The Hadza are one of the very last tribes of hunter-gatherers on earth and their lifestyle may soon be over because of the pressures of globalization. Traditionally, they hunt game with bows and poisoned arrows and gather fruits and wild honey in the strikingly beautiful area around Lake Eyasi in Tanzania. Recently they have been increasingly threatened by neighboring tribes, scarcity of wild game, and polluted water. What's more, tourism has given the Hadza access to easy money, and to illegal local moonshine, which can be lethal.
For 70 years the Tanzanian government has tried to force the Hadza to integrate into mainstream society. Now tribesmen are being arrested and jailed for poaching on land coveted by rich hunting businesses. And last year they came closer to being evicted from their homeland altogether. It was almost sold to the Abu Dhabi royal family as a hunting estate. The Hadza are quickly realizing that their former philosophy of non-confrontation will not protect them any longer, and that they must fight back to protect their development. The Hadza have no traditional sense of hierarchy, and no leaders. But now they believe they must find a voice to make themselves heard.
Meet Baallow, a young Hadza hunter who is championing the Hadza cause. Baallow was one of a number of Hadza men who were arrested by the Tanzanian government over the Arab hunting deal. Like other young Hadza, Baallow is torn between two competing worlds. But few Hadza are as strong as Baallow, and most are finding it hard to resist the lure of money, alcohol, illicit sex - the attractions of modern Tanzania.
Life follow Baallow as he expertly negotiates the wild: tracking, hunting, killing and eating his wild prey, and as he dips in and out of the modern world of bars, markets, labor with tourists/tour operators, and encounters with other tribes. How will he unite fiercely independent people to a common cause when each has an opinion on how to best lead their lives?
The other titles in the series are:
1. Edge Of Islam - Three Muslim students face a choice between their faith and their future.
2. Castro Or Quit - Two young doctors in Venezuela have to decide whether to leave the country or stay with their patients.
3. No Country For Young Girls? - A young Indian woman has to choose - stay with a husband who doesn't want female children, or make it on her own.
4. The Unforgiven - Should General Butt Naked (née Joshua Blahyi) - now a Christian pastor - be forgiven for his role in Liberia's horrific civil war?
5. Looking For My Gypsy Roots - Hungarian film director Arpad faces a dilemma - should he track down his Roma father?
6. The Dilemma Of The White Ant - Dominic Ongwen is both a victim and alleged perpetrator of LRA war crimes. Should he face an international court?
7. Three Sisters - Eritrea's women fought in the war; should they now liberate themselves from harmful traditional practices?
9. The Prince - A young Pakistani landowner chooses between trying to implement the MDGs in the village that his family owns, and a quiet life.
10. Running On Empty - Highlights the plight of two young mothers - one in South Wales and the other in Northern Ethiopia.
11. Collision Course - Reviews the positive steps being taken in India and Brazil to confront the serious public health issue presented by traffic accidents.
Grade Level: 7-12, College, Adult
US Release Date: 2008
Copyright Date: 2008
DVD ISBN: 1-59458-818-X
Reviews
"One of the world's last remaining tribes of hunter-gatherers faces a major dilemma, either to preserve its ancient lifeways or to embrace modernization. Both courses are filled with promise, and each contains the potential to destroy Tanzania's Hadza culture." Dr. Timothy McGettigan, Professor of Sociology, Colorado State University, Pueblo
"The Pied Piper of Eyasi, another fine addition to the Life video series, is a good illustration of and contribution to the anthropological appreciation of the 'changing native'...Suitable for high school and lower-division college courses in cultural anthropology, development anthropology, African studies, foraging/hunter-gatherer cultures, and globalization, as well as for public audiences." Jack David Eller, Metropolitan State College, Anthropology Reviews Online
"Life 6 is a wonderfully educational series that presents the viewers with the dilemmas faced by specific individuals in the socio-historical and economic context of their communities in the midst of an increasingly globalized world. The tremendous value of this series is that, in the brief thirty minutes that each episode lasts, it captures the complexities of the lives of those in it as they face Western influence that force them to reassert, defend, or challenge their local and/or individual identities, cultures, governance, wealth distribution, and practices of achieving justice and reconciliation--to name a few...Life 6 represents these issues in an objective and analytical way that will--without question--lead into a discussion and debate about them by academics and lay audiences alike." Aniuska Luna, African Peace and Conflict Network
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