''The People of Paradise'' is a six-part

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in te ...

series produced and presented by

David Attenborough Sir David Frederick Attenborough (; born 8 May 1926) is an English broadcaster, biologist, natural historian and author. He is best known for writing and presenting, in conjunction with the BBC Natural History Unit, the nine natural histo ...

. The series exhibits the people and geography of

Oceania Oceania (, , ) is a geographical region that includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Spanning the Eastern and Western hemispheres, Oceania is estimated to have a land area of and a population of around 44.5 million ...

; particularly, of

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consis ...

and

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

BBC Television Service BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 193 ...

(now

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

) transmitted ''The People of Paradise'' in 1960. The year the series aired,

Harper & Brothers Harper is an American publishing house, the flagship imprint of global publisher HarperCollins based in New York City. History J. & J. Harper (1817–1833) James Harper and his brother John, printers by training, started their book publishin ...

published a corresponding book, ''People of Paradise'', in the United States. Its Library of Congress catalog card number is 61-10234.

Episodes

David Attenborough was personally invited to the region by the reigning monarch of Tonga,

Queen Salote Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

, to attend the Tongan Royal Kava Ceremony. On their way to Tonga, David and his team explore the South West Pacific, travelling to numerous islands and immersing themselves in this exotic culture.

1. "The Land Divers of Pentecost"

Broadcast 21 April 1960. The journey starts at the islands of the

New Hebrides New Hebrides, officially the New Hebrides Condominium (french: link=no, Condominium des Nouvelles-Hébrides, "Condominium of the New Hebrides") and named after the Hebrides, Hebrides Scottish archipelago, was the colonial name for the isla ...

. In

Pentecost Island Pentecost Island is one of the 83 islands that make up the South Pacific nation of Vanuatu. It lies due north of capital Port Vila. Pentecost Island is known as in French and in Bislama. The island was known in its native languages by ...

, David Attenborough marvels at a diving custom performed by male islanders. From a 100 ft (30m) tower vantage point platform, male islanders complete death-defying dry land diving stunts.

2. "Cargo Cult"

Broadcast 28 April 1960. In Tanna, David interviews members of the

John Frum John Frum (also called Jon Frum, John Brum, and John Prum) is a mythic figure associated with cargo cults on the island of Tanna in Vanuatu. He is often depicted as an American World War II serviceman who will bring wealth and prosperity to the ...

cargo cult A cargo cult is an indigenist millenarian belief system, in which adherents perform rituals which they believe will cause a more technologically advanced society to deliver goods. Causes, beliefs, and practices Cargo cults are marked by a ...

. The group's members take an unusual interest in radio signalling equipment, and they build intricate scarlet gates and crosses throughout the island and across the hazardous volcanic plains.

3. "The Firewalkers of Fiji"

Broadcast 5 May 1960. David Attenborough meets the legendary firewalkers of

Beqa Beqa (pronounced ) is an island in Fiji, an outlier to the main island of Viti Levu, to the south. The island has a land area of and reaches a maximum elevation of . Beqa has 9 villages broken into 2 Tikinas or Districts: Sawau and Raviravi. ...

island,

, who captivated both himself and his crew.

4. "Outer Islands of Fiji"

Broadcast 12 May 1960. On the volcanic island of Koro, David Attenborough meets a tribal leader who claims to have extraordinary powers over the creatures of the sea, being able to summon sharks and turtles from the depths of the ocean.

5. "Canoes and Coconut Crabs"

Broadcast 19 May 1960. David Attenborough's tour of the South West Pacific reaches

Kambara ''Kambara'' is an extinct genus of mekosuchine crocodylian that lived during the Eocene epoch in Australia. Description At around 55 million years old, remains of ''Kambara'' are among the oldest Tertiary fossils found in Australia (although t ...

. There he searches for one of the last double canoes in Fiji, in which South Sea Islanders made their immense voyages across the Pacific. The journey continues to

, an island rich in

coconut crab The coconut crab (''Birgus latro'') is a species of terrestrial hermit crab, also known as the robber crab or palm thief. It is the largest terrestrial arthropod in the world, with a weight of up to . It can grow to up to in width from the tip ...

s and fruit bats. In the grounds of the Tongan Palace, David Attenborough meets

Tu'i Malila Tu'i Malila (1777 – 16 May 1966) was a tortoise that Captain James Cook was traditionally said to have given to the royal family of Tonga. She was a female radiated tortoise (''Astrochelys radiata'') from Madagascar. Although believed to have b ...

, a tortoise from Madagascar presented to the Tongan Royal Family by Captain

James Cook James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean and ...

in July 1777.

6. "Royal Tonga"

Broadcast 26 May 1960. David Attenborough witnesses the Royal Kava Ceremony that he is fortunate enough to attend whilst in Tonga. Few Europeans have ever been permitted to see the regal splendour of this ancient and sacred ceremony, where the female sovereign herself takes part. Attenborough is given unprecedented access to the event and shares his tale.

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:People of Paradise, The 1960 British television series debuts 1960 British television series endings 1960s British documentary television series BBC television documentaries Documentary films about nature Films shot in Fiji Films shot in Tonga Documentary films about race and ethnicity Black-and-white British television shows English-language television shows