Name: 海の戦士たち｜フル・ドキュメンタリー - Planet Doc Full Documentaries (Warriors of the Sea | Full Focumentary - Planet Doc Full Documentaries)
Uploaded: 2021-01-14T05:01:58.000Z
Duration: 50 min 38 s
Description: VoiceTubeの動画で発音を聞きながら英語表現を覚えよう！学べる英語：

Papua over 1,400 islands, large and small, scattered between the Equator and north Australia.

Many of these islands are tiny, uninhabited coral atolls.

Geologically, Papua is a transition zone between the islands of Indonesia and the smaller ones of Oceania.

In caves like this one on the island of Kiriguina, in the Trobriand archipelago,

remains have been found of the first human inhabitants of these islands.

As a result of the last glaciation, the water level went down,

and some Polynesian peoples were able to cross to these small islands.

But then, when the ice melted and the sea level rose again, these communities were cut off.

Dating of the oldest human remains shows that these islands were inhabited over 40,000 years ago.

The different ethnic groups that live on the islands of Papua

were greatly feared by the sailors who dared to navigate the waters of these ‘accursed’ islands.

Head-hunters and cannibals, these fierce warriors of the sea remained isolated until well into the twentieth century.

Their bloodthirsty fame meant that, for a long time, their territory remained unexplored by Europeans.

Still today there are isolated areas where there are cases of cannibalism and ritual decapitations,

especially along the border with Irian-Jaya, on the island of New Guinea.

Traditional customs and rituals remain strong among the inhabitants of these islands,

though now it is unusual to find a village without a mission of one of the over 100 different churches,

which compete for converts among the Papuan natives.

But though they attend worship and prayers to these imported gods,

the Papuans continue to follow their traditional laws and age-old customs.

These young Tolais, from the island of New Britain,

have to undergo a severe initiation before being able to sail alone.

They have to “go to see the fish”, as this ceremony is called;

it is a test of their courage and capacity for suffering.

If they bear the pain without flinching, a string of shells

is placed around their necks, symbolising the passage to adulthood.

They are now ready to face the dangers of the sea, protected by the spirits of the forest.

That is why, during the initiation, they cover their bodies with green sap.

Fishing is the main activity of the Tolai.

The most important journeys are those to trade with other neighbouring islands.

These crossings are subject to the traditional laws, which regulate relations among the different tribes.

The villages do not have a well-defined structure.

The stilt houses are arranged in family groups.

The meeting place is normally the open area opposite the house of the village chief.

As well as fishers, they are also gatherers and farmers.

The pace of life is slow, no one rushes, there is no stress.

The women are responsible for household chores and looking after the children,

as well as gathering fruits from the forest.

The men plant the yam fields, take care of the pigs and go fishing.

For example, in the Trobriand islands, above the village chiefs stands the figure of the Paramon Chif,

who is responsible for everything that happens on the islands.

As in much of Melanesia, the society is matrilineal

the children of the marriage belong to  the woman’s clan.

–In Papua, there are over 900 different languages and more than 1,000 different ethnic groups.

Communication would be impossible if it were not for pidgin english,

a language with elements of both English and the native languages.

Yams are the most important crop in the Trobriand islands

In fact, they are a symbol of wealth, both personal and of the clan.

Every man must build a yam house for each one of his wives.

This is where the tubers are stored after the harvest.

They are constructions which can quickly be taken down then rebuilt,

and protect the yams from the humidity during the rainy season.

Between June and July the harvest rites take place.

The largest yams are put on display before being stored.

No one can begin harvesting until the crop of the Paramon Chif has been gathered in.

This is when the most important ritual celebrations on these islands are held.

Each family has to give part of their crop to the Paramon Chif.

This is a tax, which varies from year to year,

While they are storing the yams, the families ask the magic man to carry out a small ceremony,

so the yams will be under the protection of the spirits,

The yam houses are administered by the brothers-in-law of the owners,

further evidence of the matrilineal nature of this society.

The houses of the Paramon Chif are richly decorated with wood carvings which symbolise his power.

The importance of these carvings is such that those who make them, occupy a very high position in society.

Magic occupies a central position in the lives of these people.

No one does anything without first consulting the witch doctors,

who will prescribe, according to the case, the actions and ceremonies

that will have to be performed in order to ensure success.

Illness and misfortune have their origins in magic,

either because you have offended a spirit, or because someone else has cast a spell against you.

When they are ill, or when they believe they are the victims of a spell because things are going badly,

they turn to the magic men to cure them or solve their problems.

The world of the dead is just as real as that of the living.

It exists at the same time, but in a parallel, hermetic sphere,

only accessible through the rituals and knowledge of magic of the witch doctors and medicine men.

As in all animist societies, nothing happens by chance.

Everything, good and bad, is the result of the intervention of beings from the other world.

On the island of Kiriwina we attend a purifying ceremony.

The participants, under the protection of the medicine man,

invoke their ancestors to fight and drive out the evil spirits which have caused a bad harvest.

When the medicine man senses that the protective spirits have arrived,

to the edge of the forest, to exorcise the evil they have inside them.

Then, they receive his blessing, which will protect them form malign influences.

In the dead of night, on the island of New Britain,

the Tumbuan mask dances to the beat of the canes.

They invoke it to ask it to intervene between men and the gods.

It is a messenger spirit who brings and takes communications from the other world.

The initiated gather together in the forest with the carver and tell him what the mask should look like,

Then, they have to bless it, through a complicated liturgical process

During this time, only those in authority can see it.