"Some people say we live in a world of irreconcilable differences." "Others say a true peace- lasting peace- can't be obtained because we haven't found a way yet... to change the human heart." "I took a journey once with a warrior named Mincayani... down a remote river deep in the Amazon basin of Ecuador." "The events of thatjourney will challenge what a lot of people say." "To understand what brought us to the river on that day... you need to know about Mincayani and his people... the Waodani." "You see, our story was set in motion before I was even born." "Mincayani was just a boy." "Mincayani had grown up in the rain forest... living the same way the Waodani people had lived since the beginning of time." "The fierceness of the Waodani tribe was legendary." "More than half of all the Waodani died from the spears of other Waodani... and the cycle of revenge-spearing... had brought them to the brink of extinction." "Moipa!" "Father!" "Get Gimade!" "Dayumae!" "Dayumae.!" "You went back for the stupid bird?" "I went back to put Nemo in the earth... so her spirit won't wander." "Now I follow my father's carvings." "Father.!" "Father.!" "I was so afraid you were dead." "Where is Nemo?" "Mincayani went back for the bird." "Dayumae went back for the stupid bird." "I say we eat him." "There is no food in this place." "If you die, I'll strangle her... and put her in the earth with you." "Do you want me in the earth with you?" "Mincayani, come here." "Take Dayumae into the forest." "Don't let her mother find her." "Are you leaving us?" "I mustjump the Great Boa." "Next full moon, we'll go back." "I'll never go back." " No, Dayumae." "They'll kill you." " I'm dead if I stay." " They'll eat your flesh." " Then I'll join my father." "Watch out!" "Shoot!" "Shoot.!" "I've only one bullet!" "There are others!" "1956 Shell Mera, Ecuador" "Ever since I was a boy..." "I loved making things with my hands." "Mom and Aunt Rachel said that Dad and I were very much alike that way." "I was eight years old when we made a model plane together." "That was the time when Dad was first looking for the Waodani." "I had heard the violent stories of the Waodani." "Everyone near thejungle did." "Dad said he saw their violence as a trap... like a prison that they couldn't escape from on their own." "He would make flights as often as he could... try to find one of their small villages." "That was the only time I was afraid when he was flying." "I'm guessing Mincayani must have been around 20 years old... when he first saw my father's plane." "It's a guess because the Waodani don't mark time." "To this day, Mincayani doesn't know his actual age." "Mincayani, we need wives to make our drink." "We say take them from the Aenomenani." "What do you say?" "I say a jaguar ate this monkey." "Maybe the monkey ate himself." "He thinks the Aenomenani sent a jaguar spirit." "I will spear this jaguar." "We need women, not jaguar." "We should hunt monkeys or wild pigs." "At least something we can eat." "Shell, 5-6 Henry." "South section clear." "Roger that." "All right." "I'm goin' down for a closer look." "A very big wood bee." "Contact, Sector Six." "Do you copy, Shell?" " Roger that." " Shell." "I said, "Contact!" Whoo!" "We found 'em!" "North corridor, Sector Six." " Mom!" " Do you copy?" "Second river, south of the Curraray." "Mom!" "Mom!" "Stevie boy?" "Contact." "Sector Six." "Do you copy?" "Um, c-contact." "Sector Six." "Roger that." "I'm goin' around." "I saw one." "I know I did." "Mincayani's kissing thejaguar." "The days that followed were like Christmas." "Our home was kind of a base for everyone who lived in thejungles." "Dad would fly them in and out of remote airstrips... bringing them supplies." "But those missionaries, the families that came to our house... to celebrate finding the Waodani... they were special." "The Elliots, the McCullys, the Flemings and the Youderians." "They were closer to us than any blood family." "And the bucket turns in an even bigger circle." "Of course, if you do it like that." "Dad, of course, was always forging ahead." "Just-Jim,just watch me." "What we're gonna do... is we're gonna let out... so much line that the drag... of that line is gonna work with centrifugal force." "See that?" "And as I keep the airplane in that tight, continuous turn" "Oh, wow." "Look at that." "Huh?" "The bucket stays in almost exactly the same spot." "It hardly moves." " In theory." "In theory." " In theory." " Do you know what theory is?" " In theory." " Do you believe me?" " Mm-hmm." "You know what this means?" "This is it." "W-W-We... made contact." "Actually, Nate, I've made some contact of my own." "I've been learning some Waodani phrases from Dayumae." "Oh, come on, buddy,just relax." "I've been very careful about this." "Rachel knows absolutely nothing about this." "Do you realize what that means?" "It means it's time to rejoin the planet." "It means that I can say..." ""Where's the john" in Waodani!" "UncleJim." " Oh, UncleJim." " Wanna try this, son?" " Yeah." " Shouldn't you tell Rachel?" "She understands the language better than any of us." "Betty, I tell my sister... and she's gonna go tell her superiors." "Next, we're gonna still be talkin' about this in two years." "We don't have two years, Betty." "The Waodani are killing... so many people." "The government's under pressure." "They're gonna bring in troops." "We have one chance to reach these people." "Now." "This is it." "If Nate's bucket drop really works" "He thinks he can find a place to put the plane down" "Maybe a sand bar- Hey!" "We'll call it "Palm Beach. "" " Jim." " Oh, come on.!" "Me Tarzan!" "Jim, this is not a picnic." "No one's ever made contact with these people and lived to talk about it." "We'll have our guns." "We'll shoot in the air." "The Indians always run from guns." "They always run, Olive." "What if they don't run?" " It looks like they're home." " Oh,yeah.!" "Are you sure this'll work?" "You know what theory is?" "I know what "idiot" is." " Let's go." "Bucket time.!" " Copy that." "Whoo!" ";" "Vaya con Dios.!" " Whoo!" " Here we go!" "Whoa.!" "Steady there, boy." "You're shakin'my breakfast." "Don't throw up on the Waodani." "Dayumae is alive!" "Dayumae is alive!" " Dayumae is alive." " They've eaten her!" "That was incredible!" "The guys are never gonna believe it." "This is fantastic!" "Aunt Rachel lived in a remote Quechua village that bordered Waodani territory." "She was 12 years older than Dad and helped raise him." "I knew Dad was protecting her by keeping the Waodani contact a secret." "I just wanted someone to protect Dad." "Ila, Ila." "Shell calling Ila." "Over." "Ila, this is Shell." "Over." "Stevie, what a wonderful surprise." "How are you?" "Oh, I'm good, Aunt Rachel." "I'm good." "I'm preparing a little surprise for Mom, and I need some help." "A surprise?" "Sounds great." "Fire away." "Mom wanted Dad to speak at least one line of native dialect properly... but now he's driving her nuts." "Hey, don't be so hard on him." "His Quechua's not that bad." "No, not Quechua." "Waodani." "Waodani?" "Why?" "Well, because he wants to be able to greet Dayumae... next time she comes." "All right." "What do you have in mind?" "Something simple like, "I'm your friend. "" "So, you want "I'm your friend," in Wao?" ""Your sincere friend. "" "Well, that's an easy one." "Just repeat this after Dayumae." " Hi, Dayumae." " Hello, Stevie." "We say" "We must spear Moipa quickly." "Not the children!" "Who has killed Moipa?" "Show yourself." "Let me see you." "A boy?" "A boy has killed Moipa?" "We'll take the women with us." "Moipa doesn't deserve to go into the earth.!" "He's a warrior just like us!" "Let the Great Boa judge him, not Nampa!" "This one will make my drink." "What do you say?" "No." "Don't take it." "No." "No, don't take it." " They give us something?" " Yeah." "You're kidding me." " Whoa!" " Must be a very special bird." "Here we go!" "Whoo!" "What's going on down there?" "Whoa!" "Cut the line,Jim." "Anytime, buddy!" "Stevie boy!" "Lunch!" "Honey, your daddy won't be back for hours." "I'm not hungry." "I knew we had a small runway." "I tried to imagine Dad landing on the river sandbar... he'd found near the Waodani village." "I told him I wished I could be there with him." "He said, "Don't worry." "You will be. "" "Come on!" "What will I do?" "Here we go." "Wanna go with Mama?" "Go Mama with the little rocks in your hand?" "Oh!" "My little girl." "Be good." "Son, you know I can leave that here." "You just say the word." "Good boy." "Let's get it in the airplane." "I guess that's it." "Do you know how far away the sun is?" "93,000,000 miles." "Do you know that that's a fraction... of how much your daddy loves you?" "If the Waodani attack... will you defend yourself?" "Will you use your guns?" "Son, we can't shoot the Waodani." "They're not ready for heaven." "We are." "Promise me one thing, just one" ""One thing. " You sound like your mother." "If you get in a jam, a real jam... promise me you'll say these words to them." "What words?" "The Waodani words." "They mean "I am your friend." "Your sincere friend. "" " Right?" " Yeah." "Okay." "Come here." "Have everything then?" "Let's see." "One, two, three, four." " Good." " Bye." "Watch." " Come back to me." " Hey." "All right?" "See you on the radio." "Stevie, be a good boy." "I love you, Dad." "I love you." "Don't be afraid of us.!" "The creator God you call Waengongi" "Waengongi has sent us." "We'rejust like you." "Roger, what do ya think?" "All this preaching to the jungle, how long before the monkeys get saved?" "Yeah, well, at least if they do, we'll know someone's listening." "The creator God is our friend." "What's he talking about?" "How does that one sound like a woman?" "Even when drinking?" "I'll go to them... and see if Dayumae lives." "The foreigners are cannibals." "I'll go with my sister." "No, I'll go." "Go home to your second wife... and stay away from my sister!" "Enough.!" "Let's go hunting." "Gentlemen!" "We got company." "We're just like you." "We're just like you." "Ed." "My name is Ed." "What is your name?" "Dayumae is my sister." "Can you show me where she is?" "Can you take me in the wood bee?" "Maybe her name is really, really long." "I'll be very happy if you take me." "Take me to Dayumae." "Take me to Dayumae." "All right." "I" " I don't" " I don't know" " He wants something." "Nate.!" "Nate, the gun.!" "Take me to Dayumae." "All right." "Airplane." "Airplane." "Yeah." "I- That's what you want?" "I guess we're gonna go for a ride." "Mincayani why are you so small, and I am so fast?" "Oh, no, no!" "Yeah!" "The wood bee flies fast." "He tried to get out of the airplane right above the village." "Did you see Dayumae?" "No, I saw Mincayani and Kimo like ants." "They saw him." "They know we're friendly." "Why don't you take me to Dayumae?" " Uh" " We don't understand you." "Go up?" "Up?" "Pete, come here." "I don't know" "I'll check my notes." "They speak so fast." "These foreigners understand nothing." "Gimade, where are you going?" "I guess it's suppertime." "I think you're a very tall woman." "You sing like a beautiful canary." "She just proposed to you, Roger." "Why's he alone with my sister?" "Where's Maengamo?" "Where is she?" "The foreigners attacked us." "We ran!" "But we saw you in the wood bee!" "I wanted to see Dayumae... but they already killed her." "Gimade, is this true?" "We didn't see her." "She must be dead." "Don't the foreigners always kill us?" " Why should we spear each other?" " I say we spear them now." "Mincayani, what do you say?" "Nenkiwi says they've killed Dayumae!" "What else does Nenkiwi say?" " I say they ate her flesh." " They can't eat if they're dead." "Nenkiwi's right." "We must spear them!" "Here." "Don't drink it all." "What are you trying to say, Petey?" "Missionaries." "What?" "Oh." "Come in, Shell.!" "Come in.!" "Shell, come in." "Come in, Shell." "56 Henry." "This is Shell." "56 Henry." "This is Shell." "Dad, this is Steve." "Are you okay?" "Missed your call time." "Tell the owner of the parrot I'm taking good care of it." "And I know it's a loan, okay?" "Okay." "Mom wants to talk now." "Please pick up." "Please, Dad." "All the foreigners are coming." " They search for us?" " No." "They searched for the others." "They'll never find them." "The river has hid them." "We've angered all the spirits." "Rachel, it was so hard for Nate not to tell you." "So far, we've found four of'em." "Jim..." "Roger, Pete" "What about Ed?" "The Quechuas told me that they found him in the water at the edge of the beach." "By the time that we got there, the water had come up and carried him away" "Marilou, I wanted so badly to go get him." " Then there's still a chance?" " No, ma'am." "The Quechuas positively identified him." "They took his wristwatch to prove it was him." " And Nate?" " Well, we found Nate... in the river right near Palm Beach." "Nenkiwi lied about the foreigners.!" "They did not try to kill us." " Ask Maengamo." " Why do you lie?" "I saw their guns." "I flew in the wood bee." "You should be quiet, Gimade." "Don't spear me, Gikita." "Why should we kill you?" "Nenkiwi's baby grows in me." "Mincaya" "Mincayani, let me stay here." "Don't kill me, Mincayani." "Let me live." "Spare the baby, Mincayani." "Let the baby live, Mincayani." "He will demand his child." "Maybe he won't." "He won't if you're there." "When does this end?" " Where is Gimade?" " I am your true wife." "Put my son in the earth." "Go." "I'm not your friend anymore." "I'm not anybody's friend anymore." "It didn't work." "Don't judge that too quickly." "You know, hurting a dog won't help." "Come here." "No." "This my family!" "My family... killed your family." " I'm sorry." " Oh, no." " Sorry." " Dayumae was never the same..." " after that day." " It's okay." "The cycle of violence that her family had lived in... had come around to catch her again." "She began to talk about returning to her tribe... so that they would know that not all foreigners kill." "It wasn't very long before her family provided her the opportunity." "Her sister Gimade and mother Akawo were still looking for her." "And now they were desperate enough to take their chances with the foreigners... just as she had done years before." "We won't let them hurt you." "We found spears!" "So you want to shoot them?" "Is that what you want?" "These women are dead." "Dead." "We'll take them back to their people." "If Gimade and Akawo had not been women... they would've been killed." "So Dayumae believed women going to her family might be shown the same mercy." "Leave quickly!" "You look like Dayumae." "But you don't fool me." "You're a spirit." "You look like a man." "But you don't fool me." "You're Mincayani." "She is Dayumae!" "She knows our stories." "You hid me in the forest, Mincayani." "When I ran to the foreigners... they let me live." "She's a spirit." "I don't like this, Mommy." "It's just a game, honey, to see who can touch the most." "When will the wood bee family attack us?" "They will never attack." "Until we are asleep." "I've lived with them." "Can't you see I am well?" "The wood bee family wanted to tell you..." "Waengongi doesn't want anyone to kill." " Waengongi?" " Waengongi?" "Waengongi doesn't want anyone to kill." "How do they know what Waengongi says?" "Waengongi marked his trail with carvings." "They say we shouldn't kill." "Where are these carvings?" "Show them." "The wood bee family can show you." "Will you let them live with you?" "Why would they live with us... after we speared their family?" "I want to live with the Aenomenani." "With my enemies." "I will see these carvings." "If these women cause trouble... we'll just spear them." "I say spear them now." "Mincayani, they'rejust women." "I've seen their house!" "Their house of blood!" "I've touched it!" "If she's truly Dayumae... why not ask about Moipa?" "Who speared your family?" "Who killed your father, Caento?" "And your baby sister Nemo?" "Moipa." "Moipa and the Aenomenani." "Moipa is dead." "We killed him." "Just as you will kill Aenomenani." "I will never..." "Then you're not Dayumae." "Why didn't the wood bee men shoot us?" "They came to tell you..." "Waengongi has a son." "He was speared... but he didn't spear back." "So the people spearing him... would one day live well." "Kimo has fallen under a spell." "Why would the foreigners tell us not to kill?" "They want us to be weak!" "I say they're all spirits!" "And Kimo better be careful." "Or else.!" "The sting ray poisoned you." "Bring my spears." "Drink this, Mincayani." "Bring my spears!" "You saw them, Mincayani." "Don't deny it." "I saw spirits." "You saw them." "Only spirits!" "You saw them." "You saw!" "Kimo shouldn't help these women." "The Aenomenani will say..." ""The foreigners have tamed them. "" "Kimo's already tame." "After this, he'll build a house for their God." "Then he'll die in it." "Just look at Kimo's face!" "Every day a spirit possesses him more." "The women are also changing." "They say this house will be your grave." "What do you say, Mincayani?" "You no longer know your family." "You must be blind." "They're coming.!" "More foreigners.!" "They're coming.!" "Oh, my God!" "Good to see you!" "Hi!" "Marj, Kathy and Stevie." "They are Rachel's family." "Oh, that's boiled plantain mash and water." "Oh, I have so many stories... about when I first came to visit Aunt Rachel and the Waodani." "She is a girl with short hair." "No, he is a boy." "Let's just say there are some things you never forget." "I will see for myself." "You're right." "He's a boy." "According to Waodani tradition... as my father's oldest son, I would be responsible for avenging his death." "So Aunt Rachel warned me never to appear too interested in the particulars." "She, herself,had no idea who the actual killers were." "But, of course, I couldn't help but wonder." "And that was when I first saw Mincayani." "I remember feeling like I irritated him." "Something's dead." "I'll come back for you." "Mingi.!" "Aenomenani!" "The Aenomenani have speared Mingi." "We found their tracks." "I say we take spears... and follow them." "We will not be weak!" "We will kill." "Bring us drink." "I will not kill the Aenomenani." "Following Waengongi's carvings..." "I will walk his trail." " How many?" " Very many." "Why don't they attack?" "Maybe they don't know our warriors are gone." "They are my family." "If I talk to them, maybe we'll live." "I'll go with her." "If you go, Kimo, they will spear." "Are we going to run?" "No, Stevie boy." "We no kill." "Waengongi say, "No. "" "You no kill." "Even spearing us, we no spear you." "Aenomenani very angry." "They say we make fever." "They die." "Ompodae say, "No. "" "We live well." "Ompodae and Dawa pleaded with their family for hours." "In the end, it was the Aenomenani's sickness that helped turn the tide." "In the darkness,just before dawn, they became too weak to attack." "Dayumae." "My family has fever." "Some are already dead." "More are dying." "Take them to the huts." "Bring them drink." "I'll get medicine." "Help us." "My family has fever." "Help us." "They will die if we do not help." "Shell, this is Tiwaeno." "We have an emergency." "Over." "Tiwaeno, Tiwaeno, this is Shell." "What's wrong, Rachel?" "Over." "Kimo and Dawa have returned with the Aenomenani." "All of them." "They have polio." "They're dying." "Over." "Roger." "You'll have to quarantine the village, Rachel." "You read?" "We read you, Frank." "Tell everyone to pray." "Look at Kimo." "He used to be a great warrior." "No matter." "Kimo brings our enemies to our spears." "What's he shouting?" " He's saying, "No food." "Children will die. "" " Mincayani.!" "The quarantine meant we couldn't leave the village." "No one could walk in with supplies." "I felt trapped in a place that wasn't my home." "Little did I know that Mincayani felt trapped as well." "And this place was his home." "How are you bearing up, Rachel?" "The monkeys and wild boar seem to have abandoned this part of thejungle." "Thanks for the drop." "Over." "This is all the medicine we have in Shell." "We're bringing more down from Quito." "And we need more advice on how to keep 'em breathing." "Maybe you could talk to Dr. Wally?" "I did." "You just got to keep them moving on those teeter-totters." "But their lungs are still filling!" "We'll keep you in food and medicine until the quarantine is lifted." "Tell Marj Marilou says little Phil is fine." "We're all praying for you." "Mincayani, if I don't rock the boy dies." "Bibanka, when you sleep, I'll tie many to you... to carry you up to the clouds." "Don't listen." "He's a dreamer." "Kimo shocks me... because he's keeping those killers alive." "And Dayumae..." "They no longer fear the Great Boa." "Just call them termites." "Mincayani, we must put her in the ground." "Can one so small jump the Great Boa?" "Or will she become a termite?" "Do you know what the ancient ones said?" "To die is nothing." "To jump the Great Boa is everything." "By spearing, we become strong." "With enough strength, we can all jump the Great Boa." "But now Kimo... and Dayumae... and the one they call Waengongi... are leading our family to a place... where we will all be termites... forever!" "But I will fight them... to my last breath.!" "If you kill again... you will kill us all." "After eight weeks, the quarantine was lifted." "My mother and sister and I could finally go home." "The teeter-totters had stopped... and with them, the endless cycle of revenge." " The Waodani had found a reason to live differently." "And in the end... that seemed to be what so many of them were waiting for." "I'll miss you so much." "You'll just miss the manioc." "I'd like to say good-bye to Mincayani." "It's important to do what's in your heart, Stevie." "I hope to return one day and see you." "If I don't see you in this place..." "I hope to see you... in Waengongi's place." "My father always hoped... that we would be sincere friends." "After I left Mincayani..." "I started a new life that would take me to the United States." "Aunt Rachel and I kept in touch... and occasionally I'd visit in the summers." "She spent the rest ofher life with the Waodani." "I was living with my family in Florida... when I got the news that Aunt Rachel had died." "It didn't come as a surprise." "We had known about her cancer." "And though she came from a large family in the states... she wanted to be buried with the Waodani... who she considered to be family as well." "So my wife Ginny and I traveled to Ecuador to honor her request." " What are you thinking?" " How do you... weigh a life?" "Faith?" "Rachel wanted you to live with us." "She told us you would." "I live far, far away." "My wife and children... have never lived in the jungle." "I will visit you often." "Your father's buried here." "Rachel's buried here." "Why not live where your family is buried?" "It isn't possible." "Our children must understand outside ways... and our family must show them." "Are you not our family?" "Steve didn't hear Kimo's words." "He still needs to know." "All Mincayani said was there was something I needed to see." "No other explanation was offered." "And so ourjourney that had spanned two worlds... bridged the Stone Age and 21 st century... finally led us here... down the lonely Curraray River." "That's his plane!" "Is this it?" "Is this where- Is this where it happened?" "It happened here." "They didn't shoot us!" "There's more you need to know." "I saw them." "Your father saw them also." "What?" "What did he see?" "Tell me!" "Your father... was a special man." "I saw him jump the Great Boa... while he was still alive!" "I speared your father!" "What?" "What?" "Do it!" "No one... took... my father's life." "He gave it." "My father lost his life at the end of the spear... and it was at the end of the spear... that Mincayani and I found ours." "It's true that my dad and his four friends... were not given the privilege of watching their children and grandchildren grow up." "But Mincayani is a grandfather." "It's the first time in Waodani history they've ever had so many grandfathers." "He's not only a grandfather to his own children, he's a grandfather to mine." "My dad would've liked that." "Through the years, people could always identify with our loss." "But they could never imagine the way that we would experience gain." "Mincaye got to come to the states, and that has started these visits." "He said some of the foreigners are so nice that even when you're driving... you just stop by their houses and you go to one of the- one of the openings in their walls... and he said, "Theyjust open it for you, and then they start giving you food. "" "and it's already hot, and it's already cooked and stuff." "He said, I see those foreigners very, very well." "When Mincaye came back from the states the first time... he told the people that the foreigners are really big and fat... because even when they go walking, they don't move their feet." "Theyjust get on the trail, and the trail moves." "Well, Ompodae, his wife, said, "Oh, you're talking wild. "" "Mincayejust kept saying, "That's why all the foreigners are fat. "" "They don't walk." "They don't climb." "They don't make gardens." "When they got to that one..." "Ompodae, she just said, "Well, how are they gonna live then?"" "Mincaye said, "They have these big food houses. "" "And he said, "There's just piles of food. "" "First, there's these young people... and they're standing at the place where you go out." "And you smile as big as you can... and he said, "They pretend like they're not seeing you. "" "Then after a little while- Then they look at you, and they smile." "And he said, "When they smile, boom... you can just go and take all the food with you. "" "I said, "Well, it's kind oflike that. " So I took out my credit card and said..." ""First you have to give them something like this. "" "Mincaye looked at them and smiled." ""They just give it right back to you. "" "Ompodae started griping at me." "She said, "Babae, what do you mean sending Mincaye back here?" "He was so fat that whenever I'd say..." "'Mincaye, go out and bring some meat back for me"..." "She said, he wouldjust go out, and he'd find a tree, and he'djust"