Headhunter Tribe

The Headhunter Tribe or Umbala Tribe is a group of characters from the Jungle Cruise.
==History==
===Background===
The Umbala people were an African tribe which lived along the Nile River. They were known by the Jungle Navigation Company as being headhunters due to their practice of collecting the skulls of their enemies. The Umbala were enemies of the Jungle Navigation Company, attacking their boats, skippers and passengers while also being responsible for killing several other settlers and colonists.
===Development history===
Due to the racism embedded in the characters, the headhunters were removed in a 2021 refurbishment. Similarly, the skulls belonging to them were removed throughout Adventureland and largely replaced by tribal art. The tribe scene was removed by several chimpanzees riding the boat The Mekong Maiden in Disneyland and Kwango Kate in the Magic Kingdom. The tribe still appears in Hong Kong Disneyland and in Tokyo Disneyland, however.
==Appearances==
===A Pirate's Adventure: Treasures of the Seven Seas===
The headhunters are prominent characters in the mission, "Heads, you lose" in this interactive Pirates of the Caribbean game at the Magic Kingdom. Taking place in the 18th century, the headhunters are shown to have a disdain for pirates considering that they killed several of them and put their skulls on display with a sign reading, "Pirates be warned!". In the game, players act as part of Jack Sparrow's crew to race with Captain Barbossa for the treasure of the pacific, a golden skull under the headhunter's possession.
===The Jungle Cruise===
The tribe appears in the Nile River section of the attraction. They are first seen in their tribe as they partake in a ceremonial dance to the sound of drummers playing music. Nearby, a canoe full of skulls can be seen which the skipper states belonged to their last tour.
After passing by this area, three headhunters disguised in leafs attack the boats with their spears only for the skipper to make an escape. Throughout the queue and load-area for the Jungle Cruise and other parts of Adventureland, skulls can be seen mounted which can be presumed to belong to victims of the Umbala.
====Indiana Jones Summer of Hidden Mysteries====
In this overlay, the tribe members had the headdress of Mola Ram after it was supposedly left behind by Indiana Jones.
====Jingle Cruise====
In Disneyland's Jingle Cruise, the Umbala wore ugly-sweaters and danced to a victrola playing holiday music while their tribe was decorated with Christmas decor. The ambush was replaced by the warriors drinking holiday liquor and cheering on the passing boats in celebration of the holidays.
====Jungle River Cruise====
The tribe warriors fire blowdart in this version of the attraction.
==Other Appearances==
===Film===
====Jungle Cruise====
The Headhunter Tribe makes a form of cameo in this film, being white men in stereotypical warpaint hired by Frank Wolff as part of his charlatan Jungle Cruise. They use blow-darts to shoot at his passengers for fake thrills in his attraction. They are also partially adapted via Trader Sam's tribe the Puka Michuna, which Frank lies about being headhunting cannibals and who visually parallel the Umbala.
==Trivia==
*One of the attacking headhunters in the Jungle Cruise shouted out, "I love disco!" during the ambush of the boat.
*Despite being identified as headhunters, headhunting is not a practice amongst African tribes.
*In Disneyland, one of the attacking headhunters was wearing a tribal mask made to resemble the face of Donald Duck. In Walt Disney World, a similar mask marks the entrance to the attraction.
==External links==
*Headhunter tribe on Jungle Cruise Wiki.
==Gallery==
Jungle Cruise Headhunter Tribe Attacking.jpg
Jungle Cruise Movie Tribe.png|The, "Natives" in the film
Category:Jungle Cruise characters
Category:Theme park characters
Category:African characters
Category:Pirates of the Caribbean characters
Category:Disney characters
Category:Live-action characters
Category:Characters
Category:Males
Category:Adults
Category:Indiana Jones characters