Tourmalines from Madagascar documentary of Patrick Voillot

[Music] for centuries adventurers have sailed to the great red island in search of its many treasures and one of these is a fascinating stone the tourmaline reputed here for its protective and healing powers in a small isolated village in the highlands of madagascar this precious mineral continues to be mined the name of the village is Sarah Farah [Music] Jamarcus casa de apoyo a phantom witnesses when I went to Madagascar in late 1965 I had a book with me called the mineralogy of Madagascar which made mention of a barrel deposit with another stone occurring near it the tourmaline and sinewy after reading about this extraordinary stone so we set off in our Land Rover along the Highland Road and headed for a small village after a few days drive we arrived at the foot of a hill I was nightfall the sky was pitch black it looked like a storm was coming quickly set up our tents during the night the storm broke out the heavy rain washed away the earth and the next day we found lots of Turman liens on the ground it's a miracle because how often does one make a discovery like that it was like Eldorado the tourmaline is unique amongst gemstones in that it occurs in every color of the rainbow including mixed colors the red variety is called rubellite Scipio mama these stones have been in my family for a long time I'd like to set them into a piece of jewelry what do you think arrow of excellent quality been cut and polished some parts have been ground magnificent Madagascar polychrome those are the best ones Madagascar is a large island crossed in the south by the Tropic of Capricorn its population of 15 million is made up of 18 ethnic groups called it kara sabe three-quarters of whom live outside the town's the crystalline rock belt which covers two-thirds of the country provides a unique variety of gems the mining of which remains for the most part small-scale set in the Indian Ocean the island is separated from the African mainland in the west by the Mozambique Channel a thousand years ago Madagascar was covered with a dense virgin forest a large part of which has now been cleared the local medicine men still come here to pick their medicinal herbs and roots these traditional remedies are sold with the local markets alongside the fruit and vegetables because of its isolated position Madagascar has a large number of endemic animal species which like its vegetation are extremely varied the Li Muir is an example a local legend tells the story of a couple from the Zef Indian ombo tribe who after being transformed into Bubba Cotrell ran off screeching into the forest this could explain why these small primates are rarely hunted or eaten crocodiles are considered to be the reincarnation of ancestors the old people tell the story of a thirsty man who asked for water in a village the only person to offer himself as an old woman the man is in fact a sorcerer and after the departure of the old woman he transforms the village into a lake and its inhabitants into crocodiles Madagascar is renowned for the rich resources of its sub soil including precious stones in a desert zone where gem rich alluvial deposits have accumulated over millions of years a town named illa Kaka sprang up prospectors and criminals swarmed here in the hope of getting rich quick but very few met with success here sapphires zircons garnets as well as tourmalines deposited here by former rivers are bought and sold by the kilo each day the settling of scores between rival ethnic groups is a common occurrence and often ends up in killings and lootings a group of huts placed vaguely under army protection is reserved for the stone trading the buyers who are often foreigners rent trading space here certain negotiations take place directly in the street the sellers sometimes offer fake sapphires through lack of experience they've bought these fake stones from foreigners and now have to resell them in order to get their money back seventy million years it's not a flower [Laughter] it's a big one how much does it weigh six grams what's your price I'll let you have it for 70 we're interested 70 million yes 70 million what are these people doing with their business which means they sell and buy back stones really for example I can sell you back a stone that you sold me yesterday a stone can be bought and sold between us maybe four or five times depends on who finds the best customer for it if you don't manage to sell the stone then you've lost might find a customer for it so I buy the stone back from you again that's the way the business is done here we call this place the Far West or the Texas of Madagascar because there's a lot of criminal activity here people kill each other for the stones for the money they bring so it's starting to get difficult now and there's a lot of vandalism [Music] carolien all kinds of stones are sold here barrels crystals sapphires a lot of emerald is used to be sold here to I think around 80 or 90 kilos worth something like that of course tourmalines there are a lot of those severe big bigger yes it's polychrome how much four hundred thousand no that's too much for me make me an offer then I'll give you 50 for it I don't know I can't let it go for that well like can't pay what you're asking no that's my final offer no deal then I can't accept that business isn't so good here it's not like it used to be hard work trying to sell us a fool come Emma subbu you poor crazy our boys before they used to be only three houses here and now there are around a hundred thousand people because of the sapphires they come here to make their fortune we saw some are lucky some are if you have each me we named him - you're here - how are you hello so what's with you too bad there's no money left because we spend it on stock we sold the few stones we have left in Thule are we've known that money now how did you lose your money it was because of the civil war we got away just in time but we had to leave a lot of our stock behind I'm glad to see you I don't know anybody here how much money did the stones bring to hundred thousand just about the price of our return fare home that's all that's why I'm still here what are you going to do now we're thinking of going to Liberty or Sarah Farah to mine the tourmaline there's nothing doing here I've given up hope we had a bit of money but we bought some stock with it and then things got disorganized my friend went to Julliard and I'm trying to find a bush taxi to go and join him there a three hour drive away from illa Kaka is the seaside resort of tool er it's an ideal place for selling stones at a good price to tourists who don't know anything about them so how are you how are things going fine how did you make out did you sell them yes I sold them at D flat E over there do you have the money to go home yes I have enough money to get us both home 35 50 75 thousand let's go and find a bush taxi then it'll take the bush taxi two days to reach the region of ANSI Dhabi and another day to reach the village of sada fada this village is completely isolated from the modern world there's no access to it by car the nearest road is two hours away on foot there's no electricity or running water Gabi has lived here all his life and his main activity outside his traditional family life he's working the tourmaline mines that his father worked before him [Music] make yourselves at home so how was your trip are you satisfied with the results here the tourmaline is doing very well at the moment it didn't go as well as we hoped when I couldn't stop you from going he wanted to make a quick fortune somewhere else whereas here at home the tourmaline mines are starting to give good results as the saying goes come home with your head held high even though you failed now you should concentrate on mining the tourmaline here this is mr. Patrick Abaza a foreigner who was with us at illa caca he came back with us here because he's interested in the tourmaline thank you that's very kind thank you buzzer the story goes that a stranger came by here and found the village to be very isolated so he said these people are very brave to live here and that's how our River got its name sahih Thani which means don't fear the unknown land [Music] she captain Patrick I'm 40 years old no 60 and I've been mining the trembling for 40 years [Music] she's minute I have nine children my four boys work so they help me and realize he Papa Tourmaline me papa this is my father's village he mined the tourmaline until it was 59 here are the tourmaline that we've extracted this week in this era for our quarry tourmaline 's name comes from the Sinhalese word to Mali which translates literally as little thing out of the earth when gently heated or rubbed the crystal generates a static electrical charge that attracts ash and dust particles this property is called pyro electricity [Music] in the village a bullfight is organized to celebrate the return of the young men it is also an occasion for the young women to witness the bravery of their future husbands Gabby celebrates the ceremony with local rum considered here as holy water [Music] [Applause] [Applause] [Music] [Music] my manager Gary the men are anxious to see the fruit of their labor if I don't watch them they're going to new things too quickly whereas the mine wall has to be reinforced and the tunnel dug in order to find the path leading to the stomach we have a good chance of finding something the jumper is a bit blunt where are the matches here are the matches I'm going to light the way for you the matches won't be enough we need torches and candles here's a candle where's the rum can you get past two melons were formed over 500 million years ago occurring in a rock belt that spread across the original continent of Gondwana then Brazil Africa Madagascar and Sri Lanka the continental drift separated and transported the tourmaline deposits which originally formed a single block this explains the common range of color found in the tourmalines from these countries than acharn must be turned from the ungodly you have to follow the seam and not take just anywhere otherwise the roof will cave in you have to be very careful when digging the tunnel and make sure that the walls are solidly prompted this is how we mined the tourmaline what the black rubber liens or seam start to appear that means that we're close to the pocket not the appearance of these blank or transparent tourmaline rubellite or mica guarantees the presence of a pocket of polychrome to remind when the seam is good the results will be good I'm going home I'm tired and hungry my wife and children will have prepared the meal [Music] TRT I'm lucky today there's one real it's beautiful I was starting to get tired I was hungry and wanted to go home but God has rewarded me today you know [Music] you see I've been successful that's how it is with the tourmaline here with a bit of lunch you can always succeed once you've discovered one others follow much bigger ones sometimes as big as this jumper here the tourmaline has a complex chemical composition it contains silicate oxygen as well as various other elements such as sodium lithium calcium boron etc which inspired John Ruskin to say it's chemistry resembles more a medieval doctor's prescription than that of a respectable minute don't be afraid I'm taking you with me to consult a CD the astrologer for our sacrifice tomorrow [Music] [Music] gabi isn't entirely satisfied with his minds present yield at Sarah Farah the only rational solution to get things moving is to go and consult the astrology here's the village of the Darby the diviner this is Patrick a foreign friend a Vasa who's going to help us with the construction of our mind I ask you the elders to treat him well because he's a good man this Vasa is our brother of course the purpose of our visit is to consult the Stars through you in order to find out what is the most propitious day to make our sacrifice what do you think about tomorrow Sunday and at what time we've also come to discuss with you how we can improve the fertility of our mining plot in order for it to produce fine stones such as pink Beryl rubellite and polychrome tourmaline I've heard your request gentlemen and I say tomorrow at 6 a.m. it's the first day of the fourth month of the cancer lunar year Asuran Thani which falls under the astrological sign Leo allaha sati may God bless you we are all gathered here to give praise to God for this precious land he has entrusted to us we pray that you grant us good results in our Tourmaline mind give us your blessing and answer our prayers gabby implores the spirits of the Vezina a fair-skinned Aboriginal people believed to be beyond first inhabitants they are worshipped as gods by the villagers who offer up sacrifices to them and consult them whenever a problem arises pray for us that we may find Tourmaline you have our blessing the dwelling place of the Vezina is a sacred cave in the mountains where the entire village solemnly makes its way in order to make offerings sit down beside me in front of the sacred home we're going to pray and ask for God's blessing to help us find precious to me I give you my blessing so that you will obtain good results it's Polly Crohn's we're looking for we have already searched but we haven't found any yet that's why we are here to pray for your health we're also looking for Ruben lights and polychrome tourmaline that's what we ask of you I bless you and wish you luck the social life of each Malagasy village is organized in accordance with the fuddy which are taboos that only the village elders or sorcerers have the power to lift Gabi's children may search for tourmalines today but not tomorrow as tomorrow is Thursday and Thursday is fuddy prospecting and opening new tunnels is done empirically by digging under an area of white clay caused by an anthill or a burrow it sometimes happens that a pit is dug simply because a crystal has been found in the clay pushed up to the surface by atmospheric agents [Music] one of you go up there I'll stay here and two of you go down the jumper and the shovel are the two main tools used for extracting this gem tourmaline x' occur in a crumbly brittle Rock the most interesting specimens are found mainly in kaolin it's a good one - mainly a tourmaline it's all looked at the sacrifice and prayers seem to have paid off Gabi's sons have now reached the seem and seemed pleased with what they see the stones are appearing look at this beauty here look look how anything let me see it well it's a polychrome isn't it - enough what it claims and it has eleven colors shall we continue or stop for today since we found this one better let's go and have a beer to celebrate let's get a good look at it [Music] [Music] amen are you there are you all there yes we're here where were you you're late we expected you earlier how many of you are there there are four of us as the seam appeared yes its appeared and we've started extracting at saravana mining of the tourmaline is not a constant activity the gem is extracted in accordance with a Fadi but also according to the financial needs of the community in fact the money brought in by the stones doesn't serve to feed the village it is used to buy equipment to construct buildings or for other similar needs food is generally provided by the crops and livestock ah cotton party say apart from the stones we also cultivate rice manioc potatoes taro [Music] won't need one LF f we also raise cattle Medina key one of her ancient legacy traditions mr. Patrick is the turning of the dead sir and for this we killed cattle and pigs we change the dead person's shroud [Music] it's an ancestral right [Music] we gather all the family together in one place we eat dance and have a good time before going to the family - once there we send four musicians so that the children can dance and watch as we bring the ancestors out of the tomb and change their shrouds during this ritual we dance and anoint the ancestors with these are Malagasy custom bath it must be perpetuated by the descendants akka Cheney and of soap [Music] the living communicate with the dead through this ceremony known as the turning of the dead or famadihana this ritual is practiced in the highlands at the home of the marina tribe gabby has dreamt about his father who spoke to him at length about the mine but especially told him that he wasn't comfortable in his tomb Gabby and his family have therefore organized a family hunt here we go grandfather come on lift him like that he is Ron dream below Ranjan bellow however you are [Music] and here's grandmother Romero and the next one is Rama Nana the purpose of the ceremony is to change the dead person shroud this is called the lumber men the dead person is carried around the tomb seven times before being placed inside it again the old shroud is a symbol of fertility it will be divided amongst the women in this region the inhabitants search for tourmalines everywhere even in the alluvial deposits of the river that provides the village with water wash down from the nearby mountains the dense gem rich deposits collect in the natural hollows of the riverbed by digging in precise spots the gem seekers can find pockets containing a high concentrations of tourmaline what price are you asking for these stones 60,000 no that's too high no I can't do it for that price [Music] this is our TV I arrived here in 1993 please welcome our CEO we started building the school there were no doors or windows but at that time the quarry was producing a lot of precious stones come on daddy the Pierre appreciates the song and the people who work there made us a gift of son re pie we carried out repairs every year the school festivities were held here and we continued carrying out repairs finally the government gave us she oil and cement lead a life we started with mud we then managed to have some blackboards so we're getting there little by little these stones come from those mountains over there they're going to be used to build this school in the name of God and the ancestors in accordance with the Malagasy tradition when building a new house we bury the living stones crystals of light which are used as protections it's finished come and have a drink Dada Gabi you too data Paul let's drink to a long life for all of us the tradition has been well respected bless you all and may you have success in your endeavors long life to all of us the crystals of light are quartz crystals at the Malagasy place in the four corners of the centre of the houses foundations to protect it with rum drunk in celebration dinner we're going to have these stones valued and then try to sell them at the EBT market because they're of good quality the gemstones found will be sold the better crystals will go to collectors or museums while the purest stones will be bought for cutting every Monday at the foot of the EBT mountain a tourmaline market takes place it begins early in the morning and stops at midday as well as stones food products clothes and tools are also bought and sold here it's the main meeting place of the region where products as well as ideas are exchanged I come here to buy rough stones I always do my selling in front of the hotel I also have a shop and if a customer comes there I sell there to Hebrew Ginny mr. policy dealers like Neuer come from answer avi to buy new stones at the best prices [Music] fifteen thousand maximum twenty fifteen thousands a good price these are collection pieces okay can add another twenty five hundred don't increase the price please I have to resell them it's my final offer you'll be doing us a good deed newer started gem dealing only two years ago at the beginning she sold stones for other dealers in exchange for a commission now she goes to all the stone markets of the region in order to build up her own stock the profit margins are much higher when one buys directly from the miners but the risk is greater one has to have a good knowledge of the stones it's 10:00 a.m. Neuer has finished her round she's bought the stones that interested her here she now has to go to another market which is an hour's drive away in a bush taxi it's the beta phone work [Music] it's a bigger market than the EBT one on-site artisans forge tools for the miners this one's not quite right he's looking for crystallized tourmaline that isn't chipped or flawed I don't think that this one has been damaged he's looking for one with the larger surface this is the kind of tourmaline we're looking for [Music] [Music] and Surabhi is the cradle of the betsy leo ethnic group of Asian origin [Music] Neuer has her stones cut before selling them this increases their volume the junk cutters cut around 15 pieces a day can you polish this stone and make a plaque yes it shouldn't take long [Music] the polychrome tamales are cut perpendicular to the crystal in this way slices are obtained which are then polished the grind stones have to be changed several times using a finer and finer grain in order to obtain a perfect polish this work demands a great deal of skill because the tourmaline is a fragile mineral this is in part due to its inclusions which are hollow parallel needles [Music] due to the successive growth phases of the crystal the tourmaline displays concentric zones of different colors [Music] Antananarivo is the crossroads where stones from different regions of the country arrived here newer can find new merchandise and sellers stones the railroad station is the strategic point let me see that is it rose quartz it should be cut into two pieces it's 75,000 75,000 you say it started show me where here look it needs to be cut into 25 [Music] look at the color I'm looking for cabochon perhaps you'll be interested in these what about rough stones is interested in those they just need brushing that's all it'll bring out the shine I might be interested where else can you find stones like these I want collection pieces this one's in its natural state it hasn't been touched what I'm really looking for is a collection piece unfortunately this one slightly chipped it's nothing we can rectify that don't talk nonsense or I'll get angry it is with the dealers who export that newer will have the best chances of selling the totality of her stock of polychrome tourmaline I have some small stones to sell you if you're interested of course I'll have a look at them and see what you brought me are they pretty little stones or big ugly ones small ones but very pretty these Polly crumbs here they're from different deposits to those I found some turbo liens once with a flattened termination they were bluish colored pink green superb I think the tourmaline is an extraordinary stone and extremely interesting because it comes in such a wide variety of colors just about every colors from white right through to black the Chianti shafted like the tourmaline plaques are bought by foreign customers from all over the world but traditionally it's the Germans who buy the most tourmaline flecks I have excellent contacts with the German customers I went to eat our Oberstein and I saw a fantastic collection of polychrome tourmaline plaques Malagasy for the most art and mainly old ones but there were some extraordinary pieces [Music] the dealer's of Antananarivo who export throughout the world use sophisticated gem processing techniques each day they received dozens of kilos of minerals including tourmaline the selection of rough and cut stones is made with meticulous care both the color and the shape of the stone is important depending on the different buyers and the country of export certain Toma lanes are faceted it's a stone that displays strong aply oak row ISM which means that its color changes according to the angle from which the crystal is viewed a stone can appear dark green from one angle and yellowish green from another one the gem cutter needs to be extremely skilled in order to be able to select the best cutting angle that will produce the best color during the cutting he has to avoid as much as possible the less attractive inclusions while trying to preserve the maximum weight of the stone it often happens that tourmaline czar subjected to artificial heat treatment in order to improve their original hue the temperatures reached are between 250 and 750 degrees centigrade but this treatment is rarely used in Madagascar GM I've imported Madagascan tourmaline to eat are over Stein and here in the town of these are over Stein for almost ten years we've sold ground stones crush stones cut stones from the market here quite a lot of people have made a good living for a long time from this marvelous stone the term iliev determinate no magnificent do you like it it's beautiful I love it it's really beautiful it's okay it's perfect [Music] Gabby's whole life is dedicated to the tool money in a rum-soaked voice he murmurs almost chant like I've devoted four years of my life to it but it has a great power that of the Vezina bus it is responsible for bringing my son's back home to the village [Music] [Applause] [Music]

Channel: Voillot Patrick

Views: 154,236

Rating: 4.7423511 out of 5

Keywords: documentary, gemmologist, gemstone, precious stones, gemmology, patrick voillot, pierre précieuse, pierres précieuses, jewelry, stone, movie, tv, frenchtv, jeweler, prices, million dollars, expedition, mine, mining, Place Vendôme, The Red Island, Madagascar, the Isalo National Park, sapphires, multicolored sapphires, Antsirabe, sorcerer, crystals, researchers, witchcraft, Antananarivo, Jean Vendome, Tourmaline, turmaline, turmalin, tourmalin

Id: 52dXyx5ufyo

Length: 52min 41sec (3161 seconds)

Published: Fri Sep 13 2019