock, really." "It truly is... the nicest, nicest..." "Ah, it's so good, it's like..." "It's just beef bits and offal and bits of a bit of marrow and all sorts, but out here it tastes like it's got red wine and all sorts of herbs and spices and it just tastes fantastic." "But I shouldn't have it all, because I know it's speciality." "Nakua." "You're very good cook, Nakua." " Too sweet." " Too sweet?" " Yeah." " No, it's my favourite." "It's really good." "It tastes better than anything at home." "Though Challis and the Ibex are often away guarding the cattle, they do have some free time." "Like young men everywhere, a day off is a day for sports." "Like this?" "It's funny, I've wrestled in other cultures, and sometimes it kind of brings out the worst in you, gets you really antsy and full of aggression." "But this one is so warm-hearted, it really is a sport, it's enjoyed by everyone." "Next up is spear-throwing." "I'm not quite sure what's going on here." "I think, obviously, you have to get it through the hoop, and once you get in through the hoop, then everyone gets another turn, from the other team to trying to get it in..." "Well done, Challis." "Yeah!" "Before they got hold of AK-47s, games like this would the help men practise their spear throwing before they went into battle." "Now, it's just for fun." "Yes!" "We got two in!" "The main event of the day is stick fighting." "My first step is to make a shield from my shoes." "The object is to mark your opponent's back." "The more scars they have, the more points you get." "What good is that?" "I got a right good crack on the head." " You see your back." " Did I get you?" "I didn't mean to." "Let's have a look, let's have a look." " Sorry, mate." " No, problem, no." "That's fine." "That's play." "You're being whipped, it's like hitting someone with a bull whip, just going for you, you got little tiny, the smaller it is the harder it hits, faster it hits, and the more it hurts really and yeah, that's a lot of pain." "Let's have a friendly truce." " What about tomorrow?" " Ooh!" "Challis, don't look at me like that." "You know I'll accept." "You know I will." "No, not yet, maybe, maybe." "OK." "Let's have a good..." "Don't, Challis, you'll beat me up." "I'm having such a good time." "I keep forgetting that I'm with some of the most feared warriors in the Omo Valley." "The next morning, all the Ibex grab their guns and rush off into the bush, telling me to wait in the village." "The older men like Ajam are not far behind." "Turkana was spotted not far away and all the defensive forces from this area have just gone forward to see what's going on." "I just thought it was just this village, but it seems that everyone, from the whole of the villages around here, 300-400 men, from all the way that way and all the way that way, have all just shot off." "With all the men out looking for Turkana," "I'm left alone in the village with the women and children." "I ask Nakua if it's a good thing from a man to fight." "The men return a few hours later." "Yeah, so I hear." "Are you the last one back, Ajam?" " Yeah, he is the last one." " Are your people safe?" "And all of your goats and cattle, and sheep, are they safe as well?" "It's amazing because, of course, I've just had the most wonderful time these last few days bonding with everyone and just laughing frankly and just having a really nice time, and then suddenly it just kicks," "and it just make you realise that although these people live a normal life, round the corner, all the time there is this threat, this ever-present threat from their neighbours." "Ajam tells me they thought the Turkana were coming to steal goats and cattle in retaliation for an earlier raid." "The village is on high alert." "Whether the Turkana come tomorrow or in a few weeks' time, one thing is certain." "They will try to take animals." "The Nyangatom will stop them or die in the attempt, and the cycle of violence of raid and counter-raid, will start again." "No one remembers how long this feud has being going on and unless something significant changes around here," "I can't see when it will end." "The night before my initiation, a storm drenches the parched land." "I'm the only one who's surprised." "Everyone says that Ibex ceremonies always bring rain." "The women are getting ready." "Nakua is putting on special ornaments for my big day." "Challis talks me through the ceremony." "To be accepted as an Ibex," "I have to show that I can look after my elders." "I do this by providing them with meat." "So I've paid for a cow to be sacrificed." "But it's only now that I find out what they expect me, as a would-be warrior, to do during this ritual." "And who is it that spears the cattle?" " What did he say?" " The one who is going to spear..." " Who is?" " You." " I am the one." " Yes." " So it's me, they want me to do it." " Yes." "Ooh, OK." "This is a real test." "I've no desire to kill the cow myself, but if I refuse I risk offending my hosts." "Two cows are going to be sacrificed." "Elders have come from far and wide, and all must be given meat." "There are many ways of killing animals around world and, of course, it happens every day for meat and there's nothing wrong with that." "It's only our society that has cellophane-wrapped food that makes us so distant from the act of death." "Anyone who eats meat is involved with the act of death, and this is no different to that." "Challis will spear the first." "A single thrust into it's right side pierces the vital organs and causes a massive haemorrhage." "This quickly kills the cow without spilling too much precious blood." "Now, I've got to do the same." "The women sing in my honour." "By killing the cow, I've shown that I can provide for the tribe." "With all the Ibex gathered together, an elder reminds the warriors what they must do to raiding tribes." "Then the elders start to harangue the Ibex, questioning their courage and commitment to the tribe." "Lokiramo, my friend who killed the Suri, is so wound up by the elders' words that he seems to go into a fit." "I'm just an honorary Ibex, no one expects me to go into battle, but for the others this is deadly serious." "Sometimes they're so fired up, that they immediately rush off and attack their enemies." "The ceremony is almost over, but there's one last ritual before I become an Ibex." "The Blood Blessing." "I'm just about to get blessed." "I've done this once before." "And I got it wrong." "My understanding is that that now means I'm formally part of the Ibex age group, which means I'm one of the warrior class." "It's a real, real honour." "And it's been the most wonderful ceremony, it really has." "Thank you." "I have blood all over me." "I'm always, always having that problem." "This really does feel a bit different." "Now these guys for example, I've seen them about before, they've never come up to me before and shaken my hands." "I don't know, maybe it's little bit of an understanding, when I see people now I catch their eye, before they would smile and wave, and now they just look at me and nod, and it's slightly different, it's really nice." "It's a month since I was with the Suri, hearing terrible things about the Nyangatom." "But they're not an evil tribe." "For them, fighting is a day-to-day necessity, like digging water from a well or herding the goats." "It's an age-old battle for survival." "But one, which has become even more deadly since machine guns replaced the spear." "And as long as each new generation of Nyangatom men are eager to prove themselves in battle, the cycle of raid and counter-raid will go on." "It's my last morning with the Nyangatom and time to continue my journey down the Omo Valley." "Nakua, you've been so very, very special to me." "Thank you so much for your hostility, for looking after me." "Your soup is the best soup I've ever tasted anywhere." "I promise you." "I so want the recipe." "Challis and the others are going to escort me to the edge of their territory." "Though I was warned not to come here," "I've had one of the best times I've ever had living with a tribe." "I felt really accepted by Challis and the Ibex." "We've had a lot of fun, and I feel like I've made some true friends." "Next time, my expedition through the Omo Valley takes me to the Hamar, a tribe famous for their cattle jumping rituals." "Where I get exposed to more than I'd bargained for." "To find out more about the series, log on to bbc." "Co." "Uk/tribe"