Endangered tribes of the world are the tribes or sections of tribes that are considered more vulnerable than other tribes. Referred to as indigenous peoples in intentional isolation, these groups choose to remain uncontacted. Although it is difficult to accurately determine the actual number of endangered tribes due to legal restrictions, estimates from the UN’s Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the nonprofit organization Survival International suggest that there are between 100 and 200 endangered tribes, with a total population of up to 10,000. Most of South America’s endangered tribes are found in northern Brazil, where the Brazilian government and National Geographic believe that there are between 77 and 84 tribes.
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Who are Endangered Tribes?
A tribe or a portion of a tribe that is regarded to be more vulnerable than a typical tribe is classified as an endangered tribe. Indigenous peoples who have maintained their traditional ways of life mostly operated independently of political or governmental institutions and have stayed largely isolated up until this point are referred to be endangered tribes. However, early modern European exploration and colonization brought endangered cultures all over the world into contact with these individuals. Therefore, the majority of indigenous groups have interacted with other people in some capacity. Therefore, the word “uncontacted” describes a current state in which there is little to no consistent contact with the majority of non-indigenous civilizations.
List of 10 Endangered Tribes of the World
The following are the 10 endangered tribes of the world. Let’s study them in detail:
Wodaabe Tribe
The Wodaabe are nomadic traders and cattle herders who migrate from southern Niger to northern Nigeria, northeastern Cameroon, southwest Chad, the western portion of the Central African Republic, and northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. They live in the Sahel. In 2001, it was believed that there were 100,000 Wodaabe. They are well known for their unique cultural customs and elegant attire.
- The Fula language is spoken by the Wodaabe, who have no written language. In Fula, the words “taboo” are Woda, and “people of the taboo” are Wodaaɓe. The translation “those who respect taboos” is sometimes used to relate to the Wodaabe’s claim of continuing “older” traditions than their Fula neighbors, as well as their seclusion from the larger Fula/Fulani society.
- The majority of Wodaabe religion is Islamic, however with certain pre-Islamic ideas. While there are differences in the level of orthodoxy displayed, the majority follow at least some of the fundamental doctrines.
- Following the 16th century, when the scholar al-Maghili preached Muhammad’s ideas to northern Nigeria’s elite, Islam gained prominence among the Wodaabe people. Al-Maghili was in the position of converting the region’s Hausa, Fula, and Tuareg ruling classes.
Rabari Tribe
The Rabari people are an ethnic group from Rajasthan, the Kutch region of Gujarat, and the Sindh province of Pakistan. They are also referred to as Raika, Rabari, and Dewasi people. The Rabari belongs to the warrior class.
- The origin of Rabaris was Arab. They are of ancient Thamud tribe of Arab descent.
- They moved to Baluchistan from Hegra, where they still worship the Charani Goddess Hinglaj in a temple.
- The major Rabari migrations, according to Sigrid Westphal-Helbusch, happened in the 12th and 14th centuries when they traveled from Marwar to Sindh and Kutch. The movement patterns of the Rabaris are comparable to those of the Rajputs and Charans, two other migrant groups residing in this region, suggesting a shared past. Westphal-Helbusch attributes the Charan influence to the goddess worship practices of Rabaris.
Kazakhs Tribe
The Kazakhs are a Turkic ethnic group originally from Central Asia and Eastern Europe. They are mainly from Kazakhstan, although they are also found in sections of northern Uzbekistan, the Russian border regions, northwest China, and western Mongolia. In the fifteenth century, tribes of Turkic and Mongol descent united to form the Kazakh people.
- While “Kazakh” refers to those of Kazakh ethnicity, “Kazakhi” refers to all Kazakh nationals, regardless of ethnicity.
- Along with many other present and extinct languages spoken in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Xinjiang, and Siberia, the Kazakh language is a member of the Turkic language family, as are Uzbek, Kyrgyz, Tatar, Uyghur, Turkmen, contemporary Turkish, and Azeri.
Maori Tribe
The Maori are the native Polynesian population of New Zealand’s continental region. The Maori people traced their origins to East Polynesia, where they arrived in New Zealand through multiple waves of boat migrations between approximately 1320 and 1350. After living apart for several centuries, these immigrants created their own unique culture, which differed from other eastern Polynesian civilizations in terms of language, mythology, crafts, and performing arts. A portion of the Maori people migrated to the Chatham Islands, and their offspring there became the Moriori, who are the other native Polynesian ethnic group in New Zealand.
- Word maori means “normal”, “natural”, or “ordinary” in the Maori language. The word marked the difference between gods and spirits (wairua) and common mortals (tangata maori) in stories and oral traditions.
- The native inhabitants of New Zealand were commonly referred to as “natives” or “New Zealanders” by the early European visitors. In a pan-tribal sense, the Maori adopted the name Māori to designate themselves.
- Maori culture is unique to New Zealand and is present all over the world as a result of a sizable diaspora and the adoption of Māori elements in popular culture. Māori culture now has both traditional and 20th-century elements.
Mundari Tribe
A minor ethnic group in South Sudan is called the Mundari. They belong to the Karo ethnic group and are members of the Karo people. This tribe belongs to the Karo people, which is also made up of the Bari, Pojulu, Kakwa, Kuku, and Nyangwara tribes. They are farmers and ranchers who raise cattle.
- The village of Terekeka in the state of Central Equatoria serves as the hub of the traditional Mundari tribal territory, which is situated around 75 kilometers north of Juba, the capital of South Sudan. According to the 1956 British Colonial borders, they are bounded to the north by the Bor Dinka at Pariak and to the south by the Bari of Juba, which is 12 km away at the Gwerkek north of Peiti Northern Bari of Juba base.
- Like other Nilotic tribes, the Mundari place a high value on cattle, which they use as a status symbol and a means of exchange. The potential groom arranges marriages by giving cattle to the bride’s family, and husbands are free to take as many wives as they can sustain. During the dry season, the Mundari and the Bor Dinka fight every year about cattle raiding.
- Men from Mundari occasionally soak their hair in cow urine because they think it looks lovely since the uric acid in the urine gives their hair a red, yellow, or orange hue. The Mundari use spears and nets to catch fish, and they also grow sorghum.
Banna Tribe
An Omotic ethnic group in Ethiopia known as the Banna people, or Banya, live mostly in the Lower Omo Valley between the Weyto and Omo rivers. The traditional Banna territory is separated into two ceremonial regions: Ailama (near Gazer) and Anno (stretching from Benata to Dimeka). They reside in the area between the cities of Gazer and Dimeka.
- As per the data from the 2007 census, their approximate population is 47,000. They are pastoralists, hunters, and gatherers in addition to their primary agricultural activity. They have their own ruler and are mostly Muslims, although there are also thousands of Christians among them.
- Though it is mentioned that some also speak the related Aari language in and around Mokocha and Chali, the majority of Banna are speakers of the Banna variant of the Hamar-Banna language (a member of the putative Southern branch of the Omotic languages).
- It is observed that some Banna report having very little trouble conversing with speakers of the Hamar and Bashada dialects of the same language; however, considering their close linguistic kinship, there is a distinct virtual boundary separating the Banna from the Hamar in particular.
Bushmen Tribe
The nomenclature for the indigenous people of Southern Africa varies and includes Bushmen, San, Sho, Basarwa, Kung, or Khwe. Their homeland includes much of South Africa, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Mozambique, Swaziland, Botswana, Namibia, and Angola. The Khoisan group includes the Bushmen.
- They were historically hunter-gatherers while being connected to the Khoikhoi, who were typically pastoralists.
- They transitioned to farming in the 1950s and continued to do so until the 1990s due to government-mandated modernization initiatives and the growing risks associated with a hunting and gathering lifestyle in the face of technological advancement.
- The Bushmen of the north, who live between Okavango (Botswana) and Etosha (Namibia), and who also extend into southern Angola, differ considerably in language from the Bushmen of the south, who live in the central Kalahari and are related to the Molopo, the last remaining members of the once-wide indigenous San people of South Africa.
Awa Tribe
Due to large-scale illegal logging, settlement, and ranching activities, the Awá tribe is today considered one of the most endangered tribes on Earth. With an estimated 60 uncontacted members, the tribe is considered one of Brazil’s remaining true nomadic clans. The tribes and their people are constantly in danger of going extinct because of the rapidly declining woodlands. According to some sources, Brazilian scientists have even referred to the disease as a “genocide.”
Rio Pardo Indians
This tribe is also under threat in the western Brazilian Amazon, where groups of unauthorized loggers are encroaching on their territory. The tribe members are constantly moving as a result of these frequent contacts. Not only has this hindered their capacity to grow food, but it has also reduced their population, as some of the women have even stopped having children.
Ayoreo-Totobiegosode Indians
Living in the thick Chaco Forest that stretches from Paraguay to Bolivia and Argentina is the endangered Ayoreo-Totobiegosode Indian tribe. The Totobiegosode have apparently endured repeated invasions of their territory, with Yaguarete Porá, a Brazilian company, being the biggest threat.
Questions and Answers on Endangered Tribes of the World
1. What is the most endangered tribe in the world?
Due to the threat that illegal loggers pose to their woodland hunting grounds, the Awá have earned the title of being the most endangered tribe on Earth. About 450 people constitute the majority of the population, which is concentrated in Caru, a 668 square mile reserve established in 1982, and Awa, a nearby reserve.
2. What is the rarest tribe in the world?
The Sentinelese tribes are possibly the most isolated people on the planet. They have most likely resided in the Andaman Islands for up to 55,000 years and are believed to be directly descended from the first human tribes to leave Africa.
3. What is the oldest tribe in the world?
Unprecedented DNA research has established that the Aboriginal Australians are the world’s oldest civilization and has discovered evidence of a single human migration out of Africa. According to the University of Cambridge, the recently published article is the first comprehensive DNA study of Aboriginal Australians.
4. Which is the world’s smallest tribe?
The Toto tribe is a primitive Indo-Bhutanese tribe that lives in the Jalpaiguri region of West Bengal, India, in a tiny enclave known as Totopara. The Toto tribe is completely unique in terms of both culture and language, setting it apart from the Koch, Rajbongshi, and Bhutanese Sharchop tribes that are nearby.
5. Which tribe was the most powerful tribe?
The Book presents Comanche as the most powerful Native American tribe in history. The Comanche tribe used to be the strongest in America and undoubtedly one of the greatest fighting forces in history.