All language subtitles for BBC.Extraordinary.Rituals.Series.1.1of3.Circle.of.Life.720p.HDTV.x264.AAC.MVGroup.org.eng

All around the world,
we perform rituals.

From familiar customs...

..to extreme initiations.

Rituals help us mark the most
important moments in our lives.

They teach us how to love.

How to let go.

And how to find where we belong.

Let's light this city!

In this episode, we'll explore the
extraordinary ceremonies

that surround birth...

..death...

..and marriage.

In the Amazon, a family performs
sacred rituals

to protect its newborn child.

In China, teenagers wear their
hair of their dead ancestors

to find true love.

And in Indonesia, families perform
incredible death rituals.

In the circle of life,

rituals help us understand the human
experience.

And these are some of the most
extraordinary.

BABY CRIES

No matter who you are,
or where you live,

there are two events in life
that we all experience:

Birth...

..and death.

Across the globe, funerals are the
most widespread of all our rituals.

Bringing us together to mourn our
loved ones.

In Indonesia, the Torajan people put
on the most elaborate funerals

on Earth...

..to guarantee the dead a place in
the afterlife.

Agostina is cooking dinner for her
husband, Tadem.

After 50 years of marriage, she
knows exactly what he likes to eat.

MUSIC PLAYS

CHILDREN LAUGH

Tadem died 18 months ago, aged 75.

Twice a day, his family bring him
meals,

tending to him as though he's still
alive.

CHILDREN CHAT IN THEIR LANGUAGE

His body has been preserved with
formalin,

so he can stay at home surrounded by
his relatives.

Tadem's son, Pak Pillay, is
responsible for the funeral,

to be held over an entire week.

For Torajans, if you are important
in life,

you must maintain your status among
the dead.

Tadem was a government official,
so while his body has lain at home,

Pak Pillay has raised £170,000 for
a funeral worthy of his father.

THEY CHANT

Tonight is the start of
the funeral rituals.

First, Tadem's body must leave the
family home.

This, Torajans believe,
is the moment of death.

So, it's now that Agostina can
begin to grieve for her husband.

MOURNERS CRY

Over the next five days,

the community gathers to perform
rituals to carry Tadem's soul

into the afterlife.

Torajans say their ancestors
arrived by boat,

so their spirits must leave
the same way,

as symbolised by the curved shape
of their roofs.

Tadem's coffin is placed in his very
own Ship of the Dead.

Thousands have come from surrounding
villages to pay their respects

to Tadem.

Pak Pillay has laid on the most
prestigious form

of Torajan entertainment,
buffalo fights.

With guests placing bets on which
animal will win.

THEY CHEER

Buffalo are highly prized here, both
in life...

..and in death.

They play a vital role in the
funeral rituals.

The sacrifice of ten buffalo
is believed to ensure

the release of Tadem's soul
from this world.

And the precious meat will feed the
thousands of guests.

It's the final day of the funeral.

Tadem will be placed in a chamber
of the family tomb.

The mourners shake the coffin
to free his soul

from its last earthly ties.

THEY CHANT

In the circle of life,
birth is a time for joy.

Blessings and christenings mark the
arrival of our children,

and prepare them for life's journey.

As parents, we have many ways of
protecting our young children.

In Japan, they say a baby's cry
scares away demons.

Nakizumo is a 400-year-old ritual in
which professional wrestlers compete

to make babies cry.

THEY SHOUT

BABIES CRY

Parents hand over their infants
in the popular belief

that crying babies grow fast.

But the start of life can be
dangerous.

In Brazil, the Kayapo people rely on
ancient rituals to keep

their babies safe in the first
crucial days of infancy.

19-year-old Irene is in labour
with her first baby,

supported by her mother and aunties.

The family believe their ancestors
are trying to steal the baby back

to the land of the dead.

For them, birth is a battle,
a tug of love.

Irene has already been in labour
for 15 hours.

SHE GASPS

In the days following the birth,

the family believes the spirits are
still a danger.

Until 20 years ago, the Kayapo had
no access to modern medicine.

Many babies died in infancy.

To protect the new baby boy, the
family performs a series of rituals.

First, Granny bathes him with
medicinal plants

to protect his skin.

His ears are pierced to open his
senses to the world.

BABY CRIES

The final layer of protection comes
from the dye of a Jenipapo fruit.

Irene and her mother paint his face
as an expression of love,

and to keep his soul
inside his body.

THEY LAUGH

The birth of her first child
means Irene

must undergo rituals of her own.

Her body is painted red to celebrate
her rite of passage into adulthood.

All Kayapo girls have their heads
shaved

to show their connection to the
universe.

They escort Irene into the river.

Where she swims with them
for the last time as a girl.

When she emerges, Irene will be
recognised as a woman.

The birth of her baby
is a coming-of-age,

giving her a new status
in the village.

As we grow older, rituals help us
mark the transition

from child to adult.

But sometimes a rite of passage
involves huge risks.

In the suburbs of Johannesburg,
South Africa,

boys gamble with their lives
by train surfing.

Despite frequent deaths,
gangs compete

to pull off
the most dangerous moves.

And in Papa New Guinea,

boys of the Kaningara take part in
an exceptionally painful ritual

to prove they are ready
to become men.

This ancient initiation is inspired
by legend.

A villager called Marsivo
gained the power

of a crocodile's spirit by scarring
his skin with its scales.

Today, the Kaningara still use this
skin-cutting ritual to mark

the transition to manhood
on their body for life.

It's January. Six initiates are
hidden away in the spirit house,

the most sacred place in the
village.

HE SHOUTS IN HIS OWN LANGUAGE

In two days, they'll undergo the
skin-cutting ceremony.

Among them is John.

John and the other initiates
have been in total seclusion

in the spirit house for six months.

The mud on their faces signifies
their state of limbo

between two worlds, of boy and man.

Every day, the elders instruct
their captive audience.

To help him bear the pain of the
incisions,

John has been building up fat.

Each day, large meals are sent to
the spirit house

by his mother, Matilda,
who is banned from entering.

Today is the first day of
John's rite of passage.

The boys leave the spirit house in
the shape of a crocodile,

with guardians sheltering them
from their mothers.

The Kaningara said that women
give birth to boys,

but only men can turn them
into adults.

This is the first test.

John mustn't respond to Matilda,

to prove that all maternal ties
between them have been cut.

The initiates are then led back into
the spirit house to prepare for

the extreme ritual to come.

As night falls, the elders summon up
the crocodile spirit, Nashut.

So the boys can take on
his courage and strength

to endure the pain of the cutting
ceremony.

At dawn, the ritual begins.

Hundreds of small cuts are made on
John's torso.

Each one is seen as a bite from the
crocodile spirit.

THEY APPLAUD

With the crocodile's head carved
into his front,

its tail is now cut into his back.

HE SHOUTS

Once we reach adulthood,
many of us look for a partner,

that perfect someone to share our
lives with.

In the mountains of south-west
China,

teenagers can take part in a series
of matchmaking rituals

dating back to the seventh century.

THEY CHEER

16-year-old Xing Mae is hoping to
find a boyfriend

during the matchmaking ceremonies.

Xing Mae is from the Long Horn Miao,

named after the wooden horns used to
tie up their hair.

For centuries, Miao women have
created elaborate headdresses

that include the hair of their dead
female ancestors.

In the past, girls wore the hair
while working in the fields

to scare off wild animals.

Today, it's only brought out for
special occasions.

Across the valley, boys are also
getting ready for the first day

of matchmaking.

19-year-old Shendong is back
from college,

home for just ten days to find
a girlfriend.

Shendong has already set his heart
on a girl, a friend of Xing Mae's.

Like most girls here,

Xing Mae is already engaged to marry
a man chosen by her family.

If Xing Mae finds a new boyfriend
during the ceremonies,

she can call off her engagement.

It's time for the matchmaking
to begin.

The boys are encouraged to marry
within the Miao people,

and will visit girls in
all 12 villages of the region.

Tonight, they're on their way to
Xing Mae's house.

As night falls, Xing Mae
and her friends wait inside.

When the boys arrive,
they're locked out,

and must wait for the girls to begin
an ancient singing ritual.

THEY SING

Today's teenagers are singing love
songs from the seventh century,

when owning a pipe was a symbol of
wealth.

THEY LAUGH

Shendong makes a beeline for the
girl he's set his hopes on.

Her name is Guiying.

THEY LAUGH

The boy that Xing Mae likes
is also here.

He's called Yangdong.

If Xing Mae can't pluck up the
courage to speak to Yangdong,

she might have to marry the man
chosen by her family.

Xing Mae's mother and grandma
are making traditional costumes

for the final ceremony.

It's the last day of the
matchmaking.

MUSIC PLAYS

People from all 12 Longhorn Miao
villages are gathered for

the Flower Dance Festival.

For Xing Mae and Shengdong,

it's their last chance to find love
before the end of the holidays.

And Shengdong's singing seems to
have impressed Guiying.

Celebrated the world over,
weddings are a key ritual

in many of our lives.

They often bring our families
together.

THEY SHOUT

And sometimes they connect us
directly to our ancestors.

At a Maori wedding in New Zealand,
the family perform the Haka.

The Haka was once a war dance,

but here it's a display of respect
to the bride and groom.

Rituals remind us of where
we come from.

And marriage rights can bring us
back to our roots.

The Sahara, in Niger.

Two Tuareg families and their
wedding guests

are heading deep into the desert,

where their ancestors have performed
their most traditional

rituals for generations.

The groom, Abdullah,
lives and works in Paris.

THEY SHOUT

Abdullah's bride, Azahra,
is an accountant.

She lives in Niger's capital, but is
also returning to her roots.

The nomadic Tuareg traded right
across the Sahara

for thousands of years.

But this ancient way of life has
changed,

as an increasing number of people
switch to an urban lifestyle.

So weddings are an important
occasion for clans to come together.

Today, two of the most noble
families will be joined in marriage.

The ceremony might be ancient, but
it's a modern union founded on love.

According to tradition,

the bride and groom must be kept
apart for the wedding day.

The Tuareg here have a culture that
includes considerable independence

for women.

Azahra's feet and hands
are cleansed with henna.

Throughout the celebrations, she is
confined to her family tent.

At dusk, it's the job of women
who were traditionally servants

to build a special tent.

A sacred space for Tuareg women,

and the centrepiece of the wedding
ritual.

Finally, at the climax of the
celebrations,

Azahra is led to the marriage tent,

covered until the very last minute,
where Abdullah is waiting for her.

After their most traditional of
weddings,

Abdullah and Azahra
head out of the desert

to start a new life together in
France.

SHE LAUGHS

As we grow older, our loved ones
begin to die.

In every part of the world,
we honour our dead.

For many of us, funeral rituals
help us say goodbye.

But in some cultures,

death is seen as just one of many
stages.

In Mexico, at an ancient Aztec
festival,

families bring food and flowers to
the graves of their relatives,

to nourish their spirits as they
return to Earth

on the Day of the Dead.

In many death rituals, the journey
of the soul relies on the living.

In Japan, rituals must be performed
on behalf of the dead for 33 years.

Daily prayers, which will release
them into the afterlife.

But what if you die and have no-one
to pray for you?

Within the next 20 years,

it's predicted half the population
of Tokyo will live by themselves.

In Japan's vast, overcrowded cities,

more and more people
are dying alone.

Shinji Ohashi is 62 years old
and lives alone

with no partner or children.

When he dies, Shinji will need
someone to pray for him.

He's found the perfect answer.

Engulfed by a shopping mall,

Bansho-ji is the site of a
500-year-old Buddhist shrine...

..with a very modern solution for
those who die alone.

Shinji's ashes will occupy
a compartment

in this new, hi-tech cemetery.

HE CHANTS

Twice a day, the temple's
chief priest, Daito Genyu,

leads the prayers for the 3,000
souls in his care.

The most desirable compartments
cost up to £20,000.

But Shinji has gone for the budget
option.

These quiet, hi-tech rituals
couldn't be further removed from

the vibrant funerals in Indonesia.

THEY SHOUT AND SING

For the Torajans, the circle of life
does not end here.

A physical connection with the dead
ensures their journey continues

far beyond the grave.

It's August.

A Torajan family is visiting the
tomb of their ancestors

to perform the most extraordinary
death ritual of all.

Aris Butuh has come to see his
father, Yulius,

for the annual ceremony called
Ma'nene.

The family removes Yulius
from his coffin

and changes his wrappings to show
their continued love for him,

15 years after his death.

SHE WAILS

For Aris and his family,
looking after Yulius in death

will reward them
with good fortune in life.

The Ma'nene ritual is gaining in
popularity,

as far-flung family members can now
see their dead relatives

via social media.

The family will come back to visit
Yulius next year.

For them, dying is not the end of
life's rich journey.

In the circle of life,

our rituals give us meaning.

They give us hope.

And joy.

And they bring us together

at the most important moments
in our lives.

Next time, we explore the largest
ritual gatherings on the planet.

Where some go to extreme lengths
to honour their gods.

Others create a city in the desert.

And some cross mountains for the
highest mass ritual on Earth.

Are rituals integral to being
human?

What's gained through rituals,
or lost by neglecting them?

The conversation continues with the
Open University.

Go to the address below and follow
the links to the Open University.