Bruce Parry

Tawai: A Voice From the Forest

Tawai is a word the nomadic hunter gatherers of Borneo use to describe the connection they feel to their forest home. In this dreamy, philosophical and sociological look at life, Bruce Parry (of the BBC's Tribe, Amazon & Arctic) embarks on an immersive odyssey to explore the different ways that humans relate to nature and how this influences the way we create our societies. From the forests of the Amazon and Borneo to the River Ganges and Isle of Skye, Tawai is a quest for reconnection, providing a powerful voice from the heart of the forest itself.

The full film is now free to watch below.

Going further

The film was never meant to be the end of the story, so alongside it there are two short films, the interviews that helped shape it, and some background reading.

• Tawai II: Ayahuasca, in which I share the Amazonian brew with my brother Duncan.

• Tawai III: Mbendjele, with Jerome and Ingrid Lewis among the Mbendjele of the Congo, and the rituals the women use to keep their society equal.

• The scientists: Iain McGilchrist, Jerome and Ingrid Lewis, Chris van Tulleken, Richard Wilkinson, Rupert Sheldrake, Marilyn Monk and Bruce Hood.

Background

• The Penan

• The Pirahã

• Egalitarian societies

• Meditation

• Connection to self and to others

Writing

• Tawai going forwards, my essay on the film and its extras

• A Global Empathy, by Tamara Colchester