All language subtitles for Fleur De Lampaul 2 - Jeunes Marins Reporters - Les Indiens Wayanas (English subtitles)

Fleur de Lampaul
Young sailor reporters

Subtitles by
Oliver Sanderson

The dreams of childhood can
lead to the ends of the earth.

For one school year,
aboard the Fleur de Lampaul,

nine children go to the school
of nature and mankind.

They explore the Amazon
rainforest and coral reefs,

become friends of the
whales and Indians.

A journey to the end of their dreams,

to discover themselves.

To share their emotions,
these young sailor reporters...

produced certain sequences
of the film themselves.

A logbook in pictures.

Their child's perspective on the world.

A TRIP BY DUGOUT CANOE

Come on, everyone's watching.

Go on...

Morning wash aboard
the Fleur de Lampaul,

anchored in the Mahury river,
in French Guiana.

A wash livened up with a few dives.

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400 km away, the day also begins
with games in the river...

for the young crew who are discovering
Indian life in the village of Antecume-Pata,

in the heart of the Amazon rainforest.

After a few days in the village,
we decide to go into the forest,

to better understand the
traditional life of the Indians.

We'll go to the source of the river
and the territory of the Elders.

What's happening Enéour?

We're going to go for
at least 5 days,

along the Litany, it's a river...

to do some hunting and fishing,

and we'll make a small shelter
and hunt around that area.

Three or four days in the forest,
doesn't it scare you, Hélène?

Oh no, it doesn't scare me,

we're with Mimisiku and the
Wayana Indians, so we'll be okay.

We're going with Mimisiku,
accompanied by his brother,

by Coumaya his wife,

and by his daughter,

and with the family of Boum Boum,

the father of Hetipo,
our Wayana friend.

Just upstream of Antecume-Pata,

the Litany is barred by rapids,
difficult to overcome.

A team of Wayanas have
come to help us,

because alone we wouldn't be able
to hoist our two heavily laden canoes.

It takes all the agility of the
Indians to cross the rapids.

One wrong move would cause
the sinking of the canoe,

and the loss of all our equipment.

That would be the end
of the expedition.

-You have to be strong for this.
-Is it hard?

Boum Boum, great.

Great for me too.

Passing the small rapids,
shouldn't be a problem.

There are lots of piranhas.

It's not true,
I don't believe you.

Above Antecume-Pata, are the last
Indian villages before Brazil.

We stop at Balimino's village,
Boum Boum's brother.

An oasis of peace
in the heart of the forest.

Balimino offers us cachiri,

this manioc drink so
loved by the Wayanas.

It's a sign of friendship,
of welcome,

you have to drink it from
large ladles.

And yes, learning about Indian life
sometimes takes some effort.

They've come to learn about
the life of the Wayanas,

to learn to hunt,
to learn to fish...

Hetipo leads us to a tree with red fruit,
the roucouyer (annatto).

What shall I put?

-Hetipo.
-No.

Yes.

How do you spell your name?

Ni, C O, next.

In the past, the Wayanas covered
their entire bodies with roucou.

It protected their skin and
gave them beautiful colours.

Today this natural dye is no longer
used except by the food industry.

We now plunge into the green
wilderness of southern Guiana.

Before us, hundreds of kms
of pristine forest,

without any human being.

They've shot.

-He's already fired.
-Yes.

Wood pigs (Pecari).

Boum Boum heard some wood pigs,

and they took their guns,
and they hunted them.

They shot one of them.

And now we're dealing with them,
they're being gutted.

Hetipo leaves to fish for Pirai,
the pyranhas.

You see, I trod on one,
that's why.

-With shoes?
-No, without shoes.

Boum Boum warns us against
the dangers of the river,

like the venomous stingrays
whose sting is extremely painful.

He also teaches us to catch shellfish,
easier prey than the fish.

We break a little bit there.

We haven't caught any fish today.

Fortunately the Indians are here,

for them, the forest and
the river are generous.

Our first night on the river,
the first bivouac.

Enéour, what's happening here?

They're making the hut,

so that we can sleep
protected from the rain,

and perhaps the animals.

Are there many animals?

Yes, earlier we saw a caiman,
(related to alligators)

an iguana that took a dive,
some fish there.

It looks like there's
quite a lot of animals.

We're in the middle of caimans
and piranhas, and I see a hell.

I'm here for the preservation
and the well-being of the crew,

even if we are eaten by caimans,
it's better to have a full stomach.

Look, my wife's a fisher of piranhas.

It's nice, eh?

So, here we'll build some sort of
small huts to hang our hammocks,

to sleep tonight in the forest.

There are caimans quite
near to where we sleep.

How do you like sleeping near
caimans, iguanas and snakes?

As long as I sleep, I'll be okay,
but if I can't sleep, it'll be scary.

That's good, but you cut there.

-Like this?
-Like her, there.

We've just spent a wonderful night
in the rain, in the forest,

it was amazing...

and out there...
it's still raining.

We're waiting for the rain
to stop before going on.

The good news this morning is that
the Indians want us to camp higher up,

and they tell us that they must
dismantle the camp and move higher up,

but it seems that higher up,
there are more Caimans, so...

we must also go where
the caiman are, that's life.

So here is the departure...

and I also filmed...
the rain and it's colder.

And the journey continues,

higher and higher towards the
land of the Wayana Elders.

THE AMAZON RAINFOREST

At the top of the Litany River,
in Guiana,

4 children from Fleur de Lampaul
learn about Indian life in the forest.

Mimisiku and Boum Boum
rarely miss their prey.

The young Wayanas learn to hunt
and fish by imitating their parents,

with varying degrees of success.

The ascent of the river is
punctuated with stops...

on the smooth rocks that
stand in the Litany.

Kinala, Boum Boum's wife,
prepares a naimara.

In this territory devoid of any human
being, the fish are abundant.

I'm trying to fish...

but have only seen very
small fish, this big.

Beken, Mimisiku's brother,
has gone into the forest.

He needs lianas to build the carbet, the
shelter under which we'll sleep tonight.

The lianas make an excellent string.

Mimisiku has spotted a bunch of delicious
fruit at the top of a palm tree, coumou.

Tonight we'll drink my hair.

The gathering of wild plants
enriches the Wayanas diet.

The Wayana have a very ingenious
system to make carbets in the forest,

fairly quickly and with little effort.

And they have a principle:
It's that...

as we're going to hang a
hammock on the frame,

they make a very light frame that'll be
reinforced by the tension of the hammock.

There's just a timber like this,
that's placed in the fork,

to which we'll tie the hammock,

and it'll pull more, consolidating it,
wedging it like this.

While the men build the shelter,
the women prepare the coumou.

They're small berries,
we're going to cook them,

and we're going to obtain
a sweet juice, fruity, superb.

Some Indian tribes harvest
hundreds of edible wild plants.

The Wayana like coumou and us too,
it's better than cachiri.

Mimisiku leads us into the forest.

Coumaya, his wife, has
asked him for a new paddle.

Boum Boum teaches Hetipo
to make a katouri.

Hetipo, what's a
katouri used for?

It used to carry jibilé.

-What's a jibilé?
-It's a wood pig.

A wood pig,
is it strong enough?

The bark is to make straps
for the katouri.

The Wayanas produce their
everyday items themselves.

The forest gives them wood, reed, lianas,
rubber, feathers and clay for pottery.

Their perfect knowledge of
their natural environment,

allows them to choose the most
suitable material for each item.

The paddle requires a light
but very strong wood.

The forest is a complex world,

so it needs years of training for a young
Indian to master all these techniques.

An adult hunter can cope
with almost any situation.

But the school of the forest
is never boring,

and the Wayanas never miss
an opportunity to have fun.

The Indians make the best use
of the resources of the forest,

for them, it is very
productive and generous.

Pierre, Guenaëlle and the other
children of Fleur de Lampaul,

study the primary forest
with the scientists.

First discovery:

it's not easy for an Amazonian
tree to get a place in the sun.

All plants are engaged in a
fierce struggle for light.

The light rays are rare
at ground level,

and without sun
a plant can't grow.

This young shoot won't
become a tree,

unless it can benefit from a
gap in the upper vegetation.

Some plants use the trunks of
trees to reach the upper levels.

These are the creepers and lianas.

When the tree is fully grown,

it may fall under the blows of
new predators, the loggers.

Too often, they exploit the forest
without caring about it's future.

Snake! Watch out.

There.

A little karou, isn't it?

This one's a baby.

-They have as teeth...
-They have fangs...

It still has fangs.

People, are trees real problem.

The last Rainforests are in danger.

They're disappearing at an alarming
rate of 400 hectares per hour,

protecting them has became an urgency,
but people need wood.

How can it be done?

The forest warden tells us
about the efforts of the ONF,

which manages forests in French
Guiana to achieve the right balance.

They take us onto the
experimental site of Paracou.

Here, the ONF has divided
the forest into plots.

Each operates differently.

The results are compared.

What's the solution, to clear and
replant several kinds of trees?

It's dependent on the differences in their
exploitation as we've shown in Paracou...

Reforestation after cutting is an
essential step, alas rarely practiced.

But we can do better:

Take only 3 or 4 interesting
trees commercially,

without destroying the others.

The rational exploitation of the forest
benefits from efforts of the researchers.

In French Guiana, they've
developed new methods...

to better choose the trees
to be felled.

I'm taking a core in an Angelique
to see the quality of the wood.

The scientists make the new knowledge
available to the foresters,

hoping that they'll want
to make good use of it.

I record the deformation.

The tour continues to the
Cayenne xylothèque.

So, this is the xylothèque,
(wood sample library)

So in here, there are wood samples
from 400 species of trees,

so... the characteristics
of these woods...

are identified and it helps when
you have an unknown sample,

to look, compare and recognize it.

White men are newcomers
to the rainforests.

To make proper use of them
they need to learn about the trees,

their resistance,
their mechanical properties.

Scientific research gives us
knowledge about nature,

that's been handed down by the Indians,
from father to son since the dawn of time.

What's your first impression
about the forest?

The mosquitoes.

The aboutis...

they're these small creatures
like little mosquitoes,

which are annoying, that sting you
and tunnel under the skin.

Spit the water out because it's not for
drinking, it just comes from the creek.

Night is conducive to dreams.

Dreaming in this forest,
so beautiful and so threatened,

dreaming of becoming
like a little Indian,

a little modern-day Indian,
familiar with nature,

to use it without damaging it,
she that gives life.

So Nicolas, did you sleep well?

With all these mosquito bites...

not so good, because
sometimes I woke up,

they itched, making me scratch,
so I put on some cream.

And what's your name
in Wayana Indian?

-Maitiku.
-Maitiku... which means?

Son of mosquitoes.

Here is our bathroom,

the most beautiful in the world,

we all meet up here,
morning and evening.

Mimisiku finishes his paddle.

He'll give it to Koumaya,

and Koumaya,
the day of our departure,

will present it to Tatiana.

THE ROCK OF JARI

Mahury River, French Guiana

For the pupils of the
extraordinary school of nature,

which is Fleur de Lampaul,
the day begins at dawn.

Today we're going to visit a quarry
and we'll try to take some samples,

to get an idea of what can be
found in a tropical environment.

This morning a geologist introduces us
to the basics of pedology.

In fact, what is pedology?

In fact, it's the study of the soil,
so... from the rock,

until the formation of the soil,
all the steps.

Amazon soils are generally very poor,

because the heavy rainfall has
leached them for millions of years,

carrying away the nutrient particles.

When the trees are cut down,

the exposed soil disappears
in a few years,

and the land becomes barren,
a desert.

We're sorting out the
stones that we collected...

in the quarry recently,
and in fact we classify them,

we write what it is,
on the label,

and send it to the 2nd grade
(age 15-16) that follows us,

and so they can follow their
geology syllabus with us.

After having studied the soil,

we're now interested in the canopy,
the upper level of the forest.

One of the richest environments
and least known of the planet.

So what are you going to do?

I'm going to climb up to the canopy.

I'm well harnessed, indeed.

-How's it going Pierre, is it easy?
-Yes, okay, for now.

In recent years,

a handful of researchers have been
developing techniques for climbing trees,

surely the best way to
explore the canopy.

At 30 or 40m from the ground, the
climate is drier and hotter than below.

It is here that most of the plant
and animal life is concentrated.

Flowers and fruits are abundant.

The photosynthesis is intense,
a multitude of plant species,

birds and insects thrive.

Many are still unknown.

Epiphytic plants are numerous
in the rainforest.

They're found mostly in the
upper branches of the canopy.

They aren't parasites,

they don't draw their nutrients
from the trees which bear them.

The bromeliads retain rainwater
in a wreath of leaves.

They're thus fighting against the dryness
caused by the intense tropical sun.

The orchids are the most
beautiful of the epiphytes,

their bright colours and scents
attract insects that pollinate them.

Oh, that was great.
I could've stayed there even longer.

Yes...

No, no way.

Pierre...

You see to catch them, you press
there on the fabric like that.

Okay, go ahead,
collect it now, Pierrot.

Careful, don't damage it's wings.

Here, I'll inject a few
drops of ammonia...

on a butterfly called
Adeloenae Suvanotata,

and at this time,
it's not very active.

Pascal is studying the impact of
insects on the plants of the forest.

So he uses light traps because the
insects move relative to the moon,

and so on a dark night
if you shine a light,

so for example, if one day we find there
are lots of locusts on the white sheet,

one can imagine that in the long
term some plants will be attacked...

by locusts which are very destructive.

So here it is, the light trap.

There are plenty of bugs and we
have to avoid breathing in too hard,

otherwise you get a
lot up your nose.

Oh, it's horrible.

I feel as if my legs are
covered in pimples.

After a long day of study,

what better than a bivouac in the
forest to regain ones strength.

So it's good?

-Happy birthday to you.
-Yeah....

Oh, the beautiful cake that glows.

There's a certain emotion...

that we recover...

Splendid, delightful...

-Close your eyes and don't worry.
-Oh, superb.

I think that this day will remain
forever etched in her memory.

And the boys have given this,
made with their machetes.

For several hours we go
deeper into the forest.

The Wayanas hunt.

Here, all the animals
are difficult to spot.

To attract them, the Indians
imitate their cries to perfection.

Boum Boum and Mimisiku find their way
in the forest with disconcerting ease.

A few machete blazes on the trees are
enough for them to find the track back.

-Did he get it?
-Yes, it fell over there.

Hunting is an essential activity for
the economy and Wayana culture.

Without it, they couldn't
survive in the forest.

After several days of
going up the Litani River,

we're not far from the
Tumuc-Humac mountains.

Beyond lies the ancestral
territory of the Wayanas.

In the past, the communities
visited regularly,

crossing the Humak-Humac mountains.

It was the path taken by Mimisiku
when he finally came to Guiana.

It's now abandoned.

Look, a caiman.

Caiman!

It fell into the water.

-It isn't dead?
-No...

because there's not
a lot of lead shot.

I cut it across the head.

I cut the head.

The Wayana canoes often go up
the Litani to get to the Jari and Parou,

these Brazilian rivers inhabited
by their ancestors.

The great voyages of the
past are not forgotten.

The rock is inhabited by a "yolock"
a spirit of which Mimisiku is wary.

Once, there was a shaman here.

He and a yolock killed a
Wayana that came from Jari.

Many people died here.

The yolock killed many.

It's name is Amamutelli.

The Wayanas tell us a lot
about spirits, the yolocks.

They speak of it as something
quite natural for them.

They are as present as real nature.

This invisible world,
it's also true, also present,

as real as the visible world.

A tree is more than a tree,
an animal is more than an animal,

it's also the spirit that
lives within them

and so you shouldn't displease
them, and I think that all this,

combined with the feelings they
have that if they destroy nature,

they destroy the very
foundations of their lives,

makes the Wayana have a
great respect for nature.

This is something I never
thought I would do in my life.

Eating a crocodile?

To do the dishes in my underwear,
next to a crocodile.

This is a ravet with a toucan.

They're protected species,

and the wayanas kill them
to make large headdresses...

of feathers for major ceremonies.

So here, is what you need to
make a caimé with fish and meat.

Some caiman...
here's the caiman,

and some wood pig.

That's a caimé.
-Emilie, that's Kaipo.

He talks nonsense.

The caimé is cooked by the smoke,

because it keeps better,
it lasts longer.

It's Kaipo.

It's not true,

Hetipo talks nonsense all the time,
I don't believe him any more now.

Yesterday it was kaioumapa or I don't
know what now, it changes all the time.

Have you eaten monkey yet?

No, but I'll taste it
at lunchtime.

Does it look appetizing?

Of course.

-You're happy to eat it?
-Yes.

-It looks a bit like babies, right?
-Yeah.

-Enéour?
-Yes.

Last night, you were in
your hammock, at night,

deep in the Amazon forest.

How did it feel?
-Yes, I'm Amazonian.

Well...

My name is Nicolas.

It was...

It was a very nice village.

No, it's okay Tatiana,
we're already full.

I didn't sleep very well because
I only slept about 4 hours,

as I wasn't very reassured
with all the howls, toads...

the rain...
my soaked sleeping bag.

And eating with the Wayanas...

The Wayanas have an excellent diet.

Farmers, hunters,
fishermen, and gatherers,

their diet is varied
and rich in protein.

Although it's impossible in this climate
to store food more than a few days,

they're unaware of hunger and
don't worry about tomorrow.

-A caiman...
-Yes, a caiman.

I saw a caiman.

Each day brings a new
wealth of knowledge.

The good mood and
humour of the Wayanas...

make this trip in the forest
a fabulous experience.

TOWARDS THE SOURCE
OF THE LITANY

You put your arrow like me,

like this,

and you aim well at the fish,

and then you shoot.

At the top of the Litany River,
not far from the border with Brazil,

Hetipo teaches Nicolas the
secrets of Indian life.

In fact, Hetipo is a bit
like my brother,

my big brother, who's the same age
as me but who's given me a lot.

who's taught me a lot about
nature, and he knows a lot.

The Wayana know a lot,
but don't show it.

And Hetipo hasn't made
fun of me at all.

I feel that the Wayanas are free
by comparison to us Westerners,

because already in
their way of life,

the Wayana is his own boss,

that's to say, he does a
little of what he wants.

He's always very free
in his actions.

He gives a lot.

They're really very endearing,

and have great affection for us.

See this fish, here.

Oh yeah, great.

Okay.

The expedition up river is an opportunity
for the Wayanas to hunt and fish...

in the game-rich areas,
far from villages.

Are you counting Nicolas's bites?

Yes, I mark them with a blue
pen so I don't forget any.

How many so far?

Wait.

In fact, I counted more
than 200 bites earlier.

I counted 200 bites,
without counting my bottom.

I have around 17 on my bottom.

-How many is that now, Helen?
-118.

118 bites?

Yes, 118 bites.

Yes but including the
very small ones.

Which means that I have more
than 250 bites all over me.

Nice, huh.

Mosquitoes like me apparently.

The wild game is smoked on
the boucan (wooden grill).

It mustn't go out because the
hot and very humid climate...

would quickly rot the fish,
monkeys, birds and caimans.

All the hunting of these last days.

It's the first time a Wayana
has cut my hair.

Yes.

A trim.

No wataiki, when I'm
with Boum Boum.

Yes.

No more hair.

You like short hair.

That's it.

The next night, the children
of Fleur de Lampaul...

that remained on the
Guyanese coast...

go to meet some
nocturnal animals.

Close to residential areas,

the animals have become rare and
suspicious because of too much hunting.

Most of the animals are
active at night.

Here therefore, we try to take a census
by counting in the headlights,

the populaton present
on the release area.

We drive at an almost
constant speed of 10 km/h.

A person placed on the
side of the vehicle...

illuminates the edge of the
track and like that we locate...

the various animals which
are present on the roadside.

What's there, Guenaelle?

It's a rodent,
it's a pion, isn't it?

It's an opossum, a marsupial.

-It isn't a rodent.
-It's so cute.

Put your finger in the place of mine.

You never know.

Look at it's feet, it grips
really well with these feet.

That stickiness is horrrible.

It clings.

-So cute, these little animals.
-Yeah.

Of all the Guyanese animals,

it's the insects which we
encounter most often.

-What is it?
-They're ants.

Where do they live, Hetipo?

In the tree.

They're inside the tree?

Yes.

In the Amazon, some trees
accommodate and feed ants.

In exchange, the tenants must
repel the undesirable insects.

The symbiosis between plants
and animals are innumerable.

The plants which cannot move
need animals to reproduce.

They pollinate their flowers
and disperse their seeds.

They're attracted by the
tasty and nutritious fruit,

or fragrant flowers in bright colours.

But numerous insects are
formidable herbivores,

plant eaters.

Their devastation is considerable.

A quarter of the young leaves
are eaten each year.

How to attract the insects
necessary for their reproduction,

and repel those who eat them?

That's the big question for the plants.

Plants invent the most ingenious
ways to ward off leaf eaters.

Some young leaves don't have
the same colour as the adult leaves.

Perhaps to fool the opponent?

Others contain sophisticated poisons.

Thorns ward off monkeys.

But herbivores generally find ways
to circumvent these defenses.

Plants and insects live in a
love hate relationship,

and cannot do
without each other.

What's the matter, Nicolas?

I'm covered in bites.

Then you must have lots
of them in your hammock?

No, it's because he
went into the forest.

-That's from going in the forest?
-Yes.

Why don't I have them?

Because we were in the same places?

What are you doing, Hélène?

Here, we're taking some
meat from the camé.

and we've put it in the canoe.
It's a very good...

Here's a katouri which
is full of meat.

So here, there's a whole team of
Wayanas who hunted for a week,

and they'll take back about
ten katouri of meat,

that's maybe, I don't know,
about 150 kg of meat.

So what they'll do, one part is
smoked and salted to be preserved.

But it can't be kept
long in the rainforest.

So they share it with the
families of their friends...

on returning to the village,
and like that each family...

goes hunting from time to time
and as they regularly share,

it gives them a steady
supply of protein.

You just have to put it there.

We're loading the canoes,
because...

we're going back down
the river to Antecume-Pata.

Bang!

Boum Boum has improvised a
little farewell ceremony for us.

Charlie next to me.

So here we are.

Okay, you speak just a little.

-Go ahead, you speak now.
-No, it's you.

Today we're going back
down to Antecume-Pata...

with our great Wayana friends.

-That's it.
-Okay?

Yes.

You speak a little now.

Well, we went together
with palaississi friends...

and children.

-And was it good?
-We'll get back about 5 o'clock tonight.

On the way back, the Wayanas
supplement their provisions.

He's going to shoot, Nico, look.

He's going to shoot.

They've just shot a rasq,

a blue parrot,

and as it was just
wounded in the wing,

they'll treat it and keep
it at home as a pet.

The Indians only hunt the animals
needed to feed their families.

Taking them doesn't put
these species in danger.

Is their hunting more cruel than our
battery farms and slaughterhouses?

Wow.

Bravo.

Yes, bravo.

I think that this stay with
the Wayanas in the forest,

it'll perhaps help me
to live better in France,

because the Wayanas have taught me...

a much greater respect for nature
and what surrounds me,

and I realised that
everything we eat,

which dresses us, everything
comes from nature,

and without it we're screwed.

It makes me want to respect it.

Also, there's an
Indian philosophy...

which will serve me in my
way of thinking all my life,

to live in a way that
might make me happier.

The Wayanas are the best travel
companions that you could ever dream.

Attentive, always cheerful.

They took care of young
palaississi that we are,

and we've learnt a thousand
and one secrets of the forest.

Over the days,
we've become true partners.

When we returned to the village,

Boum Boum and Mimisiku
invited us to live with them.

We were given Indian names.

The people of the forest have opened
the doors of their world to us,

and offered their friendship.

ANTECUME PATA

Antecume-Pata
French Guiana

After a week of travelling
by canoe on the Litani River,

Mimisiku and his wife Coumaya
have invited Emilie to live with them.

This young teenager
moves into their carbet.

She's going to share for a month
the life of an Indian family.

How do you feel, Emilie?

It looks nice here.
I'll be fine.

It's funny because everyone
sleeps in the same room.

So here I am in my carbet, I live
here with my Wayana family.

Upstairs is the bedroom.
We sleep in hammocks.

Here's the place where you work.

For example Mimisiku makes his
baskets or Coumaya makes cotton.

Here, is for making a cachiri.

They grate the manioc on top,
there's a grid for grating the manioc.

You might be wondering,
where is the bathroom and WC,

well it's simple, it's in the
river where we'll swim,

The river is for washing...

The WC is also in the river.

Fetching water for cooking,
it's the river.

Doing the dishes,
it's also the river.

No problem.

-Did you sleep well?
-What time is it?

I don't know.

You shouldn't wake
people up so early.

Come on.

The day always begins
with a wash in the river.

The Wayanas rise around 6 a.m.
before even the sun.

Nicolas has moved in with
Yoyouweb and Poupoli.

Every young person from Fleur de
Lampaul was invited by a family.

This is the best way
to discover Indian life,

and build strong relationships
with the Wayanas.

The Indians welcome each young
palassissi like an extra child,

a new brother or sister.
-Good morning

-Hello, did you sleep well?
-Yeah, and you?

Yes, fine.

Did the sun wake you?

Me... not really.

I also had a dream but I don't
remember it. And you?

I had a dream but
I don't remember it.

You don't remember it,
like me, that's normal.

Sylvie?

Did you sleep well?

Yes, I slept well but...
I look forward all the same,

I wish I had a nice
bed sometimes,

and then I had a little
back ache and I woke up,

otherwise, I slept well, yes.

And now, I'm grilling the cazar,

nothing better after a cold
water bath in the river,

than a good breakfast with chocolate
in hot water and grilled cazar.

At 7:30 am the children
make their way to school.

The eldest go quietly
about their business.

Mataliwa leads Enéour to the river.

You do it like this.

What are the both
of you going to do?

Here, we're going to make...

Mataliwa is going to teach
me to make a basket.

We're going to prepare some...

some reeds so afterwards...

we can take the parts
to make the basket.

Is it recreation time now?

No.

And you, Alinkala?

Have you done well?
-Yes.

However, you don't look
so good in division.

Is that true?

-What do you prefer, school or hunting?
-School.

-School is better than hunting?
-Yes.

Later, do you know what
you want to do for a living?

I don't know.

I don't know many people
but as time goes by,

I'm getting to know my
family more and more.

I have a very large family, with...

lots of cousins who come
to eat here for lunch,

and the longer it goes on, the better
we know each other and get along.

Here's my little brother
Laviniwé looking at me.

He's the youngest of the family.

He doesn't speak much Wayana,
but he knows my name.

All day long he calls me,
Hélène, Hélène…

Old Couyamane carves a canoe.

He's one of the best
craftsmen of the village.

Here, everyone must be capable
of making his everyday objects.

Wayanas like decorating them tastefully.

Couyamane taught his son
Mataliwa, the art of basketry.

Here is how you weave the basket.

And you put the black inside.

Try it.
-Okay.

Like that?

Yes.

Now I put...

They must be the two above,

you see the black...
-Yes.

And you put it... you see?
-Okay.

Among the Indians, knowledge
is easily transferred.

The young imitate their elders.

Hey, Pita?

Is he nice, your big brother?

-No.
-Yes...

You get along with him?

Yes.

Do you eat lots of sweets together?

Shh!

No.

Aoipan, Payapanrique and Hetipo
lead Nicolas into the forest,

they have something to teach him.

To attract animals, you need to know
how to imitate their cries to perfection.

That's the cry of the baboon.

This is how we hunt monkeys.

And that's how they come?

They come when you call,
if you do it like this.

After that, he'll respond.

What's that the cry of?

A macaque. (monkey)

If you see monkeys
in a tree, you cry.

You try the cry.

After he comes, you shoot.

If you want, you shoot...

I just put my hand on one of
those caterpillars that sting.

I've got lots of spines
all over my hand.

Tatiana has made a new friend.

Agamis are game birds relatively
common in the forest,

easy to tame.

My friend Agami, she's very nice.

There are two in the village.

The Wayana like having tame animals.

Lots of birds.

See how she loves it.

The Agami never refuse a game
of football with the children.

The tame birds are
plentiful in the village.

Palawa.

-Who is Palawa?
-It's Elémé's parrot.

Palawa doesn't appreciate having
to share Elémé's friendship.

Come on, Palawa, eat.

In our families, we participate
in all daily tasks.

Here, I'm making
cotton with Coumaya.

So, we look for the
cotton in the abattis,

and then we dry
it in the sun.

You must remove the
seeds that are inside.

That's what I'm doing now.

At least, trying to do, and...

then Coumaya weaves all
the cotton like this,

and it's used to make
hammocks and calimbés.

And so, a hammock with
cotton like this...

it takes 2 Km of yarn to make
one, so it's a lot of work.

To share the free life of the last
Indians is an extraordinary experience.

We discover from the inside a
world so different from ours,

a captivating world that
we love more every day.

Antecume-Pata becomes
little by little our village.

In the company of our
Wayana brothers and sisters,

they make us feel like
we've always lived here,

between the river and the forest.

FAMILY LIFE

[Antecume-Pata, French Guiana]

7 o'clock in the morning, Nicolas
and Yoyouweb, his Wayana father,

take the path to the forest.

Where are you going, Nicolas?

Now we're going to the abattis.

The abattis is the
Indian's wild garden.

A plot of land cleared by
setting fire to the forest.

Yoyouweb, Mimi and their children come
to work on it once or twice a week.

The abattis is a method of cultivation
practiced for thousands of years...

by the Amazon Indians.

Nowadays, metal tools
and chainsaws...

have replaced the stone
axes of the past,

greatly facilitating the felling of trees.

The rest of the work
hasn't changed at all.

The Wayanas practice
slash and burn agriculture.

These are the abattis which take up
half to one hectare of primary forest.

First they start by cutting
down all the bushes,

then the big trees.

They let everything dry
out for a month,

and then they burn everything,
and the ash...

enriches the soil because
it's very poor here.

And so they can make
one or two harvests...

per year and then they're
forced to abandon their abattis,

to clear another.

So here I'm making
manioc cuttings.

So that is...

I cut them into small pieces,

it's for putting in the
holes that Titu has made.

And it's very nice to come here,

to do this in the morning,

because it's not too hot,

and in the afternoon
it starts to get hot.

Here, I'm planting
what I cut just now,

and like that, it will grow,

and there'll be some manioc.

Nicolas!

Come on.

Is it good?

Not really.

The Indians grow many
plants in their abattis,

but manioc is by far
the most important.

Emilie has gone with
Mimisiku's family,

harvesting the manioc tubers.

-Do you know what I dream about?
-No.

I dream of a glass of water
and also an ice cream.

The ice cream, mint or strawberry,
I don't care, but ice cream.

It's so very hot,
you can't imagine.

We get eaten by ants.

Three hours of work are enough
to fill several catouri of manioc.

When the location of the
abattis is well chosen,

the first harvest is abundant,

and Wayanas don't experience
times of food shortage.

Have you carried anything
so heavy before?

I don't think so.

How many kilos do
you think that is?

I don't know how
many kilos that is,

at least 30.

Yeah, yeah...

It's not you who carried it,
it shows.

The distances to the abattis
are sometimes quite long.

The best agricultural land has
been exhausted near the village,

a consequence of the recent
settlement of Indians.

-So Emilie, okay today?
-Ah yes.

Okay, it's a bit of an effort.

We rejoin the other children
from Fleur de Lampaul,

who are studying with a
scientist, a Boni abattis.

The Boni are one of the ethnic groups
of "noirs marrons" of French Guiana,

descended from rebellious slaves...

who fled the plantations of
Dutch Guiana in the 18th century.

Alright, go.

So here we are in an abattis,
there are two small huts...

It's a large abattis
with several crops.

-Okay, shall we go there?
-Yes.

Come on.

In fact, the abattis is a
traditional agriculture.

In fact in Guiana there
are several ethnic groups.

There are several ethnic
groups who work,

that are now beginning to integrate
into the social environment,

but they've lived for a long time
in harmony with the forest.

So it's essentially a
subsistence agriculture.

They practice the slash and burn
cultivation in order to eat.

This agriculture is well adapted to
the poor soils of tropical forests.

Fertilized by the ashes,

the land will be abandoned before
it becomes completely infertile.

The forest quickly closes
the scar opened by man.

Since this is a
traditional agriculture,

it's also an agriculture
where there's no input.

That means that there's no
fertilizer and no pesticides,

so everything must be done
with the means at hand,

with the resources they have.

Their only possible way to maintain
fertility, is to leave it fallow.

Slash and burn agriculture requires
a plot to be cleared each year,

which poses a problem when
the population increases.

Scientists are trying
to find a way...

of cultivating which
could avoid farmers...

changing all the time and
doing shifting agriculture.

What they would like
to find is a way of...

of managing the
richness of the soil,

and so be able to use it longer.

When scientific research...

is based on the knowledge
of traditional people,

it usually leads to methods
of production both...

effective and respectful
of the environment.

You see, it may seem an
innocent hole, a duck pond.

Stop, it's wrong.

So you might think that this
is an innocent duck pond.

Not at all.

You can imagine, there are
plenty of small larvae...

of flies that give you
dengue fever,

and this is something
that isn't nice at all,

and I wouldn't like
to catch that at all.

What is dengue fever?

-It's a disease that can be fatal.
-Yes, and more.

Fever, hot, cold.

So innocent pond = dengue fever.

Are you happy to have
Emilie staying with you?

Yes, very happy.

-Is she good?
-Because she's good,

she works with my daughter.

A good worker.

Now, Mimisiku is my Wayana dad,

and I also have a Wayana mom,

and a Wayana sister called Elémé.

And so I moved in.

They showed me where
to put my hammock,

in a large room with
everyone else.

I'm next to Elémé,
and I'm glad because...

already last night I went to
her hammock and we talked,

we talked about what was
happening in the village,

and what was
happening in France.

I talked to her about
how we lived in France.

And we had a good laugh actually.

In the village, the men are primarily
concerned with their crafts.

The cooking is the
women's responsibility.

We're peeling sweet potatoes
that we'll eat tonight.

We've peeled other things,
some manioc to make the cachiri.

The preparation of manioc is one of
the main tasks of Wayana women.

-Emilie?
-Yes.

What are you doing?

I'm grating the manioc,

because afterwards we're
going to cook it in the pot,

in the large pot.

I've grated the manioc
and my nails too.

I didn’t grate only the manioc.

Yesterday, when I grated the
manioc, I cut myself three times.

When I go back I won't
have any fingers.

Now I'm going to throw
away the peelings,

as I'm tired of grating
my fingers,

I'm going to change jobs.

The sap of the manioc
used by the Wayana...

contains prussic acid.
It is toxic.

The Indians extract it from
the grated manioc pulp,

with the aid of this
basketry called a snake.

The manioc sap is collected
and boiled for several hours...

will become a delicious sauce.

The manioc is now reduced
to the state of flour.

All that remains is to cook it.

So here, I'm makng with Coumaya,

some manioc cakes called cazave.

This replaces a bit, the
bread we have in France.

The cazave cakes are
eaten at every meal.

Very nutritious, they're the
basis of the Wayanas diet.

For them, agriculture is more important
even than hunting, fishing or gathering.

Manioc is also used in other
culinary preparations.

Grilled on the plate, it forms
a coarse flour called kwak.

Kwak is a complete food,

easy to store, very practical
for expeditions in the forest.

But of all the recipes
based on manioc,

it's the cachiri that
Wayanas prefer.

So I'm making some cachiri.
We've...

peeled the manioc, then we get
some water, boil the water,

put the manioc in,

cook it and now we must
stir the manioc. It's very hot.

This will make cachiri.

At least normally, but with me,
I don't know if this will make cachiri.

-Do you like cachiri?
-Yes.

Cachiri is slightly alcoholic,
like beer.

Consumed in large quantities,
it can make one drunk.

-Hey, girls.
-Yes.

Have you had a lot of
cachiri this morning?

Yes.

How many saucepans?

Well maybe, at least ten.

I've drunk 3 ladles.

In certain circumstances a Wayana
can drink around ten litres of cachiri.

Their stomachs are adapted
to this high consumption.

To vomit here, is a natural act
that doesn't offend anyone.

Nekou, could you explain to me...

how Wayanas use to live.

Formerly, all the Indians were free.

Free from what?
Free to live.

Because...

they didn't want French things.

They had things which
are from the forest.

For example, the stone
axe that we call potpu.

It's always called a potpu.

It's a rock that
you call Menhir.

There weren't any planes,

and we used the
teeth of wood pigs...

to make bows,
paddles and all that.

Thus ends, untroubled, a day of the
Indians of the upper Litani River.

INDIAN CHILDHOOD

Antecume-Pata
French Guiana

7:30 am. Time to begin school in
Antecume-Pata with the Wayana Indians.

From all the villages come
canoes loaded with children.

Wait.

Then we come to...

And, yes, even the
Indians go to school.

It's not mandatory here.

Each comes when he
wants to discover...

a bit of the strange world of
the palassissi, the white man.

What's the difference between
Wayana and French schools?

Well, for a start,
the different clothes,

because here we come
in Kamisa and kalimbé.

In addition, we're not in a concrete
school between four walls.

It's a little carbet, very
friendly, made of wood.

The classroom here is a lot
more cheerful than in France.

10 am. It's already
time for recess.

The schoolchildren will
return to their families.

Etube, are you in recess now?

Yes.

And are you going to eat
at home, in recess,

you're not going to play
with the other children?

No.

And you Yastef,
have you done well?

Yes.

Was it hard?

No.

How old are you?

6 years.

6 years, and you go to school?

Yes.

What grade are you?

What?

What grade are you?

-CP.
In CP. (Cours préparatoire - 6-7 yr)

Is it nice in CP?

So now it's recess.

When all the children leave
and go home to eat,

to come and eat.

And afterwards, they return to
school and brush their teeth.

Come on, hurry up,
we're wasting time.

The school is a large carbet
built right next to the river,

by André Cognat,
the founder of the village.

Stay with us.

-Have you some maths problems?
-Yes.

You take the first problem.

We take pupils from the age of 5,

that's to say, the last
year of kindergarten.

Then they do all the levels
up to CM2 (10-11 yr).

But the distinctive
feature of this school...

is that the children
after kindergarten,

begin to read and write
in their mother tongue,

that's to say Wayana, with a
Wayana cultural instructor.

For the youngest children,
teaching in Wayana...

helps mitigate the culture shock...

in the encounter with
the Western world.

Most don't really know any French
when they come, at age 5, to school.

They're totally non
French-speaking.

They're wayanas,
it's their mother tongue.

And so throughout
their schooling,

we'll spend a lot of time trying
to teach them that language.

Here is probably the nicest
school in the world.

Open to the river and the village.

The most free also.

The school will enable the young
Wayanas to be better prepared...

for their future contact
with Westerners.

A still daunting confrontation
for the Indians.

Who collects the exercise books?

It's her.

The class comes to
an end at 1 pm.

But some mornings end
with a P.E. lesson,

football for boys and
rugby for the girls.

Sport is really hard here,
because it's so sunny and very hot.

Especially to play a long time,

I can't, anyway.

I don't know how the
others do it but...

At rugby, girls aren't
any less tenacious.

-What's your favorite class at school?
-Sport.

Sport?

Do you like school?

Yes, we love school.

What do you learn in school?

French, Maths, Geography,

Maths, History and Grammar.

Is it useful to go to
school for a Wayana girl?

-What?
-Huh?

-No.
-No.

What do you want
to do later?

Do you want to continue to
go to school or will you...

stay with your mom to tend
the abattis and all that?

I don't know.

I think anyway,
with or without school...

they've a great difficulty...

to position themselves in relation
to the world of the white man.

They've struggled to position themselves
in relation to the Wayana world.

They're between the two cultures.

I think the school, if it's well
done, well thought out,

I think that the school can help
them have a slightly different look...

at this culture which is fast approaching
whether they like it or not.

And the teachers who are Amerindian
generally are motivated enough,

precisely in order to try to keep
their own culture at the same time,

knowing that they're
approaching another culture.

But by trying to show it to
them with a different view.

At Antecume-Pata
there's no playground,

the Litani River is a
good replacement.

The rest of the day,

Indian children are
completely free.

They can do whatever they want.

A freedom that allows them to be at
the school of the river and the forest.

Tell me a little about
Wayanas children.

-Do they look very happy?
-Yes, they seem to be very lively.

They seem to be very lively,
what do you mean by that?

They have fun all the time.

When they cross rapids,
we went to do a nivraie...

and crossing the rapids,
they were laughing all the time.

The canoe was leaving,
they were laughing.

You very rarely see a child cry.

The school stops here at CM2 (11yr),

but some teenagers have decided
to continue their education.

They go every afternoon
to middle school,

they work by correspondence...

with lessons from the National
Centre for Distance Education.

Hello.

So, this is middle school?

Yes.

How many students are
there at middle school?

Three.

-Three?
-Yes.

You're in a large class
for 3 students.

-What grade are you in, Pupoli?
-I'm in 4th (13-14 yr).

Is it going well?

Yes, it's going okay,
well not really.

And what grade are
you in Couloulou?

6th (11-12 yr).

How old are you?

12 and a half.

And do you also work by yourself?
-Yes.

Do you find this difficult?

-Yes, a little.
-A little?

What would you like to do
as a career later?

Can you tell me?

-Okay.
-Go ahead.

Me, later...

I'd like to be a pilot and doctor,

if I do well,

if I work hard at school
and if I keep going.

Pilot and doctor?

"What you say is true."

What you say is true.

"I don't know what you mean."

I don't know what you mean.

-Is this your English lesson?
-Yes.

I think you're also
studying Portuguese.

Yes.

Is that because we're
not far from Brazil here?

Oh, no.

Following the learning process
of whites is a difficult task,

which sometimes distances one
from the school of the forest.

Who wants to be Indians?

Me!

How many with the Indians?

Who wants to be the
leader of the monkeys?

Me!

Monkey or hunter.

Through play, children
learn their Indian life.

Living in the heart of
the Amazon rainforest,

requires a lot of agility
and strength,

and also a wealth of knowledge
about the animals and plants.

For Wayana children,

nothing can replace
the school of the forest.

But yet they must learn to
live in the world of palassissi.

Come on.

Charlie, I have something.

What have you got?

It was in the tree.

Are you hurt?

I was hanging from a
branch and then it broke.

Yes, that's not it.

The hunting was good,
Biomane brings back a monkey.

In the morning at the
school of whites,

and in the afternoon at
the school of the forest.

Biomane is a happy child.

But one day, will he have to choose
between these two worlds?

INDIAN MEMORY

Bring your arrows, Mimisiku
told us this morning,

there's a big nivraie on the river.

Hello, Zalimi.

How are you, Zalimi?

The whole village heads
for the canoes.

The nivraie is an opportunity
to catch a lot of fish,

and meet friends and families
from neighbouring villages.

Dozens of canoes gather
on the fishing grounds,

and more than a hundred Wayana,

men and women, young and old
are already in action.

The nivraie consists of
spreading in the water,

the toxic sap of a liana
to stun the fish.

The lianas are crushed by
heavy blows of a club.

The fish come to the surface.

But don't go thinking that
it's easy to harpoon them.

Is that what you're
going to eat for lunch?

Yes.

We'll try.

-It's big yours.
-It's nice.

Well, I say, you've
got some fish there.

We're starting to become
experienced, eh?

Mimisiku surprises us with
his incredible skill.

He spots the fish
below the surface,

even several meters away.

No, that's a coumaro.

It's beautiful.

It's lovely, eh?

What is it, Emilie?

-These are piranhas, I think.
-Aren't you scared?

I'm risking my life
fishing for lunch today.

You may not realize it,
but I'm risking my life.

Some Wayanas have set up
a net that blocks the river.

They want to catch a lot to
sell their fish in Maripasula.

This new deadly form of fishing
risks depleting the river.

It's also contrary to the spirit
of the community nivraie.

Some are going to earn money
with the work of others.

-Watch out, it's like razor blades.
-You see?

I'll show you a another one.

You see this one here,
this is a piranha,

Okay, and it's very sharp.

How beautiful is this one.

Look at the teeth,
you see...

and above, it has two...
there are double teeth.

You see, and the
size of the teeth.

The Wayanas take part in only a few
nivraies a year to preserve fish stocks.

Without fish, Indians could
no longer live on the river,

neither could the osprey.

This afternoon, our friends
lead us into the forest.

We're going to play
Wayanas and oyaripoulet.

-We'll hide first, okay?
-Okay.

After that, if they're found...

And who are you?

-Oyaripoulet.
-What is the oyaripoulet?

That's us.

-What?
-Can you explain what it is?

Indians wild.

Wild Indians.

-So you're going to hide?
-Yes.

Quick, over there.

Here, we don't play
cowboys and Indians.

The oyaripoulets also called acoulio,

represent the wolves,
the threat.

The wild Indians, hidden in
the depths of the forest.

I've got her, I've got her.

Who's won?

It's us, the oyaripoulets.

The oyaripoulets actually exist.

André Cougnat met them
in Suriname in 1968.

From this meeting, he brought
back objects from another age.

This is the throat of a
howler monkey.

A throat of a howler monkey,
which is dried.

And in this throat,
they put seeds.

And it was therefore
a package of pearls.

It was supposed to
hide the genitals.

Or at least a part of the genitals.

It entered from one side
and it came out behind.

And you know, if you could
give me a demonstration?

No, but Mimisiku who
was with me, eh?

He told me, something like that, doesn’t
hide anything from me, of course.

So, here, there are still
some fabulous things.

It's quite extraordinary.

It's a bracelet.

A bracelet which is made
with nails... the claws of sloths.

It's recessed one inside the other,
this allows it to open like this,

by pulling in front,
we open it,

it allows the hand
to pass through,

then we tightenen it and
it regains it's shape.

And do they always use the
same objects as before?

Well, as long they live in the
forest and without contact,

they inevitably live this way.

And these are museum pieces.

All these are truly museum pieces.

But I think they still use them,

not much, but in some
groups like this.

It's really beautiful...

The Amerindians have lived in the Amazon
rainforest for tens of thousands of years.

Among the Wayanas some elders have
kept the memory of the traditions...

handed down from generation to
generation since time immemorial.

Couliamane is making a holock,

it's an ornament of feathers...

that Wayanas put on their
heads for the Marake.

It's very nice and all the
gestures that he makes,

these are movements made by
generations of Wayanas, and...

this may be the last
time he makes one...

and the last holock too.

The Marake is a celebration.

A great celebration.

It lasts about a month.

But...

the Marake...

the real Marake,
it only lasts one night.

The Marake is the rite of initiation.

This great night of celebration
and suffering during which...

the young Indian's are
bitten all over their body,

by ants and wasps.

Through their courage, the
children then become adults.

And Couliamane...

sang for them the kalaho song,
the sacred song of the Wayanas.

Do the young people still want to
go through the Maraké? -Oh, No.

And do you know why they no
longer want to go through it?

Because they've changed their lives.

To change the life means,

they no longer want
the Indian customs.

Did you go through the Marake?

No, I should have.

-You should have?
-Yes.

And do you want to do it?

-Today, I no longer want to do it.
-Why?

Because I'm afraid,

and because we don't have
the right to eat things.

You think it's too difficult?

Yes.

At Antecume-pata, will there
be any more Marakés? -No.

-No?
-No.

-It's finished?
-It's over.

-And is the Kalaho song finished?
-The Indians no longer dance.

It's finished?

Hi Babo.

-And is the Kalaho song finished?
-Yes.

-Finished?
-Yes.

The adolescent Wayanas no longer
want to go through the Maraké.

No children learn the
kalaho song any more,

and Couliamane... when he dies,

he'll take with him a part
of the Indian memory.

And no Wayana would question
the existence of Yolocks.

Spirits of animals, plants or water,

they occupy the
dreams of the Indians.

The yolocks can cause
illness and bring death.

Only shamans can
contemplate them...

during their journeys to
the land of the spirits.

Aikou is interested in the
traditions of the elders.

He collects their teachings,

and records the legends
of his people in a notebook.

To be invulnerable and all that,
it was better in the past.

Now all the young people don't
know how to find it any more,

what these magical plants look like.

They've forgotten everything.

How do you become a shaman?

It was very very hard.
You have to cut yourself.

The blood bled, we put
the product into the skin.

The shamans protect the Indians
from the attacks of yolocks,

but they're often powerless against
new diseases brought by the French.

To halt the population decline
of his adopted people,

André Cognat created a clinic
around thirty years ago.

We came to do a screening
campaign for tuberculosis.

A session of I.D.R.
(intra dermo reaction)

And a session of vaccination
for those who are negative.

And so, overall, what's the state of
health of the Wayanas, currently?

It's good, with a rapidly
expanding population.

Helped when necessary by
the doctor from Maripasoula,

André has associated his
action to that of the shamans.

The advantage of a clinic here,

firstly is when you
are sick, of course.

They begin to have some
confidence in me obviously,

as they also have in this
Western medicine,

but shamans have
retained their influence,

all their importance, and
it may seem paradoxical.

Western medicine is fully
accepted among Wayanas,

but very curiously,

traditional medicine is still also
strong and at least as strong.

Our friend Palapassi is one
of the last Wayana shamans.

When night comes, he likes to
give a flute lesson to Charlie.

Palapassi, you're the shaman...
here in Antecume-pata?

-It's you?
-Yes.

And do shamans have a lot of work?

-A lot of work.
-A lot of work.

Afterwards... difficult to sleep.

You don't sleep?

-Is it the end of the shamans?
-Yes.

After?

After four.

4 shamans. There are no more
than 4 shamans who remain?

-The end.
-It's the end

When I die.

When you're dead, there'll
be no more shaman?

All dead.

When you're dead there'll
be no more shaman? -Yes.

The last shamans are becoming
old and are leaving.

With the elders, will disappear also
the music and Wayana songs,

their clothes and ornaments,

the initiation rites,

folklore and a wealth of
knowledge about nature.

This Indian world that we've learnt
to love disappears before our eyes,

like a song that is going to end.

THE APALAI INDIANS

The crew of Fleur de
Lampaul's stay...

among the Wayana Indians
is coming to an end.

Mimisiku has offered us
one last adventure:

to go and meet the Apalai Indians,
the cousins of the Wayanas.

They have recently
arrived from Brazil...

and have kept intact their
traditional way of life.

Emilie and Eneour therefore leave
towards the south of French Guiana.

The trip by canoe is
particularly difficult...

because of the numerous rapids.

They protect the Apalai from
contacts with the outside world.

We arrive at the village.

The Apalai have prepared
a clearing beside the river,

and built some carbets.

It seems like we've taken
a leap back in time.

We make ourselves as small as possible
for fear of disturbing the Indians.

One of the village elders
offers us cachiri.

His name is Takura.

He doesn't speak French, neither
does Anakalema, the village leader.

For that matter, nobody
here speaks French.

Some adults know a few
words of Portuguese.

Anakalema and Takura
build a carbet.

The two village elders tell
us about their journey.

How long did it take you
to come here from Brazil?

How long?

We came all the way by canoe.

There were lots of rapids.

It took us two months.

The Apalai are related
to the Wayanas.

Almost every year, some Indians
still make the long journey...

from one community to the other,
to visit their cousins.

The canoe was made
entirely by hand.

So from the beginning with the axe,

and then they finish the work with tools
they've made themselves, for example,

with machete blades...

which they twist and that
makes a kind of plane.

We've made a family
tree of the village.

The village consists of 26 people
including 11 children under 8 years.

So that means that the
village is very young.

The entire village is built around
the descendants of Anakalema,

he's the headman of the
village, the Kamuchi,

who has two wives
Sopo and Alikeou.

So Sopo, one of Anakalema's wives
always wears the wayou.

It's a...

a sort of Kamissa but
which only hides the front.

The entire village really revolves around
the descendants of Anakalema.

The girls stay in the village and their
husbands come to live in the village also.

There's no school here.

The numerous children
grow up completely free.

Spinning cotton is the main
activity of Alikeou and Sopo,

the two wives of Anakalema.

Each year they weave a big Indian
hammock, soft and comfortable.

A strange scene
attracts our attention.

Anakalema sings in Apalai.

The power of his words penetrates into
the potion contained in a small gourd.

This magical drink has to
cure a feverish child.

It's a bit like a village
from Asterix,

because here everyone
knows each other,

and everyone gets along well.

There are dogs, a goat,
songs of cockerels.

-The magic potion is the cachiri.
-That's right.

The Romans are the people who are
all around with their civilization.

-It lacks the fighting.
-Yes.

There aren't any fights here.

Now, it's getting dark.

All the insects start making
strange little noises.

The Wayanas light their fires.

They meet all around to talk.

There's a really serene atmosphere.

Everyone is happy... relaxed.

Piranhas ate my willy.

All around the carbets the apalai
have planted useful plants.

Banana and pineapple,

papaya,

peppers,

a mango and some cashews.

Tawalai leads us to the abattis,

the garden conquered by
the axe and fire on the forest.

Many other plants grow there.

The main one is manioc (cassava).

Tawalai is fond of malacias...
watermelons.

Each day, the men
go hunting or fishing.

Yes, yes, palassissi.

-Mimisiku?
-Yes.

What are you going to do with
the toucan feathers?

I'm going to make...

And traps.

In fact, I didn't know
that toucans were edible,

and soon I'm going to be more
innovative in my choices.

That's it.

Okay?

Mémé.

-Is it good?
-Ok.

And removing the beak,
how's it done?

The Apalai lead the Indian
life of their ancestors,

almost unchanged.

Tawalai knows no other school
than that of nature.

He doesn't know that around the
forest, the world is changing fast,

and that as an adult, he'll
have to live in a world...

very different from the happy
village of his childhood.

When the rain comes,
Sopo protects the fire.

A few logs are enough for the
energy needs of her family.

How surprised she would be
if she could see...

the gigantic project of
white men 300 km away.

At Petit Saut, EDF have undertaken
the construction of a dam.

Its four turbines should produce
540 gigawatts per year,

and supply electricity to French Guiana
and notably the Kourou space center.

It's strange nevertheless a dam

The demand for electricity
from the population...

following the European
lifestyle grows rapidly.

So here we have the
intake penstocks.

At the bottom, at more than
thirty meters deep,

this is the entry for the penstock
that brings water to the turbine,

with a protective grill in front.

This very controversial dam was
expensive to mainland France,

but it's given a boost to the Guyanaise
economy which really needs it.

-We have the dam here, look.
-Yes,

this is really the
heart of the monster.

I still don't know how
it's going to take place,

but one senses a descent.

Petit Saut, like Kourou,

is a high-technology enclave
in the heart of the forest.

A chance for the future
according to some,

an ecological disaster for others.

It seems that in a few years,

Petit Saut will be overwhelmed by
the growing demand for electricity,

that it'll be necessary to
construct a second dam.

Okay, we're going to take a
little trip in the flooded forest.

It looks very good.

The construction of the dam was made
to the detriment of the virgin forest,

30,000 hecteres have
been drowned...

under 1600 Million cubic meters
of water by the reservoir lake.

Despite the efforts deployed by EDF,

the wardens of the national office
for hunting to save the animals,

Petit Saut is the biggest infringement
on the forest ever made in Guiana.

So here we're trying to track
down a sloth, but there's no trace.

It's a bit difficult because
normally the sloths...

are found on trees
where there are leaves.

But as you can see, there
aren't any leaves on the trees.

So we're already
off to a bad start.

Here we are in the middle
of these dead trees.

We think that there wasn't any
water here before the dam.

We think that...

How to meet the growing needs
of the world's population...

and at the same time protect
the planet that bears us.

This is one of the main
challenges facing people today.

There is no miracle solution.

Technological progress allows us to
produce more with fewer raw materials,

but each of us must
also limit his waste.

Here, there's 25m of water below us
and we're at the level of the canopy,

and so in fact the orchids
which really grow in places...

where you can hardly ever see them, and
now they're right here at our fingertips.

FAREWELL TO THE WAYANAS

For several weeks Couliamane
has worked on his last holock.

This large feather headdress is perhaps
the most beautiful Wayana object.

The holock is worn by young
people during initiation rites...

that makes them full Indians.

Couliamane is one of the last
Wayanas to know the sacred songs,

the legends, the secrets
of the Indians of the forest,

all those fragile and
important things...

that form the memory of a
people and its pride also.

These traditions that aren't taught
in the French school, of the palassissi.

This is the last adventure in the Amazon
for the children of Fleur de Lampaul,

who are studying the
forest with scientists.

Led by wardens of the ONC,

they will try to meet
the gold miners.

There are many in Guiana,

but few are willing
to be filmed.

The miners are working just above.

They pump water from the river.
They reduce the level.

We see that there's
hardly any water,

and also the water which is returned
to the river is very polluted,

highly loaded with suspended solids,

and it clogs the entire bottom of the
water and there's no more plant life,

there's no more algae,
there's nothing left,

and fish also have their
gills which are clogged...

and so there's no longer any
fish left in the water either way.

At the sight of the armed wardens,
most miners disappear into the forest.

-Who do you work for?
-Huh?

Who do you work for?
Your boss, who is he?

-Thomas.
-Thomas Yourgas?

This Brazilian prospector fled
the misery of his country...

to come to work illegally on
the gold deposits in Guiana.

Thousands of Brazilians live like
this in the depths of the forest,

in conditions sometimes
close to slavery.

The search for gold is an economic
activity which Guiana needs to develop.

But it all too often takes the
appearance of a human tragedy...

matched by an
ecological disaster.

The authorities seem powerless to
protect forests, rivers and population.

The Wayana Indians are
increasingly threatened...

by the gold mining which
expands on their territory.

The mud comes through this hose
here and it goes through this table.

And this table is used to
settle out the heavier parts,

so you can see at the bottom here.

on the mat here, and all the gold
dust gets caught in this mat here.

Once a week, or every
10 days or 15 days,

they wash the mat and extract
the gold dust from the mat.

To extract the gold,
miners use mercury,

which is used to amalgamate
the precious metal.

But often, they then
release it into waterways.

The mercury accumulates
throughout the food chain.

It's a potent poison
to both nature and people.

The problem can also be seen here on
areas where the soil accumulates,

they end up leaving a
soil which is sterile.

So in fact... here we are,
a section which is sterile.

So that next to the dredge, you have
an area without trees or vegetation.

It's been 100's of years like this,

and there's nothing
more that grows on it.

The deforestation is a
more serious threat.

While French Guiana is
relatively preserved,

it's not the same for other
tropical forests around the globe.

They're disappearing at an alarming
rate of 35,000 square km per year.

Most often burned, these forests
contribute to global warming.

The deforested land
quickly becomes sterile.

By the fault of man,

an arid desert replaces the most
beautiful forests in the world.

Back on board Fleur de Lampaul,

we watch the footage shot
during our investigation.

The expedition in French Guiana ends.

By leaving we shall take the
nostalgia for the Amazon.

Many researchers have declared...

that all the world's tropical forests
will be gone within 50 years,

If the current deforestation
doesn't slow down.

Will our children be able to admire
in their turn what we saw?

A big party is being
prepared in Antecume-pata.

Pots of cachiri are being brewed.

Couliamane finishes his holock.

But who will wear it?

Neither his son nor the other
children of the village.

The world of the palassissi is much more
attractive to them than Indian customs.

Before, everything that Wayanas used
came from nature and returned to it.

Now they have new
items in plastic and in cans,

they have the same behaviour,
that's to say,

they throw everything on
the ground and in the river,

and soon it will
become a problem.

The encounter with the West has
upset the small world of the Wayanas.

It's obvious that from the moment
where there are two ways of life,

and the two forms of
civilizations meet,

there is always a shock,
and the shock...

is mainly at the expense
of smaller civilizations,

of the smallest group and such
is the case with the Wayanas.

Even here, at the top
of the Litani river,

The objects of the white people speak
about this new world beyond the forest.

This year a Wayana returned with
a generator and a video recorder.

Every evening young people gather
to watch images of the palassissi.

Indians will be ashamed.

-Will be ashamed of what?
-Of how we lived before.

Indians in the future, will they
be ashamed to be Indians?

Yes.

And why, do you think?

Because they don't know how to make
any more the things of the Indians.

And then who's going to
still want to be Indian?

How will they live?

That, I don't know.

-Was there a girl who hanged herself?
-Yes.

-Why did she hang herself?
-Because her parents scolded her.

-Her parents scolded her?
-Yes.

-Was she depressed?
-Yes.

And are there often young
people who hang themselves?

Many suicides of young people have
bereaved Wayana communities.

Alcoholism and drugs have
also made their appearance.

They also poison themselves.

-They poison themselves?
-Yes.

It's very hard, because there are
many young people at this time...

who lose their bearings because the
world is changing at a phenomenal rate.

It's true that it is hard
not to feel lost in this.

Couliamane has
finished his holock.

The big party begins.

Are all those who
come here, Wayanas?

Yes, they're the Indians
from the villages of...

Touasque, Anabaike
or those of Aianamo.

Okay, Yoyouweb?

We're a bit drunk, we're throwing up,
our heads are spinning.

Emilie is entitled to three pans.

We're going to dance.

Hurry up, Emilie.

-I see you. Yes.
-Thank you very much.

I'm going to give to Elema too.

The cachiri is consumed
in large quantities.

To drink, and to vomit in
order to drink even more,

is one of the pleasures
of the Wayanas.

But some young people
consume during the party,

substances significantly more
dangerous than manioc beer.

This is our last day
at Antecume-pata.

We have learned to love
passionately this Indian world...

which disappears before our eyes.

Is it doomed?

Will the Indians know how to
adapt themselves to our society?

André Cognat and Aikou fight
in their way to make it so.

It may very well be
possible to remain a...

Wayana in the 20th century
with an outboard motor,

with a gun or with a few pots.

But still retaining what
makes their richness,

by preserving an entire culture.

What I want to do,
is to do both,

like Indians and like you.
Like that it's good, right?

You'll take the best of both worlds?

The time has come to say
goodbye to our Indian families,

and to rejoin our companions
aboard Fleur de Lampaul.

Youkoiuré and Yoyouwé,

were you happy to have the palassissi
children who came to live with you?

Yes, we're very happy.

Can you tell me why?

Because we've never
seen nice palassissi.

They've become like our family.

Tomorrow we leave. What do you
feel towards Hetipo and others?

Well, it's going...

It's going to be a big wrench
for us to leave Antecume-pata,

and we've become very
fond of each other, and so...

-Will you think of him?
-Yes.

Do you think you'll see him again,
would you like to return?

Yes.

It will be very sad...
to leave.

And for Hetipo who's young,
he finds it hard too.

It's similar as for a
French child,

it's not easy to find ones
place in a changing world.

What would you like to say to him?

-To Hetipo?
-Yes.

In leaving, what would
you like to say to him?

I'd like to tell him that he
should be proud to be Wayana,

and he must remain as he is,

and to try to keep
everything he has in his heart.

All that he has in him,
and that if I return...

I'll give him everything that I have.

Hetipo, Pupoli, Mawaimé
and all the Wayana children,

it's to you that we
dedicate these films.

We want to show the
beauty of your culture.

Witeïmëyai ehewaï.
[We're leaving, we love you]

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