The tribe that chose to die out

Delvo · 16th December 2008, 03:56 PM

I heard part of this story on the radio in an interview with the anthropologist, and now I'd like to try to find the book or article in which he wrote about it, but don't know enough to look for it...

The story is about a tribe in a mountainous region, I think in southern Asia northwest or northeast of India. I think the tribe's name sounded like "Timone" or "Timmón". (I have no idea how anthropologists would spell it.) They were low-protein-diet-induced pygmies surrounded by non-pygmies. I think they were also from the first migration wave out of Africa, related to Australian aborigines, whereas the tribes all around them were from the second wave, the kinds of people who have dominated Asia for thousands of years. So they were isolated in some ways despite having plenty of neighbors.

Because of their dietary, physical, and cultural/technological disadvantages, their numbers had long been dwindling, and their history was littered with lost conflicts with neighbors and bottom-caste slave-like status whenever and wherever there was any mixing. Once their numbers had dwindled enough a couple of centuries ago, inbreeding led to an increasing frequency of birth defects, so it got more common for children to die young, and many of those who didn't still ended up as burdens on society because of the extra work to take care of them and/or their inability to do productive work.

When the anthropologist got to the area after days of hiking (because this little pocket of the world is far from civilization like roads), the other tribes around were aware of the Timón and their location, but didn't seem to want to talk about what was happening to them. When he reached what was left of Timón land, I don't know whether he found multiple families and huts or just one, but the rest of the story is about the members of just one. It had less than 10 people, several of which were "obviously retarded", and no children or even relatively young adults.

The one the anthropologist talked with the most had a name that could have been spelled any way from "Dowie" to "Dhau'i", but I'll just pick "Douhi". He told him that they had decided years ago not to reproduce anymore because so many of their children had been born "not good", knowing that this meant extinction. Whichever member of that family lived the longest would die alone. Douhi wanted nothing else more than to raise children himself, but couldn't; even aside from the reasons why the tribe had decided against that, it had nobody left he could marry anyway, and no woman from any other tribe would want to marry him.

The anthropologist had previously had no interest in having children, but the way Douhi expressed his remorse over what he and the rest of his tribe were missing influenced him, and he got married and fathered his first child a few years later. He talked near the end of the radio interview about returning to that isolated pocket of the world to see his friend Douhi one more time, tell him that he had changed because of him, and show him pictures of his daughter, so Douhi would know that someone in the world existed because of him and what a great gift he had given his big foreign friend. (But I don't know whether he actually got to do it or was just hoping he'd get to or wishing he could.)

Does this sound familiar to any of you? Where is it written with the full details fleshed out?

Delvo · 16th December 2008, 04:41 PM

WHAT?! I was in "Social Issues" when I hit the "new thread" button!

Professor Yaffle · 18th December 2008, 04:47 AM

The Taron?

http://www.npr.org/programs/morning/...r.excerpt.html

Tumblehome · 18th December 2008, 02:16 PM

Neat story, though I wonder about the Tarons' decision to stop reproducing. Does that mean they overcame the sex drive, or that they use some kind of birth control?

National Geographic has a story on the anthropologist, David Rabinowitz. Apparently, Dawi did learn of Rabinowitz's fatherhood.

Quote:

Eventually, Rabinowitz did become a father. Dawi, when he heard the news, broke into whoops of delight.

Professor Yaffle · 19th December 2008, 12:21 AM

The story I linked to said they didn't stop breeding altogether. They just decided to stop breeding within the tribe. If they wanted to have kids, they did it with Htalu.

16th December 2008, 03:56 PM	#1
Delvo Illuminator Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Posts: 3,889	The tribe that chose to die out I heard part of this story on the radio in an interview with the anthropologist, and now I'd like to try to find the book or article in which he wrote about it, but don't know enough to look for it... The story is about a tribe in a mountainous region, I think in southern Asia northwest or northeast of India. I think the tribe's name sounded like "Timone" or "Timmón". (I have no idea how anthropologists would spell it.) They were low-protein-diet-induced pygmies surrounded by non-pygmies. I think they were also from the first migration wave out of Africa, related to Australian aborigines, whereas the tribes all around them were from the second wave, the kinds of people who have dominated Asia for thousands of years. So they were isolated in some ways despite having plenty of neighbors. Because of their dietary, physical, and cultural/technological disadvantages, their numbers had long been dwindling, and their history was littered with lost conflicts with neighbors and bottom-caste slave-like status whenever and wherever there was any mixing. Once their numbers had dwindled enough a couple of centuries ago, inbreeding led to an increasing frequency of birth defects, so it got more common for children to die young, and many of those who didn't still ended up as burdens on society because of the extra work to take care of them and/or their inability to do productive work. When the anthropologist got to the area after days of hiking (because this little pocket of the world is far from civilization like roads), the other tribes around were aware of the Timón and their location, but didn't seem to want to talk about what was happening to them. When he reached what was left of Timón land, I don't know whether he found multiple families and huts or just one, but the rest of the story is about the members of just one. It had less than 10 people, several of which were "obviously retarded", and no children or even relatively young adults. The one the anthropologist talked with the most had a name that could have been spelled any way from "Dowie" to "Dhau'i", but I'll just pick "Douhi". He told him that they had decided years ago not to reproduce anymore because so many of their children had been born "not good", knowing that this meant extinction. Whichever member of that family lived the longest would die alone. Douhi wanted nothing else more than to raise children himself, but couldn't; even aside from the reasons why the tribe had decided against that, it had nobody left he could marry anyway, and no woman from any other tribe would want to marry him. The anthropologist had previously had no interest in having children, but the way Douhi expressed his remorse over what he and the rest of his tribe were missing influenced him, and he got married and fathered his first child a few years later. He talked near the end of the radio interview about returning to that isolated pocket of the world to see his friend Douhi one more time, tell him that he had changed because of him, and show him pictures of his daughter, so Douhi would know that someone in the world existed because of him and what a great gift he had given his big foreign friend. (But I don't know whether he actually got to do it or was just hoping he'd get to or wishing he could.) Does this sound familiar to any of you? Where is it written with the full details fleshed out?

18th December 2008, 04:47 AM	#3
Professor Yaffle Butterbeans and Breadcrumbs Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Emily's shop Posts: 15,357	The Taron? http://www.npr.org/programs/morning/...r.excerpt.html
	__________________ I think you'll find it's a little bit more complicated than that. My blog "Well I think I've made it abundantly clear in this thread I have no idea what I'm talking about..." - truethat

19th December 2008, 12:21 AM	#5
Professor Yaffle Butterbeans and Breadcrumbs Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Emily's shop Posts: 15,357	The story I linked to said they didn't stop breeding altogether. They just decided to stop breeding within the tribe. If they wanted to have kids, they did it with Htalu.
	__________________ I think you'll find it's a little bit more complicated than that. My blog "Well I think I've made it abundantly clear in this thread I have no idea what I'm talking about..." - truethat

16th December 2008, 04:41 PM	#2
Delvo Illuminator Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Posts: 3,889	WHAT?! I was in "Social Issues" when I hit the "new thread" button!

18th December 2008, 02:16 PM	#4
Tumblehome Graduate Poster Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Beside the point Posts: 1,445	Neat story, though I wonder about the Tarons' decision to stop reproducing. Does that mean they overcame the sex drive, or that they use some kind of birth control? National Geographic has a story on the anthropologist, David Rabinowitz. Apparently, Dawi did learn of Rabinowitz's fatherhood. Quote: Eventually, Rabinowitz did become a father. Dawi, when he heard the news, broke into whoops of delight.