1 00:00:03,080 --> 00:00:06,960 I've been travelling the world for the past 25 years. 2 00:00:08,200 --> 00:00:11,520 I've met so many people, in so many countries, that everyone 3 00:00:11,520 --> 00:00:13,680 thinks of me as the man who's been everywhere. 4 00:00:15,520 --> 00:00:19,600 But in all these years, there's been one big gap in my passport. 5 00:00:20,920 --> 00:00:24,520 Nothing less than the fifth largest country on earth. 6 00:00:27,040 --> 00:00:29,560 A country blessed with a melting pot of peoples 7 00:00:29,560 --> 00:00:31,320 and an abundance of resources. 8 00:00:33,000 --> 00:00:35,480 A country that's risen, almost out of nowhere, to become 9 00:00:35,480 --> 00:00:37,720 a 21st-century superpower. 10 00:00:39,920 --> 00:00:44,040 It's the host of the next World Cup and the next Olympic Games. 11 00:00:44,040 --> 00:00:47,480 It's a country whose time has come. 12 00:00:48,800 --> 00:00:51,920 How can I say I've seen the world, when haven't seen Brazil? 13 00:00:53,720 --> 00:00:58,880 OK, waterfall. We defy you. We defy you. 14 00:01:13,400 --> 00:01:16,600 Brazil is now the sixth largest economy in the world, 15 00:01:16,600 --> 00:01:21,960 with 80% of the population living in megacities where industry 16 00:01:21,960 --> 00:01:23,960 and technology flourish. 17 00:01:23,960 --> 00:01:27,960 But alongside this 21st-century dynamism, 18 00:01:27,960 --> 00:01:30,720 there are people in Brazil whose way of life has remained 19 00:01:30,720 --> 00:01:33,120 unchanged for thousands of years. 20 00:01:35,200 --> 00:01:38,240 It's in their land that I start this leg of my journey. 21 00:01:40,240 --> 00:01:43,120 Amazonia is a region which has enticed explorers 22 00:01:43,120 --> 00:01:44,560 and adventurers for centuries. 23 00:01:45,600 --> 00:01:49,200 In this episode I shall be travelling its vast distances, 24 00:01:49,200 --> 00:01:53,160 from the border with Venezuela to the nation's capital, Brasilia. 25 00:01:55,560 --> 00:01:58,840 I'm excited, and a little apprehensive. 26 00:01:58,840 --> 00:02:01,720 Below me thick rainforest cloaks an area as remote 27 00:02:01,720 --> 00:02:05,000 and inaccessible as anywhere on the planet. 28 00:02:08,000 --> 00:02:11,960 When people from the west landed in Brazil, just over 500 years 29 00:02:11,960 --> 00:02:16,440 ago, there were some five million indigenous people living here. 30 00:02:16,440 --> 00:02:18,000 A fraction is now left. 31 00:02:19,000 --> 00:02:22,720 One of the largest and least contacted of these are the Yanomami. 32 00:02:25,720 --> 00:02:28,400 I land at the recently built government outpost, 33 00:02:28,400 --> 00:02:30,520 three kilometres away from their village. 34 00:02:30,520 --> 00:02:33,880 The sound of the plane has drawn an inquisitive crowd. 35 00:02:43,880 --> 00:02:47,480 The Yanomami have a reputation for being warriors and hunters 36 00:02:47,480 --> 00:02:51,120 and I'm barely off the plane, before I'm into archery practice. 37 00:02:51,120 --> 00:02:52,120 That rock there. 38 00:02:56,000 --> 00:03:00,160 Wow, pretty good! What do you mean, go and get it? 39 00:03:00,160 --> 00:03:01,920 All right. 40 00:03:08,600 --> 00:03:14,720 It's a bit of bamboo, very sharp and fine point of... Looks like bone or something, 41 00:03:14,720 --> 00:03:15,840 maybe it is just wood. 42 00:03:16,880 --> 00:03:23,000 Beautiful, very nice, very nice. Now you... That bird there. 43 00:03:29,680 --> 00:03:31,120 Oh, wow. 44 00:03:37,680 --> 00:03:39,160 Very good. 45 00:03:39,160 --> 00:03:44,440 No, I am not going to do it, you go and get it. 46 00:03:44,440 --> 00:03:50,520 They're much less fierce than I expected and seem to regard me, and my accessories, 47 00:03:50,520 --> 00:03:53,400 as a considerable source of entertainment. 48 00:03:53,400 --> 00:03:57,600 It is good to be here. I have never been in this part of the world. 49 00:03:57,600 --> 00:04:01,880 Oh yeah, it is my own hair. I didn't expect to be doing 50 00:04:01,880 --> 00:04:04,760 comedy on my first day in the Amazon. 51 00:04:11,240 --> 00:04:14,640 It's an hour's walk through the forest to where they live. 52 00:04:14,640 --> 00:04:18,240 And as we finally approach the thatched walls of their village, 53 00:04:18,240 --> 00:04:22,800 or maloca, I realise I'm entering deeply unfamiliar territory. 54 00:04:26,680 --> 00:04:31,120 Unlike us, the Yanomami live communally in a huge, round, 55 00:04:31,120 --> 00:04:32,520 thatched house. 56 00:04:32,520 --> 00:04:36,760 It must be at least 400 metres in circumference. 57 00:04:36,760 --> 00:04:39,000 There appears to be no privacy whatsoever. 58 00:04:40,240 --> 00:04:43,400 I've no idea where you're supposed to wash or do all those other 59 00:04:43,400 --> 00:04:45,320 private things. 60 00:04:45,320 --> 00:04:48,280 They don't seem to do toilets, but perhaps they don't need them 61 00:04:48,280 --> 00:04:51,160 with a million square miles of virgin forest outside. 62 00:04:54,000 --> 00:04:57,080 At last, I'm shown to my room, sorry, bed, sorry, hammock. 63 00:04:57,080 --> 00:05:01,640 Now here, this is my hammock. This is where I'm sleeping, I think, thank you. 64 00:05:03,480 --> 00:05:07,040 Oh dear, I have been in hammocks before. 65 00:05:07,040 --> 00:05:09,880 I don't think I've ever spent an entire night in one. 66 00:05:09,880 --> 00:05:12,480 So, this will be a bit of a first. 67 00:05:12,480 --> 00:05:14,760 Everyone here, of course, 68 00:05:14,760 --> 00:05:18,360 in the maloca, they all sleep in hammocks so I think the thing 69 00:05:18,360 --> 00:05:20,880 to do is, you have to get, that's right, in the middle there. 70 00:05:20,880 --> 00:05:22,560 Oh, that's rather nice. 71 00:05:22,560 --> 00:05:26,240 Then you got to swing the legs up... Wow, ah. 72 00:05:28,080 --> 00:05:30,840 Then stay here for about another 12 hours. 73 00:05:32,560 --> 00:05:33,600 That's lovely. 74 00:05:35,920 --> 00:05:38,480 The maloca seems to consist entirely of women, 75 00:05:38,480 --> 00:05:41,080 children and one very old man. 76 00:05:42,120 --> 00:05:45,480 But then, just as I'm settling in to some quality hammock time, 77 00:05:45,480 --> 00:05:49,240 I get the word that the rest of the villagers are in the forest 78 00:05:49,240 --> 00:05:52,480 preparing the traditional welcome for outsiders. 79 00:05:59,760 --> 00:06:03,720 The welcome is both an opportunity to dress up, in this case 80 00:06:03,720 --> 00:06:07,160 with red urucu dye and white feathers from the harpy eagle, 81 00:06:07,160 --> 00:06:10,280 and a way to intimidate anyone who might cross their path. 82 00:06:25,360 --> 00:06:28,280 Dressed to kill, they head back to the maloca, 83 00:06:28,280 --> 00:06:32,240 but there's still one important ingredient for any Yanomami ritual. 84 00:06:33,720 --> 00:06:37,360 The Yanomami are famed takers of a powerful psychotropic snuff 85 00:06:37,360 --> 00:06:40,400 made from the bark of forest trees. 86 00:06:40,400 --> 00:06:43,360 Apparently, it puts them into a trance-like state so they can 87 00:06:43,360 --> 00:06:45,360 communicate with the spirit world. 88 00:06:54,960 --> 00:06:58,520 Suitably prepared, the welcoming party enter the maloca 89 00:06:58,520 --> 00:07:00,680 and the ritual celebrations begin. 90 00:07:00,680 --> 00:07:02,960 CHANTING 91 00:07:02,960 --> 00:07:06,240 I can understand why the Yanomami were nicknamed the "fierce people." 92 00:07:08,960 --> 00:07:12,160 The women don't take the snuff and are less intimidating 93 00:07:12,160 --> 00:07:14,160 with their version of the hokey cokey. 94 00:07:17,280 --> 00:07:19,760 After circling the maloca repeatedly, 95 00:07:19,760 --> 00:07:23,360 the men and boys go out into the blazing heat of the 96 00:07:23,360 --> 00:07:28,280 day and work themselves into a state of stomping, rhythmic agitation. 97 00:07:28,280 --> 00:07:29,960 I'm just exhausted watching. 98 00:07:31,240 --> 00:07:36,400 After that, they need a break, I am worried about them. 99 00:07:42,400 --> 00:07:45,840 Feathers are blowing away, ah. 100 00:07:46,560 --> 00:07:50,040 ALL: O-o-o-h! 101 00:07:57,960 --> 00:08:00,680 After the climax of the welcoming ceremony, 102 00:08:00,680 --> 00:08:04,640 participants are rewarded for their exertions with almost unlimited 103 00:08:04,640 --> 00:08:09,440 amounts of a rainforest cocktail made from fermented peach palm. 104 00:08:10,680 --> 00:08:15,680 I'd quite like to try some. Maybe I'll start with a child's portion. 105 00:08:17,480 --> 00:08:18,720 Look at that. 106 00:08:27,360 --> 00:08:30,400 As the day draws to a close, the effects of the snuff 107 00:08:30,400 --> 00:08:34,560 and the cocktail create a soporific air as the maloca quietens down. 108 00:08:36,480 --> 00:08:39,880 It's time for me to get ready for bed and my first night in a hammock. 109 00:08:43,320 --> 00:08:46,040 Malarial mosquitoes are a constant threat here 110 00:08:46,040 --> 00:08:49,960 and the Yanomami are as anxious as I am to protect me. 111 00:08:49,960 --> 00:08:53,800 I have a very bad record with mosquito nets, they always collapse. 112 00:08:55,360 --> 00:08:58,120 Ah, yeah. That's it, yes. 113 00:08:58,120 --> 00:09:00,880 I just need someone who knows how to do it, that's the thing. 114 00:09:00,880 --> 00:09:03,200 I don't know either. 115 00:09:07,400 --> 00:09:10,120 Sydney Harbour Bridge, this one. 116 00:09:10,120 --> 00:09:12,240 Don't try this at home. 117 00:09:17,440 --> 00:09:19,160 Four days later. 118 00:09:20,520 --> 00:09:22,560 Is it good? 119 00:09:25,280 --> 00:09:29,920 The slow pace of life is wonderfully infectious, but as dusk 120 00:09:29,920 --> 00:09:33,800 draws in I finally find a way to make myself useful. 121 00:09:33,800 --> 00:09:35,000 There you are, 122 00:09:35,000 --> 00:09:39,800 see, great explorers of Roraima. Telling bedtime stories to people 123 00:09:39,800 --> 00:09:41,560 who don't understand a word. 124 00:09:42,760 --> 00:09:44,920 That's Teddy Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt. 125 00:09:44,920 --> 00:09:48,520 He was the President of America and he came to this part of the world 126 00:09:48,520 --> 00:09:51,640 when it was very difficult to get through the forest. 127 00:09:51,640 --> 00:09:56,080 He came on a trip with his son that was called Kermit. 128 00:09:56,080 --> 00:09:58,640 Yeah, honestly, and a man called Rondon. 129 00:09:58,640 --> 00:10:02,920 Mr Rondon was a Brazilian and, er, they came here 130 00:10:02,920 --> 00:10:06,520 and they got completely stuck and they found a river to take them 131 00:10:06,520 --> 00:10:10,160 away, and, er, they didn't, they called it the River of Doubt. 132 00:10:10,160 --> 00:10:13,000 They didn't know where it began, didn't know where it ended. 133 00:10:13,000 --> 00:10:14,640 But eventually, after many days, 134 00:10:14,640 --> 00:10:16,720 they pushed their way down this river, 135 00:10:16,720 --> 00:10:20,000 against a very hostile environment and they came out of the other end. 136 00:10:20,000 --> 00:10:23,320 And Rondon, the Brazilian, was so thankful to his mates, 137 00:10:23,320 --> 00:10:25,840 the Roosevelts, that he called one of the rivers 138 00:10:25,840 --> 00:10:30,960 the Rio Roosevelt, Rio Roosevelt. Yeah, no, you laugh. 139 00:10:30,960 --> 00:10:36,800 And he also called one of the rivers Rio Kermit, after his son. 140 00:10:36,800 --> 00:10:38,640 End of story. 141 00:10:38,640 --> 00:10:40,600 Bed time, off you go. 142 00:10:52,800 --> 00:10:55,160 Night-time in the molaca is only slightly 143 00:10:55,160 --> 00:10:56,680 less rushed than daytime. 144 00:10:58,160 --> 00:11:01,440 The pet sloth they keep in the rafters seems perfectly 145 00:11:01,440 --> 00:11:03,320 adapted to the pace of life here. 146 00:11:04,640 --> 00:11:05,960 Ah! 147 00:11:05,960 --> 00:11:09,840 "There's the sleepless Englishman, always wanting to improve his mind. 148 00:11:09,840 --> 00:11:12,200 "What is the point?" 149 00:11:18,360 --> 00:11:21,240 Things weren't always as secure for the Yanomami. 150 00:11:22,480 --> 00:11:25,400 For a long time their remoteness had protected them 151 00:11:25,400 --> 00:11:29,080 from the trauma of contact, but the discovery of gold in the late 152 00:11:29,080 --> 00:11:31,920 1980s changed all that. 153 00:11:31,920 --> 00:11:35,960 Their land was invaded by thousands of illegal miners, 154 00:11:35,960 --> 00:11:38,920 garimperios, who not only poisoned the river with the mercury 155 00:11:38,920 --> 00:11:43,360 they needed to flush out the gold, but brought with them diseases, 156 00:11:43,360 --> 00:11:47,880 like measles and tuberculosis, which swept through the tribe, killing 157 00:11:47,880 --> 00:11:52,320 hundreds and changing for ever the way they perceived the outside world. 158 00:11:57,560 --> 00:12:00,880 Only when the Brazilian government, under intense international 159 00:12:00,880 --> 00:12:03,680 pressure, took measures to get rid of the miners, 160 00:12:03,680 --> 00:12:06,120 did the Yanomami begin to recover. 161 00:12:07,800 --> 00:12:11,720 But the lure of gold will always be a threat and no one knows 162 00:12:11,720 --> 00:12:14,840 this better than the shaman of this village, Davi Kopenawa. 163 00:12:14,840 --> 00:12:18,640 HE SPEAKS PORTUGUESE 164 00:12:19,560 --> 00:12:24,400 He's travelled in Brazil and overseas to plead their cause, 165 00:12:24,400 --> 00:12:28,520 to impress on the outside world the need for continued protection. 166 00:12:30,200 --> 00:12:33,920 As I watch him in action today, I see no remote tribesman, 167 00:12:33,920 --> 00:12:37,400 but a consummate politician working on behalf of his people. 168 00:12:40,760 --> 00:12:45,040 The Yanomami have lived in the forest for thousands of years. 169 00:12:45,040 --> 00:12:50,360 Are you consulted by the Government about how best to use the forest? 170 00:12:50,360 --> 00:12:53,280 IN PORTUGUESE 171 00:12:57,280 --> 00:13:00,480 TRANSLATION: They don't call us to go to the capital, Brasilia, 172 00:13:00,480 --> 00:13:04,200 so we can hear what the government is planning to do with our land. 173 00:13:05,480 --> 00:13:10,480 They don't ask us, the indigenous people, they just tell us. 174 00:13:10,480 --> 00:13:13,560 "We are going to build the Belo Monte Dam. 175 00:13:13,560 --> 00:13:16,520 "We are going to build the Northern Ring Road. 176 00:13:16,520 --> 00:13:19,480 "We are going to build the army headquarters. 177 00:13:21,160 --> 00:13:24,720 "We are going to open mines in the indigenous territory." 178 00:13:26,960 --> 00:13:28,520 They don't consult us. 179 00:13:33,800 --> 00:13:35,320 The fact that they have cut 180 00:13:35,320 --> 00:13:37,800 and cleared a football pitch in the middle of the forest, 181 00:13:37,800 --> 00:13:41,920 shows the Yanomami are not resistant to all outside influence. 182 00:13:41,920 --> 00:13:45,920 As soccer-mad as the rest of Brazil, they save on kit by painting 183 00:13:45,920 --> 00:13:49,080 their team colours straight onto their bodies. 184 00:13:49,080 --> 00:13:51,520 And the Kop's filling up nicely. 185 00:13:56,080 --> 00:13:59,880 But this outside influence, like football, has a purpose. 186 00:13:59,880 --> 00:14:03,280 Many Brazilians feel indigenous peoples don't need such vast 187 00:14:03,280 --> 00:14:06,920 tracts of land, which could be better exploited for logging or cattle, 188 00:14:06,920 --> 00:14:08,040 and of course mining. 189 00:14:09,040 --> 00:14:12,400 So by hook or by crook, the government wants to bring 190 00:14:12,400 --> 00:14:14,160 the Yanomami into this debate. 191 00:14:21,240 --> 00:14:24,400 One hook is the provision of health care. 192 00:14:26,400 --> 00:14:29,000 Health workers come to the maloca to treat injuries, 193 00:14:29,000 --> 00:14:32,040 dispense drugs and inoculate the children. 194 00:14:34,360 --> 00:14:37,760 Today, a group of government workers has flown in to tell 195 00:14:37,760 --> 00:14:41,640 the Yanomami of a new initiative in the way health care is delivered. 196 00:14:43,880 --> 00:14:47,120 Despite all these undoubtedly benevolent actions, Davi, 197 00:14:47,120 --> 00:14:49,560 the shaman, remains wary. 198 00:14:51,360 --> 00:14:56,760 You have a, um, a clinic near here, you play football. Do you see 199 00:14:56,760 --> 00:15:02,760 engagement with the outside world as the way forward for the Yanomami? 200 00:15:02,760 --> 00:15:04,560 IN PORTUGUESE 201 00:15:06,200 --> 00:15:10,480 Our priority is healthcare. This is what we need. 202 00:15:10,480 --> 00:15:13,240 And other things like playing football, 203 00:15:13,240 --> 00:15:15,160 this is really not a priority. 204 00:15:15,160 --> 00:15:17,760 Because this is the white man's custom. 205 00:15:19,720 --> 00:15:25,160 Our priorities are healthcare, our own culture, language and customs. 206 00:15:26,680 --> 00:15:28,200 This is what is important. 207 00:15:36,240 --> 00:15:41,520 Alongside the health programme is a school to teach them Portuguese, 208 00:15:41,520 --> 00:15:45,040 a pre-requisite for closer engagement with the rest of Brazil. 209 00:15:48,120 --> 00:15:52,440 What I've sensed from my brief stay here is the Yanomami have no 210 00:15:52,440 --> 00:15:54,320 strong desire to change. 211 00:15:56,840 --> 00:15:59,480 Like so many of the indigenous peoples of Brazil, it will be 212 00:15:59,480 --> 00:16:02,000 forced upon them. 213 00:16:02,000 --> 00:16:05,080 But who am I to judge whether a life of hunting with arrows 214 00:16:05,080 --> 00:16:10,480 and snorting snuff is preferable to a life of iPads and TV soap operas. 215 00:16:10,480 --> 00:16:13,000 But surely, the choice should be theirs. 216 00:16:25,120 --> 00:16:27,760 In many of these really remote northern areas of Brazil, 217 00:16:27,760 --> 00:16:31,320 like where the Yanomami live, there's no road access at all. 218 00:16:31,320 --> 00:16:34,760 Everything goes in and out by plane, including me. 219 00:16:34,760 --> 00:16:37,480 So, I'm heading south now, towards the Amazon. 220 00:16:53,040 --> 00:16:58,080 The mighty Amazon is at the heart of a network of over a thousand rivers. 221 00:16:58,080 --> 00:17:01,880 Together, they contain up to 20% of the world's fresh water. 222 00:17:03,000 --> 00:17:05,240 I leave the headwaters of the Rio Branco 223 00:17:05,240 --> 00:17:10,640 and head south towards Manaus where all the great rivers gather. 224 00:17:11,720 --> 00:17:15,800 I'm on my way to find out more about the people who live from these 225 00:17:15,800 --> 00:17:19,120 rivers, from the growing business of eco-tourism, 226 00:17:19,120 --> 00:17:21,840 to the declining fortunes of a people 227 00:17:21,840 --> 00:17:25,960 almost as endangered as the Yanomami - the seringueiros. 228 00:17:29,440 --> 00:17:32,280 150 years ago wild rubber, 229 00:17:32,280 --> 00:17:37,440 harvested by thousands of Indians and caboclos, those mixed-race Indians 230 00:17:37,440 --> 00:17:42,680 and Portuguese, created a boom which made fortunes for the rubber barons, 231 00:17:42,680 --> 00:17:46,160 but a harsh, and pretty miserable life for those who collected it. 232 00:17:51,080 --> 00:17:53,880 In 1876, an Englishman called 233 00:17:53,880 --> 00:17:57,440 Henry Wickham stole some rubber seeds and sent them back to England. 234 00:17:58,720 --> 00:18:02,280 By 1900 they had been transplanted to the Far East, 235 00:18:02,280 --> 00:18:03,600 and by 1920, 236 00:18:03,600 --> 00:18:07,000 the Brazilian rubber industry had all but collapsed. 237 00:18:09,760 --> 00:18:13,920 Michael. Gabriel... Welcome to the St Thomas village. ..yeah, thank you, thank you, thank you. 238 00:18:13,920 --> 00:18:18,440 In the village of Sao Tomas, I'm met by local guide, Gabriel. 239 00:18:18,440 --> 00:18:22,800 He takes me to meet Elias, one of the old seringueiros. 240 00:18:22,800 --> 00:18:25,640 He still taps the few remaining rubber trees which 241 00:18:25,640 --> 00:18:29,520 leak their now not-so-precious fluid. 242 00:18:29,520 --> 00:18:32,360 Rubber man, he know about rubber, where rubber tree is, 243 00:18:32,360 --> 00:18:35,800 he knows to cut the rubber tree. Hello. 244 00:18:35,800 --> 00:18:41,520 Hello, mister, this is Michael. And he's Elias, yes. 245 00:18:41,520 --> 00:18:46,200 So here's the rubber, rubber tree. 246 00:18:46,200 --> 00:18:51,320 Here they are wild trees. They grow here and there and everywhere. 247 00:18:51,320 --> 00:18:52,360 Yeah, yeah. 248 00:18:54,680 --> 00:18:59,440 So here's the sap, coming out, yeah. And this... Thank you. 249 00:18:59,440 --> 00:19:01,240 Ah, the seed. Yes, rubber. 250 00:19:01,240 --> 00:19:03,800 This is, these are the, the, seeds of the rubber tree. 251 00:19:03,800 --> 00:19:06,640 So this is what the seeds look like that Henry Wickham...? Exactly. 252 00:19:06,640 --> 00:19:09,160 Took from the Amazon, went back to Kew. 253 00:19:09,160 --> 00:19:10,600 Back to, erm... 254 00:19:10,600 --> 00:19:13,480 They then took them out to Malaysia. Malaysia. 255 00:19:13,480 --> 00:19:16,560 And end of the Brazilian rubber industry. 256 00:19:16,560 --> 00:19:19,040 I might take one myself 257 00:19:19,040 --> 00:19:21,240 and start the rubber industry in Sheffield. 258 00:19:21,240 --> 00:19:22,440 Yeah. 259 00:19:22,440 --> 00:19:24,320 They need some more investment. 260 00:19:24,320 --> 00:19:28,400 HE SPEAKS PORTUGUESE 261 00:19:29,960 --> 00:19:31,240 "It's dry," he said. 262 00:19:31,240 --> 00:19:33,720 It's dry, I know, I know. We're pretending. 263 00:19:33,720 --> 00:19:34,760 HE LAUGHS 264 00:19:37,040 --> 00:19:40,560 The key to turning the white sap into big business was 265 00:19:40,560 --> 00:19:44,960 a process invented in 1839 by Thomas Goodyear. 266 00:19:44,960 --> 00:19:47,640 Vulcanisation, he called it. 267 00:19:47,640 --> 00:19:49,840 By heating latex with sulphur, 268 00:19:49,840 --> 00:19:53,840 he found that the brittle rubber became elastic and malleable. 269 00:19:53,840 --> 00:19:59,400 And so the floodgates to 100 uses, from tyres to waterproofs, were opened. 270 00:19:59,400 --> 00:20:07,040 So the idea is to get it in a nice sort of flexible piece of malleable material. OK. 271 00:20:07,040 --> 00:20:09,520 Look here. Yeah. 272 00:20:09,520 --> 00:20:13,320 Here we are, yeah, yeah. That's it, yeah, here we are. 273 00:20:13,320 --> 00:20:14,320 Stick, yeah. 274 00:20:14,320 --> 00:20:19,160 That's rubber indeed, yes. It reminds me of the handlebars 275 00:20:19,160 --> 00:20:24,160 I have on my old bicycle at home, well, you wouldn't know, but I did. 276 00:20:25,600 --> 00:20:28,600 To collect latex, then to make this process here. 277 00:20:28,600 --> 00:20:32,960 So this is just a larger version of that? 278 00:20:35,600 --> 00:20:37,000 Oh! Yeah, like a ball. 279 00:20:39,720 --> 00:20:42,760 Yeah, that works. To you! 280 00:20:44,280 --> 00:20:47,640 And so did, did people like him get rich? 281 00:20:47,640 --> 00:20:53,120 THEY SPEAK PORTUGUESE 282 00:20:58,760 --> 00:21:00,160 The foreigners got rich. 283 00:21:00,160 --> 00:21:02,400 So he said, er, he said only the, rubber barons. 284 00:21:02,400 --> 00:21:07,560 Caboclos? Caboclos, no. Yes. Hard life. 285 00:21:10,800 --> 00:21:13,880 Elias carries with him an air of sadness and regret, 286 00:21:13,880 --> 00:21:17,560 as do many caboclos of his generation. 287 00:21:19,000 --> 00:21:23,200 Life goes on. But there will be no more good times. 288 00:21:23,200 --> 00:21:24,320 If there ever were. 289 00:21:34,520 --> 00:21:38,080 Even a younger man like Gabriel believes the river has 290 00:21:38,080 --> 00:21:41,280 magical properties, like the legendary pink dolphin. 291 00:21:42,680 --> 00:21:46,800 Some caboclos they believe that the animal has the capacity to 292 00:21:46,800 --> 00:21:53,360 become a man at midnight and sometimes it's possible to find some 293 00:21:53,360 --> 00:21:58,280 girls here pregnant. They said that the dolphin did this. 294 00:21:58,280 --> 00:22:03,040 All the guys who are to blame, blame the dolphin, that's great. It's a big dolphin. 295 00:22:03,040 --> 00:22:05,520 A dolphin...a dolphin's responsible. 296 00:22:06,880 --> 00:22:10,560 There's something about the pink river dolphin that intrigues me. 297 00:22:10,560 --> 00:22:14,960 Thanks to a local dolphin wrangler, there is a way I can find out more. 298 00:22:14,960 --> 00:22:18,160 Well, the first time I've actually done...swum with 299 00:22:18,160 --> 00:22:20,360 the dolphins... They are here, which is rather good, 300 00:22:20,360 --> 00:22:23,520 but I have to wear this, this is regulations for the Brazilian 301 00:22:23,520 --> 00:22:27,400 authorities, even though I'm only going to be standing on the board. 302 00:22:27,400 --> 00:22:31,120 It's not some strange incontinence garment, in case you think so. 303 00:22:31,120 --> 00:22:32,880 So, here we go. 304 00:22:34,520 --> 00:22:37,480 The water's very black, so I can't actually see anything at all. 305 00:22:39,040 --> 00:22:43,040 OK, on the platform now, and where is the dolphin? 306 00:22:45,120 --> 00:22:48,880 Then, quite suddenly, there they are. 307 00:22:50,560 --> 00:22:55,120 She's quite alarming with the teeth. Unable to resist the lure of the sardine. 308 00:23:10,600 --> 00:23:14,800 Terrific jaws, in fact, rows of about 25 teeth on either side. 309 00:23:16,400 --> 00:23:19,120 At first it's slightly... Ooh, I can feel his body 310 00:23:19,120 --> 00:23:21,720 rubbing against the bottom of my leg. 311 00:23:25,560 --> 00:23:29,640 Once they've got the fish they just sort of rub against you 312 00:23:29,640 --> 00:23:32,040 and almost use you to bounce off back into the water. 313 00:23:32,040 --> 00:23:35,560 They're big, sort of sturdy, quite heavy creatures. 314 00:23:41,360 --> 00:23:45,240 I'm now actually off the platform, free in the water 315 00:23:45,240 --> 00:23:47,280 and a bit apprehensive of the beak. 316 00:23:47,280 --> 00:23:54,720 Whoa. Oh yes, very good. I wish I could do that. 317 00:23:54,720 --> 00:24:00,760 Fantastic. I so easily could have been that sardine. 318 00:24:05,840 --> 00:24:08,680 OK, guys, well, you can all go home now leave me 319 00:24:08,680 --> 00:24:13,360 floating in the Rio Negro with my, my new friends, my new chums. 320 00:24:13,360 --> 00:24:17,120 Oh! We are the sardine generation. 321 00:24:34,440 --> 00:24:37,880 There are many spectacular sights in the Amazon, 322 00:24:37,880 --> 00:24:40,600 but few can rival the confluence of the region's 323 00:24:40,600 --> 00:24:45,360 two mightiest rivers - the muddy Amazon itself, rich with 324 00:24:45,360 --> 00:24:49,840 acidic sludge from the Andes, and the tannin-black waters of the Rio Negro. 325 00:24:53,120 --> 00:24:55,880 It is an absolutely extraordinary sight, 326 00:24:55,880 --> 00:24:58,520 because it is so clear and sharp that it really 327 00:24:58,520 --> 00:25:04,920 is like a battle between the black tea and the milky coffee coming in. 328 00:25:05,920 --> 00:25:09,000 The coffee colour wins over the black tea in the end. 329 00:25:09,000 --> 00:25:13,080 Leaving the new double-strength Amazon to flow another 330 00:25:13,080 --> 00:25:14,600 thousand miles to the sea, 331 00:25:14,600 --> 00:25:18,720 we descend to the city which is synonymous with this great river. 332 00:25:18,720 --> 00:25:24,440 Manaus, once a jungle outpost, is now home to two million people. 333 00:25:25,920 --> 00:25:28,720 Rubber put Manaus on the map. At the heyday of the boom, 334 00:25:28,720 --> 00:25:32,080 it was the richest city in the southern hemisphere. 335 00:25:32,080 --> 00:25:35,880 The first in Brazil to have trams, the second to have electricity. 336 00:25:35,880 --> 00:25:39,680 At the turn of the 20th century, fortunes were made 337 00:25:39,680 --> 00:25:41,200 and spent here. 338 00:25:41,200 --> 00:25:44,520 The rubber barons spared nothing in creating a mini 339 00:25:44,520 --> 00:25:46,200 Paris in the rainforest. 340 00:25:48,320 --> 00:25:49,920 But when the British stole the rubber 341 00:25:49,920 --> 00:25:54,040 trade away from Brazil, the glories of Manaus quickly faded. 342 00:25:54,040 --> 00:25:56,880 Except that is for one magnificent survivor. 343 00:26:00,880 --> 00:26:04,040 The Teatro Amazonas, the Manaus Opera House, 344 00:26:04,040 --> 00:26:06,600 has been sumptuously restored. 345 00:26:06,600 --> 00:26:09,240 Designed by Italians, built with Scottish ironwork 346 00:26:09,240 --> 00:26:11,840 and French marble, it was intended to show that, 347 00:26:11,840 --> 00:26:17,840 jungle or no jungle, anything Europe could do, Brazil could do better. 348 00:26:25,440 --> 00:26:28,720 A hundred years on, the Amazon Philharmonic Orchestra 349 00:26:28,720 --> 00:26:32,880 are rehearsing the overture to a Brazilian opera called 350 00:26:32,880 --> 00:26:36,720 Il Guarany, about a doomed love affair between a Portuguese 351 00:26:36,720 --> 00:26:38,880 noblewoman and a native Indian. 352 00:26:47,400 --> 00:26:49,480 The musicians come from all over the world, 353 00:26:49,480 --> 00:26:52,960 many from the former East European countries. 354 00:26:52,960 --> 00:26:55,800 The latest of a long line of immigrants who've come 355 00:26:55,800 --> 00:26:57,520 to the Amazon to find a better life. 356 00:27:02,920 --> 00:27:06,840 Manaus might have had its day as the centre of the great rubber boom, 357 00:27:06,840 --> 00:27:11,480 but there was still one more act in the great Brazilian rubber drama. 358 00:27:15,240 --> 00:27:19,560 It was here, at the ferry port of Santarem on the Amazon, in 359 00:27:19,560 --> 00:27:22,240 the mid-1920s, that a group of Americans 360 00:27:22,240 --> 00:27:26,520 from the Ford Motor Company set off to find a site in the jungle 361 00:27:26,520 --> 00:27:29,280 where they could build their very own rubber plantation. 362 00:27:32,600 --> 00:27:36,440 I'm going to take a ferry myself, to see how their dream turned out. 363 00:27:38,760 --> 00:27:42,680 The ferry's in there somewhere... I've just got to find it. 364 00:27:46,600 --> 00:27:49,960 These tightly packed boats are the life-blood of the river system. 365 00:27:49,960 --> 00:27:51,760 Not just for people, but for goods, too. 366 00:27:51,760 --> 00:27:55,960 No trucks are allowed at the jetty, so all cargo, which seems to 367 00:27:55,960 --> 00:28:00,440 consist largely of beer, has to be man-handled on to the boats. 368 00:28:03,560 --> 00:28:06,840 But amazingly, my 4:30 ferry out of Santarem 369 00:28:06,840 --> 00:28:08,240 leaves dead on 4:30. 370 00:28:13,680 --> 00:28:17,520 I am now on my way to one of the strangest locations of modern 371 00:28:17,520 --> 00:28:22,600 Brazilian history, a place called Fordlandia, which Henry Ford 372 00:28:22,600 --> 00:28:28,320 created in the 1920s as an experiment in rubber production. 373 00:28:36,560 --> 00:28:39,960 There isn't a lot of room on board, but not to worry, 374 00:28:39,960 --> 00:28:42,200 the journey only takes 14 hours. 375 00:28:44,840 --> 00:28:48,280 We shall navigate rivers the size of lakes, 376 00:28:48,280 --> 00:28:52,200 turning south off the Amazon and up its tributary, the Tapajos. 377 00:28:59,920 --> 00:29:03,280 I must say, when I got on, there was a bit of chaos. I thought 378 00:29:03,280 --> 00:29:07,480 "Can I survive this?" but it kind of... There is an order here 379 00:29:07,480 --> 00:29:11,760 and you settle down and get your hammock, and I just can't 380 00:29:11,760 --> 00:29:14,360 believe I've discovered the joys of hammock travelling 381 00:29:14,360 --> 00:29:18,720 so late in my travelling life. They're just...they are...they are wonderful. 382 00:29:18,720 --> 00:29:21,720 Here in Brazil, of course, you don't have the sort of government 383 00:29:21,720 --> 00:29:24,240 hammock or the shipping line hammock, 384 00:29:24,240 --> 00:29:26,680 you have your own colour, look at these lovely colours. 385 00:29:26,680 --> 00:29:30,120 You take up a minimum amount of space, pretty simple. 386 00:29:30,120 --> 00:29:32,960 If you want to have a look around you can do that, 387 00:29:32,960 --> 00:29:35,120 if you want to be a bit private, you just... You know. 388 00:29:37,960 --> 00:29:42,880 I think I was just born to swing from hooks. 389 00:30:38,720 --> 00:30:40,800 It's a grey old morning on the Tapajos, 390 00:30:40,800 --> 00:30:44,240 and I've transferred to a smaller ferry which will drop me off 391 00:30:44,240 --> 00:30:48,360 where the men from Dearborn, Michigan first arrived some 80 years ago. 392 00:30:50,440 --> 00:30:53,800 And what looks like a mirage at first, is indeed my destination. 393 00:30:54,800 --> 00:30:55,840 Fordlandia. 394 00:30:58,760 --> 00:31:00,480 There it is. 395 00:31:03,400 --> 00:31:07,240 To turn Ford's dream into a reality, factories were built 396 00:31:07,240 --> 00:31:08,680 and Midwestern houses 397 00:31:08,680 --> 00:31:13,000 and streets sprang up as fast as the jungle could be stripped and cleared. 398 00:31:14,200 --> 00:31:17,560 Under the guidance of the top men in the American motor industry, 399 00:31:17,560 --> 00:31:21,960 schools were built and a transport system created to carry the workforce. 400 00:31:25,920 --> 00:31:28,080 It was an epic adventure. 401 00:31:29,800 --> 00:31:32,080 And in the end, an epic failure. 402 00:31:41,960 --> 00:31:45,760 Ford's plan for his company to produce all its own rubber collapsed 403 00:31:45,760 --> 00:31:50,880 as disease destroyed the trees, and ill health sapped the workforce. 404 00:31:53,560 --> 00:31:58,160 In 1945, the Americans finally packed up and went home. 405 00:31:58,160 --> 00:32:00,680 Leaving behind the ghosts of a great enterprise. 406 00:32:14,240 --> 00:32:17,400 This is all that remains of what was once Fordlandia's 407 00:32:17,400 --> 00:32:19,680 state of the art hospital. 408 00:32:21,040 --> 00:32:24,560 Now, the only signs of life are colonies of bats occupying 409 00:32:24,560 --> 00:32:27,000 the rooms and the operating theatres. 410 00:32:31,640 --> 00:32:33,000 This is it. 411 00:32:33,000 --> 00:32:38,200 This is all that's left of Henry Ford's great dream of creating 412 00:32:38,200 --> 00:32:41,160 the perfect America, in Brazil. 413 00:33:00,880 --> 00:33:04,400 Belem, one of the oldest cities of the Amazon, is the perfect 414 00:33:04,400 --> 00:33:05,760 place to lift the spirits. 415 00:33:06,920 --> 00:33:09,960 Located close to where the river meets the sea, it bounces 416 00:33:09,960 --> 00:33:11,200 and bustles with life, 417 00:33:11,200 --> 00:33:16,160 as the fishermen bring in the produce of the fertile waters of the delta. 418 00:33:16,160 --> 00:33:18,800 Watched all the way by the resident rubbish collectors, 419 00:33:18,800 --> 00:33:21,640 an enthusiastic flock of turkey vultures. 420 00:33:25,200 --> 00:33:28,720 This gothic extravaganza, made from Glaswegian ironwork, 421 00:33:28,720 --> 00:33:31,920 is the market they called Ver-o-peso. 422 00:33:31,920 --> 00:33:33,160 See the weight. 423 00:33:33,160 --> 00:33:34,240 A reference to the days 424 00:33:34,240 --> 00:33:37,520 when the Portuguese extracted taxes on the local produce. 425 00:33:45,520 --> 00:33:49,600 Ver-o-peso is one of the great fish markets in Brazil. 426 00:33:49,600 --> 00:33:53,160 And I'm guided around it by Priscilla, a young music manager, 427 00:33:53,160 --> 00:33:56,040 and someone for whom quality is vital. 428 00:33:56,040 --> 00:33:59,040 Belem's top rated young chef, Thiago Castanho. 429 00:34:00,320 --> 00:34:02,960 Tucunare. 430 00:34:02,960 --> 00:34:05,640 Oh, yeah...tucunare. 431 00:34:05,640 --> 00:34:10,320 They are cheap. Eye on the back, yeah. This is beautiful. Very. 432 00:34:10,320 --> 00:34:14,000 What a beautiful-looking fish. 433 00:34:14,000 --> 00:34:16,680 Part of the thing about food here seems there's 434 00:34:16,680 --> 00:34:17,840 so much of everything. 435 00:34:17,840 --> 00:34:20,000 Not just fish, but fruit and... 436 00:34:20,000 --> 00:34:24,760 THIAGO SPEAKS PORTUGUESE 437 00:34:29,160 --> 00:34:32,800 Belem has a lot of different food. 438 00:34:32,800 --> 00:34:37,000 Every fish, every fruit has its season. Oh, right. OK. 439 00:34:37,000 --> 00:34:42,120 So, you're always changing your menu to reflect what is seasonal. Yes. 440 00:34:54,640 --> 00:34:58,040 Thiago has had to go back to his kitchen, but Priscilla is keen 441 00:34:58,040 --> 00:35:03,880 to show another aspect of Amazonian produce, dear to her body and soul. 442 00:35:03,880 --> 00:35:05,280 So, what's all these? 443 00:35:06,400 --> 00:35:09,800 Er, these are our traditional medicines for almost everything. 444 00:35:09,800 --> 00:35:16,280 Yeah. From the Amazon, from the rainforest? Yes, all from the rainforest. 445 00:35:16,280 --> 00:35:17,560 Hi, Leila. Hello! Ola! 446 00:35:19,040 --> 00:35:20,640 Do you have Andiroba? 447 00:35:24,560 --> 00:35:27,280 This is Andiroba, this is an oil. Yeah. 448 00:35:27,280 --> 00:35:30,200 We use it for almost everything, we use it for the hair, 449 00:35:30,200 --> 00:35:34,120 beautiful hair and you can use it for your head. 450 00:35:34,120 --> 00:35:38,960 And we use for pain if you have arthritis. 451 00:35:38,960 --> 00:35:40,640 Arthritis. Yes. 452 00:35:40,640 --> 00:35:42,400 Yes, on joints and all that. Yeah. 453 00:35:42,400 --> 00:35:46,160 Do big companies come round and look at these and say "Hey, we can 454 00:35:46,160 --> 00:35:49,360 "make money out of this," arthritis and shampoo in the same bottle? 455 00:35:49,360 --> 00:35:52,960 Yes. There are now shampoos in Brazil with this. 456 00:35:52,960 --> 00:35:57,080 Really? Really because companies are coming for this. It's very traditional. 457 00:35:57,080 --> 00:35:59,920 Everyone uses it. What other things do they have here? 458 00:35:59,920 --> 00:36:04,080 We've been travelling for a long time. I'm quite tired. 459 00:36:04,080 --> 00:36:08,080 A few aches, you know you feel just a little bit travel-worn. 460 00:36:09,400 --> 00:36:13,680 Does she have something that would liven me up? 461 00:36:17,480 --> 00:36:23,640 We have the natural Viagra, which is an energising concoction. 462 00:36:23,640 --> 00:36:26,160 It stimulates you sexually and mentally. 463 00:36:28,360 --> 00:36:34,320 Not quite what I meant, but, yeah. Yeah, OK. 464 00:36:34,320 --> 00:36:36,760 What, what is the most popular seller here, 465 00:36:36,760 --> 00:36:39,160 the most popular one you get asked for? 466 00:36:39,160 --> 00:36:41,080 IN PORTUGUESE 467 00:36:47,960 --> 00:36:51,440 She sells a lot of baths for love - that's the top seller. 468 00:36:51,440 --> 00:36:54,120 Oh yeah, baths for love, I love it. 469 00:36:54,120 --> 00:36:55,800 Baths for love is like, yeah, right on. 470 00:36:55,800 --> 00:37:01,160 So, sex is quite important problem with people, I suppose. 471 00:37:01,160 --> 00:37:03,280 Yeah, in the world. Yeah, in Brazil as well? 472 00:37:03,280 --> 00:37:07,000 You always imagine the Brazilians being sexually very happy 473 00:37:07,000 --> 00:37:09,200 and harmonious and fulfilled. 474 00:37:09,200 --> 00:37:10,920 Probably because of this one. 475 00:37:10,920 --> 00:37:14,120 Probably because of this, yeah, that kind of bottled that! 476 00:37:14,120 --> 00:37:16,400 Yeah, well, I don't think I will take that 477 00:37:16,400 --> 00:37:19,400 because, you know, I'm past that now, but maybe... 478 00:37:19,400 --> 00:37:21,480 You should have the spiritual one. 479 00:37:21,480 --> 00:37:25,000 Something, yes, something to help me learn Portuguese at night. 480 00:37:31,760 --> 00:37:34,600 The reward for a hard morning shopping in this 481 00:37:34,600 --> 00:37:37,800 palace of delights is lunch with Priscilla, 482 00:37:37,800 --> 00:37:41,880 at Thiago's newly opened, decidedly upmarket restaurant. 483 00:37:49,280 --> 00:37:53,240 Thiago may be the star of his all-male kitchen, but Priscilla makes 484 00:37:53,240 --> 00:37:56,400 it clear the fairer sex is the stronger one around here. 485 00:38:00,840 --> 00:38:04,640 The strong people, they are women. Women are strong in the Amazon. 486 00:38:04,640 --> 00:38:06,920 Really? Really. 487 00:38:06,920 --> 00:38:09,720 A lot of the shopkeepers are women, yeah. 488 00:38:09,720 --> 00:38:13,840 Yeah. You see, the men they don't talk that much, they stay out, 489 00:38:13,840 --> 00:38:14,960 they keep their place. 490 00:38:14,960 --> 00:38:17,200 That's interesting cos the original word, 491 00:38:17,200 --> 00:38:20,040 the Spanish word Amazon was the woman, the warriors. You know, the... 492 00:38:20,040 --> 00:38:25,360 Yes. Entirely female warriors. That's how, that's how I see. 493 00:38:25,360 --> 00:38:28,280 Do you see yourself in that, er, tradition? 494 00:38:28,280 --> 00:38:30,880 Yes, I think so. You've going to meet Gaby. 495 00:38:30,880 --> 00:38:32,840 Yeah. Yeah, the singer. 496 00:38:32,840 --> 00:38:40,080 Gaby is who you manage, yeah? You're going to understand the power of Amazon women when you meet her. 497 00:38:48,080 --> 00:38:51,200 Gaby Amarantos is quite something. 498 00:38:51,200 --> 00:38:55,120 She's created a fusion of old-style local music with a modern beat 499 00:38:55,120 --> 00:38:57,240 that she's christened tecnobrega. 500 00:39:01,440 --> 00:39:05,160 Gaby's been trying to make it in the business since she was a teenager. 501 00:39:05,160 --> 00:39:08,720 What keeps her going, even in a modest local bar like this, 502 00:39:08,720 --> 00:39:12,000 is a strength and self-belief which she attributes to her 503 00:39:12,000 --> 00:39:13,960 mixed-race Amazonian roots. 504 00:39:22,160 --> 00:39:23,720 IN PORTUGUESE 505 00:39:26,400 --> 00:39:30,040 TRANSLATION: I think women from the Amazon feel free and natural because 506 00:39:30,040 --> 00:39:35,000 we are a product of our indigenous roots and I am very proud of my origins. 507 00:39:37,960 --> 00:39:41,360 I feel free to say how I feel through my music, and I think 508 00:39:41,360 --> 00:39:45,840 this is very particular, special characteristic of the women from the Amazon. 509 00:39:47,520 --> 00:39:49,600 They are more relaxed. 510 00:39:54,440 --> 00:39:57,160 Gaby's been called the Beyonce of the Amazon, 511 00:39:57,160 --> 00:39:59,480 but to me there's something else going on here. 512 00:39:59,480 --> 00:40:02,600 Something more Boadicea than Beyonce. 513 00:40:06,960 --> 00:40:09,880 I feel a force and the people that watch the show, 514 00:40:09,880 --> 00:40:14,040 they have never seen me, that are not from here... 515 00:40:14,040 --> 00:40:17,840 they see a force of nature, bringing them the power of Amazonia. 516 00:40:19,480 --> 00:40:22,160 So, I feel something that I can't explain, that gives me 517 00:40:22,160 --> 00:40:26,040 goose bumps, that makes people fall in love with this 518 00:40:26,040 --> 00:40:29,760 type of music and they know that there is something behind it... 519 00:40:53,840 --> 00:40:56,920 With the sounds of Gaby's tecnobrega still ringing in my ears, 520 00:40:56,920 --> 00:41:03,120 I head south from Belem up one of the major tributaries of the Amazon, the Xingu river. 521 00:41:04,480 --> 00:41:07,760 It runs through one of the most protected areas in Brazil. 522 00:41:09,160 --> 00:41:12,760 60 years ago, a reservation for the ten tribes of the Upper Xingu 523 00:41:12,760 --> 00:41:14,040 was created. 524 00:41:15,480 --> 00:41:19,720 In contrast to the Yanomami, their land is more accessible, 525 00:41:19,720 --> 00:41:22,640 so it's been a constant fight against incursions. 526 00:41:23,840 --> 00:41:28,440 Today, only those invited by the tribes themselves are allowed to enter. 527 00:41:30,560 --> 00:41:34,120 I've no idea what I shall find, or how I'll be received. 528 00:41:34,120 --> 00:41:38,360 My legs are wobbly. Hello! 529 00:41:41,040 --> 00:41:45,320 Hi. We've been invited here by the Wauja people, 530 00:41:45,320 --> 00:41:49,720 of whom there are fewer than 500 left in the world. 531 00:41:49,720 --> 00:41:52,840 THEY CHANT 532 00:41:56,840 --> 00:42:01,200 The Wauja are feared warriors, renowned for their wrestling skills. 533 00:42:01,200 --> 00:42:04,800 But they're equally well known for their elaborate rituals. 534 00:42:04,800 --> 00:42:07,720 I'm not absolutely sure if this is a war dance or a welcome. 535 00:42:08,720 --> 00:42:10,600 Happily, it turns out to be both. 536 00:42:17,600 --> 00:42:22,600 Brilliant. That was brilliant. Woo! Woo! 537 00:42:22,600 --> 00:42:26,080 Fantastic, thank you. Thank you. 538 00:42:31,040 --> 00:42:34,440 Their elaborate body decorations and the feathers they use 539 00:42:34,440 --> 00:42:39,360 on their arms and ears are beautiful, but to a newcomer, quite mystifying. 540 00:42:39,360 --> 00:42:43,000 As is the purpose of the elaborate dances they've laid on. 541 00:43:00,480 --> 00:43:04,600 Fortunately, I'm in good hands. Our intermediary with the Wauja is 542 00:43:04,600 --> 00:43:07,280 Emi Ireland, an American anthropologist who on several 543 00:43:07,280 --> 00:43:09,080 visits here has learnt the language 544 00:43:09,080 --> 00:43:12,720 and developed a deep affinity with the people. 545 00:43:17,560 --> 00:43:19,160 What's the dance about? 546 00:43:19,160 --> 00:43:22,880 OK, this is the kagapa dance, the kagapa ceremony. 547 00:43:22,880 --> 00:43:24,400 Kagapa. Kagapa. 548 00:43:24,400 --> 00:43:28,280 Yep. And it's a small fish, it's a bait fish and, er, it's er, 549 00:43:28,280 --> 00:43:31,440 you find it in the shallows. 550 00:43:31,440 --> 00:43:32,720 Yes. 551 00:43:32,720 --> 00:43:34,040 Er, next to, under the leaves. 552 00:43:34,040 --> 00:43:36,600 And that's why the young men are wearing leaves, 553 00:43:36,600 --> 00:43:39,880 cos they are the spirit of the kagapa fish. Oh, I see. 554 00:43:39,880 --> 00:43:42,600 And so they appear just as they do in the stream. 555 00:43:42,600 --> 00:43:45,440 And the kagapa fish is a, a superb bait fish. 556 00:43:45,440 --> 00:43:47,720 So, people are very happy to find kagapa because... 557 00:43:47,720 --> 00:43:50,680 It leads them to another. A big one, yeah. I see, yeah. 558 00:43:50,680 --> 00:43:53,880 So, everybody's in a good mood when there's lots of kagapa around. Yeah. 559 00:43:53,880 --> 00:43:57,240 What do they...? Do they catch a lot of fish, is that their main source of food? 560 00:43:57,240 --> 00:43:59,880 Of protein. 561 00:43:59,880 --> 00:44:03,600 Ah, yeah, but along with, er, they eat a lot of manioc bread, you'll have some of that. 562 00:44:03,600 --> 00:44:05,720 Yeah. 563 00:44:05,720 --> 00:44:10,080 And they also eat pequi fruit, it is an oily fruit, very nutritious. 564 00:44:10,080 --> 00:44:11,960 How long does this dance go on for? 565 00:44:11,960 --> 00:44:15,520 Ah, it usually goes on for a couple of hours. 566 00:44:15,520 --> 00:44:18,520 And they have other ceremonies that go on for days, 567 00:44:18,520 --> 00:44:20,960 but not this particular one. Yeah. 568 00:44:24,200 --> 00:44:26,640 What's nice is that they have this big village with a big 569 00:44:26,640 --> 00:44:31,520 population so it gives them more, more options for everything. 570 00:44:31,520 --> 00:44:35,360 More options for ceremonies, more options for marriage partners. 571 00:44:36,840 --> 00:44:39,040 For a long time, people grew up with only one or two 572 00:44:39,040 --> 00:44:40,960 people who they could marry. 573 00:44:40,960 --> 00:44:45,160 Wow, that takes a lot of complication out of it. 574 00:44:45,160 --> 00:44:47,680 Yes, it certainly does. 575 00:44:47,680 --> 00:44:50,920 You know what you've gotta do and who you've gotta do it with. Yeah. 576 00:44:52,040 --> 00:44:54,080 Though it's not easy to get to the Upper Xingu, 577 00:44:54,080 --> 00:44:57,360 we're certainly not the first film crew they've ever seen. 578 00:44:57,360 --> 00:45:00,480 Indeed, they now have film equipment themselves, 579 00:45:00,480 --> 00:45:02,360 which they are using to make a photographic 580 00:45:02,360 --> 00:45:06,960 record of their tribe, their way of life, what being a Wauja means. 581 00:45:08,280 --> 00:45:12,520 But are they are in danger of losing something because of all this outside influence? 582 00:45:13,720 --> 00:45:14,760 The notion of purity, 583 00:45:14,760 --> 00:45:19,040 whether it's racial purity or cultural purity, is dangerous. Yeah. 584 00:45:19,040 --> 00:45:21,200 But what they have to maintain is vigour 585 00:45:21,200 --> 00:45:23,960 and self-respect, self-determination, empowerment. 586 00:45:25,520 --> 00:45:29,800 And frankly, the forest, it's very important for all of us. And they know that. Yeah. 587 00:45:31,160 --> 00:45:33,920 Part of what this team is doing is bringing film equipment so the 588 00:45:33,920 --> 00:45:37,800 community can record historical information from their elders. Yeah. 589 00:45:37,800 --> 00:45:40,680 They have been very excited about this. 590 00:46:32,480 --> 00:46:37,160 Well, er, first morning with the Waura on the Xingu, tributaries of the Xingu. 591 00:46:39,920 --> 00:46:41,720 Coming to life quite slowly. 592 00:46:41,720 --> 00:46:43,560 Poured with rain in the middle of the night, 593 00:46:43,560 --> 00:46:46,080 it's the rainy season, belted down with rain. 594 00:46:46,080 --> 00:46:50,120 I think they may be just sort of, um, plugging a few leaks back there. 595 00:46:50,120 --> 00:46:54,600 These, these houses and I must, must not call them huts, I know that, 596 00:46:54,600 --> 00:46:58,640 they're houses, are really fantastic, beautifully built. 597 00:46:58,640 --> 00:47:00,360 Spent quite a comfortable night there, 598 00:47:00,360 --> 00:47:04,680 quite a buggy atmosphere, but then it is the wet season. 599 00:47:04,680 --> 00:47:06,520 My first impression is, 600 00:47:06,520 --> 00:47:09,880 it's almost more exotic than right up in the north of the Yanomami 601 00:47:09,880 --> 00:47:13,640 and yet I think there's more influence from outside here. 602 00:47:13,640 --> 00:47:18,000 Um, see T-shirts, a pick-up truck, there's a satellite dish 603 00:47:18,000 --> 00:47:19,360 and things like that so, 604 00:47:19,360 --> 00:47:23,240 something is happening here which is slightly different, 605 00:47:23,240 --> 00:47:25,680 well, very different actually to the Yanomami. 606 00:47:25,680 --> 00:47:28,000 These people are seeing more of the world outside. 607 00:47:29,480 --> 00:47:30,640 Anyway, breakfast. 608 00:47:35,560 --> 00:47:40,200 Thank you. You have real potential, Michael. 609 00:47:40,200 --> 00:47:42,720 At last, something I can do in life. 610 00:47:42,720 --> 00:47:45,760 The preparation of food is, quite literally, hands on. 611 00:47:46,880 --> 00:47:51,120 And the Wauja women have work for me. That's tricky there. 612 00:47:52,440 --> 00:47:55,960 Manioc is a nutritious root that grows all year round. 613 00:47:55,960 --> 00:48:00,200 It certainly isn't a fast food. They're saying you're very good at it. 614 00:48:01,560 --> 00:48:03,000 Don't let my wife see this, 615 00:48:03,000 --> 00:48:05,400 she will never peel a potato again. 616 00:48:10,400 --> 00:48:13,240 After the peeling, the grating. 617 00:48:13,240 --> 00:48:16,560 Now, my technique here is not taken altogether seriously. 618 00:48:23,320 --> 00:48:24,360 What's so funny? 619 00:48:24,360 --> 00:48:29,320 SHE SPEAKS OWN LANGUAGE 620 00:48:31,960 --> 00:48:33,960 Don't go, don't go, you should stay here 621 00:48:33,960 --> 00:48:35,240 and we'll take you to the 622 00:48:35,240 --> 00:48:36,280 manioc garden. 623 00:48:37,560 --> 00:48:39,240 They want you to take me, yeah. 624 00:48:39,240 --> 00:48:40,920 You are the ideal husband. 625 00:48:40,920 --> 00:48:41,880 Oh, well. 626 00:48:43,040 --> 00:48:44,160 This way, this way. 627 00:48:46,080 --> 00:48:50,920 Oh yeah, course, of course... That's it, yes, 628 00:48:50,920 --> 00:48:54,520 yes. This is the best cookery course I've been on really, 629 00:48:54,520 --> 00:48:56,480 you'll never do this for Jamie Oliver. 630 00:49:01,320 --> 00:49:04,040 How long does it take them to, to prepare this? 631 00:49:04,040 --> 00:49:07,600 Just, I've just done ... five minutes I'm exhausted. 632 00:49:08,880 --> 00:49:11,080 About three hours a day. Three hours a day, gosh. 633 00:49:11,080 --> 00:49:14,080 They work hard. They work very hard. No slackers? No slackers. 634 00:49:14,080 --> 00:49:17,720 But a lazy person, are they stigmatised by the rest of the group? 635 00:49:17,720 --> 00:49:19,320 Oh, yes very much, very much so. 636 00:49:19,320 --> 00:49:23,440 In what way? Called rude names? 637 00:49:23,440 --> 00:49:26,320 Well, yes, sometimes the women won't want to marry them. 638 00:49:26,320 --> 00:49:28,880 Is it very important for them to marry, 639 00:49:28,880 --> 00:49:31,800 I mean, could they just have the nice life as a bachelor? 640 00:49:31,800 --> 00:49:35,600 Well, imagine how could you live well if you had no manioc? 641 00:49:35,600 --> 00:49:38,320 You need to have a female relative to make it for you. 642 00:49:42,480 --> 00:49:44,400 Now I know what the men's role is. 643 00:50:03,960 --> 00:50:09,800 My final test, could I turn the grated manioc into beiju - traditional Wauja bread. 644 00:50:11,080 --> 00:50:13,680 This is getting fire in my eyes. 645 00:50:16,440 --> 00:50:17,680 Harder, OK. 646 00:50:20,560 --> 00:50:21,840 Ah. 647 00:50:21,840 --> 00:50:25,520 I just can't see anything cos I'm just getting smoke, smoke in my eyes. 648 00:50:25,520 --> 00:50:29,960 You are probably jealous that your wife is entertaining affection for someone else 649 00:50:29,960 --> 00:50:32,160 and that's why smoke is blowing in your eyes. 650 00:50:32,160 --> 00:50:34,520 Oh, is it? Oh. That's the reason. 651 00:50:34,520 --> 00:50:36,200 OK, so where are we? Over again? 652 00:50:38,560 --> 00:50:40,320 Yeah. Like that? 653 00:50:41,480 --> 00:50:45,720 Well, I think I'm better on the grating. 654 00:50:56,480 --> 00:51:00,760 Music and dance are an intrinsic part of Wauja life. 655 00:51:00,760 --> 00:51:04,600 These sacred flutes can only be played, or indeed touched, 656 00:51:04,600 --> 00:51:05,720 by the men-folk. 657 00:51:09,040 --> 00:51:13,480 During sacred rituals, the women are not even allowed to see them 658 00:51:13,480 --> 00:51:16,640 but today's more of a social occasion, as young girls who have 659 00:51:16,640 --> 00:51:20,400 been in puberty isolation are welcomed back to the community. 660 00:51:32,240 --> 00:51:36,080 Later, Emi takes me to the house of her oldest and closest confidant, 661 00:51:36,080 --> 00:51:41,680 the shaman Itsutaku. I ask him if he feels confident about the future. 662 00:51:41,680 --> 00:51:43,520 HE SPEAKS OWN LANGUAGE 663 00:51:45,240 --> 00:51:50,520 The new danger is that, um, there are a lot of very 664 00:51:50,520 --> 00:51:54,520 powerful interests that want to dam the rivers. 665 00:51:54,520 --> 00:51:57,280 Damming the rivers destroys the ecology 666 00:51:57,280 --> 00:51:59,480 and slowly strangles the whole community. 667 00:51:59,480 --> 00:52:03,840 For instance, now they're planning to build a hydroelectric dam, 668 00:52:03,840 --> 00:52:08,640 Belo Monte, which will be the third-largest dam ever built 669 00:52:08,640 --> 00:52:12,040 and scientists who have studied it say it doesn't make any 670 00:52:12,040 --> 00:52:15,200 sense unless there's a whole complex of dams planned. So, 671 00:52:15,200 --> 00:52:19,440 it's an ecological catastrophe and I said to him "How would you 672 00:52:19,440 --> 00:52:23,360 "deal with that problem?" and he said, "We don't have a solution for that." 673 00:52:29,400 --> 00:52:32,560 I hope Itsutaku's anxieties will prove unfounded. 674 00:52:32,560 --> 00:52:37,160 The Wauja may be few, but that's no reason to allow a culture, 675 00:52:37,160 --> 00:52:40,440 a language, and a way of life to simply disappear. 676 00:52:44,920 --> 00:52:48,440 Bye-bye. Thank you. Tchau. Muito obrigato. 677 00:52:53,840 --> 00:52:56,400 In the debate about the future of the rainforest, 678 00:52:56,400 --> 00:52:59,840 the voice of the people who've lived here for thousands of years is 679 00:52:59,840 --> 00:53:02,160 not only valuable, it's indispensible. 680 00:53:03,440 --> 00:53:05,520 It's reassuring that someone else who also has 681 00:53:05,520 --> 00:53:10,240 the future of the rainforest at heart is my pilot, Gerard Moss. 682 00:53:12,600 --> 00:53:16,320 I spend hundreds of hours per year flying this plane at low level, 683 00:53:16,320 --> 00:53:21,480 in the Amazon, and every single flight that I take 684 00:53:21,480 --> 00:53:27,120 I discover new openings, new clearings, recent deforestation. 685 00:53:27,120 --> 00:53:29,240 So, is it ever going to stop? 686 00:53:29,240 --> 00:53:32,200 What do you think is the worst case scenario? 687 00:53:32,200 --> 00:53:35,960 We have, in Brazil, lost approximately 20% of 688 00:53:35,960 --> 00:53:38,240 the cover of the forest. 689 00:53:38,240 --> 00:53:40,720 There's a general consensus among scientists 690 00:53:40,720 --> 00:53:45,800 that once we lose close to 40% of the total area, 691 00:53:45,800 --> 00:53:48,920 we could go into self destructive mode, and the forest becoming 692 00:53:48,920 --> 00:53:53,400 a savannah, which has already started in certain areas. 693 00:53:53,400 --> 00:53:55,440 Savannah meaning it's drying out, 694 00:53:55,440 --> 00:53:57,880 it's becoming more vulnerable to fire, for instance. 695 00:53:57,880 --> 00:54:01,880 So, fire, in a forested area of this size, could be kind of devastating? 696 00:54:01,880 --> 00:54:04,640 Absolutely disastrous, because you have no access to combat 697 00:54:04,640 --> 00:54:07,120 the fire, so these fires would go on for years, frankly. 698 00:54:07,120 --> 00:54:09,040 And that is a real concern to us. 699 00:54:09,040 --> 00:54:12,880 Do you think that the politicians have the will to change things? 700 00:54:12,880 --> 00:54:15,520 One needs to look a bit further ahead there's no doubt that 701 00:54:15,520 --> 00:54:19,000 Brazil, frankly, is the, in my opinion, is the only 702 00:54:19,000 --> 00:54:23,400 country in the world, on this planet, that is capable of feeding huge, 703 00:54:23,400 --> 00:54:26,840 vast amounts of people, we're going to be nine billion, in some years' time. 704 00:54:26,840 --> 00:54:29,880 There's no country that has all the resources, the space, 705 00:54:29,880 --> 00:54:31,960 the land, and especially the water. 706 00:54:36,120 --> 00:54:39,040 The decisions on how this abundance is to be managed 707 00:54:39,040 --> 00:54:43,320 and administered will be taken at the next stop on my journey. 708 00:54:43,320 --> 00:54:46,320 As I fly 300 miles south from the natural 709 00:54:46,320 --> 00:54:49,400 wonders of the rainforest, to the manmade wonders of one 710 00:54:49,400 --> 00:54:53,160 of the most modern capital cities in the world, Brasilia. 711 00:54:56,920 --> 00:54:59,880 Finding the difficult balance between wealth creation 712 00:54:59,880 --> 00:55:04,240 and conservation is being argued out here in the country's parliament. 713 00:55:05,360 --> 00:55:08,400 Designed in the 1950s by a communist, Oscar Niemeyer, 714 00:55:08,400 --> 00:55:13,040 and laid out by another communist, Lucio Costa, Brasilia is a bold 715 00:55:13,040 --> 00:55:14,960 and dazzling achievement. 716 00:55:14,960 --> 00:55:18,720 From barren countryside to national capital in only five years. 717 00:55:20,120 --> 00:55:23,440 The flags of the 26 Brazilian states fly outside 718 00:55:23,440 --> 00:55:27,120 the ministries from which the country's future will be decided. 719 00:55:39,120 --> 00:55:43,560 One man who grew up in tandem with the city is Dinho Ouro Preto, 720 00:55:43,560 --> 00:55:47,040 lead singer of Brazil's premier rock group, Capital Inicial. 721 00:55:51,640 --> 00:55:56,240 Dinho's coming of age coincided with a long period of military dictatorship. 722 00:55:56,240 --> 00:55:58,920 He tells me his music was punk inspired, 723 00:55:58,920 --> 00:56:01,320 and consciously political. 724 00:56:05,280 --> 00:56:09,320 How, how do you see the country now, how do you see what you're saying? 725 00:56:09,320 --> 00:56:12,480 Well, I'm not as revolutionary as I used to be. 726 00:56:12,480 --> 00:56:13,960 That's age. 727 00:56:13,960 --> 00:56:17,920 I suppose, in political terms, I moved more to the centre. 728 00:56:17,920 --> 00:56:20,000 But I still vote for Labour. 729 00:56:20,000 --> 00:56:21,640 So, you've achieved things? 730 00:56:21,640 --> 00:56:25,840 No, I think we're a very long way away from social justice 731 00:56:25,840 --> 00:56:28,840 in Brazil, we still, although Brazil is among the leading 732 00:56:28,840 --> 00:56:33,360 economies in the world and is an emerging market. 733 00:56:33,360 --> 00:56:36,720 Still we're very, very far away from being in a fair country. 734 00:56:36,720 --> 00:56:40,320 So, there is still a very long way to go. 735 00:56:40,320 --> 00:56:44,240 Brazil's prosperity is growing fast, 736 00:56:44,240 --> 00:56:47,760 enabling it to embark on ambitious projects like this brand new 737 00:56:47,760 --> 00:56:50,200 stadium for the 2014 World Cup. 738 00:56:52,800 --> 00:56:56,240 As the money pours in, I asked Dinho if he thinks that's changing 739 00:56:56,240 --> 00:57:00,120 not just the infrastructure, but the people themselves. 740 00:57:02,320 --> 00:57:05,040 For the first time, what we're seeing, the most important 741 00:57:05,040 --> 00:57:09,520 change in Brazil in the recent years, is distribution of wealth. 742 00:57:09,520 --> 00:57:13,360 We're seeing a huge emerging middle class. 743 00:57:13,360 --> 00:57:18,120 And that is what is making Brazilians so enthusiastic about this moment. 744 00:57:20,040 --> 00:57:22,800 It's not only because of the Olympics, not only because of 745 00:57:22,800 --> 00:57:27,280 the World Cup, but it is because of this sense of accomplishment. 746 00:57:27,280 --> 00:57:30,720 This sense that Brazil is fulfilling its potential 747 00:57:30,720 --> 00:57:34,080 and what is generally perceived as its destiny. 748 00:57:38,960 --> 00:57:43,000 The economic rise of Brazil, is in part due to the combination 749 00:57:43,000 --> 00:57:47,920 of its rich, natural resources, with an abundant and cheap workforce. 750 00:57:47,920 --> 00:57:50,880 And at the very heart of the Brazilian capital there's 751 00:57:50,880 --> 00:57:53,040 a statue that honours the working man. 752 00:58:00,000 --> 00:58:05,320 This is a monument to the candangos, the people who built this city over 50 years ago. 753 00:58:05,320 --> 00:58:09,880 Next time, I'll be exploring where many of those candangos went, 754 00:58:09,880 --> 00:58:12,840 when the building boom in Brasilia subsided. 755 00:58:15,760 --> 00:58:19,680 Their destination, along with many others from the north, 756 00:58:19,680 --> 00:58:22,400 were the rich gold and iron mines of Minas Gerais 757 00:58:22,400 --> 00:58:26,040 and the city that is synonymous with Brazil, Rio de Janeiro. 758 00:58:31,040 --> 00:58:33,760 Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd