The men of the big rock | SLICE | Full documentary

[Music] [Music] i sing the glorious story of our half-god hashishiki who invented everything on our land hashishiki wanted to catch flying fish at first he tried to spear them but they were too fast because the gods had given these fish the ability to fly then he tried using a wooden hook but the fish was so powerful that it tore it off its mouth hashishiki then decided to use a net but the fish was so clever that they jumped out of it the hero fought hard and made a torch which was able to imprison the day around it then he left for the sea he saw that all the fish hovered around him flying in a circle diving jumping above him and hashishiki was able to catch a great many [Music] oh [Music] have adjusted to a very hostile environment the island consists of many steep cliffs of different levels with sharp drops to travel around the island or from village to village the inhabitants have had to set up wooden ladders or vines in otherwise unreachable areas they must be repaired constantly since they are often damaged by rock slides or storms roland lives in the village of harold bay his son ronaldo is now old enough to learn the ways of his people traditions created for survival on the island they concern fishing farming and building houses before colonization houses were low and long with roofs of intertwined leaves that fell all the way to the ground they were solid and resisted hurricanes well one enters a house only to sleep or to take shelter from the rain and strangers never go inside each family lives in the middle of a well-kept clearing which marks the separation between the home and the forest which is still a feared area this closed domestic space is considered to be feminine men who are not a part of the family never enter alone it's looked upon as unacceptable for a male visitor to walk around nearby each season corresponds to a type of fish or a particular crop the men are responsible for certain tasks like fishing soon the flying fish will be present near the future coast and it's time to take out and repair the necessary equipment [Music] according to island tradition the pig is more than just a source of food a legend says that originally pigs were precious stones they were found on rowboats drifting on the ocean when these pirogues touched land the precious stones were transformed into pigs pigs are raised primarily for sacrifices their upper canine teeth are pulled out so that their lower teeth grow bigger and form a circle these circles of teeth are then considered to be sacred objects used to honor the gods bye [Music] have not forgotten the initial gestures their ancestors used for light they still make torches in the traditional manner which enabled hashishiki the half god to imprison the day the three meter long torch is made of dried coconut palm leaves it is kept together with plant strips carefully tied at regular intervals as on most pacific islands coconut palm crabs live in great numbers among the trees and along the beaches they are impressive animals with powerful claws capable of shelling a coconut they hide under the rocks making it difficult to catch them during the day the torch provides light and also frightens the crabs and smokes them out of their hiding places [Music] [Music] hey once a crab is caught it has to be immobilized one must be careful since even though the animal is very slow it is capable of breaking a finger with its claws with one hand roland immobilizes the crab by turning it onto its back with the other he renders it harmless by tying the claws up with a thin vine depending on the season roland can catch dozens of crabs in just one night oh inhabitants remain very attached to the sea their polynesian origins are obvious in their language and in their way of life they have maintained their great talent for building rowboats futuna pirogues are unique by their height to best resist the waves they have additional planks sown and waterproofed with coconut fiber old taphorua sings about the exploits of fishermen who came here before him he also honors the memory of fishermen lost at sea [Music] intent on catching flying fish roland comes to inspect sea conditions foreign oh every day the island's inhabitants are required to make a long hike they must climb from the shore to an altitude of more than 600 meters on top of the big cliff is the island's garden where the taros grow [Music] [Music] there are a number of paths that men have cleared in order to climb the cliff sometimes a tree falls across the path or a piece of the cliff crumbles new ladders have to be built all the time in almost unreachable areas roland knows the land of his ancestors well since childhood his father has been teaching him how to climb every move is important since the slightest mistake can cause a sometimes fatal fall the islanders have always respected this land it is the expression of their freedom and it protects them they must thank the spirits which have permitted man to live in harmony with a hostile natural environment to the people of futuna the forest is an enchanted place like all of the archipelago's islands there is a highly developed belief in a supernatural world every path is inhabited by troublesome spirits there are tamats which are the souls of dead ancestors there are bodiless spirits which were never human they are all powerful spirits dangerous or protecting which envelope and live in the landscape sometimes these spirits take the form of a rocket foreign [Music] oh [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] the taro plant is always grown at an altitude of two to three hundred meters the big cliff is actually a very old volcano rising to more than 600 meters but the land in its crater is exceptionally fertile well protected from hurricanes this garden has the advantage of not being sensitive to droughts the taro is a plant whose root is eaten it is found at a depth of about 50 centimeters the tarot is the food staple of the island it is cooked over a wood fire braised or made into dough and soaked in coconut milk it is also used as currency and can be traded for a pig a fish and can even be used to reimburse debts crops are grown and harvested all year long it's not difficult almost natural requiring very little work the farmer however must replace each plant immediately in order to assure a continuing harvest to prepare for the next fishing season the men make lobster traps to do so they must cut the roots of a strange tree the pandanus one part of its root appears to be airborne going from the branch to the ground a few meters below an older fisherman shows roland how to make the trap in futuna the older generation possesses all the knowledge these men are the living guardians of what is generally called custom custom is first and foremost memory the memory of myths concerning the island's origins giving each inhabitant a sense of roots custom also organizes all of future's social and religious activities when a man takes a wife when he builds a house plants his field or makes a trap he must do so according to established but unwritten laws handed down from generation to generation custom is therefore a sort of civil code to which each one must submit in order to maintain balance in the community the weaving of traps is widespread throughout the pacific the hard interior part of the pandanus route is woven in the form of a cage the entrance is a sort of funnel and once the animal is inside it cannot get out again in the past to catch flying fish the men had to sail off with a number of palm leaf torches today oil pumping lamps are used fishing is subject to strict conditions including wind direction violence of the waves or the position of the moon one never fishes during the full moon it's too bright out and the fisherman's lamp doesn't attract the fish the oil pumping lamp is then fixed on a pole before lowering the pirogue into the water [Music] schools of flying fish attracted by the light remain at a certain depth under the boat only when the numerous sharks begin chasing the fish do they appear on the surface as they try to escape roland has to catch them before they're devoured so badly balanced on the narrow boat roland sometimes has to snatch the fish out of the air it's a game requiring speed agility and patience at times roland has been able to catch more than a hundred in just a few hours but the fish are always moving and can suddenly disappear this type of fishing goes back to the first time men began to live on the island like roland they were able to take new resources out of the sea and constantly explore the land to see what it had to offer oh a new season is beginning it's time to fish for lobster it doesn't begin until after the flying fish season is over there is no official law requiring the respect and preservation of natural resources it is all regulated by custom for generations men here have realized that a hostile environment can still provide what is most precious the traps are set during low tide they are kept down on the ground with big rocks so as not to be swept away by the tides then some bait such as the broken shell of a fish will be placed inside [Music] [Music] all one need do now is wait for the good spirits of the sea to do their work roland and the old man ask for their favor by invoking the spirits of their ancestors such is life on the land of the big rock where man the forest the sea and the gods are and always have been integral elements of nature [Music]

Channel: SLICE

Views: 365,050

Keywords: documentary, documentaries, shortdoc, shortdocs, slice, slicedocs, futuna, vanuatu, melanesia, archipelago, fishing, steep cliffs, cliff, cliffs, father and son, roland

Id: CCf_gwRyhjQ

Length: 24min 1sec (1441 seconds)

Published: Sun Apr 10 2022