0:00:03 > 0:00:06I've been travelling the world for the past 25 years.
0:00:08 > 0:00:11I've met so many people, in so many countries, that everyone
0:00:11 > 0:00:13thinks of me as the man who's been everywhere.
0:00:15 > 0:00:19But in all these years, there's been one big gap in my passport.
0:00:20 > 0:00:24Nothing less than the fifth largest country on earth.
0:00:27 > 0:00:29A country blessed with a melting pot of peoples
0:00:29 > 0:00:31and an abundance of resources.
0:00:33 > 0:00:35A country that's risen, almost out of nowhere, to become
0:00:35 > 0:00:37a 21st-century superpower.
0:00:39 > 0:00:44It's the host of the next World Cup and the next Olympic Games.
0:00:44 > 0:00:47It's a country whose time has come.
0:00:48 > 0:00:51How can I say I've seen the world, when I haven't seen Brazil?
0:00:53 > 0:00:58OK, waterfall. We defy you. We defy you.
0:01:13 > 0:01:17Brazil is now the sixth largest economy in the world,
0:01:17 > 0:01:21with 80% of the population living in megacities where industry
0:01:21 > 0:01:24and technology flourish.
0:01:24 > 0:01:27But alongside this 21st-century dynamism,
0:01:27 > 0:01:30there are people in Brazil whose way of life has remained
0:01:30 > 0:01:33unchanged for thousands of years.
0:01:35 > 0:01:38It's in their land that I start this leg of my journey.
0:01:40 > 0:01:43Amazonia is a region which has enticed explorers
0:01:43 > 0:01:44and adventurers for centuries.
0:01:45 > 0:01:49In this episode, I shall be travelling its vast distances,
0:01:49 > 0:01:53from the border with Venezuela to the nation's capital, Brasilia.
0:01:55 > 0:01:58I'm excited, and a little apprehensive.
0:01:58 > 0:02:01Below me thick rainforest cloaks an area as remote
0:02:01 > 0:02:05and inaccessible as anywhere on the planet.
0:02:08 > 0:02:11When people from the west landed in Brazil, just over 500 years
0:02:11 > 0:02:16ago, there were some five million indigenous people living here.
0:02:16 > 0:02:18A fraction is now left.
0:02:19 > 0:02:22One of the largest and least contacted of these are the Yanomami.
0:02:25 > 0:02:28I land at the recently-built government outpost,
0:02:28 > 0:02:303km away from their village.
0:02:30 > 0:02:33The sound of the plane has drawn an inquisitive crowd.
0:02:43 > 0:02:47The Yanomami have a reputation for being warriors and hunters,
0:02:47 > 0:02:51and I'm barely off the plane before I'm into archery practice.
0:02:51 > 0:02:52That rock there.
0:02:52 > 0:02:54SPEAKS OWN LANGUAGE
0:02:56 > 0:03:00Wow, pretty good! What do you mean, go and get it?
0:03:00 > 0:03:01All right.
0:03:08 > 0:03:11It's a bit of bamboo, very sharp and
0:03:11 > 0:03:14fine point of... Looks like bone or something,
0:03:14 > 0:03:15maybe it's just wood.
0:03:16 > 0:03:23Beautiful, very nice, very nice. Now you... That bird there.
0:03:29 > 0:03:31Oh, wow.
0:03:37 > 0:03:39Very good.
0:03:39 > 0:03:44No, I'm not going to do it, you go and get it.
0:03:44 > 0:03:45They're much less
0:03:45 > 0:03:50fierce than I expected and seem to regard me, and my accessories,
0:03:50 > 0:03:53as a considerable source of entertainment.
0:03:53 > 0:03:55It's good to be here. I've never
0:03:55 > 0:03:57been in this part of the world before.
0:03:57 > 0:03:59Oh, yeah, it's my own hair.
0:03:59 > 0:04:01I didn't expect to be doing
0:04:01 > 0:04:04comedy on my first day in the Amazon.
0:04:11 > 0:04:14It's an hour's walk through the forest to where they live,
0:04:14 > 0:04:18and as we finally approach the thatched walls of their village,
0:04:18 > 0:04:22or maloca, I realise I'm entering deeply unfamiliar territory.
0:04:26 > 0:04:31Unlike us, the Yanomami live communally in a huge, round,
0:04:31 > 0:04:32thatched house.
0:04:32 > 0:04:36It must be at least 400m in circumference.
0:04:36 > 0:04:39There appears to be no privacy whatsoever.
0:04:40 > 0:04:43I've no idea where you're supposed to wash or do all those other
0:04:43 > 0:04:45private things.
0:04:45 > 0:04:48They don't seem to do toilets, but perhaps they don't need them
0:04:48 > 0:04:51with a million square miles of virgin forest outside.
0:04:54 > 0:04:57At last, I'm shown to my room, sorry, bed, sorry, hammock.
0:04:57 > 0:04:58Now here, this is my hammock.
0:04:58 > 0:05:01This is where I'm sleeping, I think, thank you.
0:05:03 > 0:05:07Oh, dear. I've been in hammocks before.
0:05:07 > 0:05:09I don't think I've ever spent an entire night in one,
0:05:09 > 0:05:12so this'll be a bit of a first.
0:05:12 > 0:05:14Everyone here, of course,
0:05:14 > 0:05:18in the maloca, they all sleep in hammocks, so I think the thing
0:05:18 > 0:05:20to do is, you have to get... That's right, in the middle there.
0:05:20 > 0:05:22Oh, that's rather nice.
0:05:22 > 0:05:26Then you've got to swing the legs up... Wow, ah.
0:05:28 > 0:05:30Then stay here for about another 12 hours.
0:05:32 > 0:05:33That's lovely.
0:05:35 > 0:05:38The maloca seems to consist entirely of women,
0:05:38 > 0:05:41children and one very old man.
0:05:42 > 0:05:45But then, just as I'm settling in to some quality hammock time,
0:05:45 > 0:05:49I get the word that the rest of the villagers are in the forest
0:05:49 > 0:05:52preparing the traditional welcome for outsiders.
0:05:59 > 0:06:03The welcome is both an opportunity to dress up - in this case
0:06:03 > 0:06:07with red urucu dye and white feathers from the harpy eagle,
0:06:07 > 0:06:10and a way to intimidate anyone who might cross their path.
0:06:25 > 0:06:28Dressed to kill, they head back to the maloca,
0:06:28 > 0:06:32but there's still one important ingredient for any Yanomami ritual.
0:06:33 > 0:06:37The Yanomami are famed takers of a powerful psychotropic snuff
0:06:37 > 0:06:40made from the bark of forest trees.
0:06:40 > 0:06:42Apparently, it puts them into a trance-like state,
0:06:42 > 0:06:47so they can communicate with the spirit world.
0:06:47 > 0:06:51SINGING
0:06:54 > 0:06:58Suitably prepared, the welcoming party enter the maloca
0:06:58 > 0:07:00and the ritual celebrations begin.
0:07:00 > 0:07:02CHANTING
0:07:02 > 0:07:06I can understand why the Yanomami were nicknamed the "fierce people."
0:07:08 > 0:07:12The women don't take the snuff and are less intimidating
0:07:12 > 0:07:14with their version of the hokey cokey.
0:07:17 > 0:07:19After circling the maloca repeatedly,
0:07:19 > 0:07:23the men and boys go out into the blazing heat of the
0:07:23 > 0:07:28day and work themselves into a state of stomping, rhythmic agitation.
0:07:28 > 0:07:29I'm just exhausted watching.
0:07:31 > 0:07:35After that, they need a break. I'm worried about them.
0:07:42 > 0:07:44Feathers are blowing away, ah.
0:07:46 > 0:07:50- ALL:- O-o-o-h!
0:07:57 > 0:08:00After the climax of the welcoming ceremony,
0:08:00 > 0:08:04participants are rewarded for their exertions with almost unlimited
0:08:04 > 0:08:09amounts of a rainforest cocktail made from fermented peach palm.
0:08:10 > 0:08:15I'd quite like to try some. Maybe I'll start with a child's portion.
0:08:17 > 0:08:19Look at that.
0:08:27 > 0:08:30As the day draws to a close, the effects of the snuff
0:08:30 > 0:08:34and the cocktail create a soporific air as the maloca quietens down.
0:08:36 > 0:08:39It's time for me to get ready for bed and my first night in a hammock.
0:08:43 > 0:08:46Malarial mosquitoes are a constant threat here,
0:08:46 > 0:08:49and the Yanomami are as anxious as I am to protect me.
0:08:49 > 0:08:53I have a very bad record with mosquito nets. They always collapse.
0:08:55 > 0:08:58Ah, yeah. That's it, yes.
0:08:58 > 0:09:00I just need someone who knows how to do it,
0:09:00 > 0:09:03that's the thing. I don't know either.
0:09:07 > 0:09:10Sydney Harbour Bridge, this one.
0:09:10 > 0:09:12Don't try this at home.
0:09:17 > 0:09:19Four days later.
0:09:20 > 0:09:22Is it good?
0:09:25 > 0:09:28The slow pace of life is wonderfully infectious,
0:09:28 > 0:09:34but as dusk draws in, I finally find a way to make myself useful.
0:09:34 > 0:09:37There you are, you see. Great explorers.
0:09:37 > 0:09:42Telling bedtime stories to people who don't understand a word.
0:09:42 > 0:09:45That's Teddy Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt.
0:09:45 > 0:09:49He was the President of America, and he came to this part when it was
0:09:49 > 0:09:52very difficult to get through the forest.
0:09:52 > 0:09:56He came on a trip with his son who was called Kermit.
0:09:56 > 0:09:58Yeah, honestly. And a man called Rondon.
0:09:58 > 0:10:01Mr Rondon was a Brazilian.
0:10:01 > 0:10:02And they came here and they got
0:10:02 > 0:10:05completely stuck and they found a river
0:10:05 > 0:10:10to take them away and they didn't... They called it The River of Doubt.
0:10:10 > 0:10:12They didn't know where it began, didn't know where it ended.
0:10:12 > 0:10:14But eventually, after many days,
0:10:14 > 0:10:16they pushed their way down this river
0:10:16 > 0:10:18against a very hostile environment,
0:10:18 > 0:10:21and they came out at the other end and Rondon, the Brazilian,
0:10:21 > 0:10:23was so thankful to his mates, the Roosevelts,
0:10:23 > 0:10:27that he called one of the rivers the Rio Roosevelt,
0:10:27 > 0:10:29Rio Roosevelt.
0:10:29 > 0:10:31Yeah, no, you laugh,
0:10:31 > 0:10:34and he also called one of the rivers Rio Kermit
0:10:34 > 0:10:38after his son. End of the story.
0:10:38 > 0:10:40Bedtime. Off you go.
0:10:52 > 0:10:57Night-time in the maloca is only slightly less rushed than daytime.
0:10:57 > 0:11:00The pet sloth they keep in the rafters
0:11:00 > 0:11:04seems perfectly adapted to the pace of life here.
0:11:04 > 0:11:07"Ah, there's the sleepless Englishman,
0:11:07 > 0:11:10"always wanting to improve his mind.
0:11:10 > 0:11:12"What is the point?"
0:11:18 > 0:11:21Things weren't always as secure for the Yanomami.
0:11:23 > 0:11:25For a long time, their remoteness had protected them
0:11:25 > 0:11:29from the trauma of contact, but the discovery of gold in the late
0:11:29 > 0:11:321980s changed all that.
0:11:32 > 0:11:36Their land was invaded by thousands of illegal miners,
0:11:36 > 0:11:39garimpeiros, who not only poisoned the river with the mercury
0:11:39 > 0:11:43they needed to flush out the gold, but brought with them diseases,
0:11:43 > 0:11:48like measles and tuberculosis, which swept through the tribe, killing
0:11:48 > 0:11:50hundreds and changing forever the
0:11:50 > 0:11:52way they perceived the outside world.
0:11:58 > 0:12:01Only when the Brazilian government, under intense international
0:12:01 > 0:12:04pressure, took measures to get rid of the miners,
0:12:04 > 0:12:06did the Yanomami begin to recover.
0:12:08 > 0:12:11But the lure of gold will always be a threat and no-one knows
0:12:11 > 0:12:15this better than the shaman of this village, Davi Kopenawa.
0:12:15 > 0:12:19HE SPEAKS PORTUGUESE
0:12:20 > 0:12:24He's travelled in Brazil and overseas to plead their cause,
0:12:24 > 0:12:29to impress on the outside world the need for continued protection.
0:12:30 > 0:12:34As I watch him in action today, I see no remote tribesman,
0:12:34 > 0:12:37but a consummate politician working on behalf of his people.
0:12:40 > 0:12:44The Yanomami have lived in the forest for thousands of years.
0:12:44 > 0:12:51Are you consulted by the government about how best to use the forest?
0:12:51 > 0:12:55HE SPEAKS PORTUGUESE
0:12:56 > 0:13:00- TRANSLATION:- They don't call us to go to the capital, Brasilia,
0:13:00 > 0:13:03so we can hear what the government is planning to do with our land.
0:13:05 > 0:13:10They don't ask us, the indigenous people, they just tell us.
0:13:10 > 0:13:13"We are going to build the Belo Monte Dam.
0:13:13 > 0:13:16"We are going to build the Northern Ring Road.
0:13:16 > 0:13:19"We are going to build the army headquarters.
0:13:20 > 0:13:24"We are going to open mines in the indigenous territory."
0:13:26 > 0:13:28They don't consult us.
0:13:33 > 0:13:34The fact that they have cut
0:13:34 > 0:13:37and cleared a football pitch in the middle of the forest,
0:13:37 > 0:13:41shows the Yanomami are not resistant to all outside influence.
0:13:41 > 0:13:45As soccer-mad as the rest of Brazil, they save on kit by painting
0:13:45 > 0:13:49their team colours straight onto their bodies.
0:13:49 > 0:13:51And the Kop's filling up nicely.
0:13:55 > 0:13:59But this outside influence, like football, has a purpose.
0:13:59 > 0:14:02Many Brazilians feel indigenous peoples don't need such vast
0:14:02 > 0:14:04tracts of land, which could be
0:14:04 > 0:14:06better exploited for logging or cattle,
0:14:06 > 0:14:09and of course mining.
0:14:09 > 0:14:12So by hook or by crook, the government wants to bring
0:14:12 > 0:14:14the Yanomami into this debate.
0:14:21 > 0:14:24One hook is the provision of health care.
0:14:26 > 0:14:29Health workers come to the maloca to treat injuries,
0:14:29 > 0:14:31dispense drugs, and inoculate the children.
0:14:34 > 0:14:37Today, a group of government workers has flown in to tell
0:14:37 > 0:14:41the Yanomami of a new initiative in the way health care is delivered.
0:14:43 > 0:14:46Despite all these undoubtedly benevolent actions, Davi,
0:14:46 > 0:14:49the shaman, remains wary.
0:14:51 > 0:14:56You have a, um, a clinic near here, you play football. Do you see
0:14:56 > 0:15:02engagement with the outside world as the way forward for the Yanomami?
0:15:02 > 0:15:04HE SPEAKS PORTUGUESE
0:15:05 > 0:15:10- TRANSLATION:- Our priority is healthcare. This is what we need.
0:15:10 > 0:15:12And other things like playing football,
0:15:12 > 0:15:14this is really not a priority
0:15:14 > 0:15:17because this is the white man's custom.
0:15:19 > 0:15:24Our priorities are healthcare, our own culture, language and customs.
0:15:26 > 0:15:27This is what is important.
0:15:36 > 0:15:42Alongside the health programme is a school to teach them Portuguese,
0:15:42 > 0:15:45a pre-requisite for closer engagement with the rest of Brazil.
0:15:48 > 0:15:53What I've sensed from my brief stay here is the Yanomami have no
0:15:53 > 0:15:54strong desire to change.
0:15:57 > 0:16:00Like so many of the indigenous peoples of Brazil, it will be
0:16:00 > 0:16:02forced upon them.
0:16:02 > 0:16:05But who am I to judge whether a life of hunting with arrows
0:16:05 > 0:16:11and snorting snuff is preferable to a life of iPads and TV soap operas?
0:16:11 > 0:16:13But surely the choice should be theirs.
0:16:24 > 0:16:28In many of these really remote northern areas of Brazil,
0:16:28 > 0:16:31like where the Yanomami live, there's no road access at all.
0:16:31 > 0:16:34Everything goes in and out by plane, including me.
0:16:34 > 0:16:37So, I'm heading south now, towards the Amazon.
0:16:52 > 0:16:57The mighty Amazon is at the heart of a network of over a thousand rivers.
0:16:57 > 0:17:01Together, they contain up to 20% of the world's fresh water.
0:17:02 > 0:17:05I leave the headwaters of the Rio Branco
0:17:05 > 0:17:10and head south towards Manaus where all the great rivers gather.
0:17:11 > 0:17:15I'm on my way to find out more about the people who live from these
0:17:15 > 0:17:19rivers, from the growing business of eco-tourism,
0:17:19 > 0:17:21to the declining fortunes of a people
0:17:21 > 0:17:26almost as endangered as the Yanomami - the Seringueiros.
0:17:29 > 0:17:31150 years ago, wild rubber,
0:17:31 > 0:17:35harvested by thousands of Indians and the caboclos,
0:17:35 > 0:17:37those mixed-race Indians
0:17:37 > 0:17:42and Portuguese, created a boom which made fortunes for the rubber barons,
0:17:42 > 0:17:45but a harsh, and pretty miserable life for those who collected it.
0:17:50 > 0:17:53In 1876, an Englishman called
0:17:53 > 0:17:57Henry Wickham stole some rubber seeds and sent them back to England.
0:17:58 > 0:18:01By 1900, they had been transplanted to the Far East,
0:18:01 > 0:18:03and by 1920,
0:18:03 > 0:18:06the Brazilian rubber industry had all but collapsed.
0:18:09 > 0:18:11- Michael.- Gabriel...- Welcome to the St Thomas village.
0:18:11 > 0:18:13..yeah, thank you, thank you, thank you.
0:18:13 > 0:18:18In the village of Sao Tomas, I'm met by local guide, Gabriel.
0:18:18 > 0:18:22He takes me to meet Elias, one of the old Seringueiros.
0:18:22 > 0:18:25He still taps the few remaining rubber trees which
0:18:25 > 0:18:29leak their now not-so-precious fluid.
0:18:29 > 0:18:32Rubber man, he know about rubber, where rubber tree is,
0:18:32 > 0:18:35- he knows to cut the rubber tree. - Hello.
0:18:35 > 0:18:41- Hello, mister, this is Michael.- And he's Elias, yes.
0:18:41 > 0:18:45So, here's the rubber, rubber tree.
0:18:45 > 0:18:50Here they are wild trees. They grow here and there and everywhere.
0:18:50 > 0:18:52Yeah, yeah.
0:18:54 > 0:18:59So, here's the sap, coming out, yeah. And this... Thank you.
0:18:59 > 0:19:00- Ah, the seed.- Yes, rubber.
0:19:00 > 0:19:03This is, these are the seeds of the rubber tree.
0:19:03 > 0:19:05So this is what the seeds looked like
0:19:05 > 0:19:06- that Henry Wickham...- Exactly.
0:19:06 > 0:19:08..took from the Amazon, went back to Kew.
0:19:08 > 0:19:10Back to, erm...
0:19:10 > 0:19:13- They then took them out to Malaysia. - To Malaysia.
0:19:13 > 0:19:16And end of the Brazilian rubber industry.
0:19:16 > 0:19:18I might take one myself
0:19:18 > 0:19:20and start the rubber industry in Sheffield.
0:19:20 > 0:19:22Yeah.
0:19:22 > 0:19:23They need some more investment.
0:19:23 > 0:19:28HE SPEAKS PORTUGUESE
0:19:29 > 0:19:30"It's dry," he said.
0:19:30 > 0:19:33It's dry. I know, I know. We're pretending.
0:19:33 > 0:19:35HE LAUGHS
0:19:36 > 0:19:40The key to turning the white sap into big business was
0:19:40 > 0:19:44a process invented in 1839 by Thomas Goodyear.
0:19:44 > 0:19:47Vulcanisation, he called it.
0:19:47 > 0:19:49By heating latex with sulphur,
0:19:49 > 0:19:53he found that the brittle rubber became elastic and malleable.
0:19:53 > 0:19:55And so the floodgates to 100 uses,
0:19:55 > 0:19:59from tyres to waterproofs, were opened.
0:19:59 > 0:20:01So the idea is to get it in a nice
0:20:01 > 0:20:06sort of flexible piece of malleable material. OK.
0:20:06 > 0:20:09- Look here. - Yeah.
0:20:09 > 0:20:12Here we are, yeah, yeah. That's it, yeah, here we are.
0:20:12 > 0:20:14Stick, yeah.
0:20:14 > 0:20:18That's rubber indeed, yes. It reminds me of the handlebars
0:20:18 > 0:20:23I have on my old bicycle at home, well, you wouldn't know, but I did.
0:20:25 > 0:20:28To collect latex, then to make this process here.
0:20:28 > 0:20:32So this is just a larger version of that?
0:20:35 > 0:20:36- Oh!- Yeah, like a ball.
0:20:39 > 0:20:43Yeah, that works. To you!
0:20:43 > 0:20:48And so did, did people like him get rich?
0:20:48 > 0:20:52THEY SPEAK PORTUGUESE
0:20:58 > 0:20:59The foreigners got rich.
0:20:59 > 0:21:02So he said, er, he said only the, rubber barons.
0:21:02 > 0:21:07- Caboclos?- Caboclos, no.- Yes. Hard life.
0:21:10 > 0:21:14Elias carries with him an air of sadness and regret,
0:21:14 > 0:21:17as do many caboclos of his generation.
0:21:18 > 0:21:22Life goes on. But there will be no more good times.
0:21:22 > 0:21:25If there ever were.
0:21:34 > 0:21:37Even a younger man like Gabriel believes the river has
0:21:37 > 0:21:40magical properties, like the legendary pink dolphin.
0:21:42 > 0:21:46Some caboclos they believe that the animal has the capacity to
0:21:46 > 0:21:53become a man at midnight and sometimes it's possible to find some
0:21:53 > 0:21:57girls here pregnant. They said that the dolphin did this.
0:21:57 > 0:21:59All the guys who are to blame, blame
0:21:59 > 0:22:02the dolphin, that's great. It's a big dolphin.
0:22:02 > 0:22:05A dolphin...a dolphin's responsible.
0:22:06 > 0:22:10There's something about the pink river dolphin that intrigues me.
0:22:10 > 0:22:14Thanks to a local dolphin wrangler, there is a way I can find out more.
0:22:14 > 0:22:17Well, the first time I've actually done...swum with
0:22:17 > 0:22:20the dolphins... They are here, which is rather good,
0:22:20 > 0:22:23but I have to wear this, this is regulations for the Brazilian
0:22:23 > 0:22:27authorities, even though I'm only going to be standing on the board.
0:22:27 > 0:22:30It's not some strange incontinence garment, in case you think so.
0:22:30 > 0:22:32So, here we go.
0:22:34 > 0:22:37The water's very black, so I can't actually see anything at all.
0:22:38 > 0:22:44OK, on the platform now, and where is the dolphin?
0:22:44 > 0:22:48Then, quite suddenly, there they are.
0:22:50 > 0:22:52She's quite alarming with the teeth.
0:22:52 > 0:22:54Unable to resist the lure of the sardine.
0:23:10 > 0:23:14Terrific jaws, in fact, rows of about 25 teeth on either side.
0:23:16 > 0:23:18At first it's slightly... Ooh, I can feel his body
0:23:18 > 0:23:21rubbing against the bottom of my leg.
0:23:25 > 0:23:29Once they've got the fish, they just sort of rub against you
0:23:29 > 0:23:32and almost use you to bounce off back into the water.
0:23:32 > 0:23:35They're big, sort of sturdy, quite heavy creatures.
0:23:41 > 0:23:44I'm now actually off the platform, free in the water
0:23:44 > 0:23:47and a bit apprehensive of the beak.
0:23:47 > 0:23:54Whoa. Oh, yes, very good. I wish I could do that.
0:23:54 > 0:24:00Fantastic. I so easily could have been that sardine.
0:24:05 > 0:24:08OK, guys, well, you can all go home now leave me
0:24:08 > 0:24:13floating in the Rio Negro with my new friends, my new chums.
0:24:15 > 0:24:17We are the sardine generation.
0:24:35 > 0:24:38There are many spectacular sights in the Amazon,
0:24:38 > 0:24:41but few can rival the confluence of the region's
0:24:41 > 0:24:45two mightiest rivers - the muddy Amazon itself, rich with
0:24:45 > 0:24:47acidic sludge from the Andes,
0:24:47 > 0:24:50and the tannin-black waters of the Rio Negro.
0:24:53 > 0:24:56It is an absolutely extraordinary sight,
0:24:56 > 0:24:59because it is so clear and sharp that it really
0:24:59 > 0:25:05is like a battle between the black tea and the milky coffee coming in.
0:25:06 > 0:25:09The coffee colour wins over the black tea in the end.
0:25:09 > 0:25:13Leaving the new double-strength Amazon to flow another
0:25:13 > 0:25:15thousand miles to the sea,
0:25:15 > 0:25:19we descend to the city which is synonymous with this great river.
0:25:19 > 0:25:25Manaus, once a jungle outpost, is now home to two million people.
0:25:26 > 0:25:29Rubber put Manaus on the map. At the heyday of the boom,
0:25:29 > 0:25:32it was the richest city in the southern hemisphere.
0:25:32 > 0:25:36The first in Brazil to have trams, the second to have electricity.
0:25:36 > 0:25:40At the turn of the 20th century, fortunes were made
0:25:40 > 0:25:41and spent here.
0:25:41 > 0:25:45The rubber barons spared nothing in creating a mini
0:25:45 > 0:25:46Paris in the rainforest.
0:25:48 > 0:25:50But when the British stole the rubber
0:25:50 > 0:25:54trade away from Brazil, the glories of Manaus quickly faded.
0:25:54 > 0:25:57Except, that is, for one magnificent survivor.
0:26:01 > 0:26:04The Teatro Amazonas, the Manaus Opera House,
0:26:04 > 0:26:07has been sumptuously restored.
0:26:07 > 0:26:09Designed by Italians, built with Scottish ironwork
0:26:09 > 0:26:12and French marble, it was intended to show that,
0:26:12 > 0:26:18jungle or no jungle, anything Europe could do, Brazil could do better.
0:26:26 > 0:26:29100 years on, the Amazon Philharmonic Orchestra
0:26:29 > 0:26:33are rehearsing the overture to a Brazilian opera called
0:26:33 > 0:26:37Il Guarany, about a doomed love affair between a Portuguese
0:26:37 > 0:26:39noblewoman and a native Indian.
0:26:47 > 0:26:50The musicians come from all over the world,
0:26:50 > 0:26:53many from the former East European countries.
0:26:53 > 0:26:56The latest of a long line of immigrants who've come
0:26:56 > 0:26:58to the Amazon to find a better life.
0:27:03 > 0:27:06Manaus might have had its day as the centre of the great rubber boom,
0:27:06 > 0:27:10but there was still one more act in the great Brazilian rubber drama.
0:27:15 > 0:27:17It was here, at the ferry port of Santarem
0:27:17 > 0:27:20on the Amazon, in the mid-1920s,
0:27:20 > 0:27:23that a group of Americans from the Ford motor company
0:27:23 > 0:27:25set off to find a site in the jungle
0:27:25 > 0:27:31where they could build their very own rubber plantation.
0:27:32 > 0:27:36I'm going to take a ferry myself to see how their dream turned out.
0:27:39 > 0:27:41The ferry's in there somewhere.
0:27:41 > 0:27:43I've just got to find it.
0:27:46 > 0:27:49These tightly-packed boats are the lifeblood of the river system.
0:27:49 > 0:27:52Not just for people, but for goods too.
0:27:52 > 0:27:56No trucks are allowed at the jetty, so all cargo,
0:27:56 > 0:27:58which seems to consist largely of beer,
0:27:58 > 0:28:00has to be manhandled onto the boats.
0:28:03 > 0:28:09But, amazingly, my 4.30 ferry out of Santarem leaves dead on 4.30.
0:28:13 > 0:28:15I'm now on my way to one of the
0:28:15 > 0:28:19strangest locations of modern Brazilian history,
0:28:19 > 0:28:23a place called Fordlandia, which Henry Ford created
0:28:23 > 0:28:26in the 1920s,
0:28:26 > 0:28:28an experiment in rubber production.
0:28:36 > 0:28:39There isn't a lot of room on board, but not to worry.
0:28:39 > 0:28:42Journey only takes 14 hours.
0:28:44 > 0:28:47We shall navigate rivers the size of lakes,
0:28:47 > 0:28:51turning south off the Amazon and up its tributary,
0:28:51 > 0:28:52the Tapajos.
0:29:00 > 0:29:03I must say, when I first got on, there was a bit of chaos. I thought,
0:29:03 > 0:29:05"Can I survive this?" But it kind of...
0:29:05 > 0:29:08There's an order here and you settle down
0:29:08 > 0:29:10and get your hammock and I
0:29:10 > 0:29:13just can't believe I've discovered the joys of hammock travelling
0:29:13 > 0:29:15so late in my
0:29:15 > 0:29:17travelling life. They're just... They are...
0:29:17 > 0:29:20They are wonderful. And here in Brazil, of course, you
0:29:20 > 0:29:23don't have the government hammock or the
0:29:23 > 0:29:25shipping line hammock, you have your own colour -
0:29:25 > 0:29:26look at all these lovely colours!
0:29:26 > 0:29:29And you take up a minimum amount of space.
0:29:29 > 0:29:32Pretty simple. If you want to have a look around, you do
0:29:32 > 0:29:34that, and if you want to be a bit private, you just,
0:29:34 > 0:29:37you know, that, and it's...
0:29:37 > 0:29:43I think I was just born to swing from hooks.
0:30:38 > 0:30:40It's a grey old morning on the Tapajos,
0:30:40 > 0:30:44and I've transferred to a smaller ferry which will drop me off
0:30:44 > 0:30:47where the men from Dearborn, Michigan, first arrived
0:30:47 > 0:30:50some 80 years ago.
0:30:50 > 0:30:55And what looks like a mirage at first is indeed my destination -
0:30:55 > 0:30:56Fordlandia.
0:30:59 > 0:31:01There it is.
0:31:03 > 0:31:05To turn Ford's dream into reality, factories
0:31:05 > 0:31:09were built and Midwestern houses and streets
0:31:09 > 0:31:14sprang up as fast as the jungle could be stripped and cleared.
0:31:14 > 0:31:17Under the guidance of the top men in the American motor industry,
0:31:17 > 0:31:20schools were built and a transport system created to carry
0:31:20 > 0:31:22the workforce.
0:31:25 > 0:31:28It was an epic adventure.
0:31:29 > 0:31:32And in the end, an epic failure.
0:31:41 > 0:31:45Ford's plan for his company to produce all its own rubber
0:31:45 > 0:31:48collapsed as disease destroyed the trees
0:31:48 > 0:31:51and ill-health sapped the workforce.
0:31:53 > 0:31:58In 1945, the Americans finally packed up and went home,
0:31:58 > 0:32:01leaving behind the ghosts of a great enterprise.
0:32:14 > 0:32:16This is all that remains of what was
0:32:16 > 0:32:20once Fordlandia's state-of-the-art hospital.
0:32:20 > 0:32:23Now the only signs of life are colonies of bats
0:32:23 > 0:32:27occupying the rooms and the operating theatres.
0:32:31 > 0:32:32And this is it.
0:32:32 > 0:32:37This is all that's left of Henry Ford's great dream
0:32:37 > 0:32:41of creating the perfect America in Brazil.
0:33:00 > 0:33:04Belem, one of the oldest cities of the Amazon, is the perfect
0:33:04 > 0:33:06place to lift the spirits.
0:33:06 > 0:33:09Located close to where the river meets the sea, it bounces
0:33:09 > 0:33:10and bustles with life,
0:33:10 > 0:33:12as the fishermen bring in the
0:33:12 > 0:33:15produce of the fertile waters of the delta.
0:33:15 > 0:33:18Watched all the way by the resident rubbish collectors,
0:33:18 > 0:33:21an enthusiastic flock of turkey vultures.
0:33:24 > 0:33:28This gothic extravaganza, made from Glaswegian ironwork,
0:33:28 > 0:33:31is the market they called Ver-o-peso.
0:33:31 > 0:33:33"See the weight." A reference to the days
0:33:33 > 0:33:39when the Portuguese extracted taxes on the local produce.
0:33:45 > 0:33:49Ver-o-peso is one of the great fish markets in Brazil.
0:33:49 > 0:33:53And I'm guided around it by Priscilla, a young music manager,
0:33:53 > 0:33:55and someone for whom quality is vital.
0:33:55 > 0:34:00Belem's top rated young chef, Thiago Castanho.
0:34:00 > 0:34:02Tucunare.
0:34:02 > 0:34:05Oh, yeah...tucunare.
0:34:05 > 0:34:10- They are cheap.- Eye on the back, yeah. This is beautiful.- Very.
0:34:10 > 0:34:13What a beautiful-looking fish.
0:34:13 > 0:34:16Part of the thing about food here seems there's
0:34:16 > 0:34:19so much of everything. Not just fish, but fruit and...
0:34:19 > 0:34:24THIAGO SPEAKS PORTUGUESE
0:34:28 > 0:34:32Belem has a lot of different food.
0:34:32 > 0:34:36- Every fish, every fruit has its season.- Oh, right. OK.
0:34:36 > 0:34:43- So, you're always changing your menu to reflect what is seasonal.- Yes.
0:34:54 > 0:34:56Thiago has had to go back to his kitchen.
0:34:56 > 0:35:01But Priscilla is keen to show another aspect of Amazonian produce
0:35:01 > 0:35:03dear to her body and soul.
0:35:03 > 0:35:06So what's all these?
0:35:06 > 0:35:11These are traditional medicines for almost everything.
0:35:11 > 0:35:14- From the Amazon, from the rainforest?- Yes.
0:35:14 > 0:35:16All from the rainforest.
0:35:16 > 0:35:18Hello. Hola.
0:35:18 > 0:35:21THEY SPEAK PORTUGEUSE
0:35:24 > 0:35:27- This is andiroba. It's an oil.- Yeah.
0:35:27 > 0:35:28We use for almost everything.
0:35:28 > 0:35:31- We use for hair.- Yeah.
0:35:31 > 0:35:33Have beautiful hair. The Indians use for the hair.
0:35:33 > 0:35:36- Yes.- And we use for pain,
0:35:36 > 0:35:40- if you have arth...- Arthritis?- Yes.
0:35:40 > 0:35:41- Yes, on joints.- Yes, on joints.
0:35:41 > 0:35:44Do big companies come round and
0:35:44 > 0:35:47look at these and say, "Hey, we can make money out of this."
0:35:47 > 0:35:50- Yes.- Arthritis and shampoo in the same bottle.
0:35:50 > 0:35:53- That's something.- There are now shampoos in Brazil with this.
0:35:53 > 0:35:55- Really?- Really, because companies are coming for this.
0:35:55 > 0:35:58This is very traditional. Everyone uses.
0:35:58 > 0:35:59What other things do they have here?
0:35:59 > 0:36:02I mean, you know, we've been travelling for a long time
0:36:02 > 0:36:04and I'm quite, you know, tired,
0:36:04 > 0:36:08few aches, you know, you feel just a little bit travel-worn.
0:36:08 > 0:36:11Does she have something that would, you know...?
0:36:11 > 0:36:13Liven me up?
0:36:13 > 0:36:15THEY SPEAK PORTUGUESE
0:36:17 > 0:36:20- TRANSLATION: - We have the natural Viagra,
0:36:20 > 0:36:23which is an energising concoction.
0:36:23 > 0:36:27It stimulates you sexually and mentally.
0:36:27 > 0:36:30That's not quite what I meant, but yeah...
0:36:31 > 0:36:33Yes. Yeah, OK.
0:36:33 > 0:36:37What is the most popular seller here?
0:36:37 > 0:36:39The most popular one you get asked for?
0:36:48 > 0:36:51She says a lot of baths for love, that's the top seller.
0:36:51 > 0:36:55Baths for love. I love that. It's like...
0:36:55 > 0:36:58Yeah, so sex is quite an important
0:36:58 > 0:37:01problem for people, I suppose?
0:37:01 > 0:37:03Yeah, in Brazil as well?
0:37:03 > 0:37:06You always imagine the Brazilians being sexually very happy
0:37:06 > 0:37:09- and harmonious and fulfilled. - Probably because of this.
0:37:09 > 0:37:10Probably because of this, yes.
0:37:10 > 0:37:12Well, that kind of bottle, yeah.
0:37:12 > 0:37:17Oh, well, I don't think I'll take that because, well...
0:37:17 > 0:37:19I'm past that now but maybe...
0:37:19 > 0:37:22- You should have the spiritual one too.- Something... Yes.
0:37:22 > 0:37:25Something that would help me learn Portuguese.
0:37:31 > 0:37:34The reward for a hard morning shopping in this
0:37:34 > 0:37:37palace of delights is lunch with Priscilla,
0:37:37 > 0:37:41at Thiago's newly opened, decidedly upmarket restaurant.
0:37:49 > 0:37:50Thiago may be the star of his
0:37:50 > 0:37:53all-male kitchen, but Priscilla makes
0:37:53 > 0:37:56it clear the fairer sex is the stronger one around here.
0:38:00 > 0:38:04The strong people, they are women. Women are strong in the Amazon.
0:38:04 > 0:38:06- Really? - Really.
0:38:06 > 0:38:09A lot of the shopkeepers are women, yeah.
0:38:09 > 0:38:13Yeah. You see, the men they don't talk that much, they stay out,
0:38:13 > 0:38:14they keep their place.
0:38:14 > 0:38:16That's interesting cos the original word,
0:38:16 > 0:38:18the Spanish word Amazon was the woman,
0:38:18 > 0:38:21the warriors. You know, the...
0:38:21 > 0:38:25- Yes.- Entirely female warriors. - That's how, that's how I see...
0:38:25 > 0:38:28Do you see yourself in that, er, tradition?
0:38:28 > 0:38:30Yes, I think so. You've going to meet Gaby.
0:38:30 > 0:38:32- Yeah.- Yeah, the singer.
0:38:32 > 0:38:35- Gaby is who you manage, yeah?- You're
0:38:35 > 0:38:39going to understand the power of Amazon women when you meet her.
0:38:48 > 0:38:50Gaby Amarantos is quite something.
0:38:50 > 0:38:54She's created a fusion of old-style local music with a modern beat
0:38:54 > 0:38:57that she's christened tecnobrega.
0:39:01 > 0:39:04Gaby's been trying to make it in the business since she was a teenager.
0:39:04 > 0:39:06What keeps her going,
0:39:06 > 0:39:08even in a modest local bar like this,
0:39:08 > 0:39:11is a strength and self-belief which she attributes to her
0:39:11 > 0:39:13mixed-race Amazonian roots.
0:39:20 > 0:39:23SHE SPEAKS PORTUGUESE
0:39:26 > 0:39:29- TRANSLATION:- I think women from the Amazon feel free and natural because
0:39:29 > 0:39:32we are a product of our indigenous
0:39:32 > 0:39:34roots and I am very proud of my origins.
0:39:37 > 0:39:41I feel free to say how I feel through my music, and I think
0:39:41 > 0:39:43this is very particular, special
0:39:43 > 0:39:45characteristic of the women from the Amazon.
0:39:47 > 0:39:49They are more relaxed.
0:39:54 > 0:39:56Gaby's been called the Beyonce of the Amazon,
0:39:56 > 0:39:59but to me there's something else going on here.
0:39:59 > 0:40:02Something more Boadicea than Beyonce.
0:40:06 > 0:40:09I feel a force and the people that watch the show,
0:40:09 > 0:40:13they have never seen me, that are not from here...
0:40:13 > 0:40:15they see a force of nature,
0:40:15 > 0:40:17bringing them the power of Amazonia.
0:40:19 > 0:40:21So I feel something that I can't explain, that gives me
0:40:21 > 0:40:25goose bumps, that makes people fall in love with this
0:40:25 > 0:40:31type of music and they know that there is something behind it...
0:40:31 > 0:40:33SHE SINGS IN PORTUGUESE
0:40:53 > 0:40:56With the sounds of Gaby's tecnobrega still ringing in my ears,
0:40:56 > 0:40:58I head south from Belem up one of
0:40:58 > 0:41:02the major tributaries of the Amazon, the Xingu river.
0:41:04 > 0:41:07It runs through one of the most protected areas in Brazil.
0:41:08 > 0:41:1060 years ago, a reservation
0:41:10 > 0:41:12for the ten tribes of the Upper Xingu
0:41:12 > 0:41:13was created.
0:41:15 > 0:41:19In contrast to the Yanomami, their land is more accessible,
0:41:19 > 0:41:22so it's been a constant fight against incursions.
0:41:23 > 0:41:25Today, only those invited by the
0:41:25 > 0:41:28tribes themselves are allowed to enter.
0:41:30 > 0:41:34I've no idea what I shall find, or how I'll be received.
0:41:34 > 0:41:38My legs are wobbly. Hello!
0:41:40 > 0:41:46Hi. We've been invited here by the Wauja people,
0:41:46 > 0:41:49of whom there are fewer than 500 left in the world.
0:41:49 > 0:41:52THEY CHANT
0:41:56 > 0:42:00The Wauja are feared warriors, renowned for their wrestling skills.
0:42:00 > 0:42:04But they're equally well known for their elaborate rituals.
0:42:04 > 0:42:07I'm not absolutely sure if this is a war dance or a welcome.
0:42:08 > 0:42:10Happily, it turns out to be both.
0:42:17 > 0:42:22- Brilliant. That was brilliant.- Woo! - Woo!
0:42:22 > 0:42:25Fantastic, thank you. Thank you.
0:42:30 > 0:42:34Their elaborate body decorations and the feathers they use
0:42:34 > 0:42:36on their arms and ears are beautiful,
0:42:36 > 0:42:39but to a newcomer, quite mystifying.
0:42:39 > 0:42:42As is the purpose of the elaborate dances they've laid on.
0:43:00 > 0:43:04Fortunately, I'm in good hands. Our intermediary with the Wauja is
0:43:04 > 0:43:07Emi Ireland, an American anthropologist who on several
0:43:07 > 0:43:08visits here has learnt the language
0:43:08 > 0:43:12and developed a deep affinity with the people.
0:43:17 > 0:43:18What's the dance about?
0:43:18 > 0:43:22OK, this is the kagapa dance, the kagapa ceremony.
0:43:22 > 0:43:24- Kagapa.- Kagapa.
0:43:24 > 0:43:28- Yep.- And it's a small fish, it's a bait fish and, er, it's er,
0:43:28 > 0:43:31you find it in the shallows.
0:43:31 > 0:43:32Yes.
0:43:32 > 0:43:33Er, next to, under the leaves.
0:43:33 > 0:43:36And that's why the young men are wearing leaves,
0:43:36 > 0:43:39- cos they are the spirit of the kagapa fish.- Oh, I see.
0:43:39 > 0:43:42And so they appear just as they do in the stream.
0:43:42 > 0:43:45And the kagapa fish is a superb bait fish.
0:43:45 > 0:43:47So, people are very happy to find kagapa because...
0:43:47 > 0:43:50- It leads them to another.- A big one, yeah.- I see, yeah.
0:43:50 > 0:43:53- So, everybody's in a good mood when there's lots of kagapa around.- Yeah.
0:43:53 > 0:43:55What do they...? Do they catch a lot
0:43:55 > 0:43:57of fish, is that their main source of food?
0:43:57 > 0:43:59Of protein.
0:43:59 > 0:44:01Ah, yeah, but along with, er, they
0:44:01 > 0:44:03eat a lot of manioc bread, you'll have some of that.
0:44:03 > 0:44:05Yeah.
0:44:05 > 0:44:09And they also eat pequi fruit, it is an oily fruit, very nutritious.
0:44:09 > 0:44:11How long does this dance go on for?
0:44:11 > 0:44:15Ah, it usually goes on for a couple of hours.
0:44:15 > 0:44:18And they have other ceremonies that go on for days,
0:44:18 > 0:44:21- but not this particular one.- Yeah.
0:44:23 > 0:44:26What's nice is they have this big village with this big population,
0:44:26 > 0:44:31so it gives them more options for everything,
0:44:31 > 0:44:36more options for ceremonies, more options for marriage partners.
0:44:36 > 0:44:39For a long time, people grew up with only one or two
0:44:39 > 0:44:41people who they could marry.
0:44:41 > 0:44:44Wow, that takes a lot of the complication out of it.
0:44:44 > 0:44:47Yes, it certainly does.
0:44:47 > 0:44:51You know what you've got to do and who you've got to do it with.
0:44:51 > 0:44:54Though it's not easy to get to the upper Xingu,
0:44:54 > 0:44:57we're certainly not the first film crew they've ever seen.
0:44:57 > 0:45:00Indeed, they now have film equipment themselves,
0:45:00 > 0:45:03which they're using to make a photographic record of their tribe,
0:45:03 > 0:45:07their way of life.
0:45:07 > 0:45:10But are they in danger or losing something
0:45:10 > 0:45:13because of all this outside influence?
0:45:13 > 0:45:16The notion of purity, whether it's racial purity,
0:45:16 > 0:45:19- or cultural purity, it's dangerous.- Yeah.
0:45:19 > 0:45:21But what they have to maintain is vigour
0:45:21 > 0:45:23and self-respect, self-determination,
0:45:23 > 0:45:27empowerment, and frankly also the forest is very important
0:45:27 > 0:45:31for all of us, and they know that.
0:45:31 > 0:45:35Part of what this team is doing is bringing film equipment
0:45:35 > 0:45:37so the community can record historical information
0:45:37 > 0:45:41from their elders, so they've been very excited about this.
0:46:31 > 0:46:34Well, first morning
0:46:34 > 0:46:37on the Xingu, well, tributaries of the Xingu,
0:46:37 > 0:46:39erm...
0:46:39 > 0:46:41Coming to life quite slowly.
0:46:41 > 0:46:44Poured with rain in the middle of the night.
0:46:44 > 0:46:46It's the rainy season. Pelted down with rain.
0:46:46 > 0:46:48I think they may be just sort of
0:46:48 > 0:46:49plugging a few leaks back there.
0:46:49 > 0:46:52These houses -
0:46:52 > 0:46:55and I must not call them huts, I know that, they're houses -
0:46:55 > 0:46:58are really fantastic, beautifully-built.
0:46:58 > 0:47:01Spent quite a comfortable night there. Quite a buggy
0:47:01 > 0:47:04sort of atmosphere, but then it is the wet season.
0:47:04 > 0:47:07My first impression is it's almost most exotic than
0:47:07 > 0:47:09right up the north with the Yanomami,
0:47:09 > 0:47:12and yet I think there's more influence from outside here.
0:47:14 > 0:47:18You see t-shirts, a pick-up truck. There's a satellite dish and
0:47:18 > 0:47:21things like that, so something is happening here
0:47:21 > 0:47:23which is slightly different... Well,
0:47:23 > 0:47:26very different, actually, to the Yanomami.
0:47:26 > 0:47:29I think these people are seeing more of the world outside.
0:47:29 > 0:47:30Anyway, breakfast.
0:47:36 > 0:47:38Thank you.
0:47:38 > 0:47:40You have real potential, Michael.
0:47:40 > 0:47:42At last, something I can do in life!
0:47:43 > 0:47:47The preparation of food is, quite literally, hands on.
0:47:47 > 0:47:51And the Wauja women have work for me. That's tricky there.
0:47:53 > 0:47:56Manioc is a nutritious root that grows all year round.
0:47:56 > 0:47:58It certainly isn't a fast food.
0:47:58 > 0:48:00They're saying you're very good at it.
0:48:02 > 0:48:03Don't let my wife see this.
0:48:03 > 0:48:06She will never peel a potato again.
0:48:11 > 0:48:13After the peeling, the grating.
0:48:13 > 0:48:17Now, my technique here is not taken altogether seriously.
0:48:23 > 0:48:25What's so funny?
0:48:25 > 0:48:30SHE SPEAKS OWN LANGUAGE
0:48:32 > 0:48:34Don't go, don't go, you should stay here
0:48:34 > 0:48:36and we'll take you to the manioc garden.
0:48:38 > 0:48:42- They want you to take me, yeah. - You are the ideal husband.- Oh, well.
0:48:43 > 0:48:44This way, this way.
0:48:46 > 0:48:51Oh, yeah, course, of course... That's it, yes,
0:48:51 > 0:48:55yes. This is the best cookery course I've been on, really.
0:48:55 > 0:48:57You'll never do this for Jamie Oliver.
0:49:02 > 0:49:04How long does it take them to prepare this?
0:49:04 > 0:49:08Just, I've just done five minutes, I'm exhausted.
0:49:08 > 0:49:11- About three hours a day. - Three hours a day, gosh.
0:49:11 > 0:49:14- They work hard.- They work very hard. No slackers?- No slackers.
0:49:14 > 0:49:16But a lazy person, are they
0:49:16 > 0:49:18stigmatised by the rest of the group?
0:49:18 > 0:49:23- Oh, yes very much, very much so. - In what way? Called rude names?
0:49:23 > 0:49:27Well, yes, sometimes the women won't want to marry them.
0:49:27 > 0:49:29Is it very important for them to marry?
0:49:29 > 0:49:32I mean, couldn't they just have the nice life as a bachelor?
0:49:32 > 0:49:36Well, imagine how could you live well if you had no manioc?
0:49:36 > 0:49:39You need to have a female relative to make it for you.
0:49:43 > 0:49:45Now I know what the men's role is.
0:50:04 > 0:50:06My final test, could
0:50:06 > 0:50:10I turn the grated manioc into beiju - traditional Wauja bread.
0:50:11 > 0:50:14This is getting fire in my eyes.
0:50:16 > 0:50:18Harder, OK.
0:50:21 > 0:50:22Ah.
0:50:22 > 0:50:24I just can't see anything cos I'm
0:50:24 > 0:50:26just getting smoke in my eyes.
0:50:26 > 0:50:28You're probably jealous that your
0:50:28 > 0:50:30wife is entertaining affection for someone else
0:50:30 > 0:50:32and that's why smoke is blowing in your eyes.
0:50:32 > 0:50:35- Oh, is it? Oh. - That's the reason.
0:50:35 > 0:50:36OK, so where are we? Over again?
0:50:39 > 0:50:41Yeah. Like that?
0:50:42 > 0:50:45Well, I think I'm better on the grating.
0:50:57 > 0:51:01Music and dance are an intrinsic part of Wauja life.
0:51:01 > 0:51:05These sacred flutes can only be played, or indeed touched,
0:51:05 > 0:51:06by the men-folk.
0:51:09 > 0:51:14During sacred rituals, the women are not even allowed to see them,
0:51:14 > 0:51:17but today's more of a social occasion, as young girls who have
0:51:17 > 0:51:21been in puberty isolation are welcomed back to the community.
0:51:32 > 0:51:36Later, Emi takes me to the house of her oldest and closest confidant,
0:51:36 > 0:51:39the shaman Itsutaku. I ask him
0:51:39 > 0:51:42if he feels confident about the future.
0:51:42 > 0:51:44HE SPEAKS OWN LANGUAGE
0:51:45 > 0:51:51The new danger is that, um, there are a lot of very
0:51:51 > 0:51:55powerful interests that want to dam the rivers.
0:51:55 > 0:51:57Damming the rivers destroys the ecology
0:51:57 > 0:52:00and slowly strangles the whole community.
0:52:00 > 0:52:04For instance, now they're planning to build a hydroelectric dam,
0:52:04 > 0:52:09Belo Monte, which will be the third-largest dam ever built
0:52:09 > 0:52:12and scientists who have studied it say it doesn't make any
0:52:12 > 0:52:15sense unless there's a whole complex of dams planned. So,
0:52:15 > 0:52:20it's an ecological catastrophe and I said to him, "How would you
0:52:20 > 0:52:22"deal with that problem?" And he said,
0:52:22 > 0:52:24"We don't have a solution for that."
0:52:30 > 0:52:33I hope that Itsutaku's anxieties will prove unfounded.
0:52:33 > 0:52:37The Wauja may be few, but that's no reason to allow a culture,
0:52:37 > 0:52:41a language, and a way of life to simply disappear.
0:52:45 > 0:52:49Bye-bye. Thank you. Tchau. Muito obrigato.
0:52:54 > 0:52:57In the debate about the future of the rainforest,
0:52:57 > 0:53:00the voice of the people who've lived here for thousands of years is
0:53:00 > 0:53:02not only valuable, it's indispensable.
0:53:04 > 0:53:06It's reassuring that someone else who also has
0:53:06 > 0:53:10the future of the rainforest at heart is my pilot, Gerard Moss.
0:53:13 > 0:53:17I spend hundreds of hours a year flying this plane at low level,
0:53:17 > 0:53:22in the Amazon, and every single flight that I take
0:53:22 > 0:53:27I discover new openings, new clearings, recent deforestation.
0:53:27 > 0:53:29So, is it ever going to stop?
0:53:29 > 0:53:32What do you think is the worst case scenario?
0:53:32 > 0:53:36We have, in Brazil, lost approximately 20% of
0:53:36 > 0:53:38the cover of the forest.
0:53:38 > 0:53:41There's a general consensus among scientists
0:53:41 > 0:53:46that once we lose close to 40% of the total area,
0:53:46 > 0:53:49we could go into self destructive mode, and the forest becoming
0:53:49 > 0:53:54a savannah, which has already started in certain areas.
0:53:54 > 0:53:56Savannah meaning it's drying out,
0:53:56 > 0:53:58it's becoming more vulnerable to fire, for instance.
0:53:58 > 0:54:02So, fire, in a forested area of this size, could be kind of devastating?
0:54:02 > 0:54:05Absolutely disastrous, because you have no access to combat
0:54:05 > 0:54:07the fire, so these fires would go on for years, frankly.
0:54:07 > 0:54:09And that is a real concern to us.
0:54:09 > 0:54:13Do you think that the politicians have the will to change things?
0:54:13 > 0:54:16One needs to look a bit further ahead. There's no doubt that
0:54:16 > 0:54:19Brazil, frankly, is the, in my opinion, is the only
0:54:19 > 0:54:22country in the world, on this planet,
0:54:22 > 0:54:24that is capable of feeding huge,
0:54:24 > 0:54:26vast amounts of people, we're going to be nine billion,
0:54:26 > 0:54:27in some years' time.
0:54:27 > 0:54:30There's no country that has all the resources, the space,
0:54:30 > 0:54:32the land, and especially the water.
0:54:36 > 0:54:39The decisions on how this abundance is to be managed
0:54:39 > 0:54:41and administered will be
0:54:41 > 0:54:44taken at the next stop on my journey,
0:54:44 > 0:54:47as I fly 300 miles south from the natural
0:54:47 > 0:54:50wonders of the rainforest, to the man-made wonders of one
0:54:50 > 0:54:53of the most modern capital cities in the world, Brasilia.
0:54:57 > 0:55:00Finding the difficult balance between wealth creation
0:55:00 > 0:55:04and conservation is being argued out here in the country's parliament.
0:55:06 > 0:55:09Designed in the 1950s by a communist, Oscar Niemeyer,
0:55:09 > 0:55:13and laid out by another communist, Lucio Costa, Brasilia is a bold
0:55:13 > 0:55:15and dazzling achievement.
0:55:15 > 0:55:19From barren countryside to national capital in only five years.
0:55:20 > 0:55:24The flags of the 26 Brazilian states fly outside
0:55:24 > 0:55:25the ministries from which
0:55:25 > 0:55:27the country's future will be decided.
0:55:27 > 0:55:30Brazil's prosperity is growing fast,
0:55:30 > 0:55:34enabling it to embark on ambitious projects like this brand new
0:55:34 > 0:55:38stadium for the 2014 World Cup.
0:55:38 > 0:55:42The economic rise of Brazil is in part due to the combination
0:55:42 > 0:55:44of its rich, natural resources,
0:55:44 > 0:55:47with an abundant and cheap workforce.
0:55:47 > 0:55:50And at the very heart of the Brazilian capital there's
0:55:50 > 0:55:52a statue that honours the working man.
0:55:59 > 0:56:01This is a monument to the candangos,
0:56:01 > 0:56:04the people who built this city over 50 years ago.
0:56:04 > 0:56:08Next time, I'll be exploring where many of those candangos went
0:56:08 > 0:56:11when the building boom in Brazilia subsided.
0:56:15 > 0:56:18Their destination, along with many others from the north,
0:56:18 > 0:56:21were the rich gold and iron mines of Minas Gerais
0:56:21 > 0:56:24and the city that is synonymous with Brazil,
0:56:24 > 0:56:25Rio de Janeiro.