Living with the Machigenga: Questions answered… 3Apr09
And a few from the Kombai and Mek… Well sorry it has taken a while to collate all your questions and answer them all – but for good and bad – here are some answers…cant begin to thank everyone who has taken the time to watch the show and write on this blog-thing… here goes…
Well before I start… just wanted to say one thing – it’s wonderful to be able to share a little bit more about the experience and hear how so many people have enjoyed it, even possibly learned something. It is surprisingly easy to come back from an insane experience like that and just forget about it and move on to the next thing – but that is not my style. I try to carry the feelings, thoughts, fresh eyes and new friendships with me and continue to live what I learn – it’s obviously pretty hard at times to uphold such silly principles but being able to share thoughts, answer challenging questions, hear about the impact, makes the experience so much more fulfilling and continued. Simply thank you all.
(All the original answers to people’s questions are within other blog entries – these are just depersonalised for anyone interested in finding out a bit more about Living with the Machigenga)
The umbrella? Good question – well I thought, it rains in the rainforest, so thought I better get a good one, plus I love the rediculous idea of taking an umbrella on an expedition. Some expeditioners take themselves way too seriously! A guy called Roy Chapman Andrews (inspiration for Indiana Jones) famously said that ‘adventures are the mark of incompetence’ – and that’s kind of my approach… Incompetence… As that way its much more fun…
What impact do we have? Well we all (Mark, I and the crew) always try to minimise the impact we have on the tribe but of course it cannot be avoided. What we try to do is maximise the positve impact and minimise the negative – the positive things we do range from providing medical help, education, work closely with anthropologists and groups like CEDIA who look after the political interests of the Machigenga in general (there’s lots of other things)… On the negative side, I think that the real negative things going on that really impact their lives and the future of the tribe are the loggers, oil companies, colinistas (hunters and farmers who try to take their land and sometime even kill the local tribes) and other outsiders who’s interests are against the desires and choices of the tribe. We tackle some of these issues in more depth throughout the series and I write about them more in my blogs.
Where does the crew live? The crew live in a their own little camp a few minutes away from the village – it’s key to keep us and them separate so Mark and I can become more of the community and they’re not always hanging around annoying the tribe!
Manhood? How did I deal with the massive assualt on my manhood!? It was surprisingly easy for me (cant speak for Mark though!), as my approach is complete humility, openness and respect. If that is how someone feels then I will respect their feelings and try to slowly win their trust and respect and change their attitudes… They are my hosts and my teachers, and I always try to take their lead. Although to be honest, I certainly don’t have their skills and some of it was justified! As hopefully you’ve worked out, Mark and I have different skills! Mark has jungle skills and I don’t! Often I really don’t know why I’m there at all – although I hope my motivations are pretty clear – simply to learn how different people see the world, try and understand and share it…
Scared sleeping outside? Yep! I cant tell you the horrors of things that go through your mind when you think of all the things that could get you! (please read by blog for episode 3: a bad day – if you want to know how dark and twisted it can get! Dangerous animals are one thing, but vampire bats are quite another! Have you seen the begininig of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas? That’s kind of how I felt most nights!
The Machigenga’s humour? Thanks… Yeah, it feels a bit harsh at times, but the longer I was there, the more I realised there’s no malice… They’re just taking the mickey luckily…
Picture of my girlfriend/wife in Kombai? I used the word ‘wife’ as it was a term they understood, there was no real thing such as girlfriends in Kombailand. Sadly the woman in the picture is no longer my girlfriend. One of the great sadnesses in my life.
Return to the Kombai and Mek? Not yet sadly, but I hope to go back soon… The most important thing to our friends in the Mek and kombai is our friendship and we have a duty and responsibility to return and soon. Trying to persuade the bosses to send us back… Would you want to watch ‘Return to the Mek? Return to the Kombai’ as a couple of specials?
Journalism advice: I can only really relate my experience but not really sure it’s advice… I didn’t go to broadcasting school or anything – I just picked up a camera and just learnt through practice… just the few things I’ve realised is that content is king – the story is everything – but just depends which side of the industry you want to get into – perhaps the best thing to do is to try and do a bit of everything and see what rocks your boat… and I always find it’s easier to tell a story that your interested in… so the more diverse your experience of life, living and subjects of interest, the more informed, challenging and exciting your ‘broadcasts’ will be…. also you got to know yourself so you know what you want to say… I work on the principle of first: message: what is the message I want to say 2) who do I want to say it to and 3) what is the best medium to reach that audience with that message…sorry a bit rambling as usual but hope that was some help ;-) good luck, let me know how you get on…
Relationships? Did I learn anything about relationships during the ‘trip’. Not sure I found any real answers, perhaps just some greater clarity on what’s important and to focus on that. I guess the experience also gave me a chance to reflect upon, and finally accept that I’ve made some shocking decisions in my relationships – tough pill to swallow, but however painful, the realization and responsibility that comes with it enabled a peace of sorts, and hopefully I’ll never make the same mistakes again.
Frog and monkey? Sadly I didn’t find any great understanding of these elements during the actual trip (I saw the images in my mind – perhaps because they had been seeded by the shaman and the Machigenga) but Huan, the shaman in the village – not the drug-pusher – explained their significance to the Machigenga – they represent the opposing forces of cultural renewal and cultural destruction. Take the path of the frog and you will leave your culture, your people, your way and lose your identity – take the path of the monkey and you will become rooted to a deeper understanding of your territory and how your identity relates to your environment and those around. This concept lies at the core of the Machigenga and probably a lot of people around the world. It comes down to a simple choice we all make and understanding the implications of those choices. For the Machigenga, and many indigenous groups, it is obviously far more prescient because their whole way of life is under threat, and each Machigenga must face those questions and decide which way to turn.
Gender roles and identity – it’s a big theme in most traditional societies – but it seems particularly important for the Machigenga. A lot of the folktales and oral history revolve around the dynamic struggle and partnerships in family life, the central place of the family and threats of infidelity for destablising the status quo. Within their belief system, the Machigenga believe in all manner of dangerous spirits that can infiltrate their villages and family – but one of the most horrific, is a spirit that was thought to live in a waterfall across the river from Koran Korata that was thought to have a giant penis that it used to literally screw them to death. Towards the end of the series, I get the chance to delve a bit deeper into their belief system, so hopefully that will help explain some of your questions. But I don’t think the women are subjugated. Machigenga society in matrilocal and again in a forthcoming episode, we look at the role of women as one of the young women in the village is approached by a suitor. From the Kombai, to the Mek to the Machigenga, it is always the women who are the most incredible and dynamic characters in the communities, and by far the most fun…
How tall are we? Well I’m 5ft 10 and Mark is 5ft 7ish… the Mek and Kombai may look short, but pound for pound they are 20 times stronger than us!
Would I do the drugs again? Well probably not. Oscar Wilde said ‘try everything once except incest and folk-dancing’. If I was lucky enough to have the opportunity, I would love to try something else with different indigenous groups. So much of it relies on the right alignment of time, place and company – so fingers crossed.
Drugs: Were we irresponsible for taking the drugs when we didn’t really know what was in them? We should have known more about what we were taking and the safe quantities and what would and could occur. These kind of things should only be taken with extreme caution and a full understanding of what you’re doing. Something I’ve learnt in hindsight!
Mark’s dog tooth necklace. You are scarily observant! I still have mine, but I choose not to wear it as I travel from tribe to tribe, preferring instead to adapt to each environment from the place of a blank canvass. When I return to the Kombai I will wear it there.
Some clothes: the family we lived with in Koran Korata (KK) has had some contact with the world beyond their community, including the ability to get hold of basic clothes and provisions. In a forthcoming episode we examine the influence of the outside, the role of trade and how their way of life is a cross-roads. Our friends in KK, Jose and Rosita have chosen to live a traditional way as much as possible and it makes practical sense for them to wear other clothes and even flipflops rather than their kushmas all the time.
Do I have any siblings and would I take them along? Yep – I have an old sis and a younger bro. Both are adventurous and would be brilliant in their own way – although my bro is definetly a jungle boy – he used to live in the jungle mountains of Panama so he would blow Captain Anstice out of the water! My sis has just had a beautiful baby and would love to see a mother’s take on tribal life…
Have I considered taking a woman with me? Would love to as I think that it would open up half of the tribe which Mark and I as men will never be able to do properly. Sadly not my decision! Any takers?
how do we ensure that we don’t bring in viruses and disease? A large number of indigenous groups have been killed by diseases introduced by outsiders – as they have never come across those diseases, they have no immunity to them and a simple cold, a flu or more serious diseases like cholera, smallpox etc can often kill huge numbers. For more information on this it’s worth reading the Pulitzer Prize winning book: “Guns, Germs and Steel” by Jared Diamond and check out Survival International’s website for the most up to date situation regarding this. So what did we do? Well firstly we selected a group who were not uncontacted, who had had some previous exposure to the outside and who were therefore not initially at high risk from our arrival. We ensured that all the crew had full medicals and doubled checked on arrival in Peru where we all received the most up to date flu jabs. We also worked very closely with a local NGO – CEDIA – who paved our way when in the jungles and negotiated with the tribe and on behalf of the Machigenga – they checked us out and checked out the health of the tribe before we arrived. We also sent in a recce trip to check out the tribe before we arrived. We travelled with a doctor who treated the tribe and everyone we met should they have had any illnesses. Through CEDIA we also donated health services and health care including vaccinations to the tribe in the wider area. PS: thanks for the heads up on Especifico P Pressoa – sounds incredible. Will definetly check it out!
What happens if we get really sick? Well luckily we have a doctor in the production camp with a huge medical kit. If it’s life threatening, we can call in medivac (medical evacuation). Luckily we didn’t get sick – whilst the food doesn’t look too tasty, it’s all organic so very healthy! The worst I got on this trip, was 10 stitches in my head when I cracked it open on some rocks in the river.
Any dangerous animals? Not too many expect those cats during my trip! We saw a few snakes, footprints of jaguar but not much else sadly. One of the most dangerous things is huge herds of peccary – wild boars – sometimes in their 100s – and they can be incredibly aggressive and savage you if you’re in their way! The most dangerous thing in the jungle is usually people (as you’ll see in some forthcoming episodes….;-)
In search of the sublime? Still working on it…but yes, I hope it’s always a key part of the adventure. I find it sometimes come when I find purpose, connection and understanding to my environment and the people I meet – or if really lucky, perhaps when you find love… guess the sublime can mean so many things to so many people… and it keeps changing and moving. Pascal once said: “our nature lies in movement, complete calm is death” – may be there’s something in that? I’ll let you know when I work it out! PS: don’t say you don’t have the courage! We all do, we all have different forms of courage, different challenges and different ways to confront it – I’m sure there’s a host of things you do, that I wouldn’t have the courage for! You’ve just really want to do it and you’ll find a way to overcome whatever is in your way….
Young girls breast-feeding? The youngest women breast-feeding in the village were late teens, early twenties – we get into child-rearing later in the series, so I wont spoil it all now!
Education for the Machigenga: perpetuating illiteracy, ethnocentrism? Well I try and explore these themes in Episode 6 and 8 but simply I only hope that they can have the choice to make their own decisions and truly understand the implications of their choices. I don’t know much about the American education system but in the UK I think it is failing. Over here we are taught to answer questions and the process of enquiry and experiential development are often over looked to ensure people make the grades. Personally I think the foundation of education should be learning how to question and absorb knowledge through discovery – then again if everyone was doing that, it would probably be anarchy!
College? I went to Newcastle University (UK) and the People’s University in Beijing and studied Mandarin and Politics, specifically East Asian politics. Advice to be a journalist? I don’t really know as I’m not really qualified. I guess it’s a passion to learn about and understand the world and share it with others. In many ways, we are all explorers because we’ve all got something new to learn.
Child killing? It is an incredible difficult subject and I don’t think we did it justice in the film and nor did Mark and I really have the insight or understanding to be able to comment on this properly. The only thing that I can be sure of, is that Jose and Rositta are some of the most loving and supportive parents I have ever seen and if they would have had to have made a decision then it would have been a decision made by love and compassion – it would have obviously been the toughest decision they would ever have to make and it is impossible for me to able to have an informed opinion on the subject without knowing a whole lot more about their decision making process and the implications both way. I think I can safely say that we were all relieved that it didn’t come to that.
How did the show come about? Long story! In short mark and I were discussing for a few years an expedition idea we had in Siberia and I guess someone got wind of it. There’s another show called Tribe with Bruce Parry (Bruce is best mates with Mark) and I think we were quite instrumental in its development although lost out in presenting it. However, some visionary folks at Travel realized that it could be better – instead of sending someone in for 3 or 4 weeks, they could find someone to live with a tribe for 3 or 4 months and make a series of films that were more about the tribe than the presenters. That’s what originally got me excited as it was a way to share the lives of indigenous people in a way which was human and compelling – with the ultimate hope that the more people who learned about traditional societies, the more chance there would be that they would be recognized and supported. Indigenous people around the world are some of the most threatened on the planet. We all know about how the planet is being destroyed yet few seem to recognize it in human terms, how 80%+ of human diversity has been destroyed in the last 100 years. It is truly shocking and it’s still going on and on our watch. Some of the worse cases are in Papua – the land of the Mek and Kombai where NGO’s estimate that the Indonesian government have killed over 100,000 Papuans since their occupation.
Fight for the tribe? Tricky one, but I like to think that we would have done. But in honesty, it is impossible to know unless you are in the situation.Save the child? Again, very difficult to know. As I mentioned earlier, there are so many factors at play here but we were thinking of all possibilities, including, with Jose and Rositta’s agreement of taking the child away to somewhere where the child could have the health care he/she would need. Luckily it never came to that. We were dreading having to decide.
the female crew member in the hut with the baby. No, they asked her to leave as she wasn’t able to help. We did have a doctor in the camp who was on stand-by if he was needed.
Making clothes? The Machigenga traditional grow and weave their own cotton. It takes hundreds of hours to make an adult size cushma and now less and less Machigenga are wearing them and instead getting clothes from missionaries and others.
Eating monkey? Tricky one because there’s little meat and protein around and it’s an important part of the Machigenga’s diet and we’re there to do as they do. But the first time it was slightly odd as I couldn’t get away from the fact that monkeys are genetically close to humans so wondered if it was as close to eating human as I would ever get. In the end though it tasted good, quite a stringy red meat and fuelled with flavour from the fire. Then again with the baby monkey around, I tried to ensure she didn’t see us chowing down on her own. Thought that might be a little insensitive.
The edit!? Well, there’s a lot that never makes it into the edit but we try our best to show a balanced view of traditional life. There is a deceit involved in all TV, and part of that is the magic of TV that we don’t reveal everything that goes on, and just hope that as a production team we can make it a) informative about the tribe and allow their way of life and characters to shine through and b) make it entertaining! I’m trying to fill in some of the blanks with the blog but without revealing the magic of how it all works! Hope you enjoy it…
Doctor: The doctor had an extensive medical kit and if he was required he would have done everything he could have. He spent a lot of time treating the village and others if anyone was ill so I’m sure Jose and Rositta would have asked for his help if they thought he could help.
My Necklace: it was a tooth that was given to me as a gift for protection for me to share with my loved one when I returned from the jungle to protect them in my future absences.
Anti-biotics: We had a large amount in the camp which the doctor dispensed but some things can be dangerous to people who have taken had any exposure. Not being medically trained, we left that to the good doctor! There are medical clinics in the area which we contributed to as well so that other Machigenga could have access to medical care.
Do I have any kids: Sadly I am not currently blessed with any kids. One day I hope I’ll meet the right woman and having kids together will be the most wonderful thing. Of all the people I have been lucky enough to meet, from astronauts, to friends, from scientists and Presidents – they only seem to agree on one thing: that having kids is the best thing they have done in their lives. The great adventure. I cant wait….
Time to write? There’s plenty of down time in between living with the tribes, and as usual a mind full of the ridiculous and absurd – part of the battle is trying to make the word make sense. I tried to write a book about my expedition across the Gobi desert – an epic trip but sadly my writing didn’t it justice… It is an amazing craft and I’m miles from being able to craft a book, but step by step, I’m learning. Like anything, it’s just a matter of focussing some time, energy and love towards something you want to achieve… and then you only fail when you stop! Maybe that’s too simple, but it works for me!
Tea Party: there seems to have been a great response to my little tea-party. (Sorry Reena, The Earl rules over Lady Grey!) It was one of the most enjoyable times there – just knocking back and chatting over a cuppa, felt like home. One of those odd things that you never imagine will work well and actually make the cut, but it did. I think in the future, I will travel with a huge array of tea and herbal infusions to dazzle tribes with the bazaar taste of dandelion-raspberry flavoured hot water. I think that’s probably the best idea I’ve had in about 5 months.
Bees: Well, there’s no question I deserved getting bitten…although the shirt off, was just plane stupid.
Head injury? Unfortunately it happened early on with the tribe – I think the first few days in Koran Korata. All rather embarrassingly – cracked my head up on some rocks in the river and needed 10 stitches. Luckily we had a doctor in the production team this time, so Mark couldn’t have it evil way and try and have a go and knitting and knotting my head together.
Coca leaves: sadly we didn’t get high ;-) a small number of leaves like that is often drunk in the area to relieve the effects of altitude sickness and it’s meant to have a host of other medical uses.
Down time and ipods: Well there is often quite a bit of down time and depending on the time of day, depends on what we do. Jianna the monkey, often chilled out in the production camp and was taken to listening to (trying to eat) the ipod on occasion. I managed to do quite a bit of reading, writing and otherwise just hanging out with the tribe – mainly the kids and they were the most fun and were prepared to teach me to shoot, hunt, canoe etc. I’m a bit of sucker for an ipod and took one with me too – much to the amusement of the Machigenga. In fact I’ve been doing a series of musical experiments – very technical stuff – trying to work out which tribe likes which music. So far my conclusions are inconclusive but I can report that the Kombai women are fans of Aretha Franklin and Madonna, the men are more into Guns’n’Roses – the Mek love the rock’n’roll of Elvis and Buddy Holly and the Machigenga couldn’t get enough of Eminem! Not sure what that means, but all interpretations very welcome!
Tunche? Women’s role? Would we have left? Yes, if the village asked us to leave and they felt we had brought bad luck to the village, then no question we would have left and hoped to have found another village. Where were the women? They were around but the men like to take the lead on these issues, but the women are always consulted. They are the power behind the thrones for sure. I write a bit more about the role of women in my coming blogs – and central to the whole thing is the central role of family and the requirement of mutual respect and interdependence required for survival.
Masato beer? Don’t believe anything Mark says! I loved the beer – it’s refreshing when served chilled and the best brew is when it’s made from sweet potatoes rather than manioc… although the quantity of a heavy carb-based, still fermenting brew was a little tricky to get down! Especially after the fish sweats had started after drinking/eating a gallon of soup. Throughout the whole thing I was actually thinking of the episode in the Simpsons when Homer tried to eat the biggest steak in the steakhouse. It’s amazing how far you can go with the simple mantra: ‘make Homer proud”.
Tunche – Tribe response? Was I scared? Yes, not because of the Tunche because I don’t share in the belief system of the Machigenga but because they were scared and upset by what we had done (fortunately they understood that we didn’t do it on purpose and without malice) and I was unsure about the outcome. It was a new part of their world for us – and whilst fascinating to learn about it, we were on the edge of being forced to leave – the implication being the possible end of the entire expedition. Scared? Yep!
Communications: luckily we take satellite phones with us in case of emergency and to have the opportunity to phone home. We’re given 10minutes a week to phone home. Very generous!
Reacclimatized: usually not long at all – there’s so much I miss about home – friends, family, food and Sundays to name a few! Time zones are a bit tricky but it only usually takes a few days to get your body clock adjusted.
Miss Food at home: well usually a scotch egg (long story but it’s a twisted desire that arose from facing starvation in the Gobi Desert) – depending who I’m and what the trip was like – I usually wash it down either with a pint of bitter, or a bottle of champagne or vodka.
Lecture plans in the states: I gave a talk at the Explorer’s Club in NYC about the Kombai – no plans at the moment but always open to invitations ;-)
Bee test: shirt off? It was a foolish move to take my shirt off, but I thought that if I was going to do it then I would it properly. I regret that decision. Somethings are just not worth doing properly. At some point the continued survival of our species was guaranteed by some clever sod saying: “this is daft. I’m off” and ran away like the coward he was. There is nothing shameful about running away and in hindsight I think it is often a lot braver than staying around. At least that is the argument I will have next time. So far there is nothing that I have refused to do. Although I’m sure it’s only a matter of time. Watch out for Episode 8. The bees were nothing compared to what happens then….
Soap? Many traditional groups have their own version of soap but the soap you saw was probably given to them by us to help keep their children clean – especially if they’re unwell, cleanliness is key.
Lice, parasites? Nice topic. Lice are a big problem in small communities as are parasites. I’ve been lucky so far with the lice but not so lucky with parasites. I get something each trip which has to be nuked on return. I’ll spare you the details!
Female crew member: in fact she was called Lucy too. Obviously cant speak for her, but I imagine it must be difficult but Lucy, our AP was a tough cookie and got stuck in like the rest of us and did a great job. It was crucial to have a women in the crew so she could be get close to the women in the tribe and help open up the other half of life. Personally I think the series should be presented by a woman and a man, rather then 2 men! Think I may have just done myself out of a job.
Hierarchy with the Machigenga? Good question. Well please see the blog for Ep7. I go into more of that there but Koran Korata is Jose and Rosita’s village and Jacinto keeps a house there (due to marriage) and another place elsewhere. He is one of the senior dudes throughout the tribe so took the lead at the beginning but when it comes to village life, Jose’s the main man.
Why do I hang with the women? Well usually they are simply the most fun in the tribe. The men can often be pretty severe and take themselves rather seriously. The women always joke around and enjoy themselves and more often than not are the power behind the throne, are more open and constantly take the mickey but always in a loveable kind of way and without malice – that includes the Machigenga. I was also lucky enough to spend more time with the women whilst Mark spends more time with the men building stuff and hunting.
Introducing things? We try and minimize what we bring to affect the tribes we’re with and try to maximize the positive impact of being there (see the earlier blog about the steps we take).
Diapers: no, they don’t have anything like that – they just hang loose until the kids learn to control themselves. Seems to work well! Although not sure it would catch on in urban environments.
Missing Sundays: Well there’s so much to miss about them – basically I think it’s just the ability to do what you want – in the jungles, there’s no such thing as a Sunday – the one day of the week that you might be able to take off and do the things you want to do. It’s mental down time, it’s a kind of freedom when work life is regimented. Plus it means I don’t have to get up early!
Favourite Sports? Well I love a bit of football, but rugby is my favourite sport – although I aint played for a few years. Having said that, I think petty sports is where I’m now at in life: bowling, ping pong, pool, darts, even boule. There is great joy to be had in taking activities like these with the level of seriousness of professional sportsmen. Very silly.
Other indigenous groups: You’re right. I wish there would be a broadcaster who would be interested in the plight of the tribes. But occasionally I manage to get the odd film away – Bushmen in Botswana, Sami Reindeer Herders in Lapland, Tuareg in Niger (should be links in the journalist section if you’re interested). But don’t get off your soapbox! There are too few people passionate about these subjects and we should all be shouting loudly about it. It is truly horrific what has happened to indigenous people in the last 100 years, let alone the last 500 years with the Spanish…. And it’s still going on and on our watch. There is no excuse, we are all stakeholders in this world and have a duty of care and responsibility to each other and our planet, for ourselves and for future generations.
Kombai journals: sadly I don’t have any Kombai journals for posting. I wrote a journal (more like a book) at the time for the woman I was deeply in love with and gave it to her. Sadly we are no longer together and whilst she gave to them, I’ve never been able to open those journals again. Perhaps one day I will and I’ll let you know when I do.
How do you adjust? Yeah, it’s a bit tricky – good days and bad like anyway – if you get a chance, my journal from episode explains what happens inside my head on a bad day! Otherwise, it’s just a case of getting through it – there’s no way out, so I try to focus on the good things in life instead of the bad. Usually does the trick!
Is there love? Absolutely – and in many ways the same as the different forms of love that exist anywhere else in the world. And with that comes the same problems of jealousy and infidelity – although living in some self-reliant and interdependent communities, these problems can be catastrophic. As you say, there is an important element of convenience, although I would say that this is for the necessities of survival and the basic needs of procreation. Sexual selection has defined our species, like any other but one of the lessons in history is the need to be practical and not base love on the wild whims of romantic love – scientists have recently discovered that your brain behaves irrationally (not dissimilar to a drug addiction) when you’re in the heat of romantic love. Whilst love has a vital place for it, the ideas of ‘romance’ as the foundation for happiness that seems to be rammed down our throats by mass media, is slightly misguided. It can work, but statistically, far more often it doesn’t. If you want to know more about this, I highly recommend “The Prehistory of Sex: 4 million years of human sexual culture”.
Family: I believe that family is the extremely important to our survival and development as a species. If you look through human history – the majority of which we have been living in a similar way to indigenous groups like the Machigenga – the family unit is crucial – look at how it’s crumbling today and the social implications it is having on societies everywhere! It’s nuts. (ps: don’t have any tazo tea but will try and find some. Thanks ;-))
Competition for women: On arrival Jacinto offered us his nieces and not Lucilla who we ended up competing for. I don’t think Jacinto was that serious about his offer fortunately as he was not a man I wanted to upset or show unwillingness to accept his graceful offer!
My family response to the challenges? Well they usual say “you signed up to it, so do it, with respect, humility and humour. And we don’t want to hear your complaints”. I try to follow their advice, although sometimes, it’s a little tricky especially when you get a mouthful of bugs.
Declining suitors: The final decision lay with Lucilla – if she doesn’t like the man, however good (or bad) he was, she can decide….
Masato beer challenge: the real thing Jose was looking at was how the men responded when they were drunk. Whilst Mark drank a lot, he lots out with his irrational behaviour!
Guinea pigs: we got them from Jose and Rositta – they had a dozen of them running around their hut!Lucilla’s age: I think about 19.
Where will I be in 10 years time? Thanks for the encouragement. Well, I have no idea. I just hope I’m healthy, alive and still have wonderful friends and family, perhaps even my own little sprogs…Return to Peru?: I hope so. Not sure when. But their friendship and acceptance is the most important thing to them – we have a duty to return and we will.
Old people? We did see others in other villages but there aren’t many around for a number of reasons – a) people don’t live that long due to the tough conditions b) people age quicker c) no medical help d) history – when the older generations were being attacked by colonistas etc. Both Jose’s and Jacinto’s parents had been killed by colonistas.
Did we show them any of the film? Yes we did and they were always highly entertained by each other and less so by Mark and I! It is an important part of the filming process, so they understand why we need to ask them to do certain things again etc… and after a few weeks, they got it completely, even making some directorial suggestions!
Why were we called back? I think Juan and Anselmo helped to mend the bridges plus they understood it was just a mistake and without malice – I think it especially helped when I explained that I wanted to understand what we’d done wrong and would accept their punishments.
Adjusting back to life back home? Easy! Although I do miss the people, not the ants.Do the tribe want to come to our world? Some do, but out of curiosity to see it and return, but mainly not – it is so far from their frames of references that it really doesn’t interest them – they’re keen to know what’s upstream/downstream first.
Supermarkets: yes, I tried to explain it to them – at first they thought that was good, but then they said that they thought you’d get lazy and fat and have no connection to where your food comes from.
Misunderstanding the offer of sex? I hope not! I think they were offered as a gesture of good will but not seriously. It was more an offer of marriage first, rather than sex first. And there was no way Mark was going to behave badly!
Out-takes? Sure but they’re not that interesting! I often take 10 goes to say yes!
Vacation? I love holidaying in England with friends and family. It’s a brilliant place and full of surprises. My last great trip was in the Lake District with a mate of mine who took me to this old stone axe factory – dating back 8000 years, just sitting on a scree slope in the middle of nowhere – unmarked so tourists wouldn’t come and steal stuff. Mind blowing.
Machigenga Redicule? Well on the surface of things they did take the piss a lot and often redicule us for our failings. But fair cop. We deserved it often enough but key to it was that there was no malice in it. They were just pocking fun and it’s a classic Machigenga way to toughen you up – if you cant take it, then you have no place in the close family community. May be that’s just me – but I give my friends and family a lot of abuse! But only because I love them!
April 3rd, 2009 at 4:34 pm
Hi Olly,
I just watched the finale of your Machigenga adventure! I was riveted throughout the entire series. You and Mark have a great dynamic. I also developed a little bit of a crush on you. You are very endearing! If you ever make it to Dallas, Texas you should look me up ;)
-Cheryl H.
April 3rd, 2009 at 9:08 pm
Hello, Olly
Thank you for the reply, great info! How did you find time to read and response to all the questions? I didn’t even know you cracked your head open and need 10 stitchs:o Good thing you have a real doctor close by, if you let Mark have his evil ways with you, I guess eveybody who is watching the show would have knows that you has crack your head open. I like the idea of bringing lots of tea with you next times, I guess you will need an extra bags for your tea party advanture, it would go so well with your umbrella, just don’t drink tea and holding an umbrella at the same time, please! (already saw you dancing in the rain with the umbrella, don’t want to top that one yet with the tea party :)) You said you are 5′10″ and Mark is 5′7″ that mean the Machigenga people must to be around 5′ or 5′3″ the max, guessing by the way both you and Mark always seems to tower over them. Any takers? I would love to sign on for the adventure with you and Mark, but I am not an experienced jungle traveler like you and Mark. I’m also have an awful habits, of the need to sleep inside; especialy on a comfy bed. I also dislike any crawing thing that might come out day or night. I love challege and sometimes I don’t know when to stop, in another words, I might win the competition, and with my luck I will have to stay with the tribe forever, that would not be a good thing for my friend or family back home. But, thank you for the invitation maybe I would love to join you and Mark on the more boring advanture. Don’t forget to throw the invitation out again next time I might take the bait ;)
Take care and enjoy your Sunday as much as you can, Tan
April 3rd, 2009 at 10:34 pm
Hello Olly,
I am part Cherokee and I spend my life learning and practicing the type of skills that the Cherokee, Machiguenga, Mek, Kombi and othe peoples use to live relativly self-suficiat lives in remote areas. Learning from such people would be great.
I have a few questions that you might be able to answer.
I noticed 5 types of arrow heads that the Machiquenga use. I know that all peoples that use the bow have different arrow heads for diffent animal and I could gusse at the uses but I would like to be certain. Could you tell me the specific use of each.
The big blunt
the plain sharpened stick
the barbed point
the large bamboo point
the small bamboo point attached to another peice of wood.
Also I see the Machiquenga men carrying a bag over their shoulder most of the time. Could you tell me what the usually keep in these bags. And what other kind of thing do the keep in it.
I understand that you spent time with the women more than hunting so if you do not know the answers it is alright.
One more thing, I dont know if you keep in contact with Mark but he seems to be interested in wilderness living skill.
He may like this website, it is very informative and his insight would be a great asset to our learning.
http://paleoplanet69529.yuku.com/
Your shows are amazing and I love watching them.
Thanks alot
Mikael
April 3rd, 2009 at 10:52 pm
Hi Olly,
All of your journeys are amazing. I hope that you will continue to update your blog, in the off season of your televised series. I’m sure you could find women to go on your expeditions. I would sign up in a heartbeat if I had the opportunity. Anyway, I still like the Mek adventures the best. I’m glad you didn’t have a reaction to those awful ant bites.
Safe Journeys
April 4th, 2009 at 9:06 am
Hi Olly,
I just wanted to say thanks because it’s been really awesome to watch the show and then be able to read the blog for more detail. On top of that, you take the time to respond to people’s questions. I haven’t put one in myself, but I still think it’s a great thing you do.
I’ve had fun watching the shows thus far, I love learning about other cultures. Watching outsiders come in and stay for a longer period of time than perhaps other shows do is a cool thing. I hope to see more from you guys in the future! (–and maybe longer seasons/more episodes? hmm?) :)
April 4th, 2009 at 4:37 pm
Hi Mike -thanks for watching the show. Intruiging to hear more about your Cherokee ancestry and what you think of the plight of other indigenous peoples like the Machigenga… In answer to your questions – the bag is used for carrying anything and everything – one bag fits all – from meat to wood, even babies on occasion (although the women usually carry them) – hopeful the Machi man-bag may catch on one day… and the arrows (incredibly observant):
The big blunt: birds
the plain sharpened stick: birds and small things!
the barbed point: monkeys, humans, big prey
the large bamboo point: big prey – humans, monkeys, peccary,
the small bamboo point attached to another peice of wood – as above – but it is so the tip breaks off in the prey so you dont lose the arrow…
Hope this helps, olly
April 4th, 2009 at 4:55 pm
Hello Olly:
Just watched the Machigenga finale and loved it of course. I thought it was very sad to watch Mark leave Gianna. I love you guys both, but I am a really big fan of yours. I think you could easily find a girl to go with you. I would, if i wasn’t married…. :)
Anyway, I was wondering where your next adventure will take you and Mark? Is there anything planned yet?
Take care……Kit
April 4th, 2009 at 6:11 pm
Hi, Olly
Just read your answers about arrow head and how each of them is use. I saw the Machigenga love to hunt for monkeys and I think once with the pig, that Mark show them how to build the trap. I also saw that Mark was catching really big fish in the river. Which one does the Machigenga perfer to eat the most? Do they learn to build the trap the way Mark has showed them? Did Mark show them how to catch fish in the river by using the fishing line and hook? I saw that you and Mark has been using the rope, did you guys give them the rope when you leave or did you take it with you? And one more question from the 6th episode when you and Mark have to build the canoe: Where were you when Mark have to craft the canoe and has to use the rope to hold the wood from craking? I hope this is not too much of the questions to ask. I did dare asking you before ’cause I didn’t think you will have time to answer them. Thank you for taking time to write and answer. I do hope you keep us in touch with what you are doing. I really enjoy watching, reading, learning, and get to know you and Mark. You really know how to put the new perspective in life through your words and action. Thank you again, Tan. (Sorry, for the 2nd post)
April 4th, 2009 at 9:59 pm
I was not sure if my post got though but I am happy to hear your response. Thanks alot.
I think the plight of tribal peoples is very sad. I know the Machiguenga have a protected reserve but it dont seem very protected. Same for many other tribes of south America. Even if their lands are safe they are still threated by pollution that could ruin the water where they fish. I seen that that is a problem for some other South American tribes.
It is also sad how such people lose their wilderness living skills. Then they lose their self sufficiency. And then their culture. I am re-learning the skill that my people dont practice any more. My dad who is Italian
(I am part Cherokee on my mom’s side) taught me how to hunt and fish but all other things I have had to learn from books, internet and personal experiences. I would love to see what the Machiquenga and other tribes would think of the bows, arrows, string and other things that I make.
I have another question if you dont mind.
Another thing I noticed is that knife that Jocinto used to carv the trap spikes. The technique of use and design is close to the crooked knife that was used by many Native American Tribes in my area.
How often did he use it and what types of things did he make with it?
Did he make it himself?
Thanks for taking the time to read this and to answer my previous questions.
April 5th, 2009 at 2:29 am
Hey Olly,
I was watching some webisodes on the travel channel website (Mark & His Monkey), and I saw that Gianna was sent to Sabeti Lodge. Was Fabianna unable to take care of Gianna? Also, did you live solely on Machigenga food, or did you supplement your diet with the supplies that the crew brought? I know if I were in your situation and extremely hungry, I would have been swiping a granola bar here and there when nobody was looking : ).
Thanks for answering everyone’s questions. I am going to miss you and Mark on Sunday nights. I hope you have plans for another adventure.
Tiffany
April 5th, 2009 at 10:26 am
Olly I figured I would ask some different questions, not about the show but about you, rather strange questions but what the heck?
What kind of car do you drive?
Where were you born?
Can you sing?
Did you do any theatre in college/highschool?
What is YOUR favorite food ever?
Do people recognize you when your out and about?
What was your very first job?
Do you have a favorite movie?
I know these are questions beyond the norm of this blog but I thought it would be great to let us know more about you, also is there anything YOU would like to know about US your fans?
April 5th, 2009 at 3:56 pm
Hey Olly,
Your response to education for the Machigenga and comments about the UK education system struck a chord with me. What I can say is I don’t know much about the UK system but I think the American system is failing. I have worked as an early childhood teacher (toddlers and preschoolers) and am now the director of a summer camp for children ages 4-12. What I have learned from my time working with kids is they learn through doing, trying, experimenting, exploring, questioning. Once they hit public school in America they are taught to take a test. Despite the research against the appropriateness and effectiveness of high stakes testing it still continues. In Massachusetts we keep hearing all sorts political rhetoric about our children having to keep up with the highly competitive global economy yet no one seems to be questioning the innate inability of the US public education bureaucracy to actually teach children well.
Anyway, as I climb down off my soapbox I have a question. What (if anything) is being done in the UK to improve the system? Are there any people or organizations working to better meet the educational needs of children?
Thank you,
Sarah
April 5th, 2009 at 5:34 pm
Hi Olly,
As a young, healthy woman, I would love to accompany you and Mark on one of your expeditions! =)
I’m sure there are many girls who would be lining up to join you, but seriously, you should consider try-outs of some sort for any woman who would be willing to come. I think it would bring a whole new dynamic to the show. (Also, you probably wouldn’t get harassed anymore about your sexuality when you are Mark arrive together- lol.) I live in the states, but I’ll be in London for a few days this December for the Christmas holiday. Please get in contact with me if I have a shot at “auditioning”. =) I am an avid traveler and I would love to go on an adventure like this!
Kate
April 6th, 2009 at 3:05 am
Oi Olly.
It’s Sunday and I already miss not having the show…. There are very few shows I actually wait to watch I got you and Dexter (Have you heard of it?) They are complete different but one of the few things worth the wait.
Summer is coming up and I am curious to know if you would be going to another corner of the globe, I hope you have something coming up.
I do have a question for you. I was wondering what your thoughts on tourism in those areas are. I used to manage a travel agency focused in eco-tourism in Cuiaba we used to take tourist to the Pantanal ( The words largest wetlands) and in many of our tourism fairs in my state we would be approached by travel operators that gave tours some of the XINGU villages. I have very mixed fillings about them, since the industry is mostly profit oriented I always wonder if taking visitors to see some of the areas can cause more harm than good.
Like you experience on your last visit a lot of these communities experience a real threats of having colonistas or in my State’s case Garimpeiros or Madereiros; so tourism could be a way of brining more attention to a area and doing so being able to ask for more government protection, on the other side of the coin having outsiders coming in a regular basis can truly impact the community that in the end could become a “ready for the camera” village like so many others you see nowadays.
Anyway I was just wondering your thoughts on the subject.
BTY- This is a link to some news about an Indian reservation called Raposa Serra do Sol. The Brazilian Supreme court is now ruling on some issues concerning the reservation’s territory. It is in Portuguese but if you can read Spanish you can probably understand some of it. The pictures are a great example of 2 very different worlds crashing. http://ultimosegundo.ig.com.br///multimidia//galeria_de_fotos/2009/03/18/raposa_serra_do_sol_333879.html
Thanks
Renata
April 6th, 2009 at 2:59 pm
Love the show! Now I have nothing to look forward to on sundays! ha ha!
The Mek were my favorite, but I still loved watching the others as well. I guess I felt like the mek were more like “hey! there is an excuse, Lets offer a pig! hey there is another one! PIG!!” instead of “Survival…GRRRR” ha ha! maybe its not that way but its my take on it from watching.
However, thinking of the machigenga as directors is hilarious!!!!!!!
You probably shouldn’t mentioned that you would want to take a woman along because you are going to have a million offers! (I can’t condesend because I would be the first to jump on the Tribal Ship if given the opportunity!)
Somebody needs to tell the Travel Channel to hold a contest. HA HA
“The Adventures of Mark, Olly And Shelby”
{ I think that has a nice ring to it :) }
April 6th, 2009 at 3:14 pm
Shelby,
That is a great idea! I would def sign up for it!
April 6th, 2009 at 5:13 pm
It broke my heart when Mark had to leave his beloved monkey. My husband and I have been foster parents for a few years now, and just recently retired, and had to send our little boy, to another foster home, after having had him in our home since he was a newborn. He was almost two when he left, and we are still grieving for him. We are an older couple, and it just got to be too hard for us. I could really relate to how Mark was feeling having to leave his monkey. I love your adventures. I have seen them all. You are such loving, compassionate young men, and I have grown to love you both, dearly.
Dian
April 6th, 2009 at 8:36 pm
Hi Olly,
I wish I didn’t have to post this to a public forum, however being that I don’t have any other means of contacting you, I figured I’d give this a shot, so here goes:
I have developed a massive, school-girl crush on you through watching your show and reading your blogs! :) Hopefully this isn’t coming off as creepy! (I assure you that developing crushes on unattainable television celebrities is not a normal habit of mine.) However, in watching the shows and reading your blog, I feel that I have gotten a pretty good sense of the type of person you are, and I’m pretty smitten. I know that you may never read this (unfortunately your faithful bloggers probably will – thank God for anonymity on these posts!), however if by some twist of fate, I was ever able to chat with you, I think we would really hit it off. I’m in my mid-20’s, athletic, adventerous, good sense of humor, intelligent, and easy on the eyes. ;)
This is probably a long shot, however if you are willing to take a chance, please contact me (via the email I believe you are able to view on the post) and I’ll send you pics… you won’t be disappointed! It is so awkward for me to write this publicly, but if you don’t contact me back, I’ll know that I at least did what I could, and I’ll make peace with it. :)
Have a good one!
April 6th, 2009 at 9:51 pm
Hi Olly,
This was an amazing entry! I really enjoyed reading your experiences in the jungle. I absolutely love watching this show! It is so exciting and adventurous rolled in one. That would be a great idea to bring in viewer’s of the show to go on an expedition with you and Mark. I would definately go on an adventure with you guys! How fun would that be!!
Let us knowof any news with you and your writings. I would love to buy a book of yours just to meet you at an autograph signing. (smiles) Well, take care Olly, I look forward to any new material from you in the future!
-Veronica
April 6th, 2009 at 11:57 pm
How did you recharge your ipod?
April 7th, 2009 at 5:40 am
I was wondering about that I-pod thing myself. Did you carry in a generator of some sort?
Sunday nights just aren’t the same without you and Mark. Man v Food? No thanks. How about talking the Travel Channel into showing re-runs of the Kombai. Didn’t get to see those, but I did see the Mek.
Hope you’re doing well. :)
April 7th, 2009 at 6:28 pm
Great to hear you’re still answering fans questions Olly (when you get a chance.) I have an observational one for you. You’ve written that during your race across the Sahara (2005 Marathon Des Sables) that you would end each night crawling into your tent with a little food, a cigarette, and fall deliriously asleep. That took me quite by surprise! No, not that you’d fall deliriously asleep—that’s understood, but that you smoked. It’s hard enough to be a smoker and run any race let alone a marathon. But you, Olly, ran 6 of them in a row … and smoked! Where do you get your stamina?!
My question is do you still smoke? And if you do, how did you handle that when you were away on your trips with the tribes? I know the Kombai and Mek liked cigarettes but the Machigenga killed a man for smoking. (Which may explain the strained look on your face when Mark told you that.) Did you go without when you were with the Machigenga or had you officially quit by then?
Personally I hope you have quit (except for the occasional tribal council meetings) so we can have you on this planet longer and enjoy more of your adventures.
Take care, stay safe, quit smoking, and write that book!
Paul
April 7th, 2009 at 9:14 pm
Hey Olly,
How are things going with the Beagle Campaign? We pledged our support, any new development?
April 7th, 2009 at 11:54 pm
Mary Anne,
I missed the Kombi and the Mek series too. Amazon has the DVD’s. They are only like $20 each, but they don’t have any special features on them (my favorite part of dvd’s). Despite this it’s well worth it. Eleven enjoyable hours!!
Casey
April 8th, 2009 at 12:47 am
There’s a little extra on the Kombai DVD, but nothing on the Mek. I am hopeful for more “behind the scenes” stuff if they put out a Machigenga DVD.
April 8th, 2009 at 4:29 am
Hi, Casey and Sara: Thanks for the info on the DVDs. Is this something that is available at, say, Borders or do I have to order it from somehere. I agree witih you…There needs to be a lot of extras on the DVDs. One of the best parts of the Machigenga series was watching the little Mark and his Monkey video pods every week. I would love to see more about that, and maybe more detailed interviews with Mark and Olly about their experiences. And Olly, if you’re reading this, get on with that book already!!!!
Mary Anne
April 8th, 2009 at 10:24 pm
I too enjoyed reading about your race through the Sahara, (2005 Marathon Des Sables). I was able to relate to it in a very personal way. I have Lupus and have been living with it for about half my life. I am fortunate that the disease does not compromise my life as much as it does for some others. I’m married and together we have an EXTREMELY active 2 year old little boy. Some days are more of a challenge then others, but it works….just exhausting sometimes.
( I wrote a little more about this in the Machigenga, Ep.6 Trade Blog..only if your interested…)
It’s very touching that you ran the race in honor of your cousin and to raise money to go toward Lupus Research. Thank you, Olly. What you did really inspires me to do more for others who have the disease but aren’t quite as lucky as I’ve been.
Is there a video of your amazing race across the Sahara? We would really like to see it. I know your pretty busy these days but would you ever consider lecturing in the U.S.?
Take care…
April 9th, 2009 at 11:12 pm
Mary Anne,
I ordered my DVDs from Amazon.com. I never seem to have any luck when I drop into my local Borders for anything. Wait, I take that back. I did manage to grab their last copy of Russell Brand’s “My Booky Wooky”. But usually, I end up not finding what went in for but coming out with something else. I think it is a physical impossibility for me to leave a bookstore empty-handed! Now, if we could just get Olly going on that book of his!
Sara M (who is actually Sara Anne M)
April 10th, 2009 at 11:03 am
Yet again, thank you so much for your questions and all the wonderful words of kindness, appreciation and support with the last series. I kind of thought that the questions would be over now it’s stopped airing but it’s great there’s still so much curiosity about the Machigenga….
Tan: Favourite food: they do love a bit of monkey, cant be sure but I think the peccary (wild pig) would probably be their favourite – it certainly is mine!
Tan: hunting techniques: no they didn’t listen to Mark – they’ve been doing it their way and very successfully for hundreds of years and are masters of hunting, fishing and trap building.
Tan: canoe building: where was I? I was hanging with the ladies, preparing the coffee and cotton.
Tan: ropes: we left the ropes I think as they were pretty useful for them.
Mikael: Jacinto’s knife: he used it for everything – well he had 2 knives – one large machete and one smaller one for the more delicate work – from hunting, skinning, making traps, whittling chopsticks etc.
Tiffany: The monkey: Mark took the monkey to Sabeti Lodge where she now resides causing a huge amount of trouble for the owners! Fabianna would have looked after it but Mark felt the monkey would have a better life in Sabeti.
Tiffany: supplementary food: there was a time and a place where Mark and I had to eat some of the production food to ensure we had the energy requirements to be able to effectively do our jobs. Plus they tasted good. Occassionally in moments of rabid hunger, I did raid their stores by the dead of night.
Martin: Car: I don’t have a car. I live in London and so rarely need one as I try to bicycle everywhere or use public transport. I do want a plane though, but I guess that aint very climate friendly.
Martin: Can I sing? No. Shocking. Painful. Worse that a cat being run over.
Martin: Did I do any theatre? Yes, although again shockingly badly. I even acted at the Edinburgh Festival where amongst brilliant talented actors, I was recognised as giving one of the worst performances ever. The Scotsman Newspaper wrote ‘Steeds is an appalling young actor, taking himself far too seriously’. Devastated but relieved my failings had been publicly recognised, I returned to basics and rebuilt my acting career through exhaustive displays of amateur historical reinactments, and as the mascot (a dancing Chicken) for my local football team, where I found I was able to fine-tune my poultry impressions. And then came my big break to play David Hasslehoff’s chest wig. When that fell-through I briefly flirted with the idea of becoming a dentist in Pueto Rico and when that fell through, the voices became so loud that I had to start consistently talking to block them out. I’m not sure how I ended up working in TV but this may have something to do with it.
Martin: favourite food: all of it. Although few things beat a full English breakfast.
Martin: recognition: no, huge relief.
Martin: first job: at 12 years old, I first took the streets to earn cold hard cash, selling logs and holly over the Christmas period in my village. Made a mint and bought a bike.
Martin: favourite movie: so many good films – although Team America: World Police has got to be up there in the top 5.
Casey: iPOD recharge: the crew had a generator.
Angela: Beagle Campaign: thank you for pledging your support. The fight is on. The RGS are holding vote for the Fellowship to decide the future of the organisation on the 18th May so we’re trying to reach out to the 10,500 fellows to ask them to vote for our campaign. The RGS leadership are already playing dirty but we will prevail and significant counter-offensives are planned for the near future.
xx
April 10th, 2009 at 5:23 pm
Hello, Olly
Thank you for the answers, I have learns a lot more about the tribe. Sorry, to hear about the RGS leaders are playing dirty. I will be praying for you to win, we need people like you to keep the explore going, so people like me could learn :) I already sign up for the campaign but did not hear anything back in returen. Is anything else we could do to help? Just tell us what we ( your fan) can do to help you win.
Take care and be safe, Tan.
April 10th, 2009 at 8:42 pm
Hi Olly,
You say you want a plane, but have you ever been sailing??? Nothing beats that feeling! It’s truly magical! (And if you’re worried about being climate friendly, I would guess that it’s much better than a plane) Honestly, If you’ve never been sailing, you should try it. I bet you’d never want to set foot off the boat. Years ago, I worked as a nanny with a family that owned two beautiful boats. We would go out for the day (off the coast of Maine.. .beautiful!!!), find an island and boil lobsters and hike the entire day. It was incredible. Alas, I am not independently wealthy, so no big beautiful sail boats for me.
Team America… well, I think to fully appreciate this movie you need to have tipped back a few! LOL Let’s just say this gives us a really good look into your psyche. ha ;o) I was crying laughing in a few parts of this movie and other parts were just too disgusting for me. I loved Kim Jong Il’s song, though, and I’m too embarrassed to admit to my favorite part! It might warrant rewatching this movie when my sisters are in town.
And tough break on that Hasslehoff chest wig gig falling through. Too bad, really. ;o} Oh well… bigger and better things awaited you.
But on a more serious note, truly good luck on the Beagle Campaign. Sounds like the powers that be at RGS have gotten complacent. It’s a shame.
Carmen
April 10th, 2009 at 11:18 pm
Hi Olly,
Hope all is well with you and yours and you are enjoying Spring.
It is still cold in New York but the tress and flowers are blooming telling us to hold on for a bit, warmer days are coming.
I read your comments about people still asking questions about the Machigena and you. I think the reason is because this type of TV is so unique that it is hard to forget about. I do not watch TV that much anymore, when a show like this comes about you still want more. I feel as if this show is telling us that no matter how different we are if we learn to accept people and thier differences we all would be better in the end.
I was a bit spoiled because I did not know about this show until the most recent season so I had a chance to watch all three seasons at the same time.
Which brings me to my question do you know when the DVD would be coming out for the Machigena Tribe?
Let us know if you would like us to contact anybody else for the Beagle Campaign we would love to.
I know you can not say a lot about this but are you going to be going away this summer to live with another tribe?.
Last question when will your China special air and would we have a chance to watch it in the US?
Wishing you health, happiness, love and wealth
Reena
April 11th, 2009 at 12:45 am
Fantastic Q & A. Thanks for that and to answer your question, I would really love to see follow-up specials where you and Mark go back and visit the Mek and Kombai. I was especially fond of the Kombai for reasons I’m not really able to explain right now. Oh well.
April 11th, 2009 at 2:05 am
Okay, Olly. If Team America is one of your top five favorite movies, what are the other four?????
And if you are a smoker, and are still smoking, please quit. It’s a terrible habit that could cost you your life. We want you to be around to show us many more adventures. :)
Sarah Anne: Yeah, I agree about the Borders thing. I can’t go into that store and walk out with only what I came for. Last time I was in Borders, I went in looking for a magazine and ended up with a magazine, a cookbook, and a bag of chocolate. Oh, well.
Mary Anne
April 11th, 2009 at 8:54 am
You are too cute!!!! I’ve watched all of your shows just to see you & that smile! I hope to see you again in the near future. And if you’re looking for a girl to go with you, I got what you need right here…;-) Look me up…
April 12th, 2009 at 8:43 pm
Ollie, you go on long treks through different lands and cultures. Is there a “Mrs. Steeds” or “Long-term companon”?
What do they make of your frequent treks for long periods of time without them?
April 13th, 2009 at 1:07 am
Olly…did you know that statistics show that for every letter you receive there are at least a hundred viewers with the same or similar thoughts? Just a leftover from my college media courses….If you tally up all of your blog responses alone, just think of all the people who are interested in your show! You won’t be going incognito for very long if you keep making these programs. Best of luck! (and did you ever find any Tazo tea? It’s my favorite and I think everyone should try it.)
Be happy! :-)
Ana Maria
April 13th, 2009 at 10:32 am
Mary Anne,
“Last time I was in Borders, I went in looking for a magazine and ended up with a magazine, a cookbook, and a bag of chocolate.” I think we may share some genetic component! But I usually also have some world music CD I have never heard of and am taking a chance on. Sometimes it works out and I love the music, other times it’s like (to quote Tina Fey). “What the what?!?”
Olly, seriously, what are the other 4 movies? From the literature you quote to TEAM AMERICA is quite a leap (although TEAM AMERICA is hysterical)! No one can say you aren’t well rounded!
Sara (Anne) M
April 13th, 2009 at 12:18 pm
Oi Olly! Thank you for taking the time and answering our question… ( most people don’t even read their own blogs) I know my posting was kind of long and boring, but I was wodering what was your opinion on my question…:)
Take care
Renata
April 13th, 2009 at 8:14 pm
Olly:
“And I tell you, if you have the desire for knowledge and the power to give it physical expression, go out and explore.” Aspley Cherry-Garrard
–What fantastic sentiment from the Beagle Campaign website, I think it captures the spirit that you embody and resonate!! I could read the quotes and information from both of these websites all day, it’s alluring and magnetic! Caring about endangered species is something that becomes dear to us as school children and falls away from us as adults. It’s lovely to realize that this organization has the potential to reach out, educate, and help.
By you giving us avenues to get involved and inspiring us through your travels really makes a difference. It makes me want to grab my video camera and head out to the nearest creek to see how many frogs I can find… if any. It’s great to check in and see what everyone is saying. And it’s amazing that you, Olly, still have the time to post for us. It’s such an opportunity to talk to you! Thank you so much, by season 6….you’ll never have time!!
PS: I’d enter a travel channel contest in a minute for the chance to be a woman that gets to tag along on an adventure. I’d carry the dirty laundry or take survival training for that kind of a chance…..
……as long as tribal dress code for me keeps underwires intact…;)
Many, many thanks… Kelley
Boyertown, PA–USA!!!
April 13th, 2009 at 10:00 pm
Oh, hey, I’m into that Borders thing, too, especially the chocolate part. You can get me to do just about anything for really good chocolate. Skip the milk and the other stuff…give me the real goods, at least 70%, with the natural flavors that change by origin. Better than wine, any day. And Sarah, I love world music, too. Right now, I’m getting into some Northern African and traditional Iranian stuff. (Think Amr Diab from Egypt, Amina from Tunesia) I’ve picked up a few weird things myself…could never figure out what to do with them, since places like Borders don’t like to take them back once they’re opened. Usually, I’ve just passed them on to other potentially unsuspecting listeners, who then have the same problem of not knowing what to do with them.What are you listening to now?
April 17th, 2009 at 7:16 pm
Ana Maria,
Sorry for the delay with this reply. It has been a CRAZY week at work. Right now I am listening to North African and Indian sorts of things as well as Gyspy groove stuff. For general overviews, you can’t go wrong with any of the “Rough Guide To The Music of….” series. I am partial to the RG of Central Asia (“Uzbekistan to Kazakhstan: sounds of the Silk Road”) and the RG to Bhangra Dance. Also any of the Putumayo compilations are good (Amr Diab shows up on those). BIG fan of Rachid Taha, an Algerian muscian who I think lives in France now (his song “Bara Bara” plays through one of Olly’s reels on You Tube). Let’s see what else? Hossam Ramzy, Baaba Maal, Burhan Ocal and the Instanbul Oriental Ensemble, Johnny Clegg and Juluka/Savuka (when I am feeling nostaglic). A really AWESOME CD is “Electric Gypsyland” from 2004 from Six Degrees Records. It is an amazing compilation of songs by Balkan Gypsy bands as remixed by global Electronic producers. It is one of my all-time favorite CDs. That label has another great compilation, “Arabian Travels”. Another complilation “RasaExotica” has some interesting stuff. That’s it off the top of my head right now. I am guessing that The Gypsy Kings and The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards don’t really count as world music but I like them too.
April 18th, 2009 at 2:38 pm
To Sara: Sounds great! I like Rachid Taha, too. I noticed it on Olly’s reel myself. I’ll look into some of your suggestions. I really like the Gypsy Kings, but know nothing about the Royal Scots. I’ll have to look into that. I recently listened to a compilation of De Lucia’s guitar music, and enjoyed that a lot. Very Spanish. Are you into any Latin music? I’m a big fan of Cuban music, mostly the “hard” styles. I particularly enjoy Latin percussion. Francisco Aguabella is one of my favorites. He’s an expatriate Cuban, living in Southern California. His CDs are all excellent, and are fairly easy to find since he records in the United States. I’m always interested in listening to new things. Where do you live?
April 18th, 2009 at 6:24 pm
Thanks for those tips! I will definitely track down some Francisco Aguabella. I love Latin and Cuban music but don’t have a lot of it. Of course I have Buena Vista Social Club, some Los Van Van and The Afro-Cuban All Stars. One of the CDs I picked up on a lark at Borders was that turned out to be really enjoyable is “Asuncion” by Pacifika. I am counting them as “world”. The singer is from Peru, the bass player was raised in Bardados and the guitarist is from Canada. Many of the songs are in Spanish (which I don’t speak) so I don’t know what they are about, but I try to sing along (in my car so as not to punish anyone else) as best as I can.
Another good compilation I forgot to mention was another Six Degrees compilation “Asian Travels”. It’s Asian groove stuff. I think I picked it up at the Smithsonian (I used to travel in the US a lot for my old job) when they had an Asian art exhibit. And for just kind of relaxing and zoning out two good CDs are “Sounds of Peace” by Nawang Khechog (Tibetian flute) and “Seven Metals Singing Bowls of Tibet” by Benjamin Iobst.
I don’t know if you were on-line when Mark did his live chat on the Travel Channel site, but someone asked him how they could travel like him. He replied (basically) “Don’t by that CD or movie or book or that new electronic thing”. I thought, “Crap. As a landlocked-pet-owning-single parent buying that CD or book or international cookbook is kind of how I get to travel…” but then I realized if I had only heard his advice years ago, I probably could have had a few trips to India, Morocco and Thailand (one of my best friends lives there with her husband and son) under my belt by now. Oh well. Or at least a really awesome trip planned for a few years out from now. Maybe it’s not too late for that!
I am in Burlington, Vermont where we are pretty much in a state of euphoria over the release and safe return home of Capt. Richard Phillips (from the Maersk Alabama-Somali Pirates ordeal). He lives about twenty minutes away from there I do. Where are you at?
April 18th, 2009 at 6:27 pm
Oops! I forgot to mention Spencer Lewis. He’s not “world”, but he is a Vermont composer who is just lovely. I have tons of his stuff. I am sure you could google him and check out his website.
April 18th, 2009 at 8:11 pm
Sorry! One more post… Another recent obession is “Bossa ‘n…”. It isn’t really world music but is still fun. I tried to find the CDs and finally gave up and just downloaded from iTunes. Basically, they are Bossa Nova styled covers. There’s Bossa ‘n Marley, Bossa ‘n Stones (two albums of Rolling Stones covers) and my most favorite, Bossa ‘n Roses… That’s right, Bossa Nova covers of Guns ‘n Roses songs. I first heard them when I was sitting in a Tapas restaurant (Sala, 344 Bowery) in NYC. The music was playing, I was drinking white sangria, munching the mythical almond stuffed dates (among other delights) and hanging with friends and I thought, “Wait a minute…. Is that ‘Paradise City’ in a Bossa Nova style?!?! WTF?!?” The “Welcome to the Jungle” cover is HYSTERICAL and awesome all at the same time.
April 20th, 2009 at 4:10 am
Hi, Sara…Awesome suggestions. That Bossa Nova thing sounds hilarious. I’ll look up those Asian CDs you suggested. I used to have a shakuhachi album years ago I really enjoyed. Your suggestions reminded me of that old record. I should try to find it on CD. I really do enjoy Cuban music. I’d like to give you some suggestions, but they’re too many to list here. I’m wondering if Olly would be willing to send you my e-mail outside of this blog. How about it, Olly? Then we can share more musical ideas without tying up Olly’s blog. Of course, if Olly wants to join us in musical exchanges, he’s more than welcome. Maybe he has some suggestions based upon his own travels. I did see Mark’s live chat. It seemed to be very badly organized. I did get the part you mentioned, but I remember he said not to buy those trainers. There is something about Mark I really like. He seems to know what he wants, and I like that in a person. His relationsip with the monkey was revealing. Tender heart beneath the steely blues. I hope he’s happy in his marriage and has lots of kids. I know what you mean about longing to travel. I’ve done some traveling to Europe and Mexico, but it’s hard to have an itinerant life when you are responsible for a child. I have a 17 year old son who will be graduating next year from high school. It’s hard for me to believe this time has come so quickly in my life. I was still a teenager when I married, so it feels like he is here and almost gone faster than I thought could happen. I’m taking up my life as a journalist again, and when he goes to college, I’ll be able to travel. I would love to work for the BBC or the Economist. I’m not a big fan of U. S. news outlets. I speak native Spanish and some French, so the international thing may be a possibility. I’m planning a trip to Cuba in August or September, depending upon when I get my journalistic credentialing finished. I’ll send my son to stay at his father’s house for two weeks, or send him to visit his grandparents if good old dad is unavailable. Actually, I would rather like to take him. He’s a good kid with a lot of curiosity. I live in Redondo Beach, in an apartment building just thirty feet from the sand. Living here is like walking out into heaven every day. It’s beautiful, and I love it, even on those rare occassions when we get a bit of bad weather. Mostly, it’s in the 70s. It’s a bit isolated here from where the action is in LA County, but gee, I’ll survive. I’ve been to New York, Pennslyvania, and Connecticut. Lived in Maryland for two years, too. That’s the closest I’ve gotten to Vermont. Hope you are well there.
Ana Maria
April 20th, 2009 at 4:38 am
Ana Maria,
Where in Maryland did you live??? I lived there for 10 years, pretty much all over the place… A miniscule town called Butler (about 25 minutes north of Baltimore), Towson, Potomac, Bethesda, Frederick. I loved it and still miss it, especially this time of year. Spring in Maryland is wonderful. And all those cherry blossoms on the Mall in D.C. …. so ethereal and magical.
Good luck with your journalism! I’ve always thought it seems like such an exciting and interesting career.
Carmen
April 20th, 2009 at 5:33 pm
Hi, Carmen…I lived in Germantown. I wasn’t too crazy about it because it was so far from DC, where all the action is. It took forever to drive in, and the train wasn’t much better. Good luck trying to find a place to park that doesn’t cost you an arm and a leg. If you’re looking for a nice sleepy suburb, though, Germantown is great. I had the best Vietnamese Pho and Indian food there. The DC area is full of good ethnic restaurants. I used to go to Silver Spring to eat at some great places there…Etheopian, Cajun, Thai, Burmese…all good. I’m mostly vegetarian, so this is where I liked to go out to eat when I lived there. I went to Baltimore a number of times on business. Wasn’t all that impressed with it. It seemed even more boring than Germantown. I used to like to hang out in Bethesda, on the street with all the shopping. Forgot the name of the street. And Georgetown is a fun place to hang out. I used to sneak away from my business to go wander around the art galleries in the Mall. Such great art! One of my favorite places to go was in Kensington. There’s a little old part of town that has lots of cool antique shops and used book stores. I have a passion for haunting used book stores, and found some great things there. I’m a warm weather fan, so I had a hard time with the winters. It’s so damp and icy there. I have to agree with you, though, the Springs are magnificent, with all of the blossoming cherry trees. We had a lot of them in our neighborhood, and they were spectacular. I loved driving along the Beltway in Spring and Fall. The Spring blossoms were amazing, but so were the changing leaves in the Fall. Such a riot of color!Where do you live now?
April 20th, 2009 at 7:51 pm
Hi Ana Maria, I live in Wisconsin now, in a Milwaukee suburb. It’s nice enough, but I suppose not my favorite place. The town I live in is nice and Milwaukee has a lot going for it in a lot of ways, but it has a huge crime and unemployment problem that’s a drain on the entire county. I was born on the (now Japanese) island of Okinawa, but my family moved here when I was just 4 years old, so unfortunately I have only limited memories of Okinawa. I was raised here in WI in a town called La Crosse (which is just beautiful), then moved out to MD on my own when I was 18. You say you lived in Germantown… I worked in Rockville for a few years, commuting from Frederick at the time. It was only about 20 miles, but on hour long drive on a good day during rush hour! I didn’t mind it for about 3 years and then I grew to really dread it after a while. I loved Frederick, though. It wasn’t a big town, but it had the best little antique shops and fun restaurants. Kensington… I know I’ve heard of it, but not sure I know where that is. Is that in Virginia? It wouldn’t be the same as Old World Alexandria would it? I loved strolling along in the evening on the cobblestone streets lit with the gas lamps… so pretty.
It’s funny you say you’re mostly veg., at the time I was a VERY strict vegetarian. After I had my daughter, I had the overwhelming desire (need!?) for tuna, of all things??? I now eat poultry and seafood on occasion, but no beef or pork, so I like a lot of the same types of restaurants/foods that you mentioned. ( I felt very left out on the whole “Scotch Egg” bit! Ha… Guess I’ll never know what one tastes like. :o( Oh well.)
And if I ever need ANY music advice, I’m coming to you and Sara M.!!! :o) Wowzers that’s impressive.
Carmen
April 20th, 2009 at 9:22 pm
Hi, Carmen…taking a short break from work. This is interesting…I never expected to get into conversations with other bloggers. This is the first blog I have ever participated in, and I have found it to be lots of fun. I’ve checked some of the other blogs on Travel Channel, but I’ve come to realize there is a certain calibre of people here on Olly’s blog that are missing from the others I’ve seen. Very nice. Anyway, Kensington is not far from Bethesda. It’s where the big Mormon Temple is. You have probably seen the big white building from the Beltway. It rises up out of the mists like an incredible mirage, and it’s beautiful. I’ve been mostly veg for years. I’m not big on killing animals for food. I feel better spiritually, emotionally, and physically when I stick to a mainly vegan diet. Every once in a while I’ll break down and have a bit of fish, chicken, or dairy, but that doesn’t happen very often anymore. I cringed when I saw Olly kill that guinea pig. That was tragic. Poor guinea pig. Eating veg is really easy here in Southern California. There are year round farmer’s markets, and of course, at least one Whole Foods Market in almost every area. That scotch egg thing struck me as being a rather weird invention. I will cook meat for others if I have to, so I guess if I were pressed into it, I would come up with a few of those for whoever was brave enough to eat them. I’m a very good cook, but I don’t think I would have ever come up with a scotch egg on my own. And why do they call it a scotch egg, anyway? Was it invented in Scotland? Whatever…back to work.
Best to you,
Ana Maria
April 20th, 2009 at 9:26 pm
PS. I know where Rockville and Fredrick are. I used to go to the big new library in Rockville, where the selection of materials was better. Did you ever see the renovations by the Metro station? They fixed up the area quite nicely, and now there are some good restaurants and shops there.
Bye!
April 21st, 2009 at 1:45 am
Of course I should have known Kensington! I knew it sounded familiar. My best friend in that area was Mormon and she and her husband took me to the Mormon Temple. That vantage point from the beltway really is majestic, isn’t it? I always loved seeing that.
I haven’t been back there in 11 years now, so I haven’t seen any recent changes. Things change so fast out there, I wonder if I’d even recognize it anymore. There was constant development. At this point I’ll wait another year or so and take my daughter when she can really appreciate the history more. There’s almost too much to see on just a normal vacation and I’d really like to go out and stay a month or so to really show her the area.
It was fun talking to you, Ana Maria. I agree with you about the people on Olly’s blog. There must be a group of us people out there, that however different our individual lives might be, all gravitate toward similar interests and values. It’s a really nice group.
Take care, Carmen
April 22nd, 2009 at 5:15 pm
Olly,
If you would send my email address to Ana Maria, that would be fine with me. I don’t really know what the protocol is. I wouldn’t mind posting my email on the blog, but am a little hesitant. I have really enjoyed everyone’s posts and getting to know you all a bit. I also agree that we are a pretty nice group. It would be great if we could find a way to connect off of the blog (so as not to tie it up with non-Olly stuff). If anyone has AIM, maybe we can set up a chat sometime.
I would love to write some more (I LOVE CA!!!), but my lunch hour is over and I have a bunch of home visits to take care of. Best to you all,
Sara M
April 22nd, 2009 at 8:25 pm
Hi, Olly, Carmen and Sara: I would really enjoy making some new friends through this blog, but I, too, am hesitant to post my e-mail address. People can’t be too careful nowdays. This really has been a fun blog. All these women going off on different tangents, yet somehow (at least to other women), making a lot of sense. Now that the Machigenga thing is over, there seems to be lots to discuss with the Korea video. I’m still pondering that one. It’s OK with me if Olly gives my e-mail to Carmen and Sara. It will be nice to continue the conversations. Thank you, Olly, for enduring our sideline chats.
Carmen…are you familiar with Silver Spring? The downtown area used to be a gigantic dump and there has been a lot of renovation there over the last few years. I was there a year ago, and things have really cleaned up nicely. The Travel Channel HQ is there…I’ve been by it a number of times. It’s quite a large building right on the main downtown drag. When you go to Maryland with your daughter, take a stop by one of the many ethnic restaurants there and and have lunch.
Back to work…
Ana Maria
April 23rd, 2009 at 5:27 pm
I am taking a leap of faith that “Living with the Machigenga” will be released on DVD and am finally deleting it off of my DVR (why do high def recordings have to hog so much memory?!?). On the bright side of things, I no longer have to see ads for “Brigitte’s Most Sexy Beaches”! Woo hoo!
April 24th, 2009 at 3:17 am
Hello all,
Yes, it’s fine with me too, if Olly wants to pass my e-mail along to Ana Maria and Sara. However, I can see that that may be a precedent that he may not wish to set. Unfortunately, I really don’t do facebook or anything else like that where we could possibly hook up. How about you guys?
Re:Silver Spring.. I do know it and have been there, however I really don’t know it very well. My stomping grounds tended to be more on the western side of the beltway, past the 270 spur and on down south to Alexandria and the like. I lived in Bethesda and Potomac and after a while my sister moved down to Alexandria, so I pretty much hung out through there.
And Sara, when I read your comment about “Brigitte’s Sexiest Beaches” I laughed out loud. It did get fairly obnoxious after a while, didn’t it? (Although, I suppose not for the guys!)
Carmen :o}
April 24th, 2009 at 6:43 pm
I agree about “Brigitte’s Sexiest Beaches.” Not something to aspire to watch, I’d say. And shame on Travel Channel for taking the “bimbo approach” to travel. Totally without substance, but I suppose that is the point.
I think you’re right about Olly setting a precedent for us. It’s not fair for us to expect him to serve as our go-between, especially since he is so busy. I don’t have anything on Facebook, and don’t plan to get on there anytime soon, so we need to come up with a solution amongst ourselves. We’ll figure it out!!! :)
Have a good day, everybody.
Ana Maria
April 24th, 2009 at 6:45 pm
PS In all the time I lived in Maryland, I always had intentions of going to Alexandria, but never made it. There just never seemed to be enough time. I heard so much about it, now that I think about it again, I’m sorry I never went. Oh, well. Maybe sometime in the near future…
April 25th, 2009 at 1:55 am
I agree, we shouldn’t be asking Olly to be our social secretary! I don’t have Facebook (it feels like one more thing to have to check) despite a bunch of friends telling me I should. True story, one of my best friends who lives in San Diego called me a few weeks ago. She said, “You should totally get on Facebook, then we could be friends!” My reply was, “But we are already friends and have been since we were 12″. OK, I’m going to go out on a limb, take one for the team (stop using cliches!) and post my email:
woohoo67@comcast.net
Sara M
May 4th, 2009 at 12:23 am
For those interested in world music, the May/June issue of Utne magazine has a great article on world music blogs. Here are some links:
likembe.blogspot.com
awesometapesfromafrica.blogspot.com
http://www.radiodiffusion.net
voodoofunk.blogspot.com
bennloxo.com
The last blog has some really great, obscure, old things (like an Italian cover of The Who’s “Can’t Explain” which is one of my all-time favorite songs) and some great newer stuff (like acoustic Icelandic pop, a group called “Seabear”). Enjoy!
Sara M
May 14th, 2009 at 9:36 pm
Hi Olly,
Hows it going? Not sure if you’re looking this far back in your blog now. I’m way behind and have lots of reading to do clearly!!! I just wondered (and i’m sorry if this was answered in the episode – I can’t get the channel to watch it) what happens if a marriage out there has problems? Are they forced to stay together? Do either have the right to walk away and if so are there any repercussions? Can a man treat his wife however he wants? I’m sorry if you’ve already answered this.
Carmen: thank you for the kind words. It’s the hardest decision i’ve ever made. I will respond to our discussion in Episode 2 blog soon.
Take care
Anna
June 29th, 2009 at 1:23 am
Hi Olly,
Have some thoughts about why the tribe may have been so terrified by the arrival of the deer. I live in Massachusetts, outside of Boston. We have plenty of white tailed deer. They are beautiful creatures and I used to really enjoy catching a glimpse of them. Now I shudder when I see one, especially if it happens to be close to home. The deer are hosts to ticks who harbor infections which are harmless to the deer but can be very harmful to humans. There has been a resurgence of the deer population in recent years due to conservation efforts. With the deer have come an increase in human diseases such as Lyme, babesiosis, bartonella, erilichiosis and rocky mountin spotted fever. Lyme disease is a spirochete shaped bacteria shaped like the syphilis bacteria. It bores deep into tissues like cartilage in the joints and if left untreated can effect the heart and brain. I feel like I’m surrounded by Lyme disease. I’m a nurse in a clinic where we treat a lot of patients with the disease and I have a daughter who unfortunately has chronic late stage Lyme with brain involvement. Like any mother of a child with a disease, I’ve done a lot of reading. I read recently that the native Americans who lived in the New England area did not allow deer to come anywhere near their settlements. They were aware that deer harbored disease. Some Lyme patients suffer from mental illness. I couldn’t help but wonder as I watched the reaction of the tribe members if their ancestors had made the connection between the deer and the disease and interpreted it as the work of evil spirits.
Hope you and Mark are keeping well- please stay away from deer pelts!! I enjoy your show. It’s one of the very few shows my husband and I can sit with our teenagers and all enjoy. I was wondering when we could expect to see your next tribal adventure in the states. Our Sunday nights just haven’t been the same without our Mark and Olly fix.
Regards,
Chris
August 16th, 2009 at 7:43 am
Hi! So i’m hoping you get a chance to respond to this, whether it be in a time or not. I would like to know if you had any experience/observation or learned anything of how the Machigengas view/see/respond to death. I’m working on a Spanish final paper for my decree (which is now over a year overdue…)
It’s based around this book El hablador by Mario Vargas Llosa. Perhaps you’ve read it. It’s fictitious of course (i think so anyway). There is one story/myth about a man who pees on a flower where there is a bee, and the bee stings the man’s penis and it grows and swells to a ridiculous amount. So maybe Llosa picked that up from the “bad big penis man” you mentioned.
Anyway, if you have any insight or can send me in a good direction for more information re: machigengas i would be greatly indebted. My focus is their culture around death as well as their spiritual beliefs (like the tasorintshis and evil spirits whose names i forget at present). Or if you know what they believe around spirits/souls, suicide or infanticide (of “imperfect” children). It’s really hard to find good in depth information on the Machigenga present or past. Wish i could go myself and ask.
Do you speak many languages???
thanks
nati
nfrancov@yahoo.com
September 13th, 2009 at 4:53 pm
Hello Olly,
I dont know if you are still taking questions about the tribes you lived with but if so I have some.
Do you know the draw wieghts of any of the bows from the three tribes you lived with?
How many arrow did a Mek, Kombai, and Machiguanga man usually own and how often did they make new ones?
And did the Machiguanga retrieve an arrow after shooting it into the air at a monkey or bird if they missed? I heard Lucio say to Mark “you weasted an arrow” when he missed a bird.. That gave me the impresion they dont. Or do they only look for it a short time?
Thanks,
Mike
September 22nd, 2009 at 2:31 am
Here’s an answer for your question “Any takers?” in regards to taking a woman along on your journey. I’m a taker! In fact, I thought while watching Mek, that it would be a lot better if you had a woman there to interact with the women in the tribe. Have a camera and will travel with no notice! Cheers.
November 13th, 2009 at 3:17 am
Hello
Just a quick thank-you for helping through a very difficult surgery. I was pretty much bed ridden and that was so very difficult being an athlete/PE/Health teacher. I looked forward to all your adventures and it really made me feel as if I was somewhere else in the world instead of stuck in my room healing. Thank-you for sharing your story with me. It meant more than I can say. I dreamed of being healthy and someday going out and helping others with what small gifts I have. Im finally well and I miss your show being on. I hope to see you back at some point in time. If your ever in Portland OR. USA give me a shout. Id love to meet you and hear about your adventures in person.