01x02 - An Ancient Ritual

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We humans love to play.

Over the last 300,000 years,

we have come up with thousands,

maybe millions of games.

We play to appease the gods.

We play to push our boundaries

and hone ourselves to perfection.

We play anywhere.

On sand,

on snow,

soil,

water,

tarmac.

On these playgrounds,

we reveal our inner selves.

Our joy,

our shame

our glory

and our pain.

No, no, no.

But the origin of play

is anything but fun.

Play has evolved

from our fight to survive.

If we didn't play,

we would not be who we are today.

And this is how it all began.

This time of year,

the men of the Omo Valley in Ethiopia

are preparing for

a ritual w*r game called donga.

For us humans, fighting is a way of life.

And so we like to play games

that hone our prowess on the b*ttlefield.

This is Barchiloy.

Today, he will have

his first taste of w*r.

If you drink it,

you will become strong, like me.

Just drink. This is the way

how we drink the cows' blood.

Every player has a ritual.

Barchiloy prepares for his big day

with an ancient superfood,

a pint of fresh cows' blood.

If you fight,

you will be brave and strong.

You can‘t go to donga

without drinking blood,

or you will be knocked down.

Now, it's time to play.

Okay, go fight.

This is just practice.

The real battle will be truly violent

played without any protective headgear.

These sticks look weak,

but they can cause some serious damage.

Whoo!

When I fight someone

and he falls, my girlfriend sees me

and when she sees me

she says, "My boyfriend is the winner."

When she says that, I become very proud.

It's where we get girlfriends.

That's why our ancestors did this.

The fight is as much

about impressing the ladies of the village

as it is about honing their skills,

but some will be going home

with some serious injuries.

When we fight

at donga, we can show how strong we are.

Even if someone loses an eye,

it doesn't matter.

The men take good care

of their bodies

before they go off to the b*ttlefield.

The women have rituals of their own.

Bring the razor blade.

Are two leaves enough?

Add one more here.

They tattoo themselves

with permanent makeup

to show the boys

they are fearless as well.

Sit properly, please.

Be strong.

Don't look at it.

Enduring this

without showing it hurts

is part of the game.

Barchiloy and his relatives

will now face other families

from across the valley

to see who's the most fierce fighter.

Whether you play

against a big guy or a small one,

it's up to you now.

Young Barchiloy has never felt the pain

of a real stick fight.

His uncles and cousins, however,

are covered in battle scars.

The families are face-to-face.

It's time to fight.

First, the experienced fighters step up.

Barchiloy must wait his turn.

The game is simple.

You hit your opponent until he surrenders.

If you show fear or pain,

you lose.

This is a test of bravery,

skill, and strength.

The fighters attack with deadly force.

One strike to the temple

is an instant knockout.

It might look out of control,

but things are not what they seem.

As soon as a winner is crowned,

the families sing and dance together.

The girls are curious

to see how the men fight.

Another reason for Barchiloy

to put on a brave face.

Next, it's his turn.

If I fight well,

I will be known in the village and beyond.

When you are old,

people will remember

that you were a donga winner.

For a first-timer,

he's attacking well.

The cows' blood obviously works.

Victory for Barchiloy.

After a long battle,

he has been declared the winner.

Without any scars on his body,

it is a moment to celebrate.

For the fighters that lost,

they'll return home with scars and stories

that proved their fearlessness.

Fighting our rivals is something

we've always needed to practice.

And the more we do something,

the better we become at it.

Throughout history,

we have dreamt up games

that help us master skills.

Games to improve our lives

and help us survive.

One tribe in the north of the Netherlands

uses a different type of stick

for exactly that.

But this game is less of a battle

and more of a struggle to overcome

water.

Centuries ago,

farmers here found a way

to cross the myriad of waterways

that run through their fields.

They leap to keep their feet dry.

And because we're humans,

we turned it into a game.

This one's called fierljeppen,

or "far-leaping."

Key points

of the technique are a good run-in speed,

the ability to climb up

the pole in flight,

and a good leap at the end.

As time and technology advanced,

the jumps went higher and further.

The record currently stands

at an impressive 72 feet 8 inches.

This is Ysbrand,

a Frisian leaper who runs a dairy farm

together with his girlfriend.

He spends his spare time

training for the competition of the year,

the Frisian championships,

where he has a record to break.

This is my personal record.

If you have the Dutch record,

you are also world record holder.

Or there must still be undiscovered tribes

somewhere that also fierljeppen,

but I don't think so.

In a certain way,

fierljeppen is old-fashioned.

We jump for absolutely nothing.

We jump purely for ourselves

and for the excitement of our jump.

If I make the jump

for a million or just ten people,

the experience stays the same.

Let's see what happens tomorrow.

It would be great

to put down 65 or 68 feet.

Yes, right? 21, I would think.

I've trained enough.

It should be possible.

Yes.

Every Frisian,

whatever approach he has to the sport,

wants to shine

at the Frisian championship.

That's the match you need to be at.

Welcome to the Fries

championship fierljeppen in Wezum.

Five classes competing for five titles.

Go for it.

Fifty-nine feet and 34 inches,

and he jumps his personal record.

Our next contender is Ysbrand Galema.

This man jumps an average of 2,063 meters.

Unbelievable, a Fries record for a reason,

and that for the whole season.

He is the man to beat.

And you always want to see

a man like that in the final.

But he will have to do it himself.

I know I have it in me,

but can I show it?

That you eventually find the person

in yourself that you can be proud of.

That would be great.

If everything comes together.

I think once you achieve that,

then you have the same emotion

from the first time you jumped as a kid.

Then the big flying can begin.

Ysbrand has only

one chance left to beat his competitors

who seem to be doing much better.

What a crazy finale.

This is the interim score for the seniors

and Ysbrand Galama is not there yet.

Ysbrand Galama,

the classification leader is ready.

He managed to win four matches.

The record is in his name,

a distance of 2,153 meters.

Ysbrand Galema,

who wants to go to the finals.

Will he make it happen?

All or nothing for Ysbrand Galama!

No, he can't do it!

- The strangest finale I've ever seen.

- Yes.

This time, the water defeated Ysbrand.

Maybe one day, he'll break the record.

After all, practice makes perfect.

You always think,

"If I had another jump,

I would have made it."

The far-jumpers leap

because their ancestors found a way

to traverse their pastures.

For thousands of years,

the only thing that really mattered to us

was growing food.

And play is the perfect way

to hone our techniques.

But taming waterways is one thing,

taming wild beasts is another.

Before we started

to cultivate the land and raise livestock,

we humans ate what we gathered

and what we hunted.

On the steppes of Northern Kyrgyzstan,

an ancient hunting tradition

is still alive.

More than 3,000 years ago,

someone in the steppes of Central Asia

came up with the brave idea

to catch and tame the greatest

hunting weapon in the sky

the mighty golden eagle.

This is Jebide and her partner, Talgar.

We don't just go out and k*ll animals.

We also need nature tomorrow.

Our children will need it.

This gathering

has continued so we won't forget

the tradition of our ancestors.

We need to continue the history we have

and preserve it as a game.

In ancient times,

the art of capturing, training,

and hunting with golden eagles

was part of nomadic life

on these desolate steppes.

But even back then,

hunting was more

than just a way to feed ourselves.

The bond between man and bird

transcended our quest for food.

The eagles were worshiped

as celestial beings,

connecting us to the gods.

- Good luck for us!

- Amen!

Now let's move, it'll be late.

And hanging out with

our feathered friends is also great fun.

Going hunting is a game.

You run fast

and forget about your old age.

If a person doesn't play,

he gets old quickly.

There is one big

advantage for the older players.

It's a waiting game.

We live only once.

What a beautiful nature.

It's a game

if you fill your heart with joy.

Do you think they scared the prey away?

If it comes out from under the rock,

it will flee that way.

- There's a rabbit.

- Where?

Shall I release it?

Go!

Go!

Run, Azim!

Eagle hunting

is a bit like fishing.

The more impressive the catch,

the bigger your bragging rights.

Well done.

Just pull it out and eat.

- Nursultan, I am lucky.

- Well done. I'm happy for you.

It's a big hare.

It's a good catch.

Today,

there's not too much to brag about.

But there are a few small w*r wounds

to show off back home.

I was lucky.

The eagle's claw punctured the skin.

I barely managed to take out its claw.

It went in deep.

Hold on.

The people here

don't need to hunt anymore to survive.

But the thrill of the chase

and the buzz of the catch

are still intoxicating.

I can't imagine myself without playing.

I can't imagine myself

without my eagle bird.

I can't imagine what kind of person

I would be in this life.

There is such a strong connection,

there is no end to it.

It was a good hunt.

- See you.

- Take care.

Take care.

For centuries,

this playground has hardly changed.

The only difference,

a ride home in a comfortable car.

If you can get it started.

Quickly!

There is something within us

that will always want

to tame the beasts around us,

harnessing their skills

to make our lives better.

And whilst these eagles help the nomads

find food in the freezing cold tundra,

the hottest deserts on the planet

provide a different challenge.

When humans migrated here

thousands of years ago,

we tamed the camel

to traverse this harsh environment.

They became the ships of the desert

and helped us trade across the Sahara

and build the pyramids.

Not long after the camel was turned

into a beast of burden,

humans came up with something else to do,

camel racing.

We inherited it

from our parents and grandparents.

We inherited it from a long time ago.

It's a tradition. It's indispensable.

In modern-day Dubai,

racing camels are treated like royalty.

They are worth more than the shiny

sports cars the sheikhs love to import.

Milk and honey drink.

We always give them honey of fennel.

We get it from the mountains.

We don't give them just any honey.

It gives them strength, to strengthen

their bodies during the races.

Abdullah and his family

have been breeding champions

for generations.

But in recent decades,

this ancient game has changed completely.

The Arabian camel is known as a dromedary,

which is the Greek word for running.

The lighter the jockey,

the faster the dromedary.

Races used to import children

from poor countries

such as the Philippines

to become professional riders.

But it's a dangerous game,

and there were many casualties.

Fortunately, human rights laws

were introduced to put an end to this.

But the sheikhs have found

a modern solution

to keep this ancient game alive.

Makeshift robots.

Dressed in their team colors,

these anonymous little fellows

are very low maintenance.

In comparison to the camels,

they cost virtually nothing.

The only thing they need

is a small amount of electricity.

The drill-powered jockey

is designed to speed up

and slow down in response to the noises

that come from the camel's trainer.

We added this automatic device

that automatically raises the flag.

Camels are used to robots.

You talk to them and they understand,

but they don't speak.

They understand you

and obey your instructions.

The robot is very useful.

Now, all that's left

to do is pray that it goes smoothly.

For Abdullah

and his colleagues, the big day is here.

Today, they can make millions

if their camel performs well.

The robo-jockeys will be under

their owners' complete control.

In the old days,

thousands of spectators flocked here.

These days, they can follow the race

through an app

in their air-conditioned desert palaces.

So the stadium is empty.

The Sheikh

connects his phone to the TV screen

and watches a race.

If you finish the race in first place,

they buy your camel.

If it was valued for a million,

they would give you more.

They would honor you,

give you a car or something.

Because the winner is worthy.

What's the frequency of the channel?

The camel's speed is incredible.

It's much faster. The speed has doubled

compared to the past.

When the last kilometer has reached,

you pass it on

via a headset and strain it.

Abdullah's camel takes the lead,

but if there's one thing

you can be sure of in camel racing,

it's not over

until they cross the finish line.

Abdullah's camel and jockey came in third,

which means it's unlikely

he's going to get a call

from one of the wealthy sheikhs.

Just like the camel racers,

every player of every game

is taking part in a ritual

that is almost as old as the human race.

Winning a game, no matter how simple,

is a feeling humans

have always yearned for.

It's a desire that transcends age and race

that we will never shake.

And locked inside the games we play

are the secrets of our survival.

We play to learn the key skills

that keep us alive,

to hunt for food, wage wars,

tame wild beasts,

and survive in harsh terrains.

We are who we are today because we play.