Tribes

Tribalism is a force we in the West think we have long left behind, but if a large group of disparate people from all over the world gathers together, quickly but stealthily tribalism rises to the surface to colour and stamp us each with the identifying marks of our tribe.

One short week on one of the travellers' most popular beaches in Goa, Arambol, was plenty enough time fro me to witness and study this anthropological phenomenon in fast-forward action.

Broadly-speaking my studies have identified four tribes so far, though further investigation may reveal more sub-divisions. They are Old-Timers, Long-Stayers, Travellers and Newbies. While these names are more or less self-explanatory, more precision is necessary.

The Old-Timers are those foreigners who either come back every season and stay for the whole of it - around six months. Or they live in Goa and run a business there. The Long-Stayers are a newer tribe than the OTs. This may be their first time in Arambol, but they intend to stay for a period of no less than 2 months. The LSs have a sub-division I have named the Got-Stuckers. They previously belonged to the Travellers but liked the place so much they 'got stuck' there, unable and unwilling to move on. And so they become part of the LSs.

The Travellers, with whom I most closely identify myself, are passing through on a tip round India, rather than coming to Arambol specifically. Although many stay a week or two, a significant proportion join the Got-Stuckers tribe and extend their stay a few days here, a few days there. The Newbies are, as the name suggests, new to Arambol. They arrive, turtle-like, with their life encased in a backpack, a bewildered expression on their pale face. They have read of Arambol in The Bible or heard rumours of legendary parties here (these rarely materialise, as no-one can be bothered) which have drawn them to this mythic land.

We may all pride ourselves on our individuality and that we do not follow the crowd, or if we do, it is in an ironic and knowing way. My studies have revealed this to be patently untrue. I have identified several rituals, markings and forms of tribal dress common to each tribe. They are all evident to a greater or lesser extent in every member, dispute it as they may.

The Long-Stayers, mainly men, are characterised by their leathery skin, burned chestnut brown by the sun. Their hair is often long, greying and straggly, bunched up in a grubby little ponytail. It has been a stranger to the ministrations of barber or hairdresser for long years. They sport a drum-tight paunch or a long, lean, bone-thin frame. This tribe is generally peace-loving and impervious to the goings-on of the other tribes. It lives in a world submerged in the waves and eddies of the other tribes but remains largely unaffected by them.

Its rituals include long ceremonies of alcohol and tobacco consumption, sometimes starting shortly after sunrise. Members of this tribe are often to be found on the beach early in the morning performing complicated tribal poses and movements known as 'yoga', 't'ai chi' and 'jogging'. These are believe by OTs to promote suppleness, health and - importantly - to offset the effects of the ceremonial drinking and smoking. The evidence for this last is scientifically dubious.

The Long-Stayers are more tonsorially aware that the OTs. For the LS, grooming constitutes quite a large part of their activities. They are commonly found wearing ceremonial dreadlocks, often decorated with multi-coloured beads and bits of string, which may denote status or, more likely, simple arseholery. The dreadlocks are either left loose and dangling like rats' tails or wound becomingly into a fat, lumpy bun on top of the head.

Tribal markings are significant and diverse in LSs. Acceptance into this tribe is rarely allowed without a ceremonial tattoo. Brown shoulders, backs, arms and legs are branded with heavy black or multi-coloured designs. Stylised images of tribal Gods and elders are popular, such as Native American Chief, Che Geuvara, Bob Marley, or Flower Fairy. Others display tattoos of sacred texts in markings stolen from distant tribes, such as Maori designs, Chinese or Indian scripture or Gothic font.

Male Long-Stayers generally opt for substantial, impressive tattoos that wind across large parts of the body. The pain associated with these tattoos gives these member high social status and makes them think they are what is termed 'A Real Man'.

Females are more likely to opt for delicate, simpering flower designs across a shoulder blade or wound round an ankle or across the small of the back. Unlike the males, they prefer to be able to hide their markings when the time comes for them to leave the tribal lands.

Both sexes follow a similar style of dress. Ethnic prints, flowing fabrics, and voluminous pantaloons are all common. LSs try to outdo each other in the completeness of their tribal costume, adding layer on layer of scarves, belts, beads and waistcoats in a tradition known as 'Looking a Knob'.

The wearing of tribal jewellery is widespread with LSs too. Its women in particular adorn themselves with anklets, bracelets, rings, nose-rings and belts in silver and semi-precious stones. They carry large shoulder bags made of colourful fabrics, decorated with sequins, embroidery and beads. These bags may have a strong cultural significance, as there are many merchants lining the streets and hawkers who venture onto tribal beaches to sell such bags to tribal members.

While LSs will spend some of their days in tobacco, weed and alcohol ceremonies, they will also carry out foraging, hunting and gathering chores for provisions for their tribal dwellings locally called 'apartments' which they rent from Old-Timers or Indians. This necessitates the capacious bags they are rarely seen without.

The Traveller tribe is rather like a watered-down version of the LS tribe and many of its members tend to ape the customs and traditions of that tribe in gestures to flatter the LSs and promote goodwill and harmony between the tribes.

Travellers are particularly prone to excesses of an addictive activity known as 'Shopping'. They will spend hours at markets to buy then wear all of the garb of an LS but with additional embellishments. Artificial dreadlocks, sometimes referred to as 'weekend wigs' may be attached to their hair by local craftspeople. These are easy to remove after departure from tribal lands to avoid detection as a Traveller.

Strong Travellers will undergo painful tattoo ceremonies on Arambol lands, while the lower status, weaker members will often ape this custom through henna or painted tattoos, offered by itinerant traders, who enter tribal beaches and communicate their designs via the laminated pages of design books. While these temporary forms of body decoration are of poorer quality than their permanent counterparts, they appeal to the desire for the removable, erasable and reversible that Travellers prefer. As they move through the lands of other tribes, they often prefer not to be identified as Travellers gone native, a slightly shameful trait known to them variously as 'going hippie' or 'being a twat'.

The clothes of this tribe are also worn only in Arambol and its environs and, should a member leave the tribe permanently he or she will often leave their tribal costume behind in a practice known as 'Only in India'.

Travellers, as temporary dwellers in the Arambol lands, have more leisure time and this is often filled with extended drinking, smoking and narcotic ceremonies, in which they attempt to commune with the Gods or 'Discover Themselves'. Long sessions of worship to the Sun Gods and beach deities are also performed. The faithful smear themselves in oils and unguents and lie prone and immobile in the sun's direct rays for hours at a time, until their skin achieves a brown or red hue that is pleasing to the Gods.

Endurance is prized and skin colour is a very strong indicator of status among Travellers. Those with the darkest skin are regarded with some awe and perhaps fear by lower status pink/red members.

When not performing sun-worship, Travellers are usually to be found in activities to improve mind and body. Many rise at 7am in the middle of the night to learn the techniques of yoga from gurus, or engage in meditation. On days following alcohol ceremonies this is more likely to take place around sunset.

Other more arcane practices, such as reiki, pranayana (a breathing technique designed to make the practitioner look like an idiot and sound like they have bronchitis) and crystal healing also form part of some Travellers' daily rituals but, like the clothes, these will largely be forgotten and left behind on the sands of Arambol.

Newbies share few characteristics with the other tribes on first arrival and, as such, are noticeable among them. Their travels through tribal regions where sun-woship is not practised and body coverings are necessary have left them with distinctive markings; brown face, forearms and feet and a white body, often called an 'Indian Tan'. They are the biggest adherents of the sun-worship ceremonies, often risking sunburn and dehydration in their attempts to please the Gods and assimilate with the other tribes.

Newbies and Travellers do share a common characteristic in the form of an esoteric form of communication called 'Internet'. Via glowing rectangular devices, plaques with small individually lettered and numbered sections they are able to send messages, images and verbal communications to ancestors in their version of The Other World, known as 'Back Home'. Most take the form of written communication or the ethereal transfer of 'photos'. However, some of the more adept Newbies are able to establish direct visual contact with Back Home with skillful use of spongy pads attached to their ears, called 'Headsets' and small inert eye devices called 'Webcam'. Years of teaching are needed to work these devices and lines of communication between Arambol and Back Home are often poor and subject to malign spirits which distort both sound and image quality, in order to prevent tribal members gaining knowledge of Back Home before they eventually leave this life to go there themselves.

As an anthropologist, I have felt it necessary for my studies to adopt some, though not all, of the rituals, characteristics and markings of these tribes in order to blend in and regard them more closely. I have found long periods of sun-worship have been beneficial in achieving the correct colour so as not to arouse suspicion. This has had the added benefit of allowing me to communicate with their Gods through the practice of 'Snoozing'. Participation in Yoga has also helped me to bond with the tribes and discussions of the merits of various gurus forms a large part of my interactions with them.

Adopting certain clothing and jewellery of the tribes has also proved useful and I have discovered a great empathy and acceptance with female tribal members by mimicking their form of dress with billowing trousers, ethnic fabrics and jewellery. I have not, however, adopted their tribal tattoos, permanent or temporary, nor their dreadlocks for fear of causing offence by getting it wrong, a taboo situation known as 'Looking Ridiculous'.

In recent weeks I have even managed to establish contact with Back Home via Internet, but, as yet, visual communication using the sacred Webcam remains elusive.

Further investigation will require acceptance by other tribes, such as the Long-Stayers, so I may try to infiltrate the Got-Stuckers in order to get closer to them. I think that staying until their major annual tribal festival 'Merry Christmas' should do it.