Tribal Survival in Century 21
Many people saw the twentieth century as the chronological death knell for tribal cultures around the world, particularly as globalization took hold. However, many tribes persevered and are still here at almost the end of the first decade of the twenty first. Here we take a look at four of these tribes – to our eyes perhaps bewilderingly unfamiliar – and ponder how long their unique cultures will continue to surprise, educate and delight.
The Apatani
The Apatani live in the Arunachal Pradesh region of India and number around twenty six thousand with another thirty thousand plus living outside of their plateau. The Apatani have an oral history culture, so there is no written history of this unique people, but they have had a democratic system in their home area as long as their collective memory can remember. When the British ruled India the Apatani were left more or less to themselves until 1948 when a permanent government outpost was built in their area. The Apatani did not appreciate this and attacked the outpost which led to two of their villages being burned down.
Hopes are high that Apatani culture, despite their tiny population, will continue to thrive in the twenty first century. The way that they care for their agricultural lands – a three cycle weeding of their rice fields is considered an exemplar of enhanced ecological sustainability. Moreover, the Apatani are an educated and ambitious people and many from their ranks hold local governmental positions. Their ranks include engineers and doctors and those who live outside the community try their utmost to return for the yearly festivals in January and March each year.
One of their festivals, Dree, is celebrated widely outside of their community in the surrounding towns of Arunachal Pradesh. The likelihood that this tribe will survive is considered high – even though the youth is enamored with western culture they seem to be retaining their traditional lifestyles.
The Kalash
In the mountains of the Hindu Kush in Pakistan, six thousand or so people live who look and sound very different from their neighbors. They claim to have lived in the area for thousands of years and they look to all intents and purposes, European. They have a significantly different outlook on life from the Muslims surrounding them – they are polytheistic and have a completely different folklore (which as been compared to that of ancient Greece). Many of the Kalash are blond haired and blue eyed, somewhat of an anomaly in Pakistan! Some believe that that they are descendants of Alexander the Great’s army though their true ethnic origins are still unproven.
Their numbers are very small and many of them have converted to Islam (even though they still live in they are and still practice many of the traditional aspects of Kalash life though the non-converts call them ‘sheiks’). In start contract to the culture of Pakistan the Kalash do not separate the sexes or disapprove of contact between men and women of different families. However, there is the ‘bashelini’ – a house in the village where menstruating women are sent until they regain ‘purity’ and rituals must be performed before she can return to her husband. Elopement is regular in Kalash society and – strangely – it occurs often among married women! The woman herself will write to the prospective groom and offer her hand, informing the new man how much her previous husband paid for her.
The Kalash are protected by the government of Pakistan but their future is uncertain – particularly if the religion declines in to theocracy. However, their relative isolation may well ensure the Kalash survive.
The Kayan
The Kayan of Burma belong to the Karen people and for a long time have been referred to as Long-Necked Karen, a label they dislike. The name refers to the brass neck coils that the women of the tribe wear. Many Kayan found themselves at odds with the military junta that ruled Burma in the 1980s and 1980s and were forced to flee in to the neighboring country of Thailand. Their status is consistently uncertain and they live mostly in border areas subsisting through agriculture and the visits of tourists curious to meet and photograph the women of the tribe.
An estimate puts the total population of Kayan at around one hundred and thirty thousand. The Kayan Lahwi people apply coils to the necks of young girls at around the age of five. The Burmese government – wanting to appear modern and progressive – severely discouraged the ancient practice. Many of the women of the tribe are now shunning the practice as it is a bar to their further education. Many people believe that if the rings are removed then the neck will snap.
This is not the case – the neck will be sore and discolored for a period of time but the woman will most certainly not die. Due to the Kayan being dispersed through civil strife it is possible that they will become assimilated in to the greater communities of Burma and Thailand.
The Mursi
Our final tribe is the Mursi. Again, because of their isolation, they may survive as a coherent social and ethnic group but, like the Kalash, they only number in the few thousands. They are nomadic by nature and herd cattle in Ethiopia, close to the Sudanese border. It is thought that only about ten thousand Mursi are alive today.
Unlike the Apatani who have integrated in to wider communities by becoming multi-lingual, very few of the Mursi speak Amharic which is the official Ethiopian language. Their literacy and numeracy levels are also very low.
What makes the tribe unique to Africa are the clay plates that they wear in their lower lips (similar to the Suya of Brazil). The International community has accused the African Parks Foundation of forcing the Mursi to give up their land in the Omo National Park.
The move has effectively made the Mursi squatters on their own land. As recently as 2005 hundreds of Mursi dwellings were burned to the ground and their occupants evicted. Legal challenges on behalf of the Mursi are ongoing.
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User Comments
Jasin
On January 11, 2009 at 1:49 am
Whats sad is how we treat the world affects these poeple as well.
Nice work.
Glynis Smy
On January 11, 2009 at 3:10 am
An amazing journey, thanks. I respect their cultures but wonder how they function physically, day to day. Sleep, eat and move about pain free must be a skill that becomes natural, I suppose.
The pictures, while a little strange to a westerner, were great. Great article! (never expect anything less)
CHAN LEE PENG
On January 11, 2009 at 3:40 am
Amazing article!
Gary Hare
On January 11, 2009 at 4:45 am
Interesting article. Great photos.
Unofre Pili
On January 11, 2009 at 4:47 am
A very enjoyable article. I want them to stay as they are forever. They are a heritage of mankind.
Sotiris
On January 11, 2009 at 5:58 am
Wow! Those pictures are impressing! How do they manage to do those things ?
thestickman
On January 11, 2009 at 6:09 am
Whoa… kewl!
MJPatrick
On January 11, 2009 at 7:24 am
Impressive photos, and enjoy the read.
nobert soloria bermosa
On January 11, 2009 at 7:27 am
bizarre culture
Patrick Bernauw
On January 11, 2009 at 7:47 am
This really was amazing!
Betty Carew
On January 11, 2009 at 8:51 am
I enjoyed this article very much. I love learning about other cultures and find it fasinating. You did an excellent write .
Lisa Clayton Williams
On January 11, 2009 at 9:20 am
Wonderful article…amazing pictures. Very well done….I learned so much. Thanks!
Bill M. Tracer
On January 11, 2009 at 10:40 am
Fascinating.
Ruby Hawk
On January 11, 2009 at 1:11 pm
We are fast becoming a world of one culture and what a shame. There is nothing wrong with being different in fact it might be the key to our future survival. Thanksfor the reminder that we are
a world of strange and wonderful beings and that it’s all right.
Lauren Axelrod
On January 11, 2009 at 1:35 pm
I wonder would happen if they took those neck braces off. Tip over? Yikes!
lindalulu
On January 11, 2009 at 1:46 pm
Very interesting and fascinating article. The pictures also brought a lot to your story.
Juancav
On January 11, 2009 at 2:53 pm
Incredible,we have a lot to learn about them.
Bren Parks
On January 11, 2009 at 4:01 pm
A stark and well written reminder that not all change is progress…..
Anne Lyken-Garner
On January 11, 2009 at 4:34 pm
This is a very well-written and delightful piece. I’d heard of the others before, but never of the first ones. Bizarre nose rings. . .
valli
On January 11, 2009 at 6:50 pm
Really amazing.
Melissa Ryan
On January 11, 2009 at 6:58 pm
I saw this on the history channel a year or so ago. Pretty strange.
RJ Chamberlain
On January 12, 2009 at 1:20 am
Very interesting piece of work R J. Well done.
Michele Cameron Drew
On January 12, 2009 at 2:51 am
Great article, RJ. You always amaze me with your interesting topics.
-M
Rana Sinha
On January 12, 2009 at 3:24 am
Fantastic article. The picture with the Kalashnikov and iPod was bizarre though.
Louie Jerome
On January 12, 2009 at 5:52 am
Great article RJ. Some amazing photos too.
Annie Hintsala
On January 12, 2009 at 2:58 pm
That was a fasinating piece. I had never heard of the first tribe mentioned, and will bring it up to my students. Thanks!
BaltimoreBarry
On January 12, 2009 at 3:14 pm
Are modern day “tribes” in Tehran, Bogata, London, New York, even, any more unusual tham these?
Maybe?
Many of modern day “societies” are nothing more, maybe less, than larger tribes, wherein we get nationalism, and worse.
C Jordan
On January 12, 2009 at 4:46 pm
A very well presented article RJ
Dee Gold
On January 13, 2009 at 7:36 am
interesting article
s hayes
On January 13, 2009 at 9:21 am
Fabulous article –
In my opinion anyone who lives outside the complete and utter madness of so-called “modern society” are the lucky ones – I hope they are allowed to live their lives in accordance with their own belief systems without external interference.
Numeracy and literacy skills might be low in comparison to ours -but how many any of us have the crucial survival skills to exist in such a harsh environment.
Mike
On January 13, 2009 at 10:56 am
Nice to see an update on these tribes. I remember watching programs about them when I was a little kid. I found it so fascinating back then. I still find it very interesting.
I truly hope they get to stick around as long as they feel like being here. I might never agree to living like that, but that is still their culture. I know I’d be pretty upset if I was told I couldn’t live like I do anymore.
Sharazad
On January 13, 2009 at 3:33 pm
This article is awesome. I love learning about cultures.
eddiego65
On January 13, 2009 at 11:40 pm
Amazing people and culture. Awesome pics.
Maria Blazz
On January 14, 2009 at 2:41 am
Impressive information and picture selection.
Andy Wicks
On January 14, 2009 at 8:41 am
A trip into the unknown and thought provoking regions. It shows that the diversity is greater than the mass of sameness. The Kalashnikov and iPod don’t bode well, though.
Juhls
On January 14, 2009 at 1:44 pm
Awesome article! The pictures are amazingly descriptive as well. Thank you to exposing me to some tribes I didn’t know a lot about. I wasn’t even aware of the Mursi!
Jules @ Lovely Las Vegas
http://www.lovelylasvegas.blogspot.com
Debra.
On January 15, 2009 at 8:45 am
You have the most unique articles! It would be a shame if they should ever change. They have remained true to their culture and heritage. So much of our past is lost.
jackie118
On January 15, 2009 at 10:35 am
What an amazing and interesting article. You never cease to boggle the mind!!!
Leo Reyes
On January 15, 2009 at 11:39 am
Great article!
din
On January 27, 2009 at 4:39 am
wooooo!!!! amazing and interesting article.Really amazing.
trishia
On January 27, 2009 at 12:26 pm
Very informative as well as interesting. Though, I must admit,some of the pictures gives me the creeps!
Stacey T Pollock
On February 4, 2009 at 8:30 am
Such interesting and diverse cultures. It is amazing to see these people still living in their old traditions, even after the impact of colonization and globalization.
A great article and fantastic pictures.
beautybox
On February 9, 2009 at 4:28 am
very interesting read and excellent photos.
Peter Ole Kvint
On February 27, 2009 at 4:29 am
Long-Neck Karen get pay from the tourist minister for use the rings, after a strike in 2006. The number of Long-Neck Karen are about two thousand. The one hundred and thirty thousand people are several tribes, where only some of the noble ladies use brass collar, but first from a ages of about 13 (opposite Long-Neck Karen who start early). The use of brass collar is in growth. Both in Thailand and Burma.
Rana Sinha
On June 4, 2009 at 3:06 pm
Such an interesting article. It’s so sad that the world is becoming globalized and indigenous varieties are disappearing.
the dude
On July 13, 2009 at 12:39 pm
you might be surprised to find that more than just those ppl are blond haired blue eyed in pakistan, though their genetic pool seems more homogenous there is a collection of many tribes that could link their heritage to alexander the great on that basis …. BUT by no means is this surprising…
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