Tribe

## *Survivor* Gameplay

### Description

A group of individuals who compete together against another group for an extended period of time.

### Appearances

Every season

The competing teams in *Australian Survivor* are known as **tribes**. Conventionally, there are two tribes in a season, but there has been one instance where three are active at the same time. A tribe can have anywhere from eight to twelve contestants at the beginning of the game.

## Dividing Into Tribes

The tribes are divided by the producers before the game begins.

### Tribes Preset by Production

In most early seasons, the castaways are divided into tribes semi-randomly:

* In *Australian Survivor* (2002), the 16 contestants were divided into two tribes of eight, with four men and four women on each tribe.
* In *Australian Survivor* (2016), the 24 contestants were divided into three tribes of eight, with four men and four women on each tribe.
* In *Australian Survivor* (2017), the 24 contestants were divided into two tribes of twelve, with six men and six women on each tribe.
* In *All Stars*, 24 contestants who had a large impact on one of the last four seasons were brought back. The 24 contestants were divided into two tribes of twelve, with six men and six women on each tribe.

### Tribes Divided by Theme

After 2017's season, tribes tended to be divided by a specific theme:

* In *Celebrity Survivor Australia*, tribes were separated by gender, known as the Battle of the Sexes twist. The initial 10 contestants were divided into tribes of five men and five women. Later on Day 1, Gabrielle Richens and Justin Melvey entered the game and were both placed on the tribe of the opposite gender.
* In *Champions v Contenders* (2018) and *Champions v Contenders* (2019), 24 contestants were divided into two tribes based on their occupations and degree of success in life. The Champions​ tribes were made up of public figures from fields such as (but not limited to) sports and entertainment, while the Contenders tribes were made up of everyday Australian contestants. Each tribe had six men and six women.
* In *Brains v Brawn*, 24 contestants were sorted into two tribes of 12 based on their most prominent attribute, intelligence or strength. Each tribe had six men and six women.
* In *Blood v Water*, 12 pairs of loved ones competed against each other. The 24 contestants were divided into two tribes of twelve, each tribe having a member of each pair of loved ones. Each tribe had six men and six women.
* In *Heroes vs. Villains*, the 24 contestants were divided into two tribes of twelve based on how they see themselves playing the game or, in the case of returnees, how they played the game in the past, placing the contestants on either the Heroes or Villains tribe. Each tribe had six men and six women.

## Names and Identification

Starting tribes are given unique names (usually based on local language, culture, or history) and identifying colours which are used on tribe flags, challenge props, on-screen text, and various other items. Each player is given a buff, an elastic ring of cloth generally adorned with the logo for the current season, that can be worn as an armband, headband, tube top, miniskirt, mask, or a bow tie. Players are required to wear the buff with the colour of their tribe in a visible location at all times, only being allowed to take their buffs off when the host tells them to, allowing the audience to identify tribal affiliation.

### Tribe Switch

*See also: Tribe Switch*
The tribe switch is one of the first *Australian Survivor* twists. The host asks the contestants to drop their buffs, signalling there will be a change in the nature and personal makeup of the tribes. In a tribe switch, the contestants will either end up at their original tribe or they will be swapped into another. They must give up their old buff and must don a new one. If there is a switch, it occurs before the merge, commonly catching players off-guard. The logic of the switch is that the relationships from their first tribe will be tested in their new tribe, and will create additional possibilities when the tribes finally merge. Oftentimes, players who were not successful in their original tribe use the switch as an opportunity to create new bonds, and potentially last longer in the competition.

### Mutiny

*See also: Mutiny.*
The mutiny is a variation of the tribe switch. This twist allows players to change tribes at will. Like a traditional swap, the "mutineer" must surrender his/her old buff and will be given the same colored buff as his/her new tribe. The mutiny is a rare twist, as it was unpopular among players (as this is deemed a big, bold move for many, thus doing so will be very risky). Two seasons have offered a chance to mutiny, and in both instances, only one player mutinied.

* In *Australian Survivor* (2017), Peter Conte decided to mutiny from the Asaga tribe to return to his allies on the Samatau tribe, who he was separated from after a tribe switch.
* In *Heroes v Villains*, Liz Parnov decided to mutiny from the Villains tribe to return to her allies on the Heroes tribe, who had switched tribes at the tribe switch.

### Tribe Dissolves

Another variant of the tribe switch is the "dissolve." Occurring in a season with more than two tribes at a time, a tribe will be permanently disbanded, spreading its old members into the remaining tribes. Like in a traditional swap, members of a dissolved tribe must surrender their old buff and must join their new tribe.

* In *Australian Survivor* (2016), the tribes met for a Reward Challenge on Day 19. Saanapu won, and were given the right to individually choose which tribe they want to stay on and collectively choose the members of the other two tribes to join the new Saanapu tribe. The nine who were not picked formed the new Vavau tribe, and Aganoa was disbanded.

## Tribe Types

### Starting Tribes

Each *Australian Survivor* season typically starts with 24 contestants (dubbed as the "castaways") stranded in a remote location and will be left there for the next 47-55 days. The castaways will be then equally divided into teams, called "tribes". These tribes then will be sent out to separate camps identified by a coloured tribe banner. Both camps are far apart from each other and they have an equal distance from the challenge areas, the production team's encampment and the Tribal Council set (example, if tribe A has a 1-mile distance from Tribal Council, so does tribe B; see the Camp article for more information). The resources of both camps (food and water) can be either equally found or compromising (example, tribe A's camp may have a better water source, but finding food would be difficult, while tribe B will have the opposite). From there on out, the contestants must fend for themselves in all aspects of survival (foraging for food, creating shelter, fishing, etc.), save for a small ration of rice and beans. Tribes will also be given meagre supplies (with a machete, water canteens, and a pot as staples), depending on the season. Earlier seasons allowed castaways to have a "luxury item" (a piece of home), though some seasons pit the players into the game without preparation (merely making them compete with only the clothes they are currently wearing).

### Merged Tribe

*See also: Merge*
The merged tribe is composed of the remaining members of the two starting tribes. Whereas the starting tribes are named by the producers, the new tribe will be usually named by the castaways themselves. They will be given a new tribe flag and buffs, both of a different colour to those of the starting tribes. The Survivor Auction is held at the merge in the majority of seasons. The merged tribe camp is either the better of the two former tribe camps or a new site. Reward Challenges may still be team-based (depending on the number of remaining players), but Immunity Challenges will be conducted on a strictly individual basis.

## Tribe Colours Per Season

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## Trivia

### Tribe Affiliations

* The tribe with the most affiliated members is Champions (2019), which accumulated 20 members over three tribal configurations.
	+ The merged tribes with the most affiliated members are Fia Fia, Fire and Lava, which contained 13 members at creation.
* The tribe with the fewest members is Tanna, which was formed with 7 members at the merge of *Celebrity Survivor Australia*.
	+ The starting tribes with the fewest affiliated members are Kadina, Tipara, Kakula, Moso and Aganoa, with only 8 members each.
* The most common number of members in a merged tribe is 12, with 5 such tribes forming at the merge.
* The most common number of members in a starting tribe is 12, with 14 such tribes across 7 seasons.
* Asaga and Champions (2019) have produced the most winning games of any starting tribe, with 2 winning games between Jericho Malabonga and Mark Wales on Asaga, and with 2 winning games between Pia Miranda and David Genat on Champions (2019).
* Asaga has produced the most returning players of any starting tribe, with 7 members returning for future seasons.
* \_ has produced the most jury members of any starting tribe in its season, with \_ members of the \_ jury coming from the tribe.
* \_ has produced the most jury members of any starting tribe across all seasons
* Shonee Bowtell has been a member of 9 tribes, the most of any single contestant.
* Jackie Glazier is the only returning player to have been a member of two tribes each across their *Survivor* career.

### Tribe Tenure

* The longest-lasting tribes are Asaga and Samatau, which existed for 35 days from Day 1 to 35.
	+ The longest-lasting merged tribe is Fia Fia, which existed for 24 days from Day 32 to 55.
* Aganoa is the only starting tribe to not remain in existence until the merge.

### Tribe Colours

* Blue is the most common tribe colour, with appearances in 8 seasons.
	+ Blue is also the colour with the longest continuous streak of appearances, being present in 6 seasons from *Australian Survivor* (2002) to *Champions v Contenders* (2019),
* Black is the most common colour for a merged tribe, with appearances in 7 seasons.
* \_ starting tribes have produced the most winners, with \_; \_ tribes have produced the most finalists, with \_.
	+ \_ tribes have produced the most female winners, with \_.
		- \_ are the only female winners to have never been affiliated with a blue tribe throughout their *Australian Survivor* career.
	+ \_ tribes have produced the most male winners, with \_.
* \_ have each been members of tribes of \_ different colors.