It often seems like that every corner of the earth has been explored, with satellite images and GPS uncovering all secrets. Therefore, it's easy to forget that until relatively recently, large parts of our world were unknown. Ancient explorers went on journeys to discover new territories, without knowing exactly what they would find. One fact demonstrates that the world still holds secrets: the existence of uncontacted tribes.
Scattered across remote areas of the planet, over 100 indigenous groups maintain a way of life almost completely cut off from the modern world. From the dense rainforests of the Amazon to islands in the Indian Ocean, they offer glimpses into human lives largely untouched by today's society.
There are the Sentinelese, for example, who inhabit North Sentinel Island off the coast of India. They protect their isolation and have thwarted all attempts at contact by outsiders for centuries. In 2018, they even met a missionary with a deadly hail of arrows, underscoring their resolute desire to be left alone.
The Sentinelese are estimated to number between 50 and 150 individuals. They survive as hunter-gatherers, using bows and arrows to hunt both land and sea animals. When the 2004 tsunami struck, they correctly interpreted the receding tide and moved to safety in time. They emerged unscathed from one of the worst natural disasters in recent history. This shows their deep understanding of their environment—knowledge they have perfected over generations in close connection with their island.
Deep in the Brazilian Amazon, the Kawahiva lead a nomadic existence. They are constantly on the move to escape the pressures of the outside world. Once living in settled villages, encroaching development has forced them to live as hunter-gatherers in the dense rainforest.
Neighboring tribes describe the Kawahiva as "red-haired people" or "small people," providing clues to their appearance and stature. Abandoned camps and drone footage suggest a people perpetually on the move. Their exact numbers are unknown, but their determination to live apart from modern society is unshakable.
The Yanomami are the largest relatively isolated tribe in South America. Around 38,000 members live along the Brazil-Venezuela border. Although not completely uncontacted, many Yanomami communities live with minimal outside influence. They practice subsistence farming and hunting.
Rumor has it that within Yanomami territory, there is an even more secluded group: the Moxihatetea, or "The Invisible Ones." The Yanomami warn that the Moxihatetea live in an area with illegal gold mining. Contact threatens violent conflicts and devastating diseases.
In the dense forests of Peru's Manú National Park, the Mashco-Piro have lived as nomads for generations. Fleeting encounters and distant photographs provide insight into their lives as hunter-gatherers in makeshift shelters.
However, with oil and gas exploration encroaching on their territory, sightings of the Mashco-Piro have increased, including reports of tense confrontations and violent clashes. The destruction of their forest refuge has pushed some members to the brink of contact—a dangerous development given their vulnerability to disease.
No. Most of the remaining uncontacted peoples reside in developing countries like Brazil, New Guinea, Colombia, and Peru. When tribes in these regions are contacted, they inevitably find themselves at the very bottom of the socioeconomic ladder. The dream of uplifting them into prosperity through contact is a mirage that quickly gives way to a nightmare of shattered traditions, lost dignity, and cultural eradication.
The case of the Jarawa people of the Andaman Islands is a good example. Once contacted, they've been reduced to begging for food, their traditional means of subsistence destroyed. Tourists treated them like spectacles. And shockingly, the Jarawa are among the luckier ones - many other tribes have been nearly wiped out entirely upon contact.
image source: Bruno Kelly/Amazônia Real