Indigenous cultures, Royal Geographical Society (with IBG), RGS-IBG. - Indigenous cultures, Royal Geographical Society (with IBG), RGS-IBG.

Indigenous cultures

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Audio slideshows

Narrated by experts in their field, the slideshows combine stories, music and images giving you a new way to explore the world from the air.
Energy

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Energy

We consume more energy now than ever before – find out where this fuel comes from and how it is harnessed across the globe.
Festivals

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Festivals

Celebrations unite communities across the world; join the party with traditional village festivals or millions-strong street parties.
Sport

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Sport

Sports are at the heart of many different societies, both testing our physical limits to the maximum and uniting nations through tournaments.
Indigenous cultures

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Indigenous cultures

Discover fascinating customs of ancient cultures from across the planet and learn how they live side-by-side with the modern world.
Farming and agriculture

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Farming and agriculture

Food is one of our most basic human needs: discover how farming and agriculture differ across the varied cultures and climates of our world.
Cities

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Cities

Over half the world’s population live in cities: discover how these settlements were established and learn why they are of modern global importance.
Volcanoes

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Volcanoes

Explore the world's diverse volcanic landscapes, from the effects of eruptions to the millions of people who live in the shadow of volcanoes.
Road and rail transport

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Road and rail transport

Roads and railways have acted as a catalyst for expansion, communication and development. Explore their influences across the world.
Caves and rock paintings

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Caves and rock paintings

Huge networks of caves and caverns hold some of the oldest and least explored physical, natural and human environments on the planet.

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Indigenous cultures

The Kogi people call themselves Elder Brothers, charged with protecting the balance of the world.

An estimated 900,000 Maasai people live between Kenya and Northern Tanzania.

The traditional Maasai “jumping dance” is called adumu.

The Arrernte people believe Gosses Bluff crater was formed by a baby in a basket falling from the sky.

The Iban tribe celebrate the rice harvest festival of Gawai Dayak every June with dancing, rituals and tuak rice wine.

The population of Native Americans and Alaskans living today numbers 4.8 million.

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The Great Rift Valley, East Africa at 1,000m - The Maasai

A Maasai mother and child - many generations of the same family will grow up in the same kraal (settlement) with women looking after children too young to tend livestock.

A Maasai village - huts are arranged in a traditional circular kraal, with a surrounding fence of acaia thorns used to prevent lions attacking the cattle which are held in the centre overnight.

Maasai warriors dancing adumu - traditional dancing competitions involves the male warriors jumping from standing position to see who can reach the greatest height, whilst the others sing.

Maasai herders with livestock, dressed in traditional shúkà robes, which are usually red or striped patterns and worn draped across the body.

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1882 - A map detailing known native routes to the Maasai country. Mount Kilimanjaro can be seen in the centre of the map.

The son of a Maasai Chief - white is a holy and revered colour in Maasai culture reprenting cow's milk and life, whilst yellow represents hospitality and guests.

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19th century - Maasai moran (warriors) with spears at Mianzini, northern Tanzania.

1979 - A Maasai child peeking out from within his house in the Maasai Mara, Kenya.

Nongishu Kingi and her family in the Kingi boma - Nongishu helps to support her family by selling bracelets and beadwork at a local market.

Maasai women in Engaresero village selling their beadwork to tourists - many can no longer rely solely on their cattle and are keen to bring in additional income to support their families.

Maasai women make repairs to the roof of a house - it is the women's responsibility to construct houses from a mixture of mud, sticks, grass, cow dung, human urine, and ash.

A Maasai bride in traditional jewellery and costume - Maasai are polygamous and this women will marry not just her husband but his entire "age group" of warriors.

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1907 - Maasai moran (warriors) with spears and shields.

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Sydney, Australia at street level - Sydney's Aboriginal history

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c. 1850 - Thomas Baines's painting of Aborigines fighting white settlers. Aboriginal resistance to the settlers was strong, but it was European diseases that wiped out many Aborigines.

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c.1920 - An Aboriginal man showing his tribal scars. Each scar related to a different place that person felt spiritually close to.

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1836 - Thomas Baines's painting of Aborigines resisting white encroachment near to Sydney.

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c.1850 - Thomas Baines's interpretation of Aboriginal cave paintings.

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1906 - Aborigine rock drawings on the wall of a cave. The dog in the foreground provides perspective.

Aboriginal rock engravings of kangaroos in Sydney.

At 1.7 metres long, this engraving of a man in the soft Hawesbury sandstone is an impressive reminder of the region's aboriginal history.

Aboriginal art, ancient and modern, decorates Sydney.

1900 - An Aboriginal man and child with a fresh kill: kangaroo.

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Potawatomi, USA at ground level - The Potawatomi today

The big skies of the Great Plains contrast with the patchwork farmland of Kansas.

Reminders of Native American culture are apparent across modern America.

Traditional native crafts such as totem pole carving are still practiced today.

An elaborately decorated example of one of the approximately 330 Indian casinos in North America.

Sculptures exist to commemorate Native American culture.

For most tribes on the reservations, life carries on as it has since removal. These children have grown up on their reservation on the Great Plains.

Native Americans maintain their cultural practices despite being removed from their homes.

The buffalo is used as the symbol for Kansas on the new US quarter coins.

Maize remains an important symbol of the Native American tradition.

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MacDonnell Ranges, Australia at ground level - Celestial crater

Aboriginal art specialist Rebecca Hossack discusses the variety of people, art and cultures found in the Northern Territory. Please allow several seconds for the slideshow to load.

Gosses Bluff crater stretches five kilometres across, and the ridge reaches heights of 180 metres. It is thought it was originally 22 kilometres wide.

According to Arrernte Dreaming, Gosses Bluff, or Tnorala, was created by a fallen star, symbolising the baby of the Evening and Morning Stars falling to Earth in a basket.

The enormous Gosses Bluff crater is dwarfed by the surrounding ridges of the MacDonnell Ranges.

The Arrernte use the brightly coloured ochre found in the MacDonnell Ranges for artwork and bodypaint.

Ochre from pits such as this across the MacDonnell Ranges have been used by the Arrernte for thousands of years for painting.

1920 - An Arrernte man in a hut made of porcupine grass that protects him from the heat of the central Australian sun.

Gosses Bluff is thought to have been the result of a meteor impact 142 million years ago.

Gosses Bluff crater would have had a much more pronounced rim and a central peak, which have been worn down by millenia of erosion and weathering.

c. 1922 - An Arrernte boy holding a toy shield. The Arrernte are the original land owners of this part of Australia.

Standley Chasm is one of the most dramatic examples of the spectacular geology of the MacDonnell Ranges.

1920 - Kai Kai, an Arrernte doctor, was present at the time of the first white people to reach the region in the 1860s. Not long after, the Overland Telegraph Line was built.

Many of the gorges of MacDonnell Ranges display paintings from the Arrente people.

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Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia at ground level - The Kogi people

An indigenous village high in the Sierra Nevada.

The Kogi live in conical huts high in the mountains, built the traditional Tairona way.

Living in the dense forest allows the Kogi to remain isolated from the outside world, though they still feel the effects of climate change.

A traditional palm-thatched hut in the Sierra Nevada.

A Kogi hut on the outskirts of Teyuna.

A Kogi child watches as tourists visit her village.

The Kogi have built their home on the ruins of one of the old Tairona villages.

A Kogi hut blends in with the surrounding forest, reflecting the relationship the Kogi have with nature.

Kogi children in their traditional hut home.

A pig hut in the jungle of the Sierra Nevada.

A family of Kogi blend in with their surroundings.

Tourists to the Lost City often meet the Kogi children.

The Kogi believe they are the guardians, or Elder Brothers, of the world.

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Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo at ground level - The Iban people

An Iban tribesman prepares darts for use with a blowpipes. Iban have used blowpipes for generations to hunt, especially small, fast moving jungle animals like birds or monkeys.

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1905 - An Iban warrior lashing a spearhead to a blowpipe. These hollow tubes are used to "blow" darts tipped with poison from plants through the air to hunt small prey such as monkeys or birds.

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1905 - A portrait of a "Sea Dayak" or Iban warrior. Note the characteristic bone jewellery and tribal tattoos, which varied from tribe to tribe.

2005 - A modern Iban settlement in Rumah Ugat, Kapit, Sarawak. Although the structures can now be built using modern materials, they follow the traditional style of communal longhouse living.

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1905 - A young Iban girl. The corset around her waist is made of bamboo, and will be decorated with charms throughout her life depending on the prosperity of her tribe and family.

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1905 - Long Dapoi, Tinjar River. This view shows a typical Iban settlement of one or more large longhouses, with a small river harbour nearby for the community's canoes.

A collection of the preserved skulls of enemies hangs in an Iban longhouse for luck and as a warning, although the Ibans stopped the practice of head hunting in the 1930s.

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1905 - "A Sea Dayak warrior" poses with the collected heads of enemies. A show of strength and part of rituals, head hunting was ceased by the Iban in the 1930s.

A modern Iban longhouse built in the traditional style using materials sourced from within the wood. Ibans maintain a culture of communal living, with one village sharing a large living space.

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1905 - "Dayak Warfare" - Iban soldiers demonstrating their fighting techniques using large heavy shields and long blowpipes which also have spears lashed to the end for close-hand fighting.

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1905 - "Punans heads taken by Sea Dyaks". When the traditional tribal lands of the Iban came under treat from other tribes, Iban warriors reacted with violence if neccesary to defend their home.

Young girls dressed in a modern interpretation of traditional Iban costume for the Iban harvest festival, Gawai Dayak. All villagers will return to the longhouse to celebrate the village's harvest.

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1905 - "A Sea Dayak head feast". After battle it was common to honour the Iban War God Singalang Burong with rituals and feasts celebrating the warrior's victory.

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1905 -" Offerings to the omen birds". Ibans were traditionally an animist people, with strong beliefs which revolved around their connection with the world around them.

2009 - An Iban elder, with traditional tribal tattoos, mends a fishing net within the communal longhouse. Although more modern materials may be used, traditional techniques prevail.

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1905 - A young Iban woman in traditional dress helps to decorate a young Iban warrior. Traditional Iban costumes were often made of natural materials found in the forests around them.

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1905 - "A Sea Dayak house in the course of construction". Iban tribes have always lived in large, raised communal dwellings called longhouses, which are divided up into family quarters.

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© 2012 Royal Geographical Society (with IBG)