Wonderful video of a tribe encountering the white man for the first time, being introduced to matches, mirrors and rice, it’s amazing to see the fear and wonder they bring and the confusion as the tribe members seem to try and wipe off the white powder covering the man.
And then it all goes downhill from there.
I need to know why they are banging their own heads while eating the rice. Why? Does it mean, “Mmm, good rice”?
When the white guy sticks out his hand at the beginning, the tribesman looks like he’s checking his pockets for spare change. I picture him saying, “Oh, sorry, I don’t have anything on me right now. Maybe I’ll catch you on the way back.”
I think it’s the local symbol for “Taib” = Good, cool, I approve.
Thanks mittu - that is great.
Haha. I wonder if the guy’s outstretched hand is a symbol for something else.
I went to the photographer/activist’s website. He sounds…well…something about it made me uncomfortable.
“Mating” rituals? They’re people, not monkeys.
That whole first two hours could’ve gone a little smoother had a black anthropologist been around. Jeez, people.
When that guy was looking at the camera, I think he asked “What kind of film do you use?”
he wasn’t asking for grey poupon?
That seems awfully staged to me. The guy’s website said 1993 but the video said 1970something. And there’s no information on this tribe at all anywhere on the triple dubya.
*also, anthros don’t typically make contact with remote peoples re: diseases and immunity
that shit is so fake. no language, nice hair, pretty jewelry. just watched the whole thing. scared of own reflection? pshaw. thanks, mittu. >: (
I’m calling high potential for bullshit here - the first people in are duo of white dudes, one of whom is a great cameraman? These people from the tribe just happen to be out crossing that river right then - so, the supposed anthros have been… what, camping rough by the bridge in the eventual hope that somebody will come by?
I’m not buying it.
I could be wrong, but I tend towards skepticism for things like these. Stagey photo-op first contact stuff would be super-useful for funding projects - why’s it on YouTube for free with no mention of organizations or expedition backers?
Not to hijack, but has anyone heard of (formerly) undiscovered people in the western Amazon in far western Brazil?
Seen from the air only.
Linky
“Officials from Brazil’s Indian affairs agency, FUNAI, say they have confirmed the existence of a previously unknown indigenous group in the rugged folds of the western Amazon. The tribe, believed to number as many as 200 people, was initially discovered through the examination of satellite images of rain forest clearings and confirmed by aerial reconnaissance flights earlier this year.”
I also heard there will be no efforts to contact them for fear of spreading communicable diseases.
I also (can’t remember where right now), but they were shooting arrows at the plane when it passed overhead.
Sorry. End hijack.
Huh?
Ok, so what would it look like if some modern white dudes were deep into the jungle carrying cameras? And why wouldn’t they bring along a decent cinematographer?
The locals are crossing the river “right then” because that was when the filmmakers deemed it prudent to turn on their cameras. It’s called editing for content.
It’s not understood by the video that they were camping by the bridge simply waiting for brown people to show up. We don’t know that they weren’t on a month-long, concerted effort to make contact. They could be hundreds of miles into the jungle for all we know.
There are a handful of remaining cultures who have had little contact with the outside world, namely on New Guinea and in the Amazon. Take a look at those areas on Google Earth. They are vast and difficult to penetrate areas which remain essentially unexplored. New Guinea is the most linguisitcally complex area on earth due to its isolation within and without.
As far as essentially uncontacted peoples go, The North Sentinelese are a leading example, although they live on an island in the Indian Ocean. There are a couple of similar videos out there showing the North Sentinelese and those are definitley genuine. We essentially know nothing about each other.
I don’t believe that there are any remaining peoples who have had literally no contact with the outside world, although it would be very difficult to learn of them without consequently contacting them, a sort-of anthropological Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle.
And what counts as contact, anyway? Does a giant, noisy, metal bird overhead twice a year count as contact?
I’m not saying this video isn’t bullshit, but it does look genuine to me, and your points don’t refute it, in my opinion.
By the look of the image quality and the style of the slr cameras show in the video, I’m going to guess this video is much younger than 1976, though. I’ll guess 1990s?
Too cool I have to share.
What documentary is that part of?
What an honor and how fun to show them things. Skip to 14:40 or so to watch him show them a tape recorder and play back their own voice.
Fascinating. So tapping your head means “good”?
I totally get being apprehensive about the mirror, but they seemed to enjoy the tape recording.
The head of my anthropology department in undergrad was doing his field work in Papau New Guinea right around that same period. The tribe he was living among had plenty of contact with white folk, but once they took him to see a guy from another tribe way back in the hills who needed medical attention. The guy had never seen a white man and refused to believe that he was human unless he was allowed to peform a physical examination. His examination was very thorough. 
I have never seen this before and I had an oddly emotional reaction. My little girl loved it too.
I looked for a youtube video to put it on another board and found this:
Original Footage. From Tribal Journeys The Toulambi. A series by Jean-Pierre Dutilleux