Elephants did not appear from nowhere. They come from human beings. Long ago, people found
magical fish in the rivers. When they ate the fish,
they changed into elephants. So elephants are our brothers. They are us and we are them. Father… How did you learn
to catch elephants? - When I started?
- Yes. I learned it a long time ago…
Very long ago. My brothers and my cousins taught me. They took me with them
when they went hunting. We went deep into the spirit forest
in search of the elephant men…
…the people who ate the magical fish. When we caught an elephant, we brought it back to the village
and tied it to a tree. We sacrificed an animal
as an offering to the elephant spirits If the spirits accepted the sacrifice,
the elephant lived. If not, it died. Father, will there still be elephants
when I’m your age? I don’t know, my son. How old is he? Maybe 80 years old, or 90. So? Let me see… - Do you cough a lot?
- Yes. He coughs all the time. It’s because he smokes. He still smokes? Yes, ne
arly a pack a day. I tell him to stop,
but he doesn’t listen. I sacrificed a buffalo for the spirits because he did something wrong when he was an elephant catcher. I made the sacrifice according
to our Bunong traditions and I invited all the elders. Your skin is so dirty, old man! He hasn’t washed in days! Why don’t you just tell him to wash? I tell him, but he never listens to me. He says the water is too far, but there’s a bucket in the house. Hold still. These doctors think they can heal me,
but it’s not a virus that’s killing me. The elephant spirits are angry. I took too many elephants from the forest without their permission. I didn’t offer enough sacrifices. That is why I’m dying. Now I must make one final sacrifice. I need the spirits to forgive me,
before it’s too late, and rid me of this sickness. How much? Give me 5000. Are you kidding? 5000 is too much. 3000. Give me back 2000. Your father is seriously sick.
He’s not getting any better. It may be a while
before he can work
again. No one is working.
You need to do your part. “Laziness is death.
Work is life.” You must learn to care for elephants
and become a mahout. Stop wasting your time,
do you hear me? To be a mahout,
you need to work hard. You’re the only one in the family
who can take care of our elephant. This elephant is the only property
left from your grandparents. It’s time you learned to master her. Your uncle Samuen
will teach you everything. Come on, hurry up! The elephants are hungry! Do you have any
customers tomorrow? I want you to take a few tourists for me. I was going to take
my elephant to the forest. No, keep him near the village tonight. How many do you think there are? The truck isn’t even full. I’ve never seen so many! The one in orange looks Japanese. Are they speaking French? I think it’s English. The life of a mahout is not an easy one. You will have the same life
as our ancestors, taking care of animals,
elephants and buffalos. But if you keep going to school,
things will be m
uch easier, like for Khmer
and Vietnamese people. They don’t need to work
in the fields to survive. I already quit school. I’m here because I want you
to teach me how to be a mahout. I made my decision. I prefer to live like our ancestors and I need to help my family. If I can take tourists trekking, I can start earning money for myself. I can’t say no to you. If this is what you want,
I’ll teach you about our elephant. She’s been in the family
for a long time. Your grandparents bought her
when
she was a baby. Her name is Nengchal. She’s not like a young elephant. We must care for her as we would
for our parents when they’re old. Mastering an elephant
takes time and patience. The first thing you need to learn is how to speak to her. Han! Han means: come here! If you want her to move back,
you say: Toon! She’ll move back right away. You mustn’t be afraid of her. If you’re afraid, she’ll know. Lift your leg! Like this? Back! Lie down! Lie down! She’s not listening to me. Why isn’t she ly
ing down? You’re young. She doesn’t know your smell. You have to use a strong tone. She needs to know you’re in charge. If she doesn’t respect you, hit her eyebrow with the stick. She looks like she’s crying. Maybe she’s always sad looking. Maybe she’s in pain. Make sure she’s well fed. Always keep bananas nearby. Feed her before you pick up the tourists
and when you get back. She wants more! If we find her here,
we’ll buy her back. Can I ask you the name
of this elephant? Sorry? Chi Ton. Where
is she from? Ratanakiri Province. Do you know an elephant
named Chi Tat? Her name was Chi Tat. Chi Tat? We have a Chi Tern, a Chi Tem… All the elephants
have similar names here. We sold our elephant here in 2002. That’s our elephant. The one who might know
is Mr. Pu Chean. Pu Chean? Pu Chean was here in 2002? Yes, but not anymore. I don’t know, I’m sorry. So, what did they say? Not much… They don’t know, but I believe
my elephant is still alive. When we sold her, they said they were taking her t
o Angkor Wat. Now I’m starting to think
they took her to Thailand. I need to call the man
in charge of the elephants back then. I just hope they didn’t change her name. That would make things harder. How would you recognize her? She has a hole in her ear. When she was young she was shot by hunters who thought
she was a wild elephant. Bye bye, my love! My name is Mane. I am Bunong, originally from
Mondulkiri Province. This is Mondulkiri,
on the border of Vietnam. 70% of the population
of Mondulki
ri is Bunong. The forest is so important
for the Bunong. We rely on it for everything:
fruits, vegetables, meat, for non-forest products
like resin and medicine. Now our government is giving away
hundreds of thousands of hectares to multinational companies
who plant pine trees or rubber. When my people try
to go to the forest, they’re stopped by the companies. They’re prevented from farming. So it has a terrible impact
on the Bunong, but also on elephants. In our culture,
elephants are very spec
ial. For centuries, they were
at the heart of our culture, our religion and our identity. One elephant can improve
the lives of many families. In the rainy season,
they allow us to cross rivers that no truck or motorcycle
could cross. So if the government keeps
giving land to these companies, I don’t see a future for elephants. Water, please. Where is the salt? Mixed with sugar? This food is bland. I am the last one who can speak to the elephant spirits. All my friends are gone and my elephants
have disappeared… …except a few. Every night, the spirits visit me
to demand a sacrifice. They tell me I must find
the elephants I caught. There are only three elephants left
to my knowledge. Each is a day’s journey away. The first is Ava. I’ve cut his tusks twice. He’s shared by 40 families, but only three men can control him. Mrey, how have you been
since we saw you last? We heard you were sick. We were worried. Are you okay? It’s true. I’m not well. Tell me about Ava’s health. He’s fine, but
we never know
what the future will bring. We must always
be careful around him. He can be very dangerous. I know. Will you be able to cut his tusks again? I’m too old now. Can you still speak to the spirits? Of course, but it’s getting
harder for me. If there are no more elders, no one will know how to catch
elephants from the forest. It’s illegal now
and there are none left anyhow. You’re wrong. Just the other day
I saw a herd of wild elephants. Really? There were so many,
even small babies. Wh
en do the elephants rest? Between eating and working,
there isn’t much time. - So they don’t rest?
- No. Our ancestors tell a story… In the beginning,
elephants could speak, but they complained
that we worked them day and night. The elephant spirits punished them
by twisting their tongues. They never complained again. The first tourists
started coming 10 years ago. Back then, no one wanted
to let foreigners near our elephants. They thought it was taboo. Was it? I showed them it was okay. I was t
he first one to take
tourists on elephant rides. Listen carefully.
This is serious. I’m not getting any younger. Soon it will be your turn
to take care of Nengchal. You need to check her every day. If she seems even a little bit sick,
you make a sacrifice to the spirits. You take a chicken egg
and break it on her head. On her head? Yes, and then you ask the spirits
to take the sickness away. A chicken egg and some water,
on her head. After the sacrifice,
you throw away the water. There’s somethi
ng else… Sometimes the elephant will get sick because of something
that happens in the village… like when unmarried people sleep together
or a woman has a miscarriage. Do you know how an elephant
knows that a baby has died? It asks the land and the water. The land knows everything,
because everyone lives on the land. That’s why elephants know everything. So elephants get sick when
something bad happens? Yes, and when someone is in trouble. These are our beliefs.
This is our culture. Drink with m
e. From now on, I trust you to take care of the elephants and the tourists. The company only left us
tiny pieces of land. There’s no more forest
for our elephants. There’s nothing left for them to eat. It’s all gone! Everybody listen to me please. Here’s what I’m going to do… I’m preparing a complaint
to the Ministry of Land and to the Parliament. When it’s done, I’ll send it to you so you can authorize it. It’s not just my complaint. It belongs to all of you. Now, tell me what the company
did t
o your land. They planted rubber trees on it. So now it belongs to them? They took it all! Before they planted the rubber trees,
all this was forest? Yes, this was all pristine forest with huge trees, like that one. Now it’s all cut down. My elephant has nowhere to go. Before, I could leave him
in the forest for days. Now it’s impossible. - You have to keep him tied up?
- I have no choice. - You’re afraid he’ll destroy people’s property?
- Not just that. My elephant is a male.
He can be aggressi
ve. I’m afraid he might hurt someone. - And if he destroys the rubber trees?
- They make me pay. Make you pay? How much? For one tree, they can ask…
$300, $400, $500. - For one tree?
- Yes. Would you ever consider selling him? Never. Has anyone asked you? A few years ago,
a Khmer man wanted to buy him. Why didn’t you sell? I love taking care of him. He’s all I have left
from our traditional life. I take care of him
because I love him. I love him. You see how big this elephant is? What about this
small one?
Is that her baby? No, it’s the same elephant, but younger. That’s me.
We took these two pictures. What’s that long thing? It’s a trunk. What’s a trunk? She uses it to pick up grass
and put it in her mouth. We know it was grandfather… He sold Chi Tat behind our backs. If we had known,
we would never have agreed. I still remember that day... I was coming home late from work. I saw all of Chi Tat’s owners
at Mr. Nam Haw’s house. I went to ask my mother
what was going on. She said she di
dn’t know. I knew Mr. Nam Haw
was buying elephants so I jumped on my motorbike
and went to confront him. I said, “Why didn’t you
ask my opinion?” I told him, “I’ll kill this elephant
before you can take her away!” I threatened to report him
to the provincial authorities, but it was already too late. Grandfather,
how much money did you get? 60 ounces of gold. What did you do with it? I split it between her owners. I still don’t understand
why you sold her. Everyone in the village
was selling thei
r elephant. I was afraid the younger generation
would fight over her. I didn’t want jealousy
to tear our family apart. I thought about it for a long time. I was the one who took care of her. You were living in the city. There was no one to help me.
Everyone else was far away. I looked after her
since she was small. I still miss her to this day. I want her back! It was a terrible mistake,
but it’s too late now. I’m too old to take care of an elephant. The next elephant I must meet
is named Chi Va
t. Her owner is a gold miner who is training his Khmer son-in-law to become her mahout. Now I see how thin you are. I need to see the doctor again soon. - You want a cigarette?
- Sure. - She likes that kapok tree.
- Yeah. But I can’t let her roam free
to eat wherever she wants. Why not? There’s not much forest left
near my village. These days, I have to take her
far away to find food. Sometimes I take her
to Kanong forest, but I don’t know how much longer
it will be there. I fear the next genera
tion
will never know elephants. They’ll never understand. They may blame us. Do you still dream
of catching elephants? Of course, but that was another life. We were so many back then. It was impossible to do it alone. There were so many wild elephants, we could hear them from the village. Not anymore. I want to touch her. It will bring me good luck. She looks like she’s in pain. We should probably leave her
in the forest for a few days. But 60 isn’t that old, is it? She’s 60, right? Yes, she is.
Look at her legs.
She’s still strong. Her hair is still growing. There is blood in her dung. Here’s a piece of her intestine. Look at her stomach.
It’s so swollen! She’s not healthy! I don’t feel well myself. She looks sad. Have you checked her for parasites? These things eat your skin? Yes, and they can infect open wounds. - They’re eating her blood?
- Yes, that’s how they survive. Does she have a lot? They’re hard to see at first. Look at her ear. You see how active they are. So you think she
has many more? We’ll have to check her whole body. I need to cool her down. I heard something bad
happened in the village. An old man told me yesterday... ...that a boy and a girl who were
not married slept together. Every time this happens,
an elephant gets sick. Which are bigger:
wild elephants or our tame ones? They’re the same size.
You can tell by their footprints. I once saw a herd of wild elephants. These days,
it’s very rare to see them, but they’re still out there,
in the deep forest.
But the forest disappears
a bit more every day. The elephants have to keep moving. Why don’t the wild elephants
live closer to our villages? Because they’re scared of us. There’s less and less
forest near our villages. People here do farming. If not, they have no job. Maybe one day we’ll have
no more land for farming if the companies keep taking our land. Perhaps one day our only choice
will be to work in factories. The last elephant is called Rang Bay. He’s too aggressive
to live near the villa
ge... ...so his owners keep him
deep in the forest. His mahout, Pao, and his children... ...use him to carry resin
they collect from the trees. I heard you are sick.
What happened? I don’t know, but it’s serious. It started with a fever
so I saw the village doctor. Then we went to see
a traditional healer and he said... ...my husband is sick
because he didn’t offer enough sacrifices to the elephant spirits. My husband has caught
every kind of elephant: white, grey, black, even brown and red. We
had to make a sacrifice
for every elephant we took. It was our apology
to the elephant spirits. And every hunter’s wife
had to follow strict rules at home. If we broke a piece of wood,
the elephant could die. It we hit someone,
the wild elephants would come and kill our tame elephants. Rang Bay wants to get closer. He can’t, he’s tied up. What will you do now that
you can’t catch elephants? I don’t know! The young generation
will just buy cars and motorcycles. Young people are still
learning our
traditions, but it isn’t like before. Everything is different now. Children today don’t learn how I did. I learned from a master hunter and he learned from an older master. It was hard, believe me! During the Khmer Rouge time,
no one could know that my husband
was an elephant catcher. The soldiers took him away
to build the road to Phnom Penh. They killed and ate any elephant
they found too aggressive. They sold the tusks
to finance the roads. Those they didn’t kill
were forced to carry heavy e
quipment or sold to buy horses. When they found out Mrey
was an elephant catcher, they took away our elephants. From that moment, my husband
has never been the same. If I still had my elephants
life would be much easier, but what can I do? Losing an elephant is like
losing a human being. Hello, is this Mr. Nam Haw? Yes. This is Mane
from Chamkatae village. You might know my mother,
Haing Mary? Do you remember what year
you bought our elephant? Oh, that was a long time ago. You should ask Mr. Tha
y.
He has a better memory than me. I don’t remember much
about that time. What’s his phone number? I don’t have it with me. I’m in the middle of the forest. That’s okay. I have to go now.
People are waiting for me. Okay, thanks. Bye. If he is still in charge,
you need to speak to Mr. Purin. He was in charge.
I don’t know if he is still there. What’s this about? I want to see
the head elephant keeper. In 2001, we sold an elephant to a buyer from Siem Reap. When you were buying elephants,
do you r
emember an elephant named Chi Tat? It sounds familiar.
I need to look into it. Okay, please call me back
when you know more. Her name is Chi Tat. It’s a Bunong name. Chi Tat…
It sounds like an elephant... ...who arrived here in 2002. 2002? Yes, 2002 or 2003. When she arrived
she was already very sick. I’m afraid she died
soon after we got her. Oh… She died? Yes, she was exhausted. There was nothing we could do. She was too weak. All she wanted to do was sleep. She wouldn’t eat. I couldn’t stand
to see her like that. I had no choice.
I had to put her to sleep. I can’t stand watching them
climb that hill. Such a pity. They do this every day.
It’s exhausting. That’s why people bring them
bananas and sugar cane. Chi Tat loved sugar cane. Where did you bury her? We buried her not far from where she died. It’s just off the main path. Now it’s hard to see because we planted trees there. It’s all forest now. I did what I could for her, but she was in bad shape. It was clearly a heart attack. I
know why she didn’t
want to eat anything. She was homesick.
She missed her family. She was more emotional
than other elephants. It’s possible… When she got mad or upset,
she refused to eat. I remember after the Khmer Rouge, I brought her back to our village. She couldn’t stop crying.
The tears were streaming down her face. She wouldn’t look at me. She cried the whole trip back. When I tried to approach her,
she turned away. She didn’t want me to touch her. She was traumatized. Uncle, is Nengcha
l sick
because of me? Did I not feed her enough? Why did she get sick? I don’t know the exact reason. There are many things
that can make an elephant sick. It could be…
we didn’t offer the right ceremony or her food or water were dirty. It could be many things. Sometimes elephants get sick for the same reasons we get sick. I want you to come with me
to Memong village. There is an elder there
with a great knowledge of elephants. He caught most of the elephants
in our village. His name is Mrey. So
meone told me he is still alive. Most of the old people
with this knowledge have died. This old elephant catcher
will tell us what to do. Today, not many young people
come to ask my advice. Really? They think they know everything. Even for a small ceremony,
they don’t call me anymore. If your elephant has diarrhea,
there is a special plant for that. What plant? It looks like a banana tree. We call it “forest ginger”. - Really?
- Yes. In the past, when elephants died, we got new ones from the for
est. Now we’re not allowed to anymore. Besides, there are so few left. Before, we used our elephants for hunting and transportation. Today, I use mine
to give rides to tourists. You are an expert.
Tell us if this is wrong. Is this why my elephant is sick? I don’t know much about foreigners, but I worry about
the cultural differences. They sleep together before marriage. In our culture, this is forbidden. It can anger the spirits. You must offer a sacrifice
to make peace between the foreign spiri
ts
and the elephant spirits. We asked the elders in our village for help with the ceremony, but no one seems to know. Please tell us what to do. Welcome, Grandpa. We have prepared a sacrifice
for the elephant spirits. You are the elder here.
We need you to witness the ceremony. Since the elephant got sick we have been helpless. Whose elephant are we praying for? Duol’s. I have invited all of you here
to witness this ceremony, to purify Mrey of mistakes
he made as an elephant catcher. Perhaps he
accidentally killed
or ate an elephant. This is the third time
I’m offering a sacrifice for him. I don’t want to be blamed if he dies without this last sacrifice. Today you are all witnesses. Of course I want to get better, but don’t be surprised
if I don’t heal. If it doesn’t work, I ask you to let me leave this world. Shoot me with a big gun
and get it over with! I’m not kidding! Shoot me! I don’t want any more
ceremonies after this. This is the last one, I swear! Don’t say that. If the elepha
nt spirits heard you,
they would be upset. Let them hear! I am warning all the bad spirits
to leave me alone. I am telling all the good spirits
we’ll be fine together after this, but I promise you, spirits, this is the last ceremony I make for you. I made three sacrifices for you,
elephant spirits. I won’t do anything more for you! Elephant spirits… we ask you to heal our Mrey and forgive him
for all his past mistakes. We need Mrey to stay with us. Please, spirits, heal him. Elephant spirits… we
pray to you to heal Nengchal. We ask you to let her stay with us. We offer this sacrifice
on behalf of the entire village. Please don’t be angry with us. Let us keep our elephant forever.
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