Original subtitles

All around the world...

..we perform rituals.

From familiar customs...

..to extreme initiations.

Rituals help us mark the most important moments in our lives.

THEY PERFORM TRADITIONAL HAKA

They teach us how to love...

..how to let go...

SHE WAILS

..and how to find where we belong.

Let's light this city!

CHEERING

In this episode,

we'll explore why we hold on to ancient rituals in a modern world.

In West Africa,

Senegalese wrestlers perform ancestral rituals

to help them win the fight.

In Greenland, a father and son hold on to a traditional initiation

in their fragile changing world.

And in Australia, an ancient ceremony helps protect

the oldest surviving culture on earth.

As our societies evolve faster than ever,

age-old rituals adapt to fit our modern lives.

And these are some of the most extraordinary.

Rajasthan, India.

A place where old world meets the new.

This is 24-year-old Bhumi Shah.

For five years, she has been on the path to becoming a Jain nun.

And to prove her devotion,

she must endure one of the most excruciating ritual ordeals.

Bhumi is a university business graduate,

but is giving up her modern life for an ancient religion called Jainism.

Jains practise extreme nonviolence towards all living creatures

and believe it's key to liberating their souls.

Before Bhumi's initiation, friends decorate her with henna,

traditionally a pre-wedding ceremony.

WOMEN SING

Bhumi's dressed in the finery of a bride...

..and will devote the rest of her life to one man.

Not a husband, but a religious guru.

Acharya Sunil Sagar has walked barefoot

to Pratapgarh for the ceremony

with his entourage of 51 monks and 25 nuns.

Bhumi will make it 26.

To become a Jain nun, she must give up all worldly possessions.

Which, for the monks, includes clothes.

Five million people follow Jainism in India.

The most devout live by strict rules.

They walk barefoot, so as not to harm any living thing.

Without possessions or even a home,

they rely entirely on the charity of others.

Jains believe our souls are reincarnated many times.

But their ultimate goal is to break this cycle.

For Bhumi, becoming a nun is an essential step

towards freeing her soul.

But for her family, the decision has been hard to accept.

Bhumi's initiation begins with an elaborate parade.

This first part of the ceremony symbolises the wealth

and material possessions she must leave behind

for a life of absolute austerity.

But becoming a Jain nun will cost Bhumi much more.

She must sever all personal ties.

After this initiation, she will never visit her friends or family again.

With the arrival of her guru,

Bhumi's life-changing ritual will take place

in front of 15,000 followers.

And will be broadcast across India.

APPLAUSE

Bhumi must prove her devotion with an act of self-sacrifice.

Which is why, in her ultimate test of faith...

..every hair on her head will be plucked out by hand.

It's an ancient ritual known as kesh loch...

..which symbolises Bhumi's total rejection

of worldly and personal desires...

..and her complete disregard for physical pain.

Every four months, for the rest of her life,

Bhumi will endure this ritual.

The whole process takes 90 minutes.

APPLAUSE

APPLAUSE

The ultimate goal of every person

is to be happy.

To be helpful and to be kind.

Aariaka will wander India, barefoot, homeless, but revered,

until death takes her the next step closer to liberating her soul.

It's humanity.

Love for one and all.

Rituals still have the power to transform us.

While Aariaka begins a new life of austerity, in West Africa,

one young man is hoping an ancient ritual

can help lift his family out of poverty.

Dakar, Senegal.

Here, wrestling is the biggest ticket to a life

of fame and fortune.

The sport stretches back at least 700 years.

But today's champions can take home the equivalent of £100,000

in a single bout.

With so much at stake, fighters rely on much more than physical strength.

They practise rituals that combine tribal dancing...

..traditional prayers...

..and magic.

Their rituals summon support from the crowd.

And, more importantly, courage from their ancestors.

55 miles outside the capital is a small fishing village

that's wrestling mad.

George Sa is 26 and earns a basic living from local wrestling matches.

But he's looking to the big-time.

George supports five siblings and his mother, Rose.

One man understands George's dream better than anyone else.

Manga Deux is a local hero.

An ex-champion and now a well-known wrestling promoter.

Like George, he was once a young fighter

hoping to break into the pro league.

Manga Deux has come home in search of new talent.

He's setting up a local tournament with a prize to the winner of nearly

£600 and the chance to compete in the nation's capital.

Today, it's a winner-takes-all knockout tournament

with more than 40 fighters.

George is hoping ancient rituals will give him the edge.

The rituals originate from a unique blend of animist beliefs

and ancient Islam.

Wrestlers wear sacred talismans and give gifts to the crowd.

Then they dance.

It's a ritualised prayer, asking for victory.

George is calling on his ancestors for spiritual support.

Night falls and the battles begin.

The aim of every fighter is to knock their opponent off their feet

for a clean win.

George has made it to the final, but now he faces a giant.

Mamadou is far taller, heavier and the clear favourite to win.

Manga Deux is keeping a close eye on the action.

He's looking for a future champion.

WHISTLE BLOWS

George has managed to stay on his feet...

..but he loses on points.

It's a bitter blow.

But despite the loss,

Manga Deux has seen enough potential in George

to give him another chance,

but he'll have to leave his family.

George heads to Dakar.

He starts at an intensive training camp

and this time he has an ex-champion in his corner.

Three months on, George's big chance finally arrives.

In preparation,

he straps on his amulets for luck and protection

and purifies himself with potions.

George and his opponent begin their pre-match prayer ritual.

Some fighters believe this is the moment that will determine who wins.

In this single bout,

George has the chance to prove he has what it takes

to become a professional wrestler.

WHISTLE BLOWS

George floors his opponent and snatches victory in seconds.

It's a significant win and a huge step towards fulfilling his dream.

Wrestling in Senegal is helping keep ancient rituals alive.

But across the globe,

many traditions are coming under threat from modern life.

In Japan, a Zen monk performs slow-walking meditation

amongst busy commuters.

It's a centuries-old practice that promotes mindfulness.

In our pressurised, rapidly-changing world,

some customs are struggling to hold on.

Throughout the 20th century in the United States,

many native Americans lost touch with their traditions.

But today, among the Mescalero Apache,

these teenage girls are choosing to undergo a four-day rite of passage

into womanhood.

During the sunrise ceremony,

they wear traditional white Buckskin dresses

to honour the sacred ancestors.

And to prove their endurance, they must dance all night.

Like the Apache girls, in the Arctic,

a father and son are holding on to their rituals

in the hope they can keep

their 4,500-year-old hunting traditions alive.

On the eastern edge of Greenland,

Ittoqqortoormiit is among the most remote villages on earth.

Hunting has always been key to survival in this frozen wilderness.

To become a hunter,

a young boy must undergo a traditional Inuit rite of passage.

Ochi Danielson has hunted his whole life and, as is tradition,

he wants to pass his knowledge to his 11-year-old son Danny.

For now, it's shooting practice,

but Danny will soon need to prove himself with a hunting ritual that's

been adapted over the years.

Rifles have replaced harpoons, but the purpose remains the same.

Danny will venture out onto the dangerous sea ice

to make his first solo kill.

In the past, this hunting rite of passage

would prove he could support a family.

In many ways, Danny is no different from other boys his age.

Inuit hunters have always relied on their sled dogs.

So to protect these traditions, snowmobiles are banned for hunting.

Young Danny will have to learn how to handle the pack

if he's to become a fully fledged hunter.

Ochi takes Danny to the seal hunting grounds, but they may not be alone.

Polar bears also stalk this ice.

Ochi has spotted a seal over a third of a mile away.

Danny must get within 300 feet, undetected.

The seal spots Danny before he can creep close enough.

Hunting seals has always been a difficult skill to master

and this year, it's only getting tougher.

Two days later, they find another seal.

Finally, Danny's within range.

But his shot hits the ice beneath the seal and it escapes.

He may not have completed his first hunting ritual,

but he's certainly on track to follow in his father's footsteps.

Tomorrow is Danny's 12th birthday and seal or no seal,

his father's keen to share another family tradition.

Danny's been given his own sled...

..four of his favourite dogs...

..and most importantly, a massive vote of confidence from his dad.

Passing on these customs is what keeps the Inuit culture alive,

because some rituals are simply part of who we are.

In a fragile world,

rituals can offer hope

and in the most dire of situations...

..they can provide an escape.

SIREN WAILS

The Palestinian territory of Gaza has suffered

a 50-year conflict with Israel.

Here, people are trapped, unable to leave

but amidst the broken buildings,

a new ritual is emerging that gives young people a sense of freedom.

Parkour is a creative martial art,

devised by a French naval officer to promote courage.

Thanks to social media,

this modern ritual has been shared with people across the globe...

..and has found its way to Gaza,

where one crew has adopted it as their own.

THEY SHRIEK

Abdallah al Kassab is the captain of PK Gaza.

THEY SHOUT

13-year-old Ahmad Al Mahdum has lived here with his family

his entire life.

He's experienced first-hand the trauma of life in a war zone.

The last major conflict here was in 2014.

With the threat of war constantly hanging over the Gaza Strip,

Ahmad, like so many others, is searching for an escape.

ALL: Gaza Parkour, hey!

He is hoping to join his heroes,

PK Gaza,

whose parkour videos are sent out across the world via social media.

APPLAUSE

Abdallah invests time as a mentor.

And his role is to teach new members the strict moral code of parkour.

To make it into the crew, Ahmad needs to prove himself.

He's been training for almost a year

and is showing signs he may have what it takes

to be part of this elite squad.

Abdallah will decide when Ahmad's ready for his final test.

He'll need to perform in front of the entire troupe.

After weeks of intensive prep, it's time for Ahmad's initiation.

It may not be a life-threatening leap, but for 13-year-old Ahmad,

it's his big chance to join this tight-knit crew.

THEY CLAP AND CHANT ENCOURAGEMENT

THEY CLAP

can bind us together into tight teams.

In the USA, college students perform elaborate initiations.

The Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity was set up to support

African American students who face racism.

Their rituals of allegiance are influenced by ancient Greek culture.

The famous Stroll is performed to demonstrate their intense bonds.

In Spain, a 500-year-old Easter custom

sees Catholic brotherhoods carry massive floats through the streets.

Intense scenes from the Bible are played out

and public acts of penance are ritually performed.

Often, the more extreme the ritual, the tighter the bond.

And nowhere is this put to the test more than in the military.

At Kaohsiung naval base in southern Taiwan,

military commanders have adapted ancient and extreme rituals

to create an elite fighting force.

These 17 marines are about to begin a brutal six-day initiation,

ominously known as Hell Week.

SHRILL SHOUTING

FIRECRACKERS CRACK

The recruits will be subjected

to age-old ritualised training techniques

that will push them to their physical and mental limits.

It begins with a highly symbolic act.

Their first ritual is to drink bitter tea.

It's a centuries-old tradition that signifies the hardships

they're about to endure

and reminds them of their ultimate goal -

to survive until the very end when they will taste sweet success.

Only the best will graduate into an elite Marine unit

known as the Frogmen.

22-year-old Guan Ting is an office clerk who's never experienced

front line action.

In the first phase of the initiation,

each recruit must show totally obedience and submit their body

to extreme pain in a series of gruelling, repetitive rituals.

Day and night blur into one.

It's five hours on duty.

Only one hour off.

Having survived their individual ordeals,

the second phase of Hell Week binds the men together as a unit.

Tonight, the team will march for more than seven miles

carrying 150 kilos on their heads.

The aim is to create an intense bond and build trust.

With one less to carry the boat,

there's even more pressure on the others.

It's the final day in hell and the final ritual,

known as The Road To Heaven.

This last trial must be performed with fanfare

in front of senior officers and family.

Guan Ting steps up as one of the first to set off.

He begins with a hard fall in the plank position.

Across a 150-foot trail of sharp rocks,

each recruit must perform ten brutal exercises.

This is all that separates them from completing their initiation.

The trainers throw salt water on their open wounds.

Those who fail a task must go back to the last station to repeat it.

Guan Ting has fallen behind.

He's been on The Road To Heaven for over an hour.

Guan Ting is greeted by his mum and rewarded with a sweet,

a symbolic antidote to the bitter tea that began his Hell Week.

Less than a third of this year's recruits have finished the gruelling

10-week training.

But those who have join an elite team of men,

willing to put their lives on the line for one another.

In many spheres of our modern lives,

ancient customs still play an important role.

Throughout history, rituals have always been woven

into the survival story of humankind.

Nowhere more so than in Australia.

This rugged land has been home to aboriginal people for 50,000 years.

Theirs is the oldest-surviving culture on earth.

Fire customs are at the heart of aboriginal life.

And it's thought they could be

the oldest-surviving human rituals of all.

Fire is everything for us.

Our ancestors,

they have been burning for thousands of years

and we are still practising.

Otto Campion is head ranger of the Arafura Swamp.

Following ancient know-how,

Otto's team burn firebreaks to prevent massive wildfires

from destroying communities and vast areas of bush.

But Otto doesn't just start the flames, he also talks to fire.

You see that flame start getting up?

In smelling my sweat, and him warn you, get out of my way.

So him saying, "I'm warning you," that's the tongue of fire.

But, yeah, sometimes we talk to fire.

We tell him...

The benefits of these fast, quick burns were known

to aboriginal people long before science caught on.

It's now widely understood that many plants need fire to grow.

Wild banana.

Wild banana. Bush banana. Bush banana.

To teach his kids their ancient custom

of protecting the land with fire,

Otto is planning a very special night-time ritual.

Before they can start, he takes the boys

to gather wood for the ceremony.

A walk through their land means greeting their ancestors.

Sometimes when I go in the bush, you can feel like, you know,

I feel goose bumps and I know somebody is there watching.

This is not empty country.

Otto's son Levi understands how important it is

to absorb his father's knowledge.

Tick, tick, tick. Sounds. This one?

So him, hollow.

is still through rituals and ceremonies.

Fire, it makes us respect,

that's why the ceremony is really important,

like them all connect with fire.

As darkness falls, the family prepare for their dow fire ceremony.

During the ceremony time,

we are telling story.

It's a story Otto learned from his grandfather.

It was scary one, my grandfather

he chased me and when he grabbed me,

I was crying, "Grandfather, Grandfather, Grandfather," you know.

The white ochre body paint is a symbolic connection to the bones

of the ancestors and to the earth itself.

THEY MAKE BIRD NOISES

As a night owl, Otto is hunting the children

who play the role of little fish.

The ceremony is an ancient lesson about the health of their land.

If the clan uses fire well,

the night owl will have enough food to hunt.

Every part of the story teaches the children respect for nature.

THEY SING

It's a survival lesson from their ancestors about sustainable living.

Finally, they throw fire sticks to symbolically spread

the bounty of fire across the land,

just as they have done for thousands of years.

Today, Otto and his team are using their ancestors' knowledge

and super sizing their ancient methods

with the help of 21st-century technology.

Straight with the point, where that burnt area

and then stay low and do that area, yeah? Roger.

Choppers and firestarters allow them to burn huge firebreaks.

It's dropping.

And even in the air, the ancestors are ever present.

There are many full-time jobs and if we are doing helicopter work,

they are watching us.

Nowhere else on earth do people manage land with fire on this scale,

protecting nature with some of the oldest ritual knowledge

on the planet.

If I'm gone, my spirit will go back to animal.

If Levi make a mistake,

I will be there watching him with, you know...

..any sign I can give him.

Anything to read my sign and he'll say, "Yeah, thank you, Dad."

You know?

I feel like I'm leaving a good story behind.

In our changing world, rituals are a vital link to our past.

But cultures and customs are adapting to survive.

To help us cope in our modern lives, we hold on to ancient traditions.

And create new ceremonies,

because rituals will always have the power to teach us

the most important lessons for our future.

Are rituals integral to being human?

What's gained through rituals or lost by neglecting them?

The conversation continues with the Open University.

Go to the address below and follow the links to the Open University.