Tribal Olympians

To celebrate the 2012 Olympic games, Survival International reveals some of the astonishing skills of the world’s tribal peoples, from the Awá archers of the Amazon to the Bajau divers of Borneo: Tribal Olympians.

“Scientists have discovered that the Bajau are submerged for up to 60% of the time they spend in the water, which is nearly as long as a sea-otter”. The source of this information comes from a research made by Erika Schagatay, Angelica Lodin-Sundström and Erik Abrahamsson during 2010 and 2011.  You can find the article here: Underwater working times in Ama and Bajau Divers

From the Survival International article: “Swifter, higher, stronger was the motto that Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the International Olympic Committee, coined for the Olympic Games. How far can a Hamar man jump; how deep can a Bajau pearl-hunter dive?

The astonishing skills of tribal peoples are not only a measure of just how swift, high and strong we can be as humans – where our physical and mental limits lie – but an indicator of the extraordinary diversity of mankind.

In short, they show us – just as the Olympians will in the London 2012 Games – what it is to be human”.