Living Cultures

Strange music emerges from the dense jungle of Africa's equatorial forest. It is the sound of the Baaka pygmies. Their life is a never-ending song, expressing their intense spirituality and their deep communion with the forest.

Each year, in the far reaches of Bhutan, monks gather in the mountains to prepare for several days of dancing and meditation.

In the four centuries of its tumultuous existence, Kabuki has become one of the leading symbols of Japanese culture. But will there be enough younger students willing to learn Kabuki and so keep the tradition alive?

In the high valleys of the Bolivian Andes, the Kallawayan doctors have a unique know-how, legendary throughout all of South America, which they have transmitted from father to son - for centuries.

Every April, in Zambia, the Makishi demons come to take away young boys. This event celebrates the beginning of the initiation from adolescence to manhood. In the village of Kashushu, this Mukanda ceremony is 500 years old and has been passed down orally for generations.

In northern Amazonia, in one of the most inaccessible forests of Brazil, the Wajapi live an existence preserved from modern influence

The steppes of Mongolia, in the heart of central Asia, sometimes echo with the haunting sound of music that reaches into the hearts of animals and men. It is the sound of the morin khuur, a unique traditional fiddle, developed from the bond between the horsemen people and their mounts.

Abu Lafi is an old Bedouin from Petra. He comes from the Bdoul community, and is from one of the last families to live inside the archeological site of Petra. But in recent years, the desert traditions have slowly been lost and the Bedouins are losing their identities.

In the mountains of the southeast Vietnam, Ma Bio, a Chu Ru woman, is one the few people who plays the gong, an ancestral drum considered an Oral Masterpiece of Human Heritage by Unesco.

Kutiyattam, which began in Kerala, India, is the only traditional Sanskirt theater in India today. An exotic and highly stylized theatrical form that arose inside the temple, Kutiyattam dates back at least 1000 years.

In Cuba, Suleidis learns the Tumba Francesa, an old French dance that her ancestors have kept alive from the time they were slaves, hundreds of years ago.

On the northwest coast of Madagascar live the Zafimaniry people, lumbermen famous for their incredible wood crafting abilities. The subtle and poetic geometric patterns of their work translate the principles that guide their lives.

Sokhun is a survivor of the Khmer Rouge tragedy. She was once a famous dancer, and today contributes to the restoration of the Royal Ballet by teaching dance to children.