The Minang People: The secret life of the Sky Harvesters

[00:00:17]Sky gatherers The Minang people live on the shores of Lake Maninjao.

[00:00:41]The Minang women work the rice paddies. The men tend the coconut trees.

[00:00:45]In Minang country, the coconut is the main resource, with 3 million trees.

[00:00:50]The men of the Coteaux clan live off the riches of this forest.

[00:00:54]They are the harvesters.

[00:00:55]But they haven't climbed trees for a long time.

[00:00:58]They found an ideal partner in nature: the monkey.

[00:01:09]Bourane had monkeys all his life.

[00:01:12]In the Koto clan, he is considered a master.

[00:01:16]But today Bourane is retired, there are no more monkeys.

[00:01:21]He advises young trainers.

[00:01:24]Bourane is old and tired. Too tired to live with a monkey.

[00:01:29]At least, that's what he believed.

[00:01:47]Rayna is Bourane's wife. And today, she receives an inheritance from an old aunt.

[00:01:53]Jewelry, some furniture, and a monkey.

[00:01:59]Among the Minang people, everything belongs to the women. The house, the land, everything!

[00:02:28]For Bourane, the interesting part of the inheritance is a macaque monkey.

[00:02:33]She is two and a half years old. Her name is Bobo.

[00:02:55]Bourane quickly learned to recognize the animal's qualities.

[00:02:59]Its fur is dense. Bobo can withstand ant attacks.

[00:03:04]His cowlick is perfectly centered at the top of his head. It's a sign of willpower.

[00:03:08]The shape of his muscles suggests great endurance.

[00:03:36]Bourane and Rayna had eight children. They are grown now.

[00:03:40]They've all gone to the city but without them, the house is quiet.

[00:03:45]Every breeder has their own method. Bourane always wanted his monkeys to participate.

[00:03:50]to family life. He receives them at his table.

[00:03:52]and gives them a niche in the house.

[00:04:28]Bobo is scared; he doesn't know this house. Bourane has already lived there with about twenty monkeys.

[00:04:34]He knows that he needs to show them affection to capture their attention.

[00:04:37]This is his way of making himself heard.

[00:04:46]Since her children left home, Rayna has wanted a quiet life.

[00:04:50]His rice paddies give him plenty of work.

[00:05:05]Rayna thought it through carefully. She needs a buffalo to help her in her rice paddies.

[00:05:10]Bobo will be sold. With the money, she will buy a buffalo.

[00:05:30]Among the Minang people, women make the decisions. Among the Minang, it's official.

[00:05:52]Bourane's wife asked him to test Bobo to determine its value.

[00:05:57]Here, a well-trained monkey is worth the price of a buffalo.

[00:06:40]Bobo can't do anything. She doesn't understand orders.

[00:06:44]She can't manage to pick the coconuts.

[00:07:01]A large gathering competition takes place every year. The young trainers prepare their monkeys.

[00:07:06]It takes place in two weeks.

[00:07:08]Usually, Bourane always wins it. But this year, the youngsters are reassured.

[00:07:12]Bobo isn't going to worry them.

[00:07:25]Bobo is absolutely worthless. Rayna won't get a penny out of him.

[00:07:29]And for her, this is very bad news.

[00:08:02]Like all monkeys, Bobo is possessive, jealous, and she wants to be the center of attention.

[00:08:07]family attention. But Rayna doesn't want to get attached to Bobo.

[00:08:31]Rayna asked her husband to make Bobo a good picker.

[00:08:35]The old master starts the training of Bobo from scratch.

[00:09:38]Bourane says it takes several months to train a monkey.

[00:09:44]But Bobo is very talented. She understood everything in just a few days.

[00:09:47]He just needs a little more training.

[00:10:31]When the day is over, Bourane chooses a ripe walnut for Bobo.

[00:10:36]But with a monkey, learning through reward is not enough.

[00:10:52]The monkey needs to feel protected and pampered.

[00:10:55]Bourane has become indispensable.

[00:10:58]Bobo would like to see her all to herself, all the time.

[00:11:16]Copra is the flesh of the coconut.

[00:11:19]It is ground, pressed and cooked for hours.

[00:11:22]Oil is extracted from it and sold at the market.

[00:11:24]Milk is used as an ingredient in cooking and as food for babies.

[00:11:29]Rayna will go sell the produce from the first Bobo harvests.

[00:12:10]Every morning, Bourane practices his Silat. He pays homage to his land.

[00:13:20]Lake Maninjao has formed its bed in the craters of three volcanoes.

[00:13:24]Its shores and islands belong to the clan of Buran, the Kotos.

[00:13:28]The nut pickers are always on the move. They go from one person's house to another's, as needed.

[00:13:34]Out of ten nuts picked by Bobo, Bourane takes one for himself.

[00:13:37]The other nine belong to the owner of the tree.

[00:14:06]For bobo, foraging holds no more secrets.

[00:14:08]Soon, she will make it rain from the sky 500 to 1000 nuts a day, like her elders.

[00:14:35]Buran has a secret garden. Somewhere on the foothills of the crater A torrent of hot water flows.

[00:14:42]The old man is greeted by the guardians of the place, the Siamangs, the howler gibbons.

[00:15:13]A fleeting miracle.

[00:15:15]The Rafflesia, the largest flower in the world. It only lives for three days.

[00:15:23]For three days, hundreds of bees will come to forage on his hectare and lose oneself in its petals.

[00:15:29]Because the Rafflesia is carnivorous. Its nectar is poisonous.

[00:15:55]After a long day of gathering, the monkey's muscles are tense.

[00:15:59]Bobo is still developing. She won't be fully grown until she's three years old.

[00:16:03]Bourane is keeping a close eye on its growth.

[00:16:17]Bobo accepted his new father and Bourane rediscovered his passion for the profession.

[00:16:23]However, we will have to part ways.

[00:16:43]In Balimbing, they brought out the Minang colors: yellow for nobility, red for cheerfulness, black for bravery.

[00:16:53]The day of the big competition has arrived.

[00:17:08]Now is the time for Bobo to prove himself in the eyes of the clan.

[00:17:12]Bourane wants her to win. He's been motivating her for a week.

[00:17:15]His reputation is at stake.

[00:17:18]For Rayna, this competition will primarily determine the value of her monkey.

[00:18:46]Bobo managed to pick 7 nuts in 2 minutes.

[00:19:08]Born in Assyria.

[00:19:10]Sahar is a wealthy merchant. He was the one who refereed the competition.

[00:19:14]And now he wants to hurt himself.

[00:19:39]The negotiations are secret; no one is to know the amount.

[00:20:00]Bourane doesn't have the heart to part with Bobo. But among the Minangs, Nothing is decided without the agreement of women.

[00:20:31]Women preserve the heritage. Neither the house nor the land, Neither the jewelry nor the jewelry can be sold.

[00:20:37]Now Rayna will be able to buy her buffalo.

[00:22:30]The market takes place in Lumbu Bassum every Saturday. That's where copra is sold and that we buy the animals.

[00:23:29]Rayna thought it through carefully. Even though she struggles in the rice paddies, Even though a buffalo would have been a great relief, she decided to buy Bobo back.

[00:24:15]Bourane and Bobo are going to pick some more coconuts together.

[00:24:19]Rayna will wait for another opportunity to get her buffalo.

[00:24:23]After all, Bobo provides them with what they need to live.

[00:24:26]And besides, we mustn't separate the sky gatherers.