18x01 - The Shaman's Apprentice

[bunniefuu]

♪ Reading rainbow ♪

♪ Butterfly in the sky ♪

♪ I can go twice as high ♪

♪ Take a look, it's in a book ♪

♪ A reading rainbow ♪

♪ I can go anywhere ♪

♪ Friends to know,
and ways to grow ♪

♪ Reading rainbow ♪

♪ I can be anything ♪

♪ Take a look, it's in a book ♪

♪ A reading rainbow ♪

♪ Reading rainbow ♪

Captioning made possible by
u.s. Department of education

Hi. Are you ready
for an adventure that
you will never forget?

Well, come on!

We're heading for
one of the most amazing
places on earth:

The amazon rain forest.

From the sky, you can see
how big the rain forest
really is.

Except for the occasional
blue river,

It's just green as far as
the eyes can see.

And if you're wondering
why we're going to
the rain forest,

The answer is in a book.

It's the true story of
a shaman, or a medicine man,

Who uses the plants
of the rain forest

To treat the illnesses
of his people,

And how he passes
his knowledge on

To an apprentice,
or student.

It's called
the shaman's apprentice.

Narrator:
the shaman's apprentice

A tale of the amazon
rain forest.

In the tirio indian village
of kwamala, deep in
the amazon rain forest,

Kamanya lay in his hammock,
burning with fever.

His mother sat nearby.
She spoke gently
to her husband:

"It is time. Take him."

He picked up the boy and carried
him to the hut of the shaman,
the medicine man.

Softly chanting,
the shaman nahtahlah
disappeared into the forest.

He returned with
leaves, roots, and bark,

Which he put into a pot of water
boiling on the fire.

Stirring and singing,
he asked the sickness
to leave the boy.

Then nahtahlah removed
the pot from the fire,

And when the mixture had cooled,
he lifted kamanya's head

And poured the warm medicine
into the boy's mouth.

When the boy awoke,
the fever was gone.

As the years passed,
kamanya never forgot that
the shaman saved his life.

The village of kwamala
rested on the banks of the
beautiful sipaliwini river.

Unlike the other boys,
kamanya often slipped away

And silently followed the shaman
as he collected the plants

From which he made
his powerful medicine.

Kamanya hoped that he could
learn nahtahlah's wisdom

And one day become
the next shaman.

Nahtahlah was pleased
with the boy,

And showed kamanya
which plants he used
for healing.

One day, a man from another
tribe came down the river.

He staggered from his canoe
up the riverbank and into
the tirio village.

He told the tirios
that strangers had come
to his people's village

In search of gold.

These miners had
dug up the ground,

And they carried a disease
so strong that the tribe's
shaman could not cure it.

A few days later,
the man passed on
to the spirit world.

Soon, people in the tirio
village became sick with
the strange illness,

And nahtahlah could not cure it.

Several months later,
another canoe came
down the river.

The tall people
who entered the village

Had the whitest skin
the tirios had ever seen,

And hair the color of straw.

Their clothes covered
their entire bodies.

These white people
were missionaries,

Who had come to
convert the tirios
to their religion.

They gave the sick people
little white pills,

And soon, everyone
in the village felt well.

They called the sickness
malaria,

And said the little white pills
contained quinine,

Malaria's treatment.

The missionaries gave the tirios
new clothes to wear,

Taught them how
to read and write,

And translated the bible
into trio.

The white people's medicine
had done what the shaman's
medicine could not.

So now, the tirios believed
that the missionaries' god

Must be more powerful
than their own gods.

Kamanya watched sadly
as the shaman lost his place
of honor within the tribe,

And at the council fire.

He told nahtahlah,
"tamo, wise one,

"The day must come when
they again see that you are
the wisest of them all."

One day, while kamanya
was fishing,

He saw another stranger
coming up the river:

A young woman, accompanied by
a guide from another village.

Kamanya brought her
to see the chief.

The woman, gabriela, explained
that she had come to study

The healing magic
of the forest plants.

The chief told her about
the malaria, and asked why she
wanted to learn their medicine

When hers was so much stronger.

"Do you know where the treatment
for malaria comes from?"
Gabriela asked.

She explained that missionaries
had learned about quinine,
the medicine in the white pills,

From the forest people of peru.

"This healing medicine
comes from the bark of the
cinchona tree," she said.

The chief was astonished.

A shaman's medicine
had saved them after all!

Every day, gabriela followed
the shaman through the forest,

And learned about the hundreds
of plants he used for medicines:

Plants to cure earaches
and stomachaches,
snake and insect bites.

One day, nahtahlah
noticed gabriela
scratching her elbow.

Going over to a weedee tree,
he peeled the bark away.

He spread the bright red sap
on gabriela's arm.

By the next day, the fungus
and itching had disappeared.

After several months,
gabriela left.

But every year,
she returned to kwamala

To learn, with kamanya,
more and more of
the shaman's wisdom.

Now, gabriela could speak
effortlessly in their language,

And on the next visit,
she had a special gift:

A book that she had
made for them.

She carefully unwrapped
her handbook of all their
medicinal plants

And said, "now, you have
two books in your language:

"The bible, and this--
the wisdom of nahtahlah.

"Now your people will never
forget the shaman's wisdom.

"Perhaps one day, the people
of the world may benefit

From nahtahlah's knowledge
of the healing powers
of the rain forest."

The next day, kamanya
visited gabriela and said,

"The chief thinks your book
is very important.

"He has asked nahtahlah
to teach a young man
of our tribe all he knows.

Nahtahlah has chosen me!"

Gabriela left the tirio village
with a full and happy heart.

She would continue to return
to kwamala, year after year,

And learn from her wise mentor.

And she knew that
while she was away,

The old shaman's work
would continue with kamanya.

And so it was that kamanya
became the shaman's apprentice.

There it is!
There's kwamala!

And it looks a lot like
the pictures in the book!

It's almost as if...
The book itself
is coming to life!

Hey, levar,
how are you doing?

How are you?
Fine.

Glad you made it, man.

Good to see you.

You all right?

I'm doing just fine.

This is my friend
mark plotkin.

He's not only one of
the authors of the book,

He's a scientist
and an absolute expert

At rain forest plants.

Man, I'm glad
you made it.

You're just in time--
there's a special place
I want to take you

And somebody really special
you got to meet.

Really? Right away?

Hit the ground running--
that's what I like.

Levar: when you visit kwamala,
the first thing you do is meet
the chief, or granman,

And get his permission
to explore the village.

Mark speaks trio,
the language of
the tirio indians,

So he'll introduce me
and explain why I'm here.

[Speaking trio]

Granman, I want you
to know that I'm very
happy to be here

In your village
and among your people.

I've been looking forward to
this trip for a long time.

[Speaking trio]

Plotkin: so I said
that you wanted to see
how things were here,

And that you were going to tell
all the children back home

How things were here
in the jungle.

Levar, voiceover:
it's also customary to offer
a small gift to the chief,

Like this machete.

He accepts, and grants me
permission to visit.

Thank you.

Come on.

Levar, voiceover: because
kwamala lies near the equator,

Every day is like
the hottest day of summer.

So families live in open huts
instead of houses.

I'm using this video camera
to keep a record of just
how different everything is.

Here, they sleep in hammocks
instead of beds.

And those hammocks are woven
from cotton they've grown
just outside the village.

And with leaves from
the rain forest,

Villagers can make everything
from a roof...to a basket.

Writing what I'm seeing
and feeling

Gives me another chance
to share my experiences

With my friends and family
back home.

And just like the shaman's
apprentice
tells the true
story of kamanya,

Maybe my journal can
tell people even more

About what life is
really like here.

With only a couple of feathers,
some string, a shaft of bamboo,

A Kn*fe, and knowledge
that's been passed on from
generation to generation,

Yakapo here is making one of
the oldest tools known to man.

It's an arrow, and it
will be used with a bow

To hunt or fish for food.

After all, there aren't any
grocery stores in kwamala--

There's just the rain forest.

He doesn't use a measuring
tape, or any of the tools
we're used to.

Just his Kn*fe, and his touch,

His sight, and his feel.

Knowledge like yakapo's
has to be passed on
from one generation...

To the next.

Yaka was once like
this young boy,

And one day the boy
will be like yakapo,

Teaching the ancient
art of arrowmaking
to another generation.

And while hunting with
bows and arrows is one way
to get their meals,

The people here have found
another source of food

In the cassava root.

But first, they have to dig
the roots from the ground,

Then, pack them into
hand-woven baskets,

And carry the heavy packs
to the village.

It's hard work,
and it's just the start.

Next, they peel the roots
and prepare them for grinding.

Cassava makes up
a large part of the diet
of the tirio indians,

And here in kwamala,
the women teach the young girls

How to turn cassava root
into bread.

The trick is to
grind the cassava...

And not your hands.

Once the roots have been
ground into a mushy paste,

The paste is packed
into a mutape,

A really clever device
made completely from
rain forest materials.

The mutape is used to
strain the liquid out of
the ground-up cassava.

Next, the strained paste
is laid out, kind of like
a pizza crust.

And finally, the cassava bread
is then thrown on the roof

To finish baking
in the hot jungle sun.

This has been
an incredible trip.

I've been here just a few days,
and yet I've seen and learned
so much about the tirio indians.

[Children singing]

Today, I went to school
and learned a song in trio.

[Singing]

I got my face painted,
like a real tirio tribesman.

I'm initiated.

And I got to watch
as the villagers had
a special celebration

In honor of the chief.

And even though
I'm just a visitor here,

They invited me to join
in the festivities.

[Laughing]
they didn't have to ask twice!

Later, I discovered that
a dug-out canoe and a paddle

Are the preferred way to
get around the rain forest,

And I think I may have
experienced kwamala's version

Of rush-hour traffic.

Another fantastic day,

And tomorrow should be
even better.

Mark told me we're actually
going to meet

Someone from his book.

But he won't tell me who it is.

I can hardly wait to find out.

Mark, so where
are you taking me?

You'll see.

Hey, wait a minute,
I recognize him.

This is kamanya, isn't it?

This is kamanya.
He has grown up, and he's
become a village healer.

Kamanya, I'm levar.

Really nice to meet you.

Hey, mark, does kamanya
have his own apprentice now?

[Speaking trio]

Plotkin: he's teaching
his twin sons,

So they're learning
his medicine

So the circle
remains unbroken.

And is this
his patient, then?

[Speaking trio]

He's got a headache or
a cold--kind of a flu.

[Speaking trio]

He says the medicine
is in the rain forest,

And he's inviting us
to follow him in search
of that medicine.

Really!

Uh...yeah, I'd love to go!

Wow!

Entering the rain forest is like
entering another world.

It's filled with wildlife
of all kinds.

Of course, it's also filled
with plants and trees,

And it's kamanya's knowledge
of how these plants and trees
can be used as medicines

That we want to
learn more about.

[Speaking trio]

Plotkin: this is ponega.
It's a tree of
the nutmeg family,

And he's telling the kids
that when you make a cut,

And then you rub
the sap on your lips.

Indians use this literally
from head to toe.

This is one of the greatest
medicines in the amazon forest.

I would say it's
one of the greatest
medicines in the world.

So it's topical,
it's not really
internal.

It's not something
you take, you know.

For mosquito bites,
cuts...

Mosquito bites,
athlete's foot, all sorts
of itches and rashes,

Scalp problems...

Wow.
All from a tree.

All from a tree.

Levar, voiceover:
here, under this leafy canopy,

Kamanya has taught mark
much of what he knows

About rain forest medicines
and treatments.

Like this water vine,
which is not only good
for quenching your thirst,

But it can be used
as a medicine, too.

Good for colds,
good for coughs.

Here, have a sip.

Plotkin:
it's a preventative medicine.

They drink it
not when they're sick,
but before they get sick.

It's great!

Levar: the last drop.

The last drop.

Levar: we follow kamanya
deeper into the rain forest,

Just as he must have
followed nahtahlah
when he was a boy.

I feel so lucky to be here.

Plotkin: they use the leaves,
and also the roots,
for toothache.

They jam it up.
It's full of essential oils,
which k*ll the toothache.

No pain in
the teeth, huh?

No pain in
the teeth, yeah.

Plotkin: this is
a woody vine.

It produces a red sap,
and it's also used to keep
wounds from getting infected.

Levar: so, the rain forest
is really just like
one big drugstore.

If you know what
you're looking for, like
kamanya does, you know,

You can really go shopping
for any number of medicines,

Like we would go
to a supermarket.

You know, levar, we
go down the aisles

Of a supermarket or
a drugstore at home,

But this is like
going down those
aisles right here

Because all these
dr*gs are here.

Levar: but our mission won't be
complete until we find the plant

That can help kamanya's
young patient.

This is it?

Plotkin: this is it. This is
the plant he was looking for

To treat the little boy.

Good job!

Well,
the patient's waiting.

Levar: so with the special
plant now in hand,

It's time to head back
to the village,

Where a sick boy waits.

They're giving
the boy a tea

Made from
the leaves
we collected

In the
rain forest.

It's going
to make him
feel better.

It's just like
in the book.

Levar: kamanya is not only
passing his knowledge
of the rain forest

On to his two boys;

He's teaching all
the children of kwamala

About the jungle's
many plants and trees

That can be used to prevent
or treat illness.

In the rain forest,
children learn the skills
and traditions of tribal life

Through their parents.

Knowledge is passed
from one generation to the next

By word of mouth.

But through books,
we can learn the skills
and traditions

Of many different
kinds of people.

So, if you want to
branch out and add to your
tree of knowledge,

Then here are 3 books
that you can plant
on your reading list.

But...you don't have to take
my word for it.

Hi, I'm ariel.

Can you imagine living
in a house on stilts,

Or eating banana leaves?

Some people do these
interesting things and more.

They're in this book:
people in the rain forest.

Rain forest people
are expert hunters.

This boy uses a bow and arrow
to catch fish.

Farming is very important
in the rain forest.

These ladies are making
manioc pancakes.

Many medicines grow
in the rain forest.

This man is using a leaf to
help his friend feel better.

Look at their clothes!
They're so colorful.

This book is like your own guide
to the world's rain forests.

I enjoyed it, and so will you.

Remember, it's called
people in the rain forest.

Hi! Would you like to go on
the adventure of a lifetime?

Well, if you would,
this book is for you.

It's called amazon diary.

This is a story
about a boy named alex

And a vacation
he will never forget.

He's on his way
to the amazon jungle.

Alex's plane has to make
an emergency landing.

He's rescued by a tribe
in the rain forest.

He learns about their ways,
and how they live.

Here's a tribesman
fixing the roof.

Here they are painting their
faces for a special celebration.

Believe it or not,
that's lunch... Ewwww!

I'm adam, and I thoroughly
enjoyed this book.

So go to your library,
and check it out!

Amazon diary... Enjoy!

Hi, I'm eah,

And I'd like to show
you a beautiful place,

With all sorts
of colors, sounds,
and amazing animals.

That place is
the rain forest,

And it's in this book
called welcome to
the green house.

The rain forest is
like a green house.

It's home to many
animals and plants.

See the flash of
a blue hummingbird.

There are lizards
in rainbow colors.

Look at those
fantastic butterflies!

Chirrup, chirrup,
sing the frogs.

The toucan says,
creek creek creek!

Shh! There's an ocelot
on the prowl!

The rain forest is
an incredible place.

If you want
to visit there without
leaving your home,

Read welcome to
the green house.

One of the things
I appreciate most about
life here in kwamala

Is that it is so completely
different from ours.

Life is so simple here.

They don't have telephones,
there are no computers,

No television--
they don't even
have electricity--

And yet none of that
seems to matter
to the people here.

They have none of the things
that we think are essential
for life,

And yet...they don't
seem to need them.

[Singing]

Levar:
my journal and my video
have helped me capture

Some incredible moments
and amazing images

Thatill help me remember,
and share the story,

Of these wonderful people.

By working with
the people of kwamala,

Mark is helping
to protect and pass on

The ancient knowledge
of the shamans

And the healing power
of the rain forest.

And guess what--
now you possess some
of that knowledge, too,

And you, too, can
help to pass it on.

Ewepa, which means...

I'll see you next time.

Today's reading rainbow books

Are the shaman's apprentice,
by lynne cherry
and mark j. Plotkin,

Illustrated by lynne cherry,

Published by harcourt,
incorporated.

People in the rain forest,

By saviour pirotta,

Published by raintree
steck-vaughn publishers.

Amazon diary, by hudson talbott
and mark greenberg,

Illustrated by hudson talbott,

Photographs by mark greenberg,

Published by g.p. Putnam's sons,
a division of penguin putnam
books for young readers.

Welcome to the green house,
by jane yolen,

Illustrated by laura regan,

Published by g.p. Putnam's sons,
a division of penguin putnam
books for young readers.