All Around the World with the Most Travelled Indian
By Nitin Gairola
Can Ethnic Tourism (i.e. meeting indigenous people & tribes as a tourist), give hope to vanishing cultures? I start this with a question since I always felt guilty whenever I was put in a situation where I would have to ‘view’ the tribes as they showcased their ‘culture’ through some song & dance show. I know when they are amongst themselves the indigenous people don’t do such things nowadays. It is a staged act only for us tourists who pay money for it. This song & dance has become almost mandatory now during jungle safaris and other trips into forested and desert lands. So should we have Ethnic Tourism? Is it right to just photograph people for a fee? Are we de-humanizing them? There are so many questions to answer, so I will give it a try.
The indigenous people (the original settlers of the land) or the various smaller and unique tribes that they generally split into, offer outsiders a glimpse into a nation’s vast cultural heritage. These communities carry the last stories of past generations as the ‘western’ global influence creeps closer every moment in every country, ironically, in part brought by the visitors themselves. Besides, since these people generally live closer to and with nature, their preservation indirectly means the preservation of the environment and biodiversity itself. Indigenous populations (around 370 million globally and representing over 5,000 cultures) account for just 5% of global population, but they protect around 80% of the world’s natural habitat. Hence their survival is critical not just for boosting tourism revenue of a nation but for maintaining the fragile ecological balance of the planet itself, by containing deforestation.
If done properly and sensitively, this fast growing ethnic or ethno-tourism sector can be one of the best ways to support the continuity of these people and their way of life. Without incentives it could be lost to the western wave that’s taken over all cities, whether of developed or developing countries. And for it to be moral, it needs to be a win-win for both sides, with terms being fixed on a level playing field. For the tourist, it is essentially amateur anthropology, a chance for a unique cultural exchange, besides a far more authentic and educational travel experience. For the tribe members, it is obviously a revenue source but also a way for them to take pride and interest in their own ancestry, heritage and their land. It is a sort of celebration of this age-old way of life, which can bring their people together.
How we can Engage Ethically
If the tourists spend enough time engaging with the tribe and do not merely use them for a quick photo-opportunity (informally called ‘photo-op’ these days), then it’s a way to convey that they have come for more than a show of song & dance and want to know their everyday activities as well, which are not put on display for the visitor. The slightly slower pace of interaction would become a meaningful cultural exchange for the tribe as well. Basically the tourist and the tour operator can avoid indulging in shallow experiences which make the tribe feel that they are there only for the viewing pleasure of the tourists, quite similar to how one would view wildlife.
It must also not be lost upon us that these ‘First Nation’ indigenous people all over the world are greatly marginalized, with their lands taken over by governments and corporations. We need to be sensitive to the fact that many of these people are almost forced to get into tourism in order to sustain themselves, as their food and water sources are degraded and depleted due to development (and make no mistake, I am all for development & growth, but one that’s kind on those left behind). All indigenous people are deeply connected to their roots and to their land for food, water and shelter. Most of their stories are based on the nature that’s around them and thereby it’s important to respect and remember that we are guests in their land and in their villages & homes.
Besides the general tourist, the adventure traveller also has to be very wary of which tribes they are meeting. If the adventure company advertises and claims that these tribes are ‘untouched’ or that these are ‘first contact’ experiences, then the first thing you need to know is that it is a fake claim. However the much more sinister part is that your visit to such a tribe is not a travel experience but an intrusion and you could be bringing diseases to these communities to which they have limited immunity. In fact in human history (think the ‘new world’ of the Americas in the late 1400s) it has led to dissemination of many such peoples. While it’s unlikely that such history will repeat itself now in the age of globalization, but any advertisement to visit a tribe that is not open to tourism is a big red flag.
As long as we are conscious of these things, our tourism money can go a very long way in sustaining & reviving the myriad colourful cultures around our world, not to mention in preserving the last refuges for the Earth’s flora and fauna.
Tribes from Around the World
This form of tourism is fast growing and popular across the globe, be it for a quick visit (photo dash) or a deeper human exchange. Below are the names of a few indigenous people & tribes from the 6 inhabited continents of the world (only Penguins in the 7th), with whom we can have an immersive cultural experience.
The largest continent, Asia, has the Naga people of India who can be met during the famous Hornbill Festival each year from 1stto 10th December in Nagaland. Moving from South Asia towards South East Asia, there are the Long Neck Karen of Myanmar (Burma) who are refugees in Northern Thailand (villages near Chiang Rai), the Akha hill tribe of Laos who came from Southern China in early 20th century and the indigenous people of Cambodia living in floating villages such as Chong Koh on Tonle Sap Lake near Siem Reap.
Further on are the Sulawesi Islands of Indonesia, where the Toraja people live. What is unique about them is that they embalm their beloved dead so as to not lose them. The dead actually live with them inside their homes. And deep in the heart of the equatorial rainforests in Papua New Guinea (the most extreme place on Earth as per many) are the Asaro Mudmen, Huli Wigmen & Skeleton people and they can be met during the annual Hagen Festival. Also the Baining people in Papua perform the iconic fire dance at the Mask Festival. Needless to say that these places in the jungle interiors are hard to reach and you should prepare for rattling single-engine planes with once a week frequency. However the slightly better flights to Papua New Guinea’s capital (Port Moresby) are easier to find from Australia than Asia. The local airline (Air Niugini) uses old aircrafts but they are still Boeing and Airbus commercial planes.
Moving North into Central Asia, we are offered a glimpse into the lives of the Kazakhs nomads and the Mongolian eagle hunters, besides the Nenet & Yakut nomads who roam the forbidding lands of Siberia. The Middle East, including Jordan & the Arabian Peninsula, is of course the ‘home’ (if nomads have a home) of the Bedouin, often romanticized in Hollywood movies.
The 2nd largest continent, Africa, has the celebrated & colourful Maasai tribe of Kenya and Tanzania in the east, The Hamer and other tribes in Omo Valley of Ethiopia, the Berber & Tuareg ethnic groups in the western part of the vast Sahara Desert and the Ashanti tribe of the Akan in Ghana, also in West Africa. The center of the continent has many Bantu speaking ethnic groups, which include the short Pigmies and towards the south there are the San Bushmen of Kalahari Desert, who are ancient hunter gathers. Namibia has the Himba tribe who smear red ochre all over their bodies and finally the very popular Zulu tribe is found in South Africa, near Durban.
While many may not associate Europe or Oceania (Australia & New Zealand) with tribes, we do have the Sami living in an area called Lapland (northern parts of Norway, Sweden and Finland). Australia has their Aboriginal populations all across the great Australia Outbacks, especially at Uluru while New Zealand is the remote home of the Maori people, who arrived from Eastern Polynesia. They live in the North Island, particularly around Rotorua.
The 2 Americas have the so-called ‘Red Indians’ in USA and Canada and we can witness them at the ‘Gathering of Nations’ event in Albuquerque, New Mexico. In the far, far north there is Greenland and the very remote islands of Canada and it is the cold home of the Inuit. There I got to know that these Inuit find the word ‘Eskimo’ offensive.
Finally South America has the Aymara and Quechua indigenous people of the Andes (Bolivia) and needless to say that the Amazon holds many secrets of which some are now out in the open. The Dessana for example can be met in and around the town of Manaus in North-West Brazil and they welcome tourists. But many other tribes of the Amazon don’t.
Some ‘googling’ on these tribes can be very interesting, now that you know their names and where they live. I just wanted to make sure you don’t miss out on meeting them when you are near their part of the world. Our visits would truly help them ensure that their traditions and way of live can pass on to next generation and that they can continue to live close to nature, and to wildlife. And for a brief moment, we can share our lives with them, in their home.
Nitin Gairola is from Dehradun and has travelled the natural world more than almost any Indian ever. He has set world travel records certified by India Book of Records, has written for Lonely Planet, and holds National Geographic conservation certifications. He is also a senior corporate executive in an MNC and in his early days, used to be a published poet as well. More than anything else, he loves his Himalayan home. Nitin can be reached at www.facebook.com/MostTravelledIndian/
