Call of the Tribes: Wisdom of Earth

We belong to nature . Our very essence is intricately shaped by the world around us. Those who understand nature, understand life. For centuries, indigenous communities have lived harmoniously with earth, their internal nature has always been aligned with the external environment. Nature engaged with them, revealed its deepest secrets, and guided their actions. Nature extended itself to them, and they are the eternal wisdom keepers of our planet.
In contrast, modern society has often failed to fully comprehend this, neglecting its importance to our psychosomatic constitution. This detachment is the root cause for our alienation and lack of empathy.
As technology advanced, humanity has drifted away from nature, creating dependencies on machines. Imagination shifted from the real world to make-believe. This detachment affected our sensitivity and equilibrium. Survival became centred around the manipulation of environment and introducing artificial chemicals into our lives, disconnecting us even further. While indigenous remedies strengthened people, chemical and lab-created medicines weakened people and made them dependent.
Mother Earth urgently needs a revival. The tribes , too, need reconnection to their shared origins. The World Tribal Alliance (WTA) was formed to preserve the wisdom of wisdom keepers and thus preserve nature as well as their culture. This November, the WTA is facilitating this reunion by hosting a historic gathering of Indigenous Elders from around the world in Cape Town in South Africa – once the cradle of humanity. This will be a remarkable coming together of descendants of ancient cultures that once walked this planet, carrying ancient knowledge and traditions that are deeply entwined with the earth.
For indigenous tribes, nature and culture are deeply integrated. Their lifestyle is free from wastage, and built on respect towards all elements of nature and living beings. They are the true children of nature – both its inheritors and guardians. Whenever we uproot them from their natural habitats, we all suffer, and future generations pay the price. The wisdom keepers scattered over continents and regions have one thing in common – their profound connection to Mother Earth – one that brings subtlety and strength. The language of their communication is grounded in sensitivity and respect, a value that is also central to the culture of Bharat, where every aspect of nature was traditionally revered and preserved.
Respect towards nature helps protect it - by respecting and revering the rivers, mountains, trees and the totality of nature, we preserved them through time. Modernity, however, has trivialised these essential bonds. An overconfident faith in lab-grown sciences led many to believe that they could transcend natural limits, a miscalculation that has contributed to countless catastrophes. The indigenous tribes – whether of the Amazon rainforest or the Andes, the Mayans of Mesoamerica, the Native Alaskans (such as the Inuit and Yupik), the Māori of New Zealand, the Zulu of Southern Africa, the Native American tribes across North America , the Sámi of the Arctic Circle or the Aboriginal peoples of Australia– have safeguarded their environment and culture for centuries until the encroachment of modern civilisation. While some tribes held on to their wisdom against all odds, others were annihilated or irreparably weakened. The call of the tribes is now the call of our time – a plea for the survival of our own species. Our destructive actions have extinguished several species and destabilised entire ecosystems. In our pursuit of profits, we often forget that every piece of land or ocean on earth has its own natural ecosystem which is totally justice-oriented and nature controlled. More than consumption, our wastage has harmed the earth and its habitats.
Among those most directly affected are the world’s indigenous communities. Every man-made forest fire, set to clear the land for farming, reduces the spaces in which they live and move. When they are forced to adapt to modern lifestyles, their communication with nature is severed. When they are forced to be another brick on the wall, they are pushed to the margins - their originality lost and their wisdom diluted. They deserve respect as representatives of our original, ancestral humanity. With respect and acceptance, their cultures – and the wisdom embedded within them – can be revived. When asked what message they would like to share with the world of politics, an elder said “They have encroached into our sustenance, suffocated us through their incursions, and destroyed our culture through their indoctrination. They took our land for their cattle. Their insatiable appetite for profit destroyed our forests to make farmlands, poisoned our rivers, over-fished and exterminated many species. They set fire to our forests, destroyed our ecosystem and called it scientific. Our request to the world of money, power and politics is to respect our way of life and let us be.”
As the Elders gather in Cape Town, they remind us of the true purpose of life: to serve and celebrate the incredible glory and wonder of life on Earth. Through this renewed commitment, we can build a future where nature and humanity thrive together, hand in hand.