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I'm about to go hunting with one of the world's last remaining hunter-gatherer tribe. They're loose, sprinting through the bush. Meet the Hazabe of Tanzania. These skilled archers hunt baboons with handmade weapons and eat every last bite. If there's no kill, there's no food. Over the next three days, I'm leaving modern civilization behind to observe their way of life and join them on an eight-hour hunt through one of the harshest environments on earth.
They just busted open a beehive and they're just swarmed by bees. Can we actually take down a baboon, or will I slow them down and get left behind? The ultimate test of survival starts now. After a four-hour ride on bumpy roads, we have finally made it to the Hazabe tribe. This is gonna be a wild adventure. As soon as we arrive, I meet my local friend and translator, Musa, who grew up nearby and knows how to navigate their culture with respect.
We're also with my friend Cory, who will help capture the journey with his lens. And just a little warning, many scenes are too gory for YouTube's liking, so I've made a raw, unfiltered, and unedited version of this video on the link below. We made it. Holy crap. Hello, hello. How are you? Hello, hello. You say hello. They say, um, ana.
Can you do that? No. Did you guys catch anything this morning? Yesterday, they had a baboon, but they ate almost all of it. So, just the heads. Holy crap, it looks like it's still alive. Whoa, I don't know what's going on. He's holding two baboon heads and he's talking. They're proud of their catch and they try to imitate the baboon sound.
So, this is how they dry the meat. They cut the meat into small pieces and they hang it on a tree to dry it, so they can use it for a few days. It's like beef jerky. What's up, man? I guess that means, how you doing? What did he say? He said, uh, welcome. Yeah, something like that. What's your name? How old are you? He doesn't know how old. So, is that their only language, the clicking language? Yeah, not all the words contain click sound, but most of them also speak some Swahili as their second language.
The Hazabe are one of the last real hunter-gatherer tribes left on earth, which means if they don't hunt, they don't eat. They have lived in the harsh, dry land of Tanzania's northern plateau for over 50,000 years. Their language is largely made up of clicking sounds and is 100% unique to them. The Hazabe are also nomadic, constantly moving in search of food, water, and shelter. But with fewer than 1,000 members left, their ancient way of life is quickly vanishing, and that's why their customs give us a rare look into humanity's most primal roots.
Found it. Found the women's section. Hello. Something I find really interesting about this tribe is that the men sit separately from the women, and they don't even speak to them. It's almost like there's a wall in between. They're really just right over there. You can see them sitting with their kids, but the men just hang out. They're smoking and drinking during the day. They're just chilling, and the women are with the kids. I saw a mom walking her son for the first time.
It was very precious, and I'm assuming when they go to sleep in their huts, they're together. It's also very interesting that the Hazabe tribe doesn't have a traditional chief like other tribes. They're all kind of together as one. I actually think that's really cool. It's the first tribe I've ever visited in Africa without a chief or a leader in charge. The Hazabe don't care about materialistic things, social status, or the hierarchies of modern life. They don't use any kind of money, and their entire economy revolves around the land.
Life here is unforgiving, and the infant mortality rate is high. While a Hazabe woman typically gives birth to four children, an average of only two will survive. Before I join their hunt, I want to talk to the only English-speaking Hazabe, Frank, about what it means to grow up here. At what age did you break away and go to school? When I was 13. 13? Yeah. Why did you go to school, but some of them don't? Like, how did that happen? Was it your parents that, like, forced you to go? My mom. Your mom? She told me that when I go to school, it'll be more than better.
Do you often come back and visit the tribe? Always, when it's a holiday. It's completely different just now. We don't have phones, we don't have communication. Do you think these guys eventually will have phones, or do you think they will live their whole life like this? But then it's okay, because we try to bring them to town, and they don't want to stay in town. Interesting. So you took this guy to town? Yeah. When you went to Arusha, what did you think about it, and why did you want to come back here?
He said that no meat there. No meat, no baboon, no monkey, no. At the town, we buy, but here we hunt. Do you think someday you will own a phone? Do you want to be able to communicate with other people? He said that it would be better to have a phone. What do you think the outside world is like? So he said that, first of all, he doesn't believe that a man uses a plane. How can I transport by using a plane? He knows that people are in the plane. He knows that, but he. Someday, crossing here, I saw that, so you know that people are using it as a transport. And what does he think about the outside world?
Like, other countries? When you go out of the country, you're going to die. That's what he said? Yeah, he said that, you're going to die. Because of the cold, but he don't know. What makes you happy? When we are hunting, and we success, we are happy. Like today, we are going, we lose, we are unhappy. Many people in my country, when they see you eating a baboon, they're going to think it's a bad thing.
They're going to say, like, don't kill the animals, like, save the animals. What do you think about this? First of all, he doesn't care about what they're talking, about when they eat baboon, but he said that they're from hunting tribe. We must hunt, and we eat, no matter what. We like baboon. If you were alone in the middle of the bush, with no people, no communities, only a knife, how long could you survive?
He said that he can't stay if only knife. He needs bow and arrow. If you have a bow and arrow, how long could you survive? Forever. The Hazabe make their own arrows unlike any other tribe. They trade for nails, which they hammer into a sharp point. They spend hours carving the wood, straightening it with their teeth, then tying it together with plant fibers and finishing it off with feathers.
All different arrows for different animals. The sounds are like spot on, man. This is poisonous. Oh. It is very sharp. It has to be straight. It's not going to break? Oh. This kid must be like eight years old. There's about 15 people here. Who's the best hunter of your community?
Everyone. Who has the most catches? Someone has the most catches. Alright, if that's the answer, then that's the answer, you know. It sounds like a very simple and not a very stressful life. Do you have any stressful moments in your life?
So he says it seems an easy life, but it's not like the way it seems. Because not all the time they succeed on hunting. So not all the time they will have enough for themselves. It's really cool how animated these people are. Everything they do, everything they say, they have a lot of passion. That was insanely talented.
That was great. The night is coming and everyone is literally just chilling, like hanging out. It's just an incredibly chill life out here. You know, I visited many different tribes in Africa and around the world. It's really hit or miss. Some of them you visit and you feel like they're putting on a show for tourists. And you know, they see the car pull in, they put on their beads in their outfit. And it just feels fake and I don't like that. But here in Tanzania with the Hazabe tribe, this is really how they are. They just act like this.
Our tour guide Musa said he comes here alone because he's friends with these people. And this is exactly how they live every single day. They're just hanging out. He's trying to teach me how to do the clicking sound. This story is very different than my other ones in that I'm not in a bustling market. I'm not running around the streets somewhere.
I'm just chilling, taking life slow and hanging out with these dudes. Oh, Coco. I thought he was like telling a story when he was pointing up at the tree. But he was really pointing at a bird and the kid missed it. Damn. I am literally just chilling here alone with the tribe and trying to make sense of a conversation.
Coco. Wow, guys, I am speechless right now. I just want to take a moment and appreciate the beautiful sunset. The thunder that I just heard. The rainstorm coming. And just hanging out with the Hazabe tribe. They're cooking up dinner and then I'm going to go to bed early because I haven't slept in two days. And tomorrow morning, it's starting at 6 a.m. They're going to take us on a hunt.
I can't wait. As we're winding down, I show the kids some funny filters on my phone. It's amazing to see how laughter is universal. Corey was just out in the bush with this kid and he comes back with a fresh catch. Bird. Thank you. This is a bird that the kid just caught five minutes ago. Fresh bird. Tastes like chicken. That's really good.
A little bony. A little gamier than chicken, but it's really not that bad. When you were his age, you went to school. So my question is, if you had the opportunity to go to school, would you go? Yeah. I can. You would go? Yeah. How do you feel when tourists come here? Yeah, he says that I feel better because they give us something good. Have you ever left the village to go into the city? No. If you ever had the chance, would you go? All right, guys. Have a good night.
We'll see you in the morning. Big hunt tomorrow. Thank you. Bye-bye. As night falls, reality sets in. I need to rest up for tomorrow's big hunt, and the sleeping arrangements are rough. There is a massive centipede. Dude, he's eating something. Get in here quickly. Closed, closed. This is our home for the night. Get rid of it, man. Get it out. All right. I hope that f***ing centipede isn't in here. Stop.
So, we slept in this little tent, and it was pouring rain all night, and we woke up to a lot of our gear being soaked. Cory's drone controller is broken, and this lens has water in it. My bag is damp. Thankfully, my computer and my passport and all that is dry. Not the most favorable conditions, but these are just the battle wounds that happens when you shoot these kind of stories. Today, we're going on a very special hunt with the Hazabe. They start bright and early, 5.45 a.m., when it's orange hour, like it is now, and they said that it could be up to an eight-hour hike, so hopefully, we catch something.
And whether we do or we don't, it's going to be a freaking crazy journey. Here we go. Bro, shit just got real. It got real. Did you show that? Yeah. Yeah, I feel like it's the calm before the storm. We went from just eating breakfast, taking a quick poop, and now it's like, oh, shit. Two minutes, and you got to go. Morning, morning, morning. Ape. Yeah. Hello, hello, hello. Hey. Before the little hunt, they're cooking a bird on the fire.
Ape. Ape parango. Um. Toot, toot, toot, toot, toot. Cuckoo. All right, within seconds of us coming over here to say hi to them, good morning, they're off. They grabbed their bow and arrows and they're moving, and the dogs are following. I didn't expect this pack of dogs to join us, but I learned that they're pivotal to a successful hunt. They act as our eyes and ears, sniffing out animals and driving them into trees, making sure that everyone, human or dog, gets to feast.
So every morning is like this for them. Yeah, they do it almost every day. These guys are not messing around. They walk super fast. They're on a mission right now to hunt some food for survival. Do you think you're gonna catch something today? I thought I'd teach you if you tackle it. How about me teach you? Steady shot, steady shot one.
You got it? Already? Nice. Within the first five minutes, we got a kill. We've been walking uphill for like this whole time. To show us how out of shape I am compared to these guys. Apparently the donkeys are scared. They don't want to get hunted. They're all crying. Even just trying to keep up with this kid is tough. These guys are on the move.
Go! It's crazy, these guys are just shooting birds out of the sky. I've never seen anything like it before in my life. They heard guinea fowl and we're going. This is insane, dude. They're literally sprinting through the bush. Nice, man.
So awesome, man. A full on hunt. We really hope to catch a baboon. So far we've got a squirrel and a bird. It's game on. Getting into some denser vegetation here. Like real skinny. And the thing is, all these plants are thorny. So they keep sticking onto my pants or my arms or neck. We're moving fast through the bush when we spot our first monkey high in the trees. The men take their shot, but it scrambles away at the last second.
No kill this time, but the hunt is far from over. Oh, and there's one. You know, there's more. The monkey is on the top of the tree. And the dog is blocking it from climbing down. So the monkey's scared to jump down because the dog's in it. Yeah, they have a good sense of smell. So they can't. Did I get it? No, it's too thick. It's crazy how the dogs and the humans are on a team to get the monkey. And they all benefit from the kill. That's cool. A water break for the dogs.
I'm stuck. I literally can't get out of here. Maybe this way. Holy crap, man. This is insane. You got so many holes in your shirt in the back. You're bleeding a little bit too. This shirt's done, by the way. It's done for, I know. Okay, I got it. All right, I can hear you. I can't see you.
Colby and I are just like stuck somewhere. We don't know where anybody is. You're just hearing voices all around us. It's more mentally frustrating than physically. Dude, this is, man. Ow. They're going too fast. We can't find them. Debating whether I should just sit and wait for them. Obviously, I am struggling. There's no competing with hunters who have trained their whole lives in this environment. By the time I catch my breath, they've already cut down a beehive and are digging in to eat the world's freshest honey, packed with nutrients.
Okay. How you doing, man? How's the honeycomb for you so far? Yeah, can I eat this? Damn, it's so good. Yeah, yeah, it's great, yeah. This is straight up honeycomb. This is so good. It's like sweet honey. It's like crunchy because it's honeycomb. Oh, shit, that's good. How's it taste, buddy? Good? Uniako. Okay. Okay, chill, chill, chill, chill, chill, chill, chill, chill. You see it? Unabuchiako on me.
Oh, what the f***? Just ask. Katakuchi, katakuchi, katakuchi. They just shot this little nest. I thought it was like ants or something, but it's a freaking full-on like squirrel thing. Dude. Oh. Oh, that's brutal, man. They just found a fresh footprint of a bush pig or a warthog. So, obviously, as normal, they booked it. Just trying to catch up.
Guys are just like super, super fast. It's crazy, man. F***. Dude, the thorns, bro. Kakasa. We made it to the top of the mountain now, so we can just look out at the horizon. We just stumbled across a dead baboon. Not a kill, but, oh, you could smell it. It's rancid. They tell us this baboon died three days ago, but the Hazabe still decide to rip off an arm and a leg to cook back home.
Is this normal on your hikes? It's always like this? I don't think I've ever had to do this before in my life. This is no joke, man. You guys are straight up army crawling. I can't army crawl. This is one of the hardest hikes I've ever done. There's no way, dude. I'm rolling the GoPro on him. Hopefully, we can get the catch with that.
It's 11.02 in the morning. We are over five hours into the hike. So far, no luck on baboons. Now, heading back to campsite. I am so exhausted right now. My legs are killing me. My back is killing me from bending over. Plenty more things happening today when we get back to camp. He's cutting down some wood to make some new bow and arrows. Carrying it with him. So tired. I need to sit for at least five minutes.
We're about seven hours into this hike, and I'm dead. Just keep walking and keep walking. It's like never ending. The other guys are coming. I thought they were way in front of us, but they were behind us. Hey there, sunshine. We still have a ways to go, bro. Don't tell me about that. Guy just caught another bird. It's still alive, by the way, but he's basically suffocating it with the string.
We've hit a point in the hunt where we need to start heading back in the direction of our camp. And I'm so dead, I'm not sure I can physically make it back. A few guys are staying behind to keep hunting for baboon. And I can't help but admire the patience it takes to completely survive off the land. After seven and a half hours, we made it back. The other guys are still out hunting. We must've walked 15 to 20 miles. I am wiped out and I need to rest. So I decided to relax with the others who are sitting around and smoking.
They are ripping a pipe right now. I haven't seen a human rip a pipe like that since college. Holy crap. They're now passing around a large pot of fermented beer. Like a kind of local beer they drink. I've tried it in many different African countries. I know exactly what it tastes like. So it is universal. Drinking and smoking, everyone does it.
The guys in front of me are taking the baboon leg straight to the fire. This is everything that we just caught. That must be the cha-cha. Which one of these are you most excited to eat? Baboon. Nice. Out of nowhere, the remaining hunters finally return. And they have a fresh catch, a baboon. He has it strapped over his body like a backpack. Like it's just another day at the office. And everyone is happy for the upcoming feast.
They just took the arrow out of the neck. And he's explaining how they got a perfect shot right in the neck. Their accuracy is incredible when they shoot. It's like one shot, done. Bile, stomach, intestines. He came over here with the intestines and he's hanging it on a tree.
Look at this guy, this is hilarious. Yo man, new job. I taught him how to focus, so he should be good. I'm not making this story to brag or show off or try to be cool. This is real life for these people. They are hunter gatherers. This is how they eat. If they don't catch anything, they don't have food. It's really a special thing to witness and I hope you guys are able to resonate with this story.
Sun is going down, the fire is coming out and the baboon will be cooking. He's demonstrating how they make fire. Basically, they just take a stick, rub it really quickly in the ground, right on top of the knife and makes fire. He literally made that fire in like 20 seconds. Bang. And now they're skinning the head. Do they eat all parts of the head?
The brains, everything? Yeah, everything. For them, baboon is one of the delicious meat, so they prefer baboon meat rather than any other meat. And you? Would you try it today? Ah, no, no, not really. I'm not sure how much of this I'm able to show on YouTube, but right in front of me right now, there's two baboon heads and they're just going crazy, skinning them, taking off the fur and then now they're just digging into the brain. So they're going to make a headband or headdress? This guy's putting the baboon on his head.
Ooh, can you see that? Ooh. They say that this is one of the best meat. They're going to boil it. They're complaining about, because the guy put a lot of water. This is my first ever bite of baboon. Ah, it's pretty gamey. Texture-wise, it's like any dried meat, but flavor-wise, it's pretty gamey.
It has that pungent smell when you breathe out of your nose. Is this here? This, here. Chicken. And the heart. Here? Yeah, it's like the heart. This is the squirrel, or tsindi, as they call it. Very bony. Now this is good. This tastes like chicken. Oh yeah, I could munch on this all day. All right, old baboon leg. It's not terrible, gamey, but it almost has like a jerky taste.
For dessert, animal heads from previous hunts. We're going to eat this thing? I'll go after you. The baboon heads are finished, and he is now just eating it, just straight up. He's offering it to me. I know you want to try it, bro. Don't f*** around with me. I do want to try it. The moment homies started eating, everyone's just coming around, waiting for their share.
I mean, this is probably the closest you can get to eating a human head. Oh, the smell. Smell that? You don't like it? It's not your thing? So these guys live like this every day. They're not doing this because we're here. So they are not doing it for a show or a tourist put. So this is their daily life. I want to try it so bad. This one is the head. This is not fresh. I don't recommend you to try it. Like for sickness reasons?
Yeah, you might get sick. You know, their stomachs are used to this. The baboon soup is ready, and they're just feasting. I mean, he's like going hard at it. And it's really special to witness this. Very few places in the world, you can feel culture like this. True proper hunter-gatherer tribe. I'm out of words right now.
He feel better and he made for you, this for you. It's hard. These guys have like rock hard teeth. I can really get through it. It gets in all the cracks though. Like, that's pretty cool, man. Life is much simpler than we make it out to be. How did you feel the first time you saw a foreigner here? Ah, ah.
For real? They don't saw anything. They hear something. They hear a car. And they are going to climb the tree, quiet. So he said, I saw the white man passing down there. So he hear the guide starting to call in Hadza. So he said, oh, this is my friend. So he started going down and then going to looking for them. How did you feel when the white person came down? I'm not sure. Yeah, yeah. I'm not sure.
So that's the first time we don't want the white men here. White people, because we don't know who are they, who are they from. Now they feel better. If anyone to stay with them, you can leave it there. Now we are friends. Wait, what are you guys talking about? He gave me some story about the morning. He said that there are places that you hear and they say, here you can't pass. Let's go home.
Yeah, I was freaking tired. Yeah. They're all giving Corey and I shit because we couldn't army crawl. And these guys are so fast. This is amazing. They're so fast. We're capable, but yeah, not like that. When you think about the stamina these guys have, imagine waking up every morning at 6 a.m. and coming back in the door at one o'clock after hiking mountains, dodging, army crawling, shooting bow and arrows.
It's insane. As the sun sets, we gather around the fire, watching the Hazabe dance, sing, and celebrate life. In our increasingly modern world, they've managed to hold onto something that the rest of us are searching for, happiness. Despite the hardships and the lack of material possessions, it is the joy, the laughter, and the connection that matters most. The Hazabe don't need much to survive, and maybe that's something we could all learn from. As we leave the tribe behind and head back to civilization, I'm feeling a deep sense of gratitude for this experience.
The Hazabe may live in one of the harshest environments on earth, but they have shown me what it means to live with purpose, tradition, and above all, a sense of community.
