Location: Brazil (Kalapalo)
Episode: 1
Premiere: October 4, 2007, at 9 PM ET/PT
The People:
The Kalapalo Indians of central Brazil are one of a few surviving indigenous cultures uniquely protected by a national reserve in lowland South America.
The Kalapalo embrace an ideal of nonviolence that includes suppression of anger and a passive tolerance of behavior.
The Kalapalo have a strong belief in an afterlife where the spirits of the deceased travel to a community of the dead. Here, their only activities are ceremonial singing and dancing.
Of all the natural medicines the Kalapalo believe in, they consider tobacco to be the most potent. For them, it has the greatest healing powers.
The Competition:
Wrestling for the Kalapalo is seen as replacement for warfare. The Huka Huka is a form of ritualized wrestling.
Ways of winning include lifting an opponent’s leg, lifting an opponent, or having an opponent turn his back on you. Not allowed: punching, pulling hair, taking by waist and kicking.
Location: South Africa
Episode: 2
Premiere: October 4, 2007, at 10 PM ET/PT
The People:
The Zulu, “people of heaven,” are a mighty warrior nation; military might and physical courage are celebrated in all aspects of the Zulu culture.
Many Zulus still live in remote areas, and their rich culture of beliefs and superstitions thrives in rural life. The Zulus were and are a proud nation. There is still a king who rules today, and the social hierarchy is still present outside of the cities.
The apartheid throughout South Africa had a profound effect on the Zulus, who were considered second-class citizens and severely discriminated against. Most of the older generation and many of the younger have been subjected to racial abuse and remember it clearly.
The Competition:
Stick fighting evolved to represent conflict resolution on a symbolic level with competitions forming, rather than impulsive warfare.
Stick fighting plays a central role as part of an initiation ceremony that represents an adolescent’s transformation into adulthood. Placing meat on a stick and daring boys to take it away and eat it constitutes a challenge.
Fighters carry a small ox-hide shield in the left hand and a 3-foot stick in the other hand. The stick is used primarily to strike at the opponent’s head. A fight ends when one of the combatants is severely beaten or when blood is drawn.
Traditional Zulu medicine is used to help fighters prepare for a stick-fighting competition. It assists in warding off evil, going into battle at a psychological and physical advantage, weakening the opponent and strengthening sticks.
Location: Mexico
Episode: 3
Premiere: October 11, 2007, at 9 PM ET/PT
The People:
The Tarahumara are Mexico’s second-largest native Indian group, an isolated group of people who are expert farmers and runners.
They call themselves “raramuri,” which means “foot runners,” “feet that fly” or “people of swift feet.” The Tarahumara are world renowned for their running skills and endurance.
The Tarahumara have a belief system combining Christianity and their original pagan religion. Their most important belief remains from their original philosophy: “God is the sun, his wife is the moon and the Devil is the father of all non-Indians.”
Their most important social event is the tesquinado, a celebration following the occurrence of sharing and kindness between fellow Indians. The festivities primarily involve huge consumption of their native alcoholic beverage—tesguino—which is made from corn.
The Competition:
Running has always been a tradition and necessity of the Tarahumara. It is more than a game to them—it is also an economic activity, a force for social cohesion and a channel of aggression. The Tarahumara are even known to hunt on foot, chasing a deer until the deer drops from exhaustion.
Teams from two or more communities each kick a small wooden ball along a trail winding in and out of the canyons. There are usually three players on each team, representing God, his wife and the Devil. The ball is kicked to waiting teammates, while others race ahead for the next volley. A short game lasts several hours; more typical are games that go on for days and nights without stopping.
Location: Nagaland, India
Episode: 4
Premiere: October 18, 2007, at 9 PM ET/PT
The People:
The Nagas are largely Christian. They are noted for their keen sense of humor, splendid war dances and songs, and for being a proud people who are fiercely independent.
Their powers of physical endurance are great—they can carry heavy loads long distances.
The Competition:
Aki Kiti, or kick fighting, is Nagaland’s traditional martial art. The game involves leg kicking between two competitors.
Two competitors hop on their left legs and strike their opponent’s body at 90 degree angles with their right legs. The rounds are short—usually three to four minutes—and are stopped by onlookers. The elders among the gathering act as the judges of the sport.
Location: Mongolia
Episode: 5
Premiere: October 25, 2007, at 9 PM ET/PT
The People:
Hard conditions of life in the Mongolian countryside throughout history gave rise to traditions of friendliness and hospitality. During the 70 years of communist rule in Mongolia, Buddhism was largely wiped out, with many lamas being killed and monasteries destroyed.
The Naadam festival is the biggest festival of the year for Mongolians. Usually occurring in July, it runs for three days in all parts of the country and highlights the greatest athletes in horse racing, archery and wrestling—Mongolia's most popular sports.
The Competition:
The object of a wrestling match is to get the opponent to touch the ground (any body part other than feet and hands touching the ground signals defeat). Before the match begins, each wrestler does the traditional Eagle Dance.
The sport of archery originated around the 11th century. Contestants dress in traditional costumes and use a bent bow constructed of horn, bark and wood. The arrows, made from willow branches and vulture feathers, are shot at round leather targets.
The Mongolian wrestlers and archers are viewed by Mongolians as holding very important cultural status and embodying ancient values of nobility, strength and sportsmanship.
Location: Trobriands
Episode: 6
Premiere: November 1, 2007, at 9 PM ET/PT
The People:
The social system of the Trobriand Islanders is dominated by hereditary chieftains who continue to wield a tremendous amount of power and influence.
British Methodist missionaries arrived in the Trobriand Islands in the 1930s with the aim of preventing any further tribal warfare. They brought Christianity to the island, although it has failed to override the strong belief in magic that the islanders hold.
Fishing is a specialty of certain villages, in which it is the predominant mode of subsistence. Spear fishing is popular as it provides an outlet for the skills learned in tribal warfare.
The Competition:
Missionaries first brought cricket to the Trobriand Islands as a substitute for the conflict between local groups and to encourage morality.
Much of the game has taken on warlike aspects. Throwing the ball is very similar to the action of the spear throwing; bodies are decorated in war colors and designs; and the field entry and exit dances are those of war formations.
Cricket has been transformed into an outlet for tribal rivalry, mock warfare and community interchange.
The teams are not restricted to 12 players, but are made up of the entire village and may average around 50 players. Each side has a varied set of chants and dances created and choreographed around the village’s name and symbolic theme. These chants are also used to criticize and ridicule the ability of a player on the opposing team.The main purpose is not to win, but to put on a fine display; the home team is always predetermined as the winner.
Location: Senegal
Episode: 7
Premiere: November 8, 2007, at 9 PM ET/PT
The People:
The Wolof are the largest ethnic group in Senegal. Although the official language is French, the national language is Wolof. Ninety percent of the people identify themselves as Muslims.
Despite the small size of the Catholic community (approximately 5 percent of the population), Senegal has produced one of black Africa's few cardinals.
The Competition:
In Africa, traditional wrestling, which compares with the Greco-Roman public square brawling once reserved for royal entertainment, is as old as human history. In Senegal, a former French colony of nearly 10 million people, this indigenous sport has been transformed into a national cult.
The rules are simple: the winner must make his opponent's knees, shoulder or back touch the sand. The match is always accompanied by beating sabar drums, dancing and singers telling stories.
During the ceremony, the wrestler, accompanied by drummers and singers, dances around the arena; around his arms, legs and waist are various kinds of amulets to protect him against evil spirits and the witchcraft of other fighters.
Location: Papua, New Guinea
Episode: 8
Premiere: November 15, 2007, at 9 PM ET/PT
The People:
The Sepik culture is a clan-based society. All villages share a strong ethic of equality. They believe that people will feel greater pride in their lineage and clan identities than in any of their own accomplishments.
People along the river depend heavily on it for transportation, water and food. Their cultural links with the Sepik River are symbolized in many of their ancient and spiritual rituals, such as the manhood initiation. This requires painful carving of flesh on young men’s backs with razor blades.
The Competition:
Canoe races embody clan relations and demonstrate inner masculine strength, collective clan power and a local work ethic.
Canoe races are a replacement for past ritual activities or a contemporary exemplar of warfare and other eradicated practices. As the people have not practiced headhunting or warfare for years, contemporary canoe racing forms an integral part of conceptualizations of work and the male way of life.
Canoe races usually coincide with the celebration of Indonesia’s Independence Day.
The canoe is a dug-out tree trunk, and due to the spiritual nature of canoe racing each race requires a new canoe to be made.
Location: Brazil (Kraho)
Episode: 9
Premiere: November 29, 2007, at 9 PM ET/PT
The People:
In 1951, after negotiations with the Brazilian government, the Kraho nation was granted territory in Tocantins state.
The palm tree is considered very sacred in Kraho culture. It provides everything the people need—fruits, milk, materials for roofs, walls for houses and medicine for healing.
The Witi Festival, a coming-of-age ceremony, is one of the most important in Kraho culture. Every five years, the community chooses an adult who is well respected to be the festival host. The job of the Witi family is to look after and feed any visitors to the village, support any families who are suffering and keep the peace.
The Competition:
The Kraho celebrate the Potato Festival every year to mark the end of the rainy season and the beginning of the dry season. The Witi log race is all about endurance. Two identically sized logs, over 176 pounds, are cut down and prepared for the race.
The teams sprint over three miles back to the village, and complete 10 tours of the village center (over 400 yards each), passing the log continuously between them. Few men have the stamina to compete the course. Many drop out.
Location: Peru
Episode: 10
Premiere: December 6, 2007, at 9 PM ET/PT
The People:
Theorists believe that Quechua people and culture could date back as far as 2000 B.C., originating in central Peru. Quechua people are renowned for placing great emphasis on community and mutual help; their social system is based on reciprocity.
Quechua religion combines features of animism, a respect for nature and Christianity. The sun, moon, cosmos, human progenitors, highest mountains and phenomena such as lightening and thunder are worshipped.
For Andean people, certain places have special spiritual significance—the most important being the highest peaks of the Andes. Pilgrims leave offerings at these sacred sites. Often these offerings are simple stones left in a growing pile. In ancient times offerings took the form of human sacrifices—shamans took children, the most innocent and highly prized of all humans, high in to the Andean peaks, sacrificed them and left the small bodies there as a sign of their awe in the face of the divine.
The exchange of coca leaves and chicha is a principle means for relaxing social barriers and promoting community bonds. Chica is a mildly alcoholic drink made from corn.
The Competition:
The race has been held for more than 137 years, but the tradition dates back more than 700 years.
All the competitors have to go to the glacier, mostly as part of their spiritual belief and to offer their effort to the god.
It is more than just a race—it involves endurance and the ability to cut the glacier ice. As the ukukos have to walk up more than three miles after walking and dancing for many hours or days, it is a kind of physical test and spiritual cleansing.
The glacial ice is deemed to be holy water but is also still revered as the apu’s semen—good for fertilizing Pacha Mama (Mother Earth).
Location: West Java
Episode: 11
Premiere: December 13, 2007, at 9 PM ET/PT
The People:
Our athletes live in a traditional West Java village called Cikaramat, an Islamic community surrounded by rice paddies.
The Sudanese are a large ethnic group inhabiting the western end of the island of Java. The area came to be known as West Java from the 19th century under the Dutch colonial administration.
The Sundanese are predominantly Islamic. However, there are also some practitioners of magic arts called dukun. These are shamans, who claim contact with supernatural forces and are active in healing. Important decisions will often require the advice of a dukun, and many people carry magic charms.
The Competition:
Pencak Silat is a traditional martial art practiced widely throughout the Malay-speaking world.
Overall, there are four purposes to Pencak Silat: (1) to build character, focusing physical and spiritual energy; (2) to develop self-confidence and self-defense; (3) to perform moves as art to music; and (4), most of all, to fight and compete.
The athletes take part in Pencak Silat, which is learned through apprenticeship to a guru. The head, hands, elbows, arms, legs, knees and are used in attack. Kicks are also allowed, although it’s bad form to kick an opponent’s face.
Location: Vanuatu
Episode: 12
Premiere: December 20, 2007, at 9 PM ET/PT
The People:
Vanuatu is a cluster of islands deep within the South Pacific Ocean and the Coral Sea.
Most islanders are proficient fishermen, either fishing from the beach for sardines or from a canoe in deep water for bigger fish such as tuna.
The pig is an important sign of status. It is not simply a source of protein but the cornerstone of the islanders’ ritual life, a token of wealth and power upon which entire societies are founded. On some islands, pig tusks are still used as currency.
Kava is a significant part of Vanuatu cultural society. After a day’s work in the fields, the men’s life is dominated by the drinking of kava. A potentially addictive drink, it is made by crushing roots and adding water. Drinking kava results in a mellow feeling and a numb mouth.
The Competition:
The athletes are subjected to another endurance task—a seaborne canoe race between islands, battling trade winds, storms, high waves and the possibility of sharks.
Canoes are made from dug-out trees and are central to island life, as they are often the only means of transport.
The outriggers are attached with wooden pegs and rope, making the canoes fairly stable. As island children learn to walk, they also learn to canoe.
All Photos Credit: Discovery Channel / BBC
2007 EMOL.org Entertainment Magazine. All rights reserved.