The Fish of Gods I SLICE I Full documentary

[Music] foreign [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Laughter] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] at the foot of the himalayas lies the land of the raji where the baba and karnali rivers meet the tehrai is an isolated region in the west of nepal with very few people but many legends the raji are river people they live from day to day on the fish they catch and the gold dust they collect often they come to see me from far away to give me the kernels of corn they have traded for fish i am a miller today fakir bahadur and his ten-year-old son have come to see me fakir is the chief of the rajiv village of gut gown we've known each other for a long time i am not a raji but i have great respect for this people and for its history passed down from father to son today is an important day for young udai bahadur for the first time his father is taking him to the source of the river to look for the golden mashir the fish of the gods soon udai will become chief and it's time to teach him to fish it's also time for him to learn the wonderful legend of the fish of the gods [Music] a rainbow across the sky reminds the raji of the history of their people [Music] foreign likes to recount the legend of the golden mashir one day as the rajis were fishing they met a princess who wanted to cross to the other side of the river but the current was too strong the young woman said make a puja an offering to the goddess kanyakumari and everything will be all right they made the puja the river suddenly became still and the princess was able to cross easily as she set foot on the other bank a rainbow appeared forming a bridge over the river the young woman climbed the rainbow and walked towards the sun to thank the raji she threw a handful of gold dust into the river and the river began to gleam the dust settled on the golden mashir the princess was none other than the goddess kanyakumari ever since the raji make an offering each time they catch a golden mashir because the fish of the gods is a sign of prosperity [Music] all the houses face the karnali river the biggest in western nepal it's december the dry season the raji don't own any farmland the river is their only source of food their entire lives revolve around it every year at this time they go back to their nomad tradition they get ready to leave their village in search of fish but the dry season is most of all a search for the golden masher along with a few villagers fakir and his son go up the karnali river where they will spend long days looking for the fish of the gods in late summer the golden mashier migrate in small groups they lay their eggs in colder waters the raji are impatient to leave the village soon the river will lead them to the golden scaled fish the men took several weeks to build this pirogue carved out of just one tree trunk on the riverbank the women sift the sand to find the gold dust that did not cover the golden masher the rest of it settled somewhere at the bottom of the river these women will stay in the village because the best season to collect gold is the winter they don't go with the men to capture the golden masher before sailing on the pirogue the raji must make an offering to kanyakumari the river goddess for the puja the village chief prepares banners of white and red cloth the goddesses symbols the women keep looking for the grains of gold but gold is rare in the heart of the river and they are often disappointed fakir ties the banners around the pirogue to protect it other banners are placed on the riverbank in order to leave a trace of the offering the colors are a reminder of the main ingredients of the puja the white of the goat's milk and the red of a young rooster's blood which fakir offers the goddess to end the ceremony hey mikey once the sacrifice is accomplished fakir entrusts the perogue to the river with these words pirogue you must now confront the river may the goddess kanyakumari protect you guided by the goddess carried by the river the raji leave their village the search for the fish of the gods can begin at last [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] the raji have sailed up the carnali and stop for the night before sunset fakir and his men cut long pieces of banana tree bark they use them to catch other fish the ones they eat every day the rashi are very respectful of the world around them and have invented ways of fishing that protects nature they adapt to it with wisdom and harmony without ever trying to restrain it the men placed the banana tree bark in layers in the deep water of the river young uday helps them as best he can he is learning quickly by watching the others the men way down the bark with big stones at nightfall the bark will form a barrier of light attracting the fish and after that catching them is easy [Music] um since they have nomadic souls the raji like to be surrounded by nature in the middle of wild unspoiled landscapes tonight around the campfire they are content in spite of the cold happy to share these special moments together [Laughter] they are happy to once again travel discover things and meet new people [Music] in the evening fakir and his men cast their lines and set up their fishing poles to catch the fish of the gods the golden machire likes to hide in the deep recesses of the river and in the still waters in his pirogue fakir looks for the right spot to throw out the bait a little fish still alive and weighed down with a rock before slipping it in the water the village chief whispers a prayer may the great fish take the bait from the riverbank one of the fishermen watches the parole carefully the further away it sails the longer the line has to be a long night of waiting has begun hopefully it will be interrupted by the sound of a bell tied to a fishing pole a sign that the fish of the gods has let itself be caught [Music] troubadours who come to camp for the night the raji are lucky to have crossed their path the dumb i travel throughout the west of nepal singing the history of the people of the region fakir asks them to tell two of the stories to his son in exchange he offers them a dozen fish [Music] they finally strike a bargain the dummey will sing one story for a dozen fish [Music] [Music] so [Music] so young udai is captivated as the damai sing the wonderful history of the raji people came from a state in india called himansha are great because they are masters of the flow of the rivers are great because they know how to guide their pierogs will never forget the refrain he heard tonight the raji are great oh in the middle of the night the carnali river gleams once again the fishing can begin cutting through the darkness with their torches the men pushed the fish towards the banana bark barrier in spite of the singing and the prayers the catch is very small more and more fishermen come looking for food in the river and there are fewer and fewer fish but it doesn't matter catching the fish they need to eat is not important as long as tomorrow they can catch the fish with the golden scales so [Music] me it is early morning and the fish of the gods has still not let itself be caught but fakir and his men don't give up they know they cannot return home to get gown without the golden machia the entire village is waiting for the capture of this source of prosperity [Music] [Music] so [Music] [Applause] uh hmm [Music] [Applause] the raji moved their campsite to the other bank of the carnali in search of a better spot to fish the tradition is that both the fishing poles and the encampment must be on the same side of the river the village chief takes his son aside to talk to him man to man you now know the history of our people you also know how to fish for the food we eat every day soon you will be able to feed your wife and your children i'm proud of you now you must discover what has brought us here to the source of the karnali river the golden mashir the fish of the gods a big fish was trapped during the night the rajis hold their breath could they have captured the golden mashier at last all night long the fisherman let his catch exhaust itself without ever trying to pull the fish out of the river the fishing equipment is very simple and very fragile the bamboo poles can't resist a wriggling fish which can weigh up to 40 kilograms the men must be patient and persistent he knows now that the river goddess is watching over his son and his village of gatgaon he can go home as soon as they return to the village fakir bahadur and his son come to tell me about their journey and to give me the kernels of corn they want me to grind i can see from his eyes that something has changed in the [Music] youngster i watch them walking away fakir must be very proud of his son [Music] udai is now a man one day he will lead the raji to the source of the karnali river and one day he will tell his son the legend of the fish of the gods [Music] you

Channel: SLICE

Views: 515,510

Rating: 4.7594666 out of 5

Keywords: documentary, documentaries, shortdoc, shortdocs, slice, slicedocs, fish, god, nepal, fishing, tradition, beliefs, religion, culture

Id: IFuU2kUTRAo

Length: 25min 1sec (1501 seconds)

Published: Sun Mar 07 2021