This episode: he travels to throughout Australasia to find out how tribal faiths have survived into the 21st Century. He goes into the Australian outback in search of the meaning of Aboriginal Dreaming; to Indonesia for the elaborate funeral of a woman who died 20 years ago; to Sydney to witness the survival of ancient persecuted faiths like the Iraqi Mandeans and Witchcraft, and to the remote volcanic islands of Vanuatu in the Pacific Ring of Fire to unravel the mystery of the Cargo Cult. He also witnesses the culmination of the nine-day Pulilan Carabao festival and a fertility festival that's thriving in the Philippines in spite of attempts to ban it. Faith 1: Islam and Spirit Worship: Attends a sword-stabbing ritual performed by the Bugis people of Sulawesi, Indonesia. -- Faith 2: Christianity and Ancestor worship – Attends a funeral rite performed by the Tana Toraja people of Sulawesi, Indonesia and reflects on their relationship with the dead. -- Faith 3: Catholic Carabao festival: Visits the Carabao festival of Pulilan, Bulacan, Philippines in honour of the town's patron saint, San Isidro Labrador. -- Faith 4: Catholic fertility ritual: Attends the Obando Fertility Rites in Obando, Bulacan, Philippines, a pagan fertility festival now held in reverence to three Catholic saints. Locals dance during the festival for fertility, out of tradition for past successful dances, and just to be a part of the festival. A priest delivers prayers before directing a large dance in the Church. Peter reflects on the cross-fertilization between Catholicism and animism and suggests that instead of the Catholics simply incorporating the dance into a prayer to the saints the festival may instead be a mutual coupling of fertility and creation. -- Faith 5: Aboriginal Dreaming: Visits Alice Springs to meet with the Indigenous Australian people, the Aborigines, to witness a baby smoking ritual. Peter accompanies a group of locals on a trip to find the bush used in the ritual. A baby is then held in a small sand pit containing smoldering leaves for a few seconds at a time. A local tells him that the ritual is done so that the baby will be healthy and strong. Peter hoped to witness some of the Aboriginal Dreaming rituals, however, a local tells him that baby smoking is not related to Dreamtime. Peter reflects that the ritual seems to have lost its meaning as the locals are sparse in their explanation of the spiritual aspects of the event. The women of the group then removes their shirts and paints their chest and arms. With feathers in their hair, they dance around a fire. The women tell Peter they are Christian and do not know of the old Aboriginal religion. -- Faith 6: The Iraqi Mandaeans: Attends a regular baptism service inspired by John the Baptist and performed by the persecuted Mandaeans of Iraq in a park in Sydney, Australia. -- Faith 7: Urban witchcraft: Visits a group of witches who have established their coven, led by Tim Hartridge, within Sydney, Australia. -- Faith 8: Indigenous Kastom: Meets practitioners of the tribal faith of Kastomism on the South Pacific island of Tanna, Vanuatu. -- Faith 9: John Frum cult – Meets practitioners of the new religion of John Frum of Tanna, inspired by the American presence on the island after the World War II. -- Faith 10: Prophet Fred and Unity: Witnesses the religion of Unity and interviews their prophet, Fred from Tanna and Killian. [Info from Wikipedia entry]

Pete Owen Jones presents the definitive guide to faith on earth, with eighty rituals across six continents in the space of a year.