T is for TRIBE

This year I discovered Bruce Parry. He's the guy who appears on the BBC, travelling to exotic places and those that are less so, to spend time with the people who live there and learn about their way of life. This is not by any means a quick overview of another world from a respectable distance for Parry becomes actively involved in the whole life of the community he visits, living as part of a family and therefore subject to all their customs, rituals and lifestyles. During his month with his new family, he begins to understand their culture, tries to learn the basics of their language and, because of his inoffensive and unobtrusive nature, is generally accepted into the group and by the time he is ready to leave, has formed strong personal bonds with people he had never previously seen. Understandably, his experiences of being a Royal Marine and also Officer in Charge of British Commando physical training have stood him in good stead for the rigours of the culture and lifestyle shocks that he discovers during his series. But it is not for the faint hearted.

In one of the recent episodes from the last series, his journey took him to the far corner of Brazil almost on the border with Peru where he joined the Matis tribe and during his stay had to endure the rituals of being injected with frog poison that made him violently sick, without the assurance of a casualty department close by, whipping and having a painful juice dropped into his eyes, being painted across his body with streaks of red plant dye, drinking a concoction made from a plant root and hunting for monkeys in trees using blowpipes that could be several metres long but kill silently.

On another trip, he became part of the Anuta tribe in the Polynesian islands and learnt the art of fishing in a boat that I wouldn't like to even sail on a pond and also snorkelling near the shore to catch fish. Of complete contrast was the Akie tribe in Africa that still survive as hunter-gatherers and where the word 'survival' is all that it portrays. During his visit here, he joined a hunt which lasted for over a week, during which time nothing was caught and the hunters had to do with little or no food, except for the honey that they collected from wild bee hives, high up in trees, returning with the stings to prove their bravery.

But in all the programmes I watched, there is another side to the life of these tribes, for many of them are finding it difficult to survive. Now, many of the younger members are being educated in towns, are beginning to crave material wealth and possessions and quite a few never return to the homeland, leaving the older generation to their cultures and rituals and effectively sounding the death knell of some of our worlds most primitive yet amazing societies.

Yet as I pause to reflect on this valuable insight to tribal life, I somehow don't see it so far removed from us as it may seem at first appearance. For aren't we all prone to tribal behaviour from time to time, especially here in our own province. Sometimes it's the football top or scarf that identifies our tribe, for others it might be the rugby jersey, but it can just as readily be the school tie, the clothes we wear, the haircut we display or the drugs we use that pigeon hole us into one particular group. And don't think, us Christians escape either, for the translation of our Bible, the Sunday suit, the size of a hat or the form of worship easily places each of us in a certain stereotype. Even as a teacher, I know that we are a tribe also, with our own little idiosyncrasies and common discussion themes. I was reminded last weekend, watching a documentary about San Quentin prison in USA that tribes always exist in such establishments but where the penalties for 'mingling' with another tribe can be much more physical and even result in death.

I suppose what really impresses me about Bruce Parry, however, is his willingness to befriend people, to meet them where they are and to learn about their life and existence, without wanting to change them, for people are important to him. There's a guy called Ronnie in our church a bit like that and though he's no Commando, he really likes people and loves to see them smile. I think that's because his faith in God has filled him with compassion for others and he only wishes the best for them.

Jacob or Israel as he became known was the father of twelve tribes and though his son, Joseph, is the most famous, it was the tribe of another son, Judah, that God chose to be the human ancestral line of Jesus. And He is interested in me just where I am and while he doesn't want to take away my individuality he does offer to me the chance to use that very characteristic in His service. There is no ritual involved, just an acknowledgement of my sinful past life, a belief in His salvation and a commitment to follow Him. And with God as its leader, this is one tribe that will never disappear!