Wednesday March 18 at 8.30pm on SBS
In this episode of Tribe, Bruce journeys to the villages of Laya and Lunana in the Bhutanese Himalayas. Bhutan is situated between India, China and Tibet and is home to some of the highest, and most remote human settlements on earth.
Bruce decides to break up his time with the Laya people and their neighbours, the Lunana Tribe. The divide between the two groups goes much deeper then the huge mountains of the Himalayas that separates them. A strong rift exists between the two communities with cultural differences that extend to dialect, traditional dress and rituals.
Bruce decides to spend some time first of all with the Laya people and then make the gruelling trek to Luana.
The Layaps and the Lunaps, are both semi-nomadic yak herders who spend time between the villages and the high altitude yak herding camps.
The villages and yak camps cling to the sides of immense river valleys and reach altitudes of 6,000m where resources are few and hardiness is a pre-requisite for survival.
After spending time with the Laya’s spiritual leader, the time comes for Bruce to start his journey to live amongst the Luana tribe. He sets off with some Layap men and a herd ofl yaks who will take him over the mountains when he will be met by the Lunaps.
But the journey is compromised after heavy snow prevents the yaks from treking through the difficult terrain. After days of gruelling efforts trying to create a path through the thick snow, Bruce and his travelling companions are forced to return to the village.
The disappointment of the journey is quickly forgotten when Bruce is treated to festival full of colour, spirituality, food and culture.
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