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This series presents information based in part on theory and conjecture.

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The producer's purpose is to suggest some possible explanations but not necessarily the only ones to the mysteries we will examine.

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It is dumping day at a tuna cannery in the Solomon Islands.

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Hundreds of hungry sharks surround a canoe devouring bushels of fish scraps.

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To fall overboard now would mean certain death.

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While photographing this awesome feeding frenzy, the in search of camera boat is attacked by several huge sharks.

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A wooden paddle is bitten in half.

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Whoever enters the sea risks the remote yet ever present possibility of shark attack.

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The sharks are in the water.

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Armed with sharp teeth, abrasive skin and powerful jaws, sharks can strike anyone at any time and in any waters.

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The lucky few escape with only cuts and bruises.

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Survivors of a close encounter with a curious predator.

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But the unlucky majority suffer ghastly injuries.

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In these tragic cases, man becomes the helpless prey of a wild animal.

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A killer that sometimes attacks from hunger but more often from pure aggression.

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If so inclined, they will attack groups of swimmers, even boats with sudden fury.

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Mimmy Massara spotted a shark circling her children.

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Armed with only a piece of driftwood, she managed to rescue them.

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Spear fisherman Floyd Pear nearly lost his leg.

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Pearl diver Iona Asai nearly lost his head.

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Without any warning, something hit me with tremendous force, recalled cameraman Henri Bourse.

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The shark had taken his leg.

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Swimmer Albert Cogler lost an arm, a shoulder and his life.

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These tattered remains were all that was found of Navy Lieutenant James Neal.

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Whoever searches for the shark must realize that he places his life in great jeopardy

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and cannot predict the outcome of a confrontation.

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To the untrained eye, this shark might appear to be retreating.

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Just moments after these pictures were taken, however, it suddenly attacked.

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Marine biologist Dr. Walter Stark managed to escape, but his submarine was severely damaged.

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Whoever plays with wild sharks soon learns that they have been known to bite the hand that feeds them.

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In dangerous waters, survival means protection.

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The shark caged.

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The shark was killed.

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The shark was killed.

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The shark was killed.

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The shark was protected.

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The shark cage, standard equipment for divers.

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The shark bubble, underwater observation in comfort and safety.

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The shark bag, effective camouflage for victims of air and sea disasters.

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It has replaced old-fashioned shark repellent, which was distributed more for morale purposes

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than in any realistic hope of thwarting an attack.

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Imaginative inventors have even gone so far as to propose striped wetsuits to confuse sharks,

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electric wetsuits to shock them,

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and underwater parachutes to slow them down.

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The most widely used protective device is the simplest, a stick.

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A cloud on the nose or a poke at the body is often sufficient to discourage an overly curious shark from getting too close.

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If a shotgun shell is attached to the end of the stick, it becomes a lethal weapon called a bangstick.

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Even the bravest diver armed with a bangstick is in mortal danger, however, when a shark signals it is about to attack.

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Arched back, downward pointed fins, erratic swimming, it means that the animal's territorial borders have been violated.

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It is shark body language for attack.

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The trigger that unleashes a shark attack is a mystery.

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Scientists are only beginning to understand how a shark finds its target.

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All living creatures radiate minute electromagnetic fields, usually detectable only with the most sensitive instruments.

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Even a small electric current passed through water in which a shark is swimming is sensed by the animal.

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Thus, the shark may be able to navigate by the earth's gravity and stalk its victims electronically.

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The shark's eye is a highly sensitive organ.

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In the dimmest light, it enhances contrast and detects fast movement, an ideal adaptation for locating prey in dark murky waters.

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Sharks are also able to detect vibrations very quickly and from a great distance.

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Marine biologist Dr. Donald Nelson lowers a loudspeaker into the water, over which he broadcasts a tape recording of struggling fish.

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The low frequency intermittent sound soon attracts a horde of excited sharks.

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The men in this canoe are dumping bushels of fish scraps, the waste of a tuna cannery.

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Called by some, the swimming nose, the shark is the bloodhound of the sea.

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Its sense of smell is legendary.

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A large part of a shark's brain is devoted purely to interpreting odors.

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Sharks are able to detect even minute quantities of blood.

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Soon the word churns, the giant fins of hundreds of hunger-maddened sharks, ranging in size from 5 to 12 feet.

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At times like this, sharks will strike at anything.

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If a man fell overboard, he would be ripped to shreds in seconds.

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This is the savage spectacle of shark frenzy, the image of certain death.

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The ancient Hawaiians knew him as Kama Hoa Li.

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In the Gilbert Islands, he was Bakoa.

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In Fiji, Dacoanga.

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In the Solomon's, Bekwa.

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Throughout the South Pacific, the shark was worshiped as the greatest god.

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Less than 50 years ago, sacrificial victims were strangled on coral stone altars and thrown to the sharks.

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But the missionaries who filmed these headhunters in 1900 waged all-out war on the pagan shark god.

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Countless human lives have been sacrificed to the shark god.

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His followers have dwindled to a handful of true believers.

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The shark worshipers, however, can still be found by those who search beyond the frontiers of civilization.

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The shark god Dacoanga, if properly appeased, is the benevolent protector of shipwrecked sailors, ally of fishermen.

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His name is still remembered with reverence in modern-day Fiji.

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Tradition says Tuvu Harbor is the sacred ancestral home of Dacoanga.

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Now, it is an exclusive resort.

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Tourists, however, never see the shark god.

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But the women of the Anuda Island claim that the spirit of Dacoanga still lives.

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It is said that he protects the villagers from attack in this coastal river.

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The only person ever killed by a shark here was a visitor from another town, a woman who did not believe in the shark god.

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On another island, a tourist fell overboard and was immediately attacked by a huge shark.

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A policeman prayed to Dacoanga before jumping bravely into the bloody water to attempt a rescue.

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Miraculously, it seemed the shark released its victim and swam peacefully away.

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Rather than relying on the shark god's mercy in the future, authorities are building guardrails.

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In still another village, a bricklayer claims he was saved by the shark god when his boat sank far out of sea.

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He says for two days and two nights, he rode on the back of a huge shark which carried him to shore with an escort of smaller sharks.

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A few witch doctors occasionally include the shark god in their incantations.

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Condroia, one of the most powerful witch doctors, regularly toasts Dacoanga as he drinks a native potion.

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Twice a year, he and his apprentice perform the ritual of the sacred tooth.

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They believe the shark god appears at midnight to accept the offering.

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Fables and symbolic ceremonies are all that remain of what was once the all-powerful religion of Fiji.

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Missionaries and other newcomers have toppled Dacoanga from his throne in most of the South Pacific islands.

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In the tiny village of Laulasi, however, the shark god still reigns supreme.

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In the Solomon Islands, the people of Laulasi cling precariously to the Stone Age.

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Adventurer Terry Hannigan is returning to the mysterious island where pagan priests once accepted him as a brother.

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The first time I visited Laulasi in 1973, I was lucky enough to witness a lot of occurrences that frankly defied my ability of explanation.

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Shark calling, particularly the totemic shark, which they were able to call with the performance of a certain rubric.

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Now, on two occasions, Bosque and Nonne the shark priest was able to call these in virtually on order.

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This was quite amazing to me because the animals came from down current where they couldn't have centered the blood from the sacrifice that was put in the water.

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And it was just one of those things where you say to yourself, there certainly are some new things under the sun.

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Here, the people who see the main cultural backbones have been the worship of their ancestors through the spirit shark and through the making of shell money.

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Now that I've come back, I notice a lot of the old ways changing. A lot of the familiar faces are no longer here, a lot of the people have moved away.

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For the general tenor of village life is missing. The young people all seem to be drawn to the capital where dollars and bright lights seem to beckon them.

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And it's really saddening for me to have to witness it.

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So, Ron, what kind of something can happen to a village man since the time before we told him?

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We had a story known to someone, some fellow white diva.

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The Australian has a talk in Pigeon English with the villagers. His friend Ramos tells him that the people are bitter and confused.

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A group of unscrupulous businessmen and corrupt officials from the capital persuaded them to deposit all their worldly wealth in a bank and then embezzled the money, leaving La Lasi destitute.

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Sios tells another sad story. The young people are moving away for jobs on the mainland. Even worse, they are abandoning the shark god Bekwa.

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Sios fears a terrible curse has been put upon La Lasi by enemies. Only the strongest magic can save them.

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Moshe Kurunone feels that he should make a special sacrifice to summon the shark god. If Bekwa answers, the curse will be broken.

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If not, the people must assume their shark god has deserted them.

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Before the sacrifice can take place, the living dead must be consulted.

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A 90-year-old holy man who calls himself Moses will play a key role.

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He lives alone in a hut, tabooed to all but a few lesser priests. His days are spent talking to the ghosts of the dead.

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He will pray to the shark spirit for the blessing of his ancestors for what is about to occur.

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If a loved one dies in La Lasi, the body is fed to the sacred sharks. Only the head is preserved, wrapped in leaves.

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When Moses chants to the skulls, he believes he is talking to the dead, whose spirit lives on in the body of the shark.

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In a sacred glen behind the taboo hut, a pit 20 feet deep has been dug to hold 17 generations of La Lasi skulls, ready to be consulted in times of crisis.

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The spirits have given Moses approval to proceed with the ceremony.

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Men dance in honor of Bekwa. He who helps them to find fish and shells. He who guides their boats to safety.

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The shark priests prepare the offering according to the secret ways of the offering.

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Osikoro delivers the ceremonial pig. A few generations ago, the sacrifice would have been human.

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The shark priests prepare the offering according to the secret ways of their faith.

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Women call on Bekwa to protect their men and children, to keep any renegade sharks from attacking them.

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This is a village where everyone spends at least several hours a day, as well as a few days a week.

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Yet, the La Lasi claim that no villager has ever been attacked by a shark, except one man who denied the power of Bekwa.

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The sacrifice is about to begin.

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Mysteriously, sharks are the only ones who have ever been attacked by a shark.

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The sacrifice is about to begin.

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Mysteriously, sharks have gathered in the waters near the Taboo hut just moments before the shark priests appear.

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Terry, Ramo and the male villagers are now participants in a religious communion which has been shared by the La Lasi people in the sharks for hundreds of years.

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The sacrifice is placed in the water by Osikoro with a prayer to the spirit shark.

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Twenty yards away, children play unafraid.

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The great spirit shark, a man who has never been attacked by a shark, is now a member of the La Lasi.

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The shark appears, an awesome ten footer.

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According to Osikoro, it is essential that this shark be the first to take the offering.

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Only then, may the lesser sharks follow.

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The spirit shark circles the bait, but does not bite.

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Through age-old secret prayers, Osikoro calls to the sharks.

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Other sharks move in, expectantly, ready for their park in the drama.

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Now, Osikoro must pray to Bekwa. Let the spirit shark be the first to strike.

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Suddenly, Bekwa takes the sacrifice. Faith has been rewarded. The devil has been defeated.

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The others move in quickly, finishing off the sacrifice in a sudden frenzy.

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The ancient bond between man and shark has been kept alive. But for how long?

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Songs of praise to Bekwa now ring throughout La Lasi. The shark god has answered.

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These people will always have a special corner of my heart, all to their own.

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I've got a lot of good friends here, people who'll still be friends of mine in a lot of years to come,

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even though their way of life may not outlive the friendship.

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Luckily enough, Bosgrunone, the shark priest, is still able to call sharks,

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and still able to call the particular shark they worship.

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But one wonders that with his passing, will this continue?

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It saddens me to think that this centuries-old way of life may very soon shudder to a halt.

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The La Lasi people represent the final spiritual link between man and shark.

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They alone swim in dangerous waters unafraid. They alone call on the shark god and have their prayers answered.

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If they possess mystical powers over the sea monster we fear, their secret will be lost forever with the passing of the ancient religion.

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When their culture dies out, there will be nobody left to love the shark.

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The La Lasi people are the only ones left to love the shark.

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They are the only ones left to love the shark.

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They are the only ones left to love the shark.

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They are the only ones left to love the shark.

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They are the only ones left to love the shark.

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The La Lasi people are the only ones left to love the shark.