Latest news with #Waimaha
The Independent
01-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
BBC star Bruce Parry issued warning by Peta after he suffocated goat on TV show
The leading animal charity Peta has issued a warning to BBC star Bruce Parry, who suffocated and killed a goat on his rebooted TV show, Tribe. In the second episode of the series Tribe with Bruce Parry, the adventurer meets the Macubal, a community living in Angola's harsh Namib Desert, where he is gifted a goat by one of the group's leaders as a welcome. He was told by the members of the tribe that he must kill the animal, which initially left the presenter horrified. Parry eventually went through with the ritual out of fear of offending the hosts, and told cameras about how the animals are essential to the tribute as symbols of currency, gifts and sustenance. He said: 'This is the most gruesome thing I have ever done,' adding, "I wasn't given any time to consider it or anything. It's like they held it and said you have to hold this now... so I did.' Peta UK's President of Programmes Elisa Allen said in a statement that Parry would have been facing 'criminal charges if his abominably cruel goat suffocation had occurred on British soil'. Allen added: 'For selfish ratings 'shock value', a gentle being who otherwise loved to play and jump spent her final moments in abject terror – gasping for air, struggling to stay alive, and bleating for mercy that Parry failed to grant. 'Parry's excuse of cultural immersion is a failed attempt at washing his hands of an act of wanton cruelty to animals, and the BBC must answer for enabling such cruelty.' Allen suggested that, if Parry wants to make amends, he should make a 'sizeable donation' to a goat sanctuary. A spokesperson for the BBC told The Sun: 'The goat sequence in episode two accurately portrays an essential part of Mucubal life in Angola, and it is traditional for Mucubal communities to ask visitors to slaughter a goat.' 'As the programme explains, the Mucubal believe that stabbing an animal is cruel and suffocation is a more respectful death. 'The goat was eaten after its slaughter and to avoid including it in the programme would create an inauthentic portrayal of Mucubal life.' In the episode, Parry stays with the 30-strong family and witnesses the rituals his hosts continue to maintain. Parry first starred in the BBC Two documentary series from 2004 to 2007, which saw him live with various tribal groups to better understand their culture. The new edition of the show, rebranded as Tribe with Bruce Parry, saw the explorer projectile vomit after doing psychedelics with the Waimaha people in the Colombian Amazon rainforest. Speaking about the comeback, Parry said: 'It's been over twenty years since Tribe first aired. 'Living with people who experience the world in such profoundly different ways was eye-opening then, but today it feels vital,' he added. 'I believe we have so much to learn from those who still live in deep connection with the world around them,' the explorer continued. 'It feels a huge privilege that the BBC has allowed me to explore these places and themes once again.'
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Tribe with Bruce Parry: everything we know
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Get ready for a new series of Tribe with Bruce Parry, which comes to our screens nearly two decades after the filmmaker's last work for BBC Two. In this brand new three-part series, Parry will travel to some of the most remote corners of the world to visit communities living radically different lives from our own. He believes indigenous knowledge and wisdom are needed more than ever and his return to the BBC comes at a time when the world faces unprecedented environmental challenges, millions of tribal people have left their communities and the threats to those who remain are escalating. Against this backdrop, Bruce is visiting three extraordinary communities, diving deep into their traditional ways of life. He is the first foreign visitor to live within each community, and films much of his experience on his own camera. 'It's been over twenty years since Tribe first aired," says Bruce. "Living with people who experience the world in such profoundly different ways was eye-opening then, but today it feels vital. I believe we have so much to learn from those who still live in deep connection with the world around them. It feels a huge privilege that the BBC has allowed me to explore these places and themes once again.' Here's everything we know about Tribe with Bruce Parry... The series debuted on Sunday, March 30 on BBC Two, with all episodes now available on iPlayer. Episodes 2 and 3 of the show will also be broadcast on BBC2 on Sunday, April 6 and Sunday, April 1,3 respectively. There's a trailer for the series, check it out below... Tribe with Bruce Parry episode 1 - Waihama After four days travel from the UK, Bruce visits the Waimaha people, who live on a remote tributary of the Amazon. Deep in one of least accessible regions of the Colombian rainforest, it's a region of the Amazon that he's never visited before. After rubber tappers and missionaries nearly destroyed Waimaha culture in the 20th Century, Bruce is initially seen as an outsider and eyed with suspicion. He wants to learn about the Waimaha's deep understanding of nature that allows them to thrive in such a remote region. He eats foraged insects, drinks beer brewed with saliva and lives with a family who have recently lost their dog to a jaguar from the surrounding forest. The Waimaha use a powerful form of the psychoactive ayahuasca to connect with forest spirits who, they believe, are the protectors of their lands. Bruce must win the trust of the community if he is to attend a sacred ritual where the psychoactive will be taken. To do this he is required to go through a series of purges, including snorting chilli, middle of the night river immersions, and a vomiting purge to cleanse his stomach. Tribe with Bruce Parry episode 2 - Mucubal Bruce ventures deep into the unforgiving Namib desert in southern Angola, a region only recently accessible after years of civil war and a legacy of landmines. Invited to live with the Mucubal, Bruce is the first white person some of the villagers have ever seen. In a desert that is hot and getting hotter he sees first-hand how climate change is affecting life for the Mucubal and their cattle. Bruce witnesses several practices which lie at the heart of Mucubal identity, including the ritual removal of teeth and circumcision ceremonies. Survival in the desert is tough and on his first morning Bruce is woken and given a welcome gift - a goat which he is told he must sacrifice with his bare hands, before sharing with the community. Bruce admits this is, 'the most gruesome thing I have ever done'. Tribe with Bruce Parry episode 3 - Marapu In the final episode, Bruce travels to the paradise island of Sumba in Indonesia. Sumba is the only island in the world where people worship the ancient religion of Marapu, a religion where ancestral spirits demand blood sacrifice from its followers. Invited to stay by the priest, Bruce lives in an ancient hilltop village where houses are built next to megalithic stone tombs containing their dead relatives, and homes are built with dedicated space for the ancestors to live. Bruce discovers the villagers' devotion to living alongside the dead comes with great sacrifice. The villagers' remote location at the top of a hill with no access to water or irrigation sees them start to run out of food. They are forced to venture into the forest to hunt. During his stay, Bruce comes to learn that they would never leave - for the ancestors offer both protection in daily life, and comfort for what comes after. Parry was born on 17 March 1969 and is an English documentarian, indigenous rights advocate, author and explorer. A former commando officer in the Royal Marines, he left the forces after six years to become a trek leader in Indonesia, before seeking a career in TV. His first TV appearance came in 2002 in an episode of BBC One's Extreme Lives series entitled "Cannibals and Crampons" and he appeared in various other shows before starting work on his Tribe series in 2004. The show saw Bruce immersing himself with 15 different tribal communities whilst making three groundbreaking series, earning him two nominations for BAFTA Best Factual Series. In 2007, he spent an entire year travelling along the Amazon to explore the forces affecting the world's largest rainforest and its people. Amazon went on to win Bafta Best Factual Series 2009.
The Independent
31-03-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Bruce Parry declared a ‘true hero of modern documentary TV' as fans celebrate ‘bonkers' Tribe reboot
Bruce Parry has been heralded a 'hero of modern documentary TV' by fans for his wild exploits in the reboot of his Noughties adventure series, Tribe. The former Royal Marine, 56, first starred in the BBC2 documentary series from 2004 to 2007, which saw him live with various tribal groups to better understand their culture. For the 2025 edition, the show has been rebranded as Tribe with Bruce Parry and sees the explorer projectile vomit after doing psychedelics with the Waimaha people in the Colombian Amazon rainforest. Elsewhere in the show, Parry visited The Mucubal tribe in Angola where he suffocated a goat with his bare hands, describing the incident as 'the most gruesome thing I've ever done'. Fans were ecstatic to see Parry's escapades return to screens after a near two-decade hiatus, with memes of the former Royal Marine vomiting going viral on social media. 'Great to see Bruce Parry back doing psychedelics and shoving scorpions up his a*** to impress tribesmen,' one viewer wrote on X/Twitter. 'These undiscovered tribes must see him coming,' another person added. 'They've put chillies up his nose, made him eat cold boiled frogs and are now making him puke his guts out. And he remained cheerful!' Meanwhile, a third fan praised Parry for his 'deep immersion into indigenous cultures' dubbing the series 'both eye opening and humbling'. 'What's a Sunday night without watching Bruce Parry being sick on the telly?' another person asked, while further fans dubbed the explorer 'f****** bonkers' for taking part in the tribes' rituals. The new series of Tribe is a three-episode mini series in which Parry visits communities who face threat in today's modern world. Speaking about the comeback, Parry said: 'It's been over twenty years since Tribe first aired. 'Living with people who experience the world in such profoundly different ways was eye-opening then, but today it feels vital,' he added. 'I believe we have so much to learn from those who still live in deep connection with the world around them,' the explorer continued. 'It feels a huge privilege that the BBC has allowed me to explore these places and themes once again.' The Tribe reboot has received largely positive reviews with The Guardian's Jack Seale awarding the mini-series four stars, despite the repetitive nature of the show's format. 'It is the same old same old,' Seale writes of Parry vomiting in the jungle. 'But it feels good to reconnect.'
The Guardian
30-03-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Tribe With Bruce Parry review – he loses his mind on drugs … and it doesn't disappoint
It is, scarily, 20 years since Bruce Parry first brought Tribe to the BBC. The diffident but determined former Royal Marine visited Indigenous people in the world's most remote places and, by living as one of them, earned a level of trust that previous documentary-makers had struggled to achieve. Parry was more patient, more respectful and more physically courageous than other white interlopers had been. He gained valuable insights into tribal life and the threats to it posed by modernity. Tribe itself was simply cracking entertainment, as involving as it was educational. Television's sausage machine has a way of turning the most exotic ingredients into familiar comfort food and, although it took us to the farthest corners of the planet, Tribe soon established a reliable format. Parry's return follows the winning formula as he travels to meet the 600-strong Waimaha people, deep in the Colombian Amazon rainforest. First, there is the journey in, via small plane and tiny boat, the camera snagging on a branch as the canoe weaves through foliage. Then it is the tentative first meeting with the village elder, a friendly man named Pedro who is nevertheless upfront about why Parry is getting funny looks: 'We don't think much of the white man. When we see you it brings back memories.' The Waimaha have been here for 2,000 years, having been brought upriver, legend has it, in the belly of an anaconda; a century ago they were massacred by invading rubber tappers, and as recently as the 1970s their children were forcibly taken and re-educated by Catholic missionaries. Soon, though, Parry is ensconced with a family and winning favour by showcasing his wood-chopping skills on a trip out to find protein. He joins them in feasting on mojojoy, the fat white larvae of the palm weevil, which are eaten raw and, indeed, alive. 'It's got a lot of flavour!' says Parry, politely. 'It's like a custard that … isn't that sweet.' Later on, Pedro, who is the local physician, finds a plant with medicinal qualities. He picks a lush leaf, squeezes it into a ball and dispenses a drop of green juice into each of Parry's eyes. 'Yeah, that … stings,' says Parry, fighting to maintain his gratitude. Pedro says this is a sign there is something wrong with his eyes. Before long, Parry's willingness to help with any domestic task has endeared him to the womenfolk, and he is making progress with the training he has to undergo before he will be allowed to join the villagers at a ceremony for the forest spirits, fuelled by the hallucinogenic plant extract yage, AKA ayahuasca. His sinuses are cleared by snorting ground chilli; his stomach is purged by drinking emetic leaf-water, a process that ends with him neck-deep in a river in the middle of the night, manfully hurling up gallons of green goo. It is classic Parry, and there is a very funny moment where the more experienced Pedro shows off his refined spewing technique: while Parry urges and spits, Pedro leans forward and lets it all flow smoothly out of him in one go, as if has turned on a dirty tap. Before the big night in the deeply impressive village hall – Parry helps with the efficient collective effort to re-roof it, trying his best to match the locals' skill in weaving leaves and reeds around wood – there are serious issues to confront. Outsiders are no longer killing or kidnapping the Waimaha, but they are tempting young villagers with a different way of life: children leave the rainforest and travel to school, where they are taught the Colombian national curriculum rather than the ways of the tribe. As always, Tribe asks difficult questions about what western concepts such as progress and enlightenment really mean. Are the Waimaha who choose to leave their old life behind really better off for having greater access to tarmac, plastic, burgers, money and elections? An initiative to give Indigenous people educational autonomy within a wider system of governance looks like a decent compromise. What we are really here for, however, is Parry losing his mind on drugs. At the community gathering, the Waimaha dance endlessly in circles, pounding the ground to send everyone into a trance-like state. The effect of this when combined with large quantities of yage, taken on an empty stomach, is something we don't see much of, beyond Parry looking a bit peaky and leaning his forehead on a stick for support. But as he always does, he speaks lucidly about the new understanding the experience has given him of the forest way of life, and how precious is the place in which these people live. It is the same old same old, but it feels good to reconnect. Tribe With Bruce Parry aired on BBC Two and is on iPlayer now
The Guardian
30-03-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
TV tonight: Bruce Parry is back – and he's taking ayahuasca in the Amazon
9pm, BBC Two It has been 20 years since Bruce Parry first lived with tribes around the world. After a decade away from the screen, now feels like a crucial time for him to continue showing the lives of Indigenous people who have a deep connection with the world. He starts in the Amazon, where the Waimaha are at first sceptical ('We have a pretty bad reputation, to be honest'); Parry must win their trust to take part in the ayahuasca ritual. Hollie Richardson 9pm, BBC One The Liverpool crime drama starring Sean Bean maintains the tension, even while the Phelan drug clan lounge poolside at their luxury villa. It's a succession struggle between Ronnie's (Bean) lieutenants, his son Jamie and gang member Michael. But don't count out Michael's fiance Diana – she can stir up more than just a frozen margarita. Ellen E Jones 9pm, ITV1 We know that DCI Liz Nyles isn't bent, not least because she's played with heroic forbearance by the ace Siobhan Finneran. But some dubious behaviour – such as tampering with evidence – is coming back to haunt her as the knotty witness protection drama enters its endgame. Concludes Monday. Graeme Virtue 9pm, BBC Three A double-bill finale for Sian Eleri's investigation into the case of Helen Duncan, the last British person to be imprisoned under the Witchcraft Act in 1944. What does the explosion of the HMS Barham warship, which killed 861 people, have to do with her? It continues to be about more than just the supernatural. HR 10pm, Channel 4 A dynamic new drama about members of a Leeds dance school – the Chapeltown Collective – and their coming-of-age stories. It starts with best mates Puppy (Princess Nelia Mubaiwa) and Koby (Demarkus Marks), who need to battle it out for a shiny scholarship – will it come between them? HR 10.20pm, ITV1 Filmed across 2024, this documentary offers an insight into the endless battle of attrition taking place on the West Bank. The territory belongs to Palestine, where Israeli settlements are illegal under international law – but that doesn't stop them from happening. This film hears from both sides in an apparently implacable conflict. Phil Harrison I'll Be Right There, 11.35am, 7.15pm, Sky Cinema Premiere Wanda (Edie Falco) is a giver in a family of takers – from her heavily pregnant daughter and recovering addict son to a secret lover who's only in it for the sex. She could just be an annoying doormat of a character, but in the estimable Falco's hands she is an engagingly flawed woman who relies on being wanted to give meaning to her life. There aren't many rough edges in Brendan Walsh's middle America drama, but it's finely acted and completely relatable. Simon Wardell Letter to Brezhnev, 11.35pm, BBC Two Chris Bernard's Liverpool-set romance was one of a string of features funded by Channel 4 in the 1980s that revitalised the moribund British film industry. Like much of the broadcaster's early content, it's sparky, politically edged fare, following two young women – jobless Elaine (Alexandra Pigg) and chicken factory worker/force of nature Teresa (Margi Clarke, sister of the film's writer Frank) – on a night out in the city. They meet two Russian sailors, and while Teresa gets off with Alfred Molina's Sergei, Elaine falls heavily for Peter (Peter Firth). But love and cold war realities soon collide. SW FA Cup Football: Preston v Aston Villa, 1.15pm, BBC One Followed by Bournemouth v Man City at 3.45pm on ITV1. Women's Super League Football: Leicester v Tottenham, 1.15pm, Sky Sports Main Event Chelsea v West Ham is at 4pm.
