Photo by David Bartus
In Greek mythology, Pandora’s box was a “gift” from the gods to mankind that secretly contained misfortunes and woe- symbolic of humanity’s desire for knowledge. Pandora curiously opened the box, and unloosed great consequences upon the world.
Another Pandora’s box- disguised as Elon Musk’s Starlink internet technology- came to the Marubo tribe in a remote Amazon rainforest about 9 months ago. Unsurprisingly, the results of internet access have been mixed, spawning bitter disputes among the 2,000-member tribe.
Elders mourn the rejection of traditional culture by some of the younger members. “Young people have gotten lazy because of the internet,” said 73-year old Tsainama Marubo- losing interest in hunting or fishing. Yet the younger members are not the only ones fascinated by the internet’s allure. Despite her complaints, Tsainama Marubo quickly added, “But please don’t take our internet away.”
The internet has “already saved lives” by providing faster medical care (e.g. in case of venomous snakebites). Many tribal members now dream of traveling the world, or starting careers in cities beyond their rainforest. The internet offers the Marubo people autonomy, connections to nearby villages, emergency information, and new job and education opportunities.
Since the impact of the rubber trade in the early 20th century, the tribe has not been completely isolated from the outside world. Prior to the installation of Starlink antennas, many of the tribe had cellphones, to take photos or communicate when in the city. But now the indigenous tribe is facing internet digital misinformation, screen distractions, pornography, and violent video game addiction. Just as many US parents do, the Marubo have implemented commonsense guidelines to preserve their culture, putting limits on everyone’s internet use. (It is only on for 2 hours in the morning, 5 hours in the evening, and on Sundays).
As in the opening of Pandora’s box, Starlink internet has loosed the troubles, woe, vice and other evils of the world onto the Marubo of the Amazon. But in the Greek myth, the only thing remaining in the box was HOPE. The remaining hope gave people the ability to handle the negative outcomes of the now-released knowledge. And just like Pandora, the Marubo leaders know they cannot shut the box either. There’s no going back from the internet and the outside world now.
Another Marubo leader, Enoque Marubo, said his father Sebastiao told him of a Marubo shaman that foretold decades ago of a hand-held device that could provide access to the outside world. “It would be for the good of the people. But in the end, it wouldn’t be. In the end, there would be war.”
The Marubo tribe may have been greatly removed from the outside world for years, but they are similar to us even so. People everywhere struggle to balance our better tendencies against the knowledge offered on the internet. The internet opens up every world, even the sinister ones.
The shaman was right. Ultimately, there is war- for the Marubo and all of us. But thankfully Pandora’s box contained hope too.
