"I'm just looking at the map, at where we're going, and it's the most amazing place." "This tiny enclave of India, right over in the far, far northeast, in this place I'd never even heard of six months ago called Arunachal Pradesh." "That's our final destination, to go and live with a group of peoples called the Adis." "The Adis live in the foothills of the Himalayas between India and Tibet." "For 1,000 years they have had very little contact with the outside world." "This truly is a forgotten land." "I haven't found a Western person yet that's been into that area." "So I've had to refer to these books for information but they're written in "Days of the Raj" type language." "The books may be out of date, but what's clear is that I'm travelling into another world, a world where spirits are appeased by ritual sacrifice and shaman." "The books paint a picture of a proud, fierce people." "That's one thing that's on my mind, as I'm going upriver, "How are they gonna greet me?" ""What's my reception gonna be like?"" "My name's Bruce Parry." "I'm an explorer and expedition leader." "I've spent a year visiting some of the world's most remote people, to see how their lives are changing." "I think there's only one way to really understand another culture, and that's to live as they do, to become for a short while one of the tribe." "Few have travelled this road to Arunachal Pradesh." "After independence in 1947, the state was given special protection by the Indian government to preserve tribal culture." "This protection means it's very difficult to get in." "It's taken us about three or four months in the planning to get permission to come into this area." "For me it's a great privilege, cos even Indians can't just cross this border." "It takes everyone a long time to get permission to go in." "The place has been closed for nigh on 60 years and there's very few Westerners who've been in here, so this for me is a really special moment." "Though we're finally in Arunachal Pradesh we've still got a long, tough journey ahead." "The roads are made treacherous by monsoon rains, landslides and even the occasional earthquake." "Though the Adis' homeland is part of India, they're a Himalayan people and closer ethnically to their neighbours in Bhutan and Tibet." "Spiritually they stand apart from the great religions of Hinduism and Buddhism, which surround them." "The Adis are animists." "They believe that nature is controlled by a host of spirits." "Shaman and ritual sacrifice are at the heart of everyday life." "I'm fascinated by these traditional beliefs." "I want to learn as much as I can about them, cos change is on its way." "We've just arrived at the river, and this is where we finally are leaving the vehicles behind, and we're off into the hills." "Hee-hee!" "Jesus." "At least I'm big enough not to fall through the hole." "Everyone OK?" "This bridge is an amazing design, but it's pretty wobbly, to say the least." "With everyone behind it's like "Wa-hey!" Bit of a swing going on." "But it's quite fun." "It's pretty secure." "He said!" "Ha-ha-ha!" "Hooray!" "What happened there?" "Adi territory is hard-going, especially at night." "Deep ravines, thick forest, and leeches." "The first thing you notice is a trail of blood down your leg." "You're supposed to not pull them off, because they occasionally leave their head in, but to hell with that, just get 'em off." "I normally like to chop 'em in half, but because it's the BBC, I'll let 'em live." "Oops!" "Just got one of the crew." "Sorry." "It's day five of my journey, and we've camped at the site of the last battle between the British and the Adis." "Throughout their history, the hill tribe had rarely known defeat, and for 100 years they had kept the colonial forces at bay." "But here, in 1911, arrows and spears were finally overcome by machine guns and rifles." "Becoming British subjects changed little, however, and the Adis continued to live according to their ancient customs." "Tagir is going to teach me about this way of life." "My first lesson is that he, like all Adis, will eat almost anything that crosses his path." "This includes live beetles." "I was wondering what you were doing running around in the rocks, and now I know." "Yes, these are very tasty." " They're very tasty?" " Yes." "Eat it, then." "You don't want me?" " Of course I'll try it, but do you not kill it first?" " No." "OK." "Ooh, that was like, sharp!" "Very... spicy." "Ooh, didn't like that." "Oh, yuck!" "Eurgh!" "After a week on the road, I'm finally within sight of my destination, a small village deep in the hills, where I've been told that traditions are still strong." " Is that it?" "Is that Jorsing?" " Jorsing." "Top of the hill." "My hope is that I'll be able to spend a month living within the community, and experience the Adi way of life first-hand rather than just observe it." "Yeah." "Tagir had got permission for me to come to the village some weeks before, but I'm still not sure how I'll be received." "Idung." "Idung." "Try and shake your hand." "Hello!" "Idung!" "I'm the first Westerner most of the villagers have ever seen." "The children are intrigued but the adults aren't so sure." "I've just been summoned to meet the "Gam" or the village chief because for the last few hours he's got the village elders together and they've been discussing me and what I'm doing." "So now I've got to go and see him, and I've got to tell him who I am, what I want to do, why I'm here and all that sort of stuff." "I want to live as part of the community but the Adis are subsistence farmers and I don't want to be a burden so I've brought more than enough provisions to pay my way." "The meeting goes on long into the night." "This is my view this morning." "A bunch of kids." "Checking me out in my mosquito net." "Idung." "Idung." "They've agreed to everything." "They're happy for us to film here and for me to live here." "The Gam has asked if I would live with him in his house, which is great." "But what he's also suggested is that we build a little hut outside his place where I should live." "That's what we're gonna be doing this morning." "It's been a bit tougher than it looks." "It's not so bad carrying it, it's not so heavy, but it's like the rear's got a mind of its own." "It falls down ditches, and every time it comes down steps, this bangs about, and it feels like your teeth are being knocked about." "So it's been quite funny but I think we're nearly there now so we'll see how the house is coming together." "Leading by example is Tamak Moyong, the village chief or "Gam"." "He's the elected head of the village but he's not in charge." "Everyone has an equal say in the running of an Adi community." "And however rich someone may be, they still help their neighbours to build their houses." "Every Adi man is a carpenter, a builder, a roofer, and the only tool they need to make a house is a long, sharp knife." "I don't know..." "I don't know how they feel about me so far." "I'm trying hard." "I'm trying to carry big stuff and get stuck in, and look keen and energetic." "But it remains to be seen what they actually think of me so far." "It's back to the forest for more building materials." "This beautiful little palm grove here is gonna be turned into my roof, apparently." "They say it's a bit risky for you to climb up, so it's better if you don't try it." "OK, well, thank 'em, but say I'd quite like to try." "But I will be very safe, yeah?" "If I think it's dangerous, then I will come down." " Is that OK?" " Fine." "I can see what they mean." "It's a bit slippery." "Ow!" "That was a thorn." "You just lose your feet all the time, so you've got to keep regaining your grip." "I wish I had strong toes like these guys." "But it's just... the physiological disadvantage." "Whoa!" "Nearly!" "You'll get your fun yet." "There's thorns around the other side." "Maintain my... cool." "OK!" "Enough." "The days of the traditional Adi house are numbered." "Corrugated iron and cement have reached the village." "These modern long-lasting materials are beginning to replace leaves and bamboo." "I know it's a bit romantic, but I love the old style of roofing and the way traditional house-building brings the community together." "It's looking good!" "I'm pleasantly surprised to see that the first thing that goes into my house is the beer-making kit." "The local beer, known as "apong", is made from fermented millet, and it plays an important part in many Adi ceremonies." "At this point, a pig is produced, and I'm about to witness my first Adi sacrifice." "The pig is strangled between two sticks, and then blessed with apong." "This is both an offering to the spirits and a gift of thanks to the house-builders." "The Gam has decided to make me an honorary member of his family." "Oh, my God." "I think I've just been adopted." "By sundown the apong was taking effect." "Very entertaining." "The crew have left me." "I'm here on my own, and I'm just having the most wonderful time." "Everyone kind of..." "We only know a few words. "This is your elder brother." "This is your younger brother." ""This is your father, this is your mother. "" "We've been over it about ten times, but it never fails to amuse." "I've just had my naming ceremony." "It wasn't a ceremony." "I was just told my name, which is lovely." "Opang Moyong." ""Moyong" is the chief's surname, and "Opang" means a speedy birth or a speedy arrival." "No, there is..." "Lulu Moyong." "He is my youngest brother." " Opang Moyong is..." " Is mother." " My mother, yeah." " Yatak Moyong." " Yatak Moyong." " Yatak Moyong." "It's just gone 6:30 in the morning." "This is my... my view of the village." "It's very nice, too." "Lots of..." "Mostly noise." "A bit of colour." "Very noisy." "After a few days, I'm starting to learn about the Adi way of life." "Jorsing is one of 50 Adi villages in the surrounding area." "It's home to 330 people, many of whom have never been to the next village, just a day's walk away." "Adi women do all the household chores." "They collect firewood, cook the meals and look after the children." "The hearth is the hub of daily life, and I come here to have meals with my adopted family." "Every day it's pretty much the same, but it's always very nice." "Always have rice every time." "Today I've got a bit of..." "like a spinach leaf, and also this very strong-tasting..." "like mint." "It's a mixture of mint and stinging nettle, which is quite overpowering." "That's it." "Sometimes have a little bit of meat or a bit of fish but mostly it's rice and vegetables but... it goes down a treat." "Nearly all the food that I'm eating has been grown by my family." "The mountain soil is thin, so the Adis must clear new fields every three years or so while the old ones lie fallow." "Rice and millet are staples, spiced with ginger, garlic and chilli." "It's a hard life, and the Adis work the fields from dawn till dusk all year round." "But the villagers are not only farmers." "It's the man's job to hunt and trap wild animals, which provide protein." "Every family keeps chickens, which scavenge around the house and are kept in baskets for safekeeping." "And the Adis have a rather unusual way of feeding their pigs." "So this is the, er... water closet." "And... where one comes to do one's business." "As you can see, it's not a private moment." "You, er... have your waste disposal." "Got a handle here." "And, er... the rest is kind of private." "I've come across some strange toilets in my travels, but this was something else." "What's even more off-putting is that the meat of these animals is prized above all others in the village." "In fact, we had eaten a toilet pig the day we built my house." "But some animals are valued for more than their meat." "Mithuns, a cross between a water buffalo and a cow, are used to measure wealth." "The family heirlooms I was given by my father, for example, are each worth one mithun." "When I was with the chief last night, saying to him "What could I do to help you most of all?" ""What is it that you really need me to help you with?"" "He said "The first thing a son must know is all of the mithuns within my family. "" "That is why, before I go and help in the fields, or before I go hunting," "I've got to go and see for myself and be able to recognise the family mithuns." "Mithuns spend most of their lives in the dense forest that surrounds the village." "They are not milked or worked and rarely slaughtered so their main purpose is to be a living currency." "It's absolutely the most bizarre thing." "These animals live the most idyllic existence." "They roam the woods as they please, and occasionally the owner will come out, bring them salt and feed them, calling, like we are now, "Nor, nor"." "They'll come to him, get their salt, and off they go again." "If they haven't been found by an owner for a while, they'll even wander into the village, and they know exactly which house to go to." "Only at the end of their day are they then used in sacrifice or to be eaten." "Mithuns are sacrificed as offerings to the spirits, which Adis believe control nature." "These supernatural beings live all around them, in the houses, in the forest, unseen but ever present." "There is one villager who can tell me more about the spirits, and after a week in Jorsing I'm given the perfect reason for paying her a visit." "It's very painful when I cough." "It's just at the front here." "I've had it a few days now, and it's just not shifting, so what they do around here is they go and see the doctor, who's a shaman." "They call 'em a "miri" here, and very interesting, cos the miri is a female, which is very unusual, apparently." "I've no idea what she's gonna do but she's agreed to see me." "So tonight I'm going for my consultation." "Can't wait." "To Adis there are two kinds of illness, normal natural sickness, or supernatural, caused by spirits." "Villagers go to see the miri, or shaman, for both." "She is a hands-on healer and a psychic who can interact with the spirit world." "I'm getting manhandled quite..." "quite roughly, which is nice." "Um... just feeling over... my chest." "Thank you very much, thank you very much." "That was very good." "The Adis believe that the spirits, which control nature, can be easily offended and take revenge on humans by causing illness or even death." "This is an unpredictable world where the spirits have to be constantly appeased with offerings and charms." "But some Adis are drifting away from these animist beliefs." "Over the past few decades, Christianity has arrived from other parts of India and I soon learn that a growing number of villagers, particularly the young, are distancing themselves from their traditional faith." "The main motivation for this conversion seems to be healing." "The nearest doctor is a day's walk away, so primary healthcare in Jorsing is spiritual rather than physical, and these Adis believe that prayer is more effective than the hands or leaves of a shaman." "Compared to many indigenous peoples I've spent time with, the Adis seem to be in control of their future." "Decisions affecting the community are taken by the village council, which also deals with crimes, even murder." "Many of the changes affecting the villagers have come at their own request." "Though there is no electricity here, it's on its way, and it was the community which pushed for a road to get to the outside world, not some logging company trying to get in." "But despite these developments and the arrival of Christianity, traditional beliefs are still strong in Jorsing." "I have planned my visit to coincide with the spring festival of Aran, which starts in a few weeks." "This is a time of hunting and sacrifices, and one of the few occasions that Adis take a break from working the field." "The miri has no relatives to help her farm so while the other villagers prepare for the Aran festival, she is still clearing her fields." "Hello, Miri." "I just wanted to say..." "My chest is much better." "I feel stronger." "So thank you very much for your kind medicine." "And as thank you for making me feel better, I'd love to help you in some way." "If I can help you in the fields..." "Yeah?" "Is that OK?" "No problem?" "Do you have any... any special duties during the Aran festival as miri?" "So is the miri less important now, do you think, in village life?" "There you go." "How about that?" "Let's go home." "You've got really heavy ones." "I've got half-cut ones." "No, after you, please." "I've been living in the village for two weeks." "With the fields cleared and ready for planting, the villagers are preparing for the Aran festival." "My brother Lulu is off to the forest to set traps." "He's after an Adi favourite - rat." "Rodents are abundant in the dense forest, and they play an important part in many Adi rituals." "I have to do my bit too, so the Gam takes me to the forest to give me a lesson in Adi trapping." "Ah." "Perfect." "So this is like..." "This is a stake that's just been put in just to make a walkway between these two gaps so that the squirrel, rather than coming onto the ground, can just walk along, but of course as he does walk along, hey presto..." "He's a goner." "Yeah." "The Adis set snare traps for deer." "So that's what happens in a snare trap." "This trap can be enlarged to catch deer or wild boar... but few people seem to do it these days." "The shotgun has arrived in Jorsing, and has replaced traditional ways of bagging the big game." " This is for what?" " For deer." " For deer?" " And tiger." "Tomorrow I'll be joining my guide Tagir, my brother Lulu and some of his friends, on a two-day hunting trip to get meat for the Aran festival." "But before we go hunting we must get a prediction from the miri." "The Adis believe that by contacting the spirit world, the miri can see into the future." "Though it seems hard to believe that a leaf can tell the future" "I find myself being drawn into the miri's world." "I don't know what you said, but..." "The other hunters are all taking guns, but I've opted for a traditional bow with poison-tipped arrows" "So this is it." "We're off." "There's a whole gang of us." "This is our big hunt before the festival." "My prediction is I'm not gonna get anything, so I want to prove the miri wrong." "The hunting camp is a four-mile walk into the lush forest that makes up most of Arunachal Pradesh." "On the way, we pick up bamboo to carry water from a nearby spring." "It's easy to offend the spirits that live in the forest, so before a shot is fired they must be placated with gifts." "This is the apong." "Adis believe that spirits long to taste earthly pleasures, so food and apong are offered, almost as bribes, to encourage them to look favourably on our hunt." "The Adis tend to ambush rather than track animals so our plan is to stake out a fruit tree and see what comes along." "Finally, the ambush tactics pay off." "This time it's just a small bird." "The Adis will shoot and eat just about anything." "We return to the camp with our spoils." "On the way, Lulu shoots a flying squirrel." "It's no deer, but I wonder whether such a prize will earn him a warm welcome from his wife." "Not everything will be saved for the festival." "Some of the animals end up in the pot." "First on the menu, boiled rat." "OK, well, I'm gonna go for... tail first." "It's, um..." "I wouldn't normally eat the bone, it's got to be said, but, er... it's OK." "The texture on the outside is pretty horrible." "It's got..." "You can feel the fur." "Now, let me try something else here." "The claw." "You eat all of this?" "I'll pass this on, cos I know there's not very much." "Bitong, you have some, please." " Do I eat the whole thing, claws and all?" " Yes." "It's like gristle with bone, together." "Eurgh!" "But I wouldn't say it's a terrible taste." "It's just... very gristly." "It's not as bad as it looks." "But..." "I don't think it's gonna take off in my house." "Thank you, my friend." "For me now, Aran has started, because I've been told by everyone Aran is not Aran without rat." "So I feel I'm part of the gang now." "But what about the miri's predictions for our hunt?" " How are we doing, Mr Tagir?" " Miss." " Come on, Tag, tell me what happened?" " Miss." " What was it?" " Bear." "Bear." " Deer?" " Bear." " Bear?" " Bear." "How big?" "So you can hit a little mouse but you can't hit a big bear?" "So the miri was right about missing something big." "She also said that I'd get nothing, though you don't have to be a psychic to predict that." "Her final prediction was that we'd only get squirrels, rats and monkeys." "That's what we heard." "That's what it's all about here, it's food." "It's not... fluffy animal." "It's... meat on the table." "Adi men are competitive hunters." "It's obvious that no one likes to go home empty-handed." "Tagir is wrapping a squirrel for me." "It's a son's duty to bring meat to his father." "It might not be a deer, but at least I've got something for the Aran festival." "The arrival of the shotgun has had a dramatic impact on wildlife around Jorsing." "Hunters now have to go further and further afield." "But even this doesn't guarantee they'll come across the big game." "It's quite funny!" "Been walking back with the guys after our unsuccessful hunting trip and I've been behind them most of the way, playing catch-up, then they stopped at the top of the hill and I asked Bitong here "How come they're waiting?"" "He said "They're waiting for the sunset. " I said "That's romantic. "" "He said, "No, it's not cos they want to watch the sun go down, it's cos they're too embarrassed." ""They haven't caught enough to come into the village. "" "So I'm here on my own, that's it." "I'm gonna need a shower." "I don't wait, no." "Yeah, and here?" "Yeah, here, everywhere." "Yeah, wow, that's just what I need." "My neighbour has brought me some seed pods which the Adis use as soap." "That got the right effect." "It's pretty chilly." "Ah!" "This'd cost you 50 quid in a salon in London." "Ooh!" "Here?" "You just want to see a bit of flesh!" "This is my first proper wash in three weeks." "Ooh!" "Ah!" "Ooh!" "They're loving this." "Ah!" "That's for you, my father, a little something from the hunting trip." "Excellent." "That's brilliant." "No problem." "He was expecting a deer but he's got a squirrel." "It's gonna have to do, I'm afraid." "Aran is one of the few holidays in the Adi calendar, and there's a real air of expectancy in the village." "The morning before the festival starts special food is being prepared as an offering to the spirits." "Oh, dear." "Just walked past this dude and he was making this roti bread that everyone's making today and filling it full of fish that he'd collected this morning." " What's the word for frog?" " Tatik." "Katik?" "Could I have a look?" "Ah." "I thought it was a whole frog." "Can I come back later today and have a taste?" "Ah." "Whoa." "Slow down." "I want to have a look at this." "I heard rats for Aran, but this is taking the biscuit." "This rat hasn't been smoked." "This is a fresh rat." "I'm really not sure about this dish." "OK, so that's liver and kidneys." "Lung." "Bit of intestine." "Apparently this is gonna be boiled in a leaf." "The thought of eating this in a rice gooey stew, with all of these parts, doesn't actually fill me with... much hope." "I said I'd come back and taste it but I can't say I'm looking forward to it." "How bizarre!" "Throughout the day, men return from the forest with their spoils." "Everyone must be back in the village for the first night of Aran." "Ceremonial hats are repaired." "Relatives and friends from nearby villages arrive in time for the festivities... and apong is made to keep guests, and the spirits, happy." "Lulu, join me." "On the eve of Aran, the villagers visit one another's houses." "Come and join me." "Family and friends gather by the fire drinking apong and eating Adi delicacies, paying homage to the spirits that live in the house." "At the heart of the feast is something I saw being made earlier and have promised to try - rat cake." "Thank you very much." "Right, here we go." "So..." "Ugh!" "It's..." "It's very moist and it's full of stuff, and I dread to think which bit I'm gonna get." "I can't say I'm looking forward to it." "OK." "Right, here goes." "What have we got here?" " Um..." " Engo..." "Engo?" "What's this?" "What d'you think this piece is?" "Er..." "Ooh, a bit of liver." "It's good!" "I wasn't expecting that." "It's quite good." "Can't lie." "But the smell..." "The smell of..." "That was a surprise." "The smell of it... is... is rancid, basically." "It's..." "It smells a bit like a mixture of death and toilets, is the truth." "It's not nice." "I'm really trying not to be like a bad guest, but that's not pleasant." "Thank you, my friend." "That was very, very generous of you." "Aran might not be Aran without rats, but these babies as well, the mithuns, this is also a massive part of the festival." "And today this one's... this one is gonna be slaughtered and distributed amongst the village, as is the norm." "The one sad thing about today is the way this animal's gonna get slaughtered." "I've heard of it." "They're just about to build the gallows now, and it's gonna get strangled." "It's gonna get hauled up over this gallows by its neck with the whole village pulling it." "So it's gonna be a spectacle and quite macabre, and they've asked me to join in and I will." "But it's not really the nicest of deaths, it's got to be said." "The mithun will be lured to the gallows with salt." "Such a large powerful animal needs careful handling." "Apong is poured over the mithun as it's blessed in my name." "No one is sure why Adis sacrifice animals in this way, but what it does ensure is that not a drop of blood is lost." "Over the weeks I've seen just how economical the Adis are." "They waste nothing." "The precious meat is divided amongst the villagers." "Everyone gets their share and I'm included." "Look at that." "I'll have to give it to my family." "Lulu, this is for my family." "Give me a hug." "I'm told that the fields and the forest are off limits for the next five days and so for the first time in many months the villagers relax en masse helped along, of course, by apong." "Jorsing is changing fast." "Though electricity, like other developments, will ease the burden of daily life, it will bring television and Bollywood movies, which some Adis see as the greatest threat to their culture." "The village is full of children who are on holiday from a secondary school a day's walk away." "With education comes raised expectations." "None of the young Adis I've met want to work in the fields as their parents do." "But at least Adi culture is developing without too much pressure from outside." "The protection the Adis have been given is allowing them to change in their own way at their own pace." "This means that traditions are still strong." "At the end of Aran, the old men dance to wish the spirits that have come for the festival a safe return to the forest." "And it's time for me to leave as well." "The Gam said to me on a couple of occasions, "I am your father" ""and when you go home, you will..." "you must know that you will always have" ""a father and a family out here in Jorsing that will always be thinking of you. "" "You know, and those sorts of things to hear are just full on." "My brother Lulu has said similar stuff, and even people in the village are saying..." "The crew are going, "But surely you're staying. "" "And... and this sort of stuff is just..." "It's heart-wrenching." "And so I am ready to leave but, God, it's gonna be a tough goodbye." "Um..." "I just want to say... you have been so loving to me, Father," "I will remember you always, and even though I have a father at home you will always be in my heart as my father in Jorsing, and for my time here thank you so very, very, very much." "Thank you, my friend." "Thank you for everything." "You're a star." "Mama, thank you so very much." "Oh, no, this is very weird." "Cool, let me take that." "You go inside out of the rain."