african country of guinea-bissau an archipelago extends into the atlantic. this chain of islands is home to the people who gave it its name not be sure go. isolated for centuries the islands have managed to preserve their original culture and traditions. the society here stands apart. in this matriarchy it is the women who preside over the economy spirituality nor justice and their families. one of the islands or ngo was ruled by the powerful queen. 100 years ago. by granting women more power than ever she created a society unique in the world. generations of b. shall go women. have picked a husband and built a house and organized work. they are also believed to act as links between the world of the living and the dead. women wield the power on the island of arango. and. that the villages of antique aga are celebrating today. and villagers here are referred to as to bankers and with almost $1000.00 inhabitants edgy congo is the biggest village on a run go. on and it is a special day for 2 people. whose. lives the return is wearing asya a style of traditional scout. he wears a wig and is adorned with necklaces and bracelets. i. think tino is sporting striking colors. but. he too is being decorated with necklaces and dropped with special oils he's wearing these clothes because he is getting married today but for centuries young men have been dressing this way for one simple purpose to attract women as attention. to the bishop go woman's role wall street titian are limited to being seduced because they would take their husbands and proposed to them. it was also up to the women to end the relationship if they felt it necessary. since that the 1st time i get angry with them when i take my things and leave. with them by that i will guess if i ever turn and get angry again then i take everything their will with the. unlike her mother and grandmother so retired didn't propose to her husband her south. western influences are impacting this beach ago cost him. the rita and tina were both born in the village of as a conqueror and have known each other since they were children. a rango is one of 20 inhabited islands out of nearly 100 in the b. should go occupy. the trial and has a unique identity but they share a common history. and they are in the show goes. this ethnic group has preserved them a tree arkell society unique in the world where women are the force driving life and spirituality. they practice an animistic religion. they believe in a supremum being nin dog who is that gaunt and creator. their distant god doesn't help people. out there is a force which connects to the people and it's called bach. this universal force connects all living things. the reebok is a broader. i'm sapped than a soul as it also refers to the dead and the patron gaunts for to be sure go all of nature is inhabited by the supernatural beings who decide over people's fate. for this reason many beaches trees virgin forests and certain islands are considered sacred. meaning. of life in as he called his simple and peaceful most villages saw in some way related. to return knows her to bangor like the back of a hand and is aware there's one place she and the other villages must never enter. a mere few women are allowed in. but are no bad us old priest esses. they tend to the biloba holy place the holy objects all statues called iran as. the iran is home to the. spirits out the to bankers galt's and ancestors. about how bad us all powerful women while venerated for their ability to communicate with the gongs and the dead. people come to the palo barrus to ask for help and protection of the few around it is. in a sacred biloba they hold important ceremonies for the whole communities well being . nothing happened in the. without us better. we make all the decisions about ceremony. for. the important role played by women in b. shall go society is reflected in the people's founding myth. according to legend the 1st person was a woman who lived on these islands and gave birth to 4 daughters who each were given a different to make. rules over the land and ceremonious. was given the sea and fishing. the raga looks after nature rice fields and palm trees. and. wields power over the rain and the wind including the dry and rainy seasons. these women gave rise to the 4 clans of that we shall go people. surrounded by tall trees an old uninhabited to bangor called it is the 1st settlement that we should go founded on around go. all the houses in this to bangor are below bers marked by a crusade from tree growing in front which is said to have protective powers. starting from. the clan spread out across the island and founded new to bankers including. the society is divided up into clans and there is a classist and based on age both men and women undergo initiation rites their entire lives. 6 these rituals then grant them new status is and privileges. becoming a ballo better or the king or chief of the topanga doesn't depend on age but belonging to the clan that rules the land. since lineage is maternal it is the women who determine positions of power in the community. the king is responsible for managing natural resources and also decides when seeds are some where which land is left fallow and what to do in case of a drought. he is supported by a council of elders made up of women and men. and then there's para. i am ok as nephew and the king of our own go. against 0 is from the a raga line and is a descendant of. a queen priest asked who's legend merges myth and reality. since august 0 is almost 100 years old his son simone has taken on the task of guarding the queen's venerated tomb. looking kapan parkas shrimper ruled a rango in the early 20th century. a peace loving woman she preferred to pay hefty tribute to the portugais goose the news army to wage war against them. to compel everyone in the bunker to hand over a cow gun or to keep it in order to keep the soldiers away. after receiving that payment the portuguese no longer wanted a way to. get it yet. under her rule she implemented societal reforms that expanded the rights of women and ended slavery after her death the portuguese subjugated iran go holding it as a portuguese colony for 4 decades. in tanya and danielle's house the day begins early in the morning. today danielle well galva shabu the fruit of the wild arm tree. work is divided up between the 2 sexes. men do work in the forest and it seems. while women may tend to the household. the fact that the natural environment on these islands is so extraordinarily well preserved is largely due to the people's faith and animist traditions. for generations people have lived in harmony with nature taking only what they need to get by. this. movie should those most important resources come from farming rice and vegetables and from fishing. village. to. live in it is also obtain many goods from palm trees and cashews are primarily cultivated for export. and. donna is a member of at the congress gardening community. today they have a meeting to make decisions about their work and how to organize it over the next few months. women are the backbone of the economy. they work harder and take on more responsibility than men. they form committee has to walk and i ask you a commie social affairs and justice. but council of women is also responsible for sentencing any wrongdoing that is however crime is read. by those that don't know. it's the season when we need to prepare the field of battle by clearing the repairing things and making sure everything is ready for us at that bad. the fuzzy logic. in it's a banker there are small privately owned vegetable gardens as well as large community gardens was. farming in the archipelago follows the rhythm of the rainy seasons. the dry season from november to may is the best time to plant vegetables i. didn't want. after the rainy season the fields must be cleared and the fences repat to keep out animals if all the women can start sowing seeds. in the palm forests the men do most of the work. the goods obtained from palm trees from the bases for the islanders livelihoods particularly wine and the oil. the oil is extracted from the palm fruit or. to gather shabby you the men must climb up into the palm tree. over 20 metres up and yeah. thank. resigns their body weight they use a simple rope made of palm leaves his climbing gear. down yelled changes his robe every month to make sure it doesn't wear through and tear. this dangerous task has cost some people their lives. men go alone to collect shabby you or their family will go in a group to extract oil that can be sold. palm oil and wine are an essential part of ceremonies and rituals. that we shall go believe that without these oil the internet is might refuse their requests. for a little bit of ground to put out. the palm tree is very important because it gives us to harvest and 8. we don't. get our food from nature we cut down shabby oh and we get oysters from the sea we also find a lot to eat in the forests. in addition the villages harvest sap from palm trees to make wine. before they climb up the tree the men make little funnels from palm leaves to catch the sap. they only take relatively small amounts to avoid completely draining the trade. the fluid obtained already contains a little alcohol. now they let it ferment protected from the sun so that the wind doesn't solve. much of the island's agriculture involves rice farming with a shifting conservation farmers utilize plots of land in the jungle for one year and then leave them follow for 6. the plants a small and a fenced in to keep animals away especially the numerous hippos around the island. in the dry season the men clear the land meant to be farmed and in the 1st rainy days in june they sow the rice. women help men with harvesting and also keep the keys to the bombs where the rice is stored. tanya is preparing a traditional day a show. it consists of coked rice with one car a certain. man car a op enough that are mainly grown for sale just like cashews. after the man car are cleaned by our mashed into a paste. but. they are ground as fine as possible because they're supposed to dissolve in water. tanya adds onions lemon juice and fish and heats up the mixture. with darragh in our traditional cuisine we use fish boisterous sword razor clam and cockles. one she's done cooking she pulls the man car a soup with fish over the rice and serves it. the islanders get much of their food from the sea. fish that is not eaten is used for bantering with locals for other goods or it is dried or preserved with salt. for centuries the people here practiced sustainable subsistence fishing to feed their families. thanks in recent years however they have begun trading fish as well. their only option is the ship which arrives once a week from the mainland. the ship's arrival cause there's a lot of commotion throughout the island. the men head out to sea to fish. at the end of the day they bring their cancer back to the ship to be sold in bizarre. the villages at home and that a banker also welcomed the ships arrival. and many women rush to finish their mats they make their mats by hand. and this is their main source of income. before they start weaving everything has to be fixed to the ground so that nothing slips away. some women need less than an hour and. they use rattan extracted from the palm trees that grow in the south of the island it's a flexible material that is also very robust. if i was that bad it is very difficult on i walk 18 kilometers to where the stocks are and once i'm in there i cut them and pull out the fibers and the inside that i take them and spread them out in the sun to dry it i let them dry for 3 or 4 days then i can start making mats out of them when they're done i take them to the ship from a business and sell the unthoughtful i believe. that the house is primarily the women's domain. women not only own their houses they also do most of their activities here give birth to their children here and are buried here. traditional houses have clay brick walls pointed strong roofs on the roof trusses made of bamboo and wood the kitchen is outside in front of the entrance this is where most household chores are tended to. the interiors are used as bedrooms and for storage. women and men have different tasks when constructing the houses. the women traditionally do the actual building. they transport the water. formed the clay breaks. and put up the walls. the men make beams and build the roof i want to get. that by now what that by the women will go into the forest and. by then the men climb onto the roof and secure the straw in order to rule the house by the boy. many houses also have a vegetable garden which has to be protected from hungry paths. go raise council goats pigs and chickens. there are a few stables for livestock most of the animals roam around freely without anyone looking after them. the ship the bay south will soon set off. people come from all corners of the island to bring their goods to the beach. some to bankers are hours away by forte so many villagers head to the beach a day in advance to be sure not to miss the shift. to. the beach fills up with people. the ship is loaded with all kinds of things. including peanuts oil fish and most importantly mats. this week a ship is the only means of public transport for people to leave the island. not everything is for sale as some people are sending things to their relatives and other things just have to go to the mainland. the journey takes one and a half days so passengers have to bring enough to eat. the lack of connections with the islands is a problem when serious issues are. at a caucus medical clinic is the only one on a rangar. it has 3 bands for in-patient care and 2 treatment rooms one for pregnant women and one for adults and children the clinic made me treats diarrhea respiratory problems and malaria with little medication or equipment at its disposal but the staff can diagnose serious illnesses and send patients to the hospital in the south if necessary if it was a want a week you never saw clinic has helped us to considerably reduce the mortality of mothers and children. and not a single play in the area has died at birth this year less does long about. western and traditional medicine carry exists here perfectly. well sometimes the medical staff even encourage patients to consult a isla. domingo is one of the few traditional healers on a rango. these healers are known for their extensive knowledge of plants. they know how to use plants against many diseases and in which combination. before domingo collects plants he has to make an offering of thanks to the iran airs at a sacred place ringback ringback ringback. only then can he start looking for his half. the menu uses the leaves of trees and shrubs but also herb's bark and roofs. it's important not to destroy the plant when collecting material that's the only way you can keep using it. his father who was also a healer taught him how to make the remedies and what doses to give patients for water ailment and now is passing on his knowledge to his own son. resample i treat yellow fever for example which the hospitals can't cure by traditional medicine care and what's even better it never comes back. say gondor well soon again. today she's visiting the midwife. subbuteo has been assisting pregnant women for many years. the midwives used traditional medicine to help women with their labor and delivery. that way as it. doesn't i'm times the baby is positioned causing pain because i don't believe that's the case i give a special massage. that's my job you know. motherhood is a central element and to be sure goes reincarnation based belief system. if a woman creates new life in her belly she comes in contact with the spirit world because this new life is the reincarnation of a deceased person. this means that motherhood is venerated in this culture. however it is not the only way women come in contact with the dead. am. the community is divided into clearly defined age groups there are 8 male groups and 6 female ones and the individual status is are achieved through initiation rites. these rights begin in childhood and guide people throughout their lives. the elders pass on secrets a knowledge to the younger generation who then pay for it by giving them some of their possessions and food. they says them is referred to as a mentor oh they get on days or lifelong learning helps an individual soul or reebok become more complete. and the most important milestone in life is there for nada a ceremony held in a small group marking a young man's transition into adulthood and granting him his full rights in the eyes of the community in this culture men are considered incomplete beings who need to continually replenish their republic throughout their lives. if they die before the phenomena they are unable to complete this process and there were a box becomes a wandering evil spirit. women on the other hand are born as complete b.s. . even if they die before their fanaa though there are a bach becomes a good spirit. for their fanaa their women wear their traditional skirts known as sayas necklaces and head benz. at the ceremony they perform a dance with us crikey name. of the day. throughout this ceremony held exclusively by women they make an important contribution to ensuring harmony between the world of the living and the dead. in fact they are able to absorb the spirit of an uninitiated. maybe shogo believe that the spirit of a boy or a young man who dies before his binondo doesn't rest in peace instead returning to the world of the living to being in a woman's body. please wondering spirits could become a force of evil within the community so the villages deeply respects the women's ability to absorb the spirits. it is the deceased person alone who decides to become a dead man woman as they are called the women have no say in the matter. of. the chosen ones then carry the deceased person until they have done all the ceremonies for him completing his initiation so that he can continue to the other world. gaggia hasn't done half an arguer yet but he's already the mother of 4 children. in earlier times she would have been forbidden to get pregnant before she was considered adult. fanaa those ceremonies for men and women are traditionally held every 6 years. but the last fernando in education took place 20 years ago. today women become adults through pregnancy and childbirth. i get up in the morning and they for. her something to eat get her dressed. and take her to school. ringback ringback every morning about 50 children come to the n.t. call her preschool. under a set up this project and she tries to keep it going year after year despite a lack of funding. to do with him and for good idea that i mean are very isolated and have many problems here no one here has any substantial income but it is important to keep the school running because children are our future. this is stablished month teaches children basic knowledge. that. later they will switch to a public school and some will finish this elementary school that. the paradox is that more and more children going to school could contribute to the traditions decline. the initiation rites used to begin earlier in childhood when the children were taught to respect their elders in the community and they learn to work the fields. today these initiation rites are no longer taking place. many teenagers and young people wish to continue their schooling and possibly go to college and base out. with a culture opening to the outside while they are questioning their initiation rites and the pack a mentor oday got in days or. the elders who when they were young paid for their own elders are now disappointed. and fear that if the younger generation does away with a ceremony as the bishop go culture might disappear one day. this morning the children of that a banker are on the beach looking for combat lost the shellfish are the key ingredient for say rita and tino's wedding dinner. in the to bangor the women are making file. for. today is a special day and so they put on their traditional sayas. women wear these skirts mainly for ceremonies rites and dances. there are different science depending on age. a short one in different colors for young women. and a long single colored one for the older women. says. that it. is. food flies an important part of his conscious rites and ceremonies. on such occasions dishes are usually made with rice and palm oil. today the women are cooking rice with combat which plays an important role in weddings. such. the groom's family is preparing to cut bassa a hollowed out pumpkin used as a container and filled with gifts. accompanied by their friends and relatives shouts and applause they then head to cerate us house. finally the couple faces each other. at. geno's parents hand over the capacity to the bride. so how do you look you know has brought you the cup now you have to decide in front of everyone here you have to say whether you love tino or not do you love him yes you are really yes but you know. now the time for the wedding has come. a little procession heads through the de banga banga tino's house. the rice we come by seals the couple's bombed. it's time to celebrate and dance. music can be heard throughout the topanga. here women are venerated they play a decisive role in the economy community and the family. but women's power in bishop go culture extends even beyond out there people have also intrusted them with the task of maintaining the balance between the want of the living and the world of the day and. women can give life. they can help their deceased reach the afterlife that is what makes the women of iran go so powerful. in india. the world goes. about sustainability. because they want to protect their environment back. because maybe larry i'm coming to. show you how women are doing it. in good shape. i never felt needs about always to sleep per day more and more people feel tired worn down during the day didn't take energy boosting pills all during. the month be businesses behind to. stay alert. 15 seriously. and 30 on d. w. . international women's day. they are making women visible only around the world their voices to protest the special are now because the sentiment is exacerbating inequality cousteau cheesing women more fighting for themselves determine life in demanding change. africa will be developed when a girl is given the right chances like the boys. women who fight. on not just on international women. on g.w. no. this is news and these are our top stories in central africa the president of equatorial guinea says at least 15 people have been killed in blast said a military base in the city of basra hundreds more injured television quoting the president says the explosion was ju-ju negligent had.