Tribe Meets White Man for the First Time

Tribe on Papua New Guinea meets white man for the first time. Filmed in 1976.
dagsays...

Comment hidden because you are ignoring dag.(show it anyway)

via our pals at Reddit. My favorite part is where they pound on their heads after tasting something, I guess as an indication that it's delicious. I wonder how that gesture developed?

KnivesOutsays...

This video gave me chills. The first contact, with the armed warriors approaching the camera-wielding white ghosts.... That could have gone really poorly. What brave people, on both sides.

Morganthsays...

Yeah, it certainly had the potential to go down more like Operation Auca (five missionaries were speared in the Amazon in the 1950's by tribesmen they were trying to make contact with). >> ^KnivesOut:

This video gave me chills. The first contact, with the armed warriors approaching the camera-wielding white ghosts.... That could have gone really poorly. What brave people, on both sides.

EMPIREsays...

that was amazingly fascinating. It's like they were meeting aliens (which for all intents and purposes is what white men are to them. they probably think there is nothing outside of that forest).

KnivesOutsays...

That's exactly what I was thinking.

I'm sure this is the way we'll look at the aliens, when we make first contact. I think that expression is the realization that everything is different now.>> ^EMPIRE:

that was amazingly fascinating. It's like they were meeting aliens (which for all intents and purposes is what white men are to them. they probably think there is nothing outside of that forest).

Reefiesays...

>> ^dag:
via our pals at Reddit. My favorite part is where they pound on their heads after tasting something, I guess as an indication that it's delicious. I wonder how that gesture developed?


I was wondering if the knocking of the side of the head was their way of saying the food has a kick to it, maybe it was spicy or particularly sweet compared to their usual diet?

LarsaruSsays...

Let's see if I can *doublepromote this awesome sift.
It could have gone so bad for the white folk but didn't. Hopefully the natives weren't wiped out 3 days later by a common cold.

ravermansays...

I come bringing viruses and diseases you have no immunity to and no medicines to treat. Here eat my food and handle my possessions.

I can't wait till peaceful aliens land, give us access to all their technology and then accidentally kill half the human race with pathogens we have no defense against.

berticussays...

I don't really get the "leave them be!" approach. If you watch a particular Attenborough doco (very old) where they find an isolated PNG tribe, one of the reasons for establishing contact is the fact that we have medicine they badly need. Common ailments that we can deal with easily lead to needless deaths in those tribes. Also, there is mutual enrichment -- they gain technology, medicine, and knowledge, while we get to learn about a new culture.

I certainly respect not wanting to destroy their culture and habitat, and don't worry -- I am very skeptical of the 'white man' coming in and fucking everything up, as he so often does. But I think there are valid reasons to establish contact.

Bruti79says...

>> ^LarsaruS:

Let's see if I can doublepromote this awesome sift.
It could have gone so bad for the white folk but didn't. Hopefully the natives weren't wiped out 3 days later by a common cold.


That's exactly what I thought.

aaronfrsays...

Boy, this video brought back some really nice memories for me. I spent a year living in West Papua (the other half of the island that belongs to Indonesia). Although the people I worked and lived with were not seeing white people for the first time, it was still one helluva a culture difference.

>> ^KnivesOut:

This video gave me chills. The first contact, with the armed warriors approaching the camera-wielding white ghosts.... That could have gone really poorly. What brave people, on both sides.


Never once did I worry about anything like that. While it is true that there is near constant tribal fighting on the island, I would contend that the larger society is extremely peaceful. Always welcoming and trustful with huge smiles and even bigger feasts for anyone that came to their villages.

Basically, violence there comes in downward spirals that start with directed aggression. That mostly has to do with the fact that they believe wholeheartedly in equality. If one tribe raids a village and kills someone, then retribution must be made and one person form the attacking tribe must be killed. Of course, the raid that seeks retribution ends up killing two people, so then the attacks start again. This goes on and on until the numbers are equal on each side, which can take a while. However, if you come in peace, there is nothing to worry about.

As pointed out in Guns, Germs, and Steel, they are also an extremely democratic society. There is no chief, only a 'big man' whose job it is to facilitate discussions and carry out the final decisions. In this way, it is unlikely that one person would freak out and somehow cause something terrible to happen since they must rely on the consent of the entire tribe.

>> ^raverman:

I come bringing viruses and diseases you have no immunity to and no medicines to treat. Here eat my food and handle my possessions.


It's not quite the same situation as it was with Native Americans or those tribes still surviving in the Amazon. While these people may have never had direct contact with a white person before, they certainly had indirect contact. Europeans have been visiting the island since the spice trade began in the 14th century.

The tribes can be roughly divided into coastal peoples and mountain peoples. The coastal peoples have had contact with Europeans for hundreds of years and built up tolerances to their diseases. Mountain people sometimes comes to the beach, and vice-versa, so in this way, resistances to common European diseases are pretty well dispersed among the population.

Actually, it is the white people that are in much more danger of falling ill. We are poorly equipped to handle malaria, dengue, and yellow fever. This, in part, is why there were still 'uncontacted' tribes well into the 20th century.


It's been almost a year since I lived there, and I must say that it is the one place I constantly dream of returning to. They could really use the money from tourism so if you are looking for something off the beaten path without being extremely dangerous, I suggest you check it out. It really is a paradise.

Xaxsays...

I'm not sure I can think of a good reason to "leave them be." I can't think of a great reason to make contact, either. I just think it's really damn cool.

packosays...

>> ^Xax:

I'm not sure I can think of a good reason to "leave them be." I can't think of a great reason to make contact, either. I just think it's really damn cool.


disease

kceaton1says...

>> ^raverman:

I come bringing viruses and diseases you have no immunity to and no medicines to treat. Here eat my food and handle my possessions.
I can't wait till peaceful aliens land, give us access to all their technology and then accidentally kill half the human race with pathogens we have no defense against.


Problem is, this is a two-sided door. You can just as easily release a new virus upon "existing" mankind.

xxovercastxxsays...

>> ^berticus:

I don't really get the "leave them be!" approach. If you watch a particular Attenborough doco (very old) where they find an isolated PNG tribe, one of the reasons for establishing contact is the fact that we have medicine they badly need. Common ailments that we can deal with easily lead to needless deaths in those tribes. Also, there is mutual enrichment -- they gain technology, medicine, and knowledge, while we get to learn about a new culture.
I certainly respect not wanting to destroy their culture and habitat, and don't worry -- I am very skeptical of the 'white man' coming in and fucking everything up, as he so often does. But I think there are valid reasons to establish contact.


They did not just meet some white people today, they were exposed to an entire new world including new technology. How that doesn't have a profound effect on their culture, I don't know. Imagine how it would change you to meet an alien or a time traveler one day. They show you magical things you can't understand, then they leave. You would forget about this day and go back to your 9-5 grind?

xxovercastxxsays...

>> ^dag:

via our pals at Reddit. My favorite part is where they pound on their heads after tasting something, I guess as an indication that it's delicious. I wonder how that gesture developed?


To me that has to be the most difficult part of first contact: gestures.

It's a given that you can't communicate verbally, so what do you do? Simple touch is said to be a natural way to put people at ease, but it can also be unwelcome.

A firm handshake, as we normally do in western civilization, could be interpreted as aggression. Pointing could seem hostile, too.

A smile or laugh might have different meaning in different cultures (I've heard that laughter is more associated with nervousness in some eastern cultures).

If they are particularly superstitious, the mirror could have been seen as a trap or trick. The man in the mirror could be imprisoned. The cameras could appear to be weapons.

Now maybe this tribe was observed for a while before contact or maybe there were other tribes they got information from. Maybe there was some assurance that this tribe was very peaceful; I have no idea. But, in general, this seems like a very difficult and dangerous thing to pull off.

ForgedRealitysays...

Amazing.

Now where can I buy one?

Just kidding, but the part showing their reactions to the mirror reminded me of a kitten first encountering a mirror, and trying to go to the other side of it to find the other cat.

Minds were blown on that day. For all involved, I'm sure.

aaronfrsays...

Even with established contact, gestures can be difficult. Many of the tribes on the island express thanks by mock kissing your genitalia. Needless to say, that can lead to some very awkward circumstances.
>> ^xxovercastxx:

>> ^dag:
via our pals at Reddit. My favorite part is where they pound on their heads after tasting something, I guess as an indication that it's delicious. I wonder how that gesture developed?

To me that has to be the most difficult part of first contact: gestures.

berticussays...

Assuming they leave and you never have contact with them again? OK.
>> ^xxovercastxx:

>> ^berticus:
I don't really get the "leave them be!" approach. If you watch a particular Attenborough doco (very old) where they find an isolated PNG tribe, one of the reasons for establishing contact is the fact that we have medicine they badly need. Common ailments that we can deal with easily lead to needless deaths in those tribes. Also, there is mutual enrichment -- they gain technology, medicine, and knowledge, while we get to learn about a new culture.
I certainly respect not wanting to destroy their culture and habitat, and don't worry -- I am very skeptical of the 'white man' coming in and fucking everything up, as he so often does. But I think there are valid reasons to establish contact.

They did not just meet some white people today, they were exposed to an entire new world including new technology. How that doesn't have a profound effect on their culture, I don't know. Imagine how it would change you to meet an alien or a time traveler one day. They show you magical things you can't understand, then they leave. You would forget about this day and go back to your 9-5 grind?

citosays...

There is another cool documentary called Cargo Cults

tribes in deep south america who to this very day believe the whites are gods.

and we fly in to bring supplies they line up the runways worshipping and praying to the white people.

the whites never stopped it cause last time they did it really messed a few of them up mentally, so they let the cargo cults continue to believe that whites are gods.

it's wild watching videos of them prostrating themself on the ground worshipping anyone who is white, even the young children are worshipped

ssurellsays...

Strangely fascinating. The look in their eyes of fear with fierce overlay, poison bolt at the ready for any trap.

Probie would like to *promote retroactively when period lifted. (yes siftbot, I know)

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