Remembering Maraamu, the first dysfunctional tribe in Survivor history

Survivor: Marquesas provided us with some absolute gems when it first aired in 2002. Arguably the most significant gem, however, was the Maraamu tribe, who gave viewers the first-ever dysfunctional tribe in Survivor history.

While it’s become common in the recent seasons for one tribe to lose multiple challenges in a row, in the early seasons of Survivor, that wasn’t the case.

In the show’s first three seasons, the two pre-merge tribes went into the merge tied with five members each, meaning each tribe lost three Immunity Challenges and, as a result, had to go to three Tribal Councils (though the Outback was a different situation due to Michael’s accident).

Survivor: Marquesas, which has become known for being the birth season of Boston Rob, changed the way we look at pre-merge tribes forever because fans saw it was possible for one tribe to get wiped out before the merge. I’m talking, of course, about the Maraamu tribe, who became the first truly dysfunctional tribe in Survivor history.

Before the days of Ulong getting decimated on Survivor: Palau or as recent as the Manu tribe being “the Cleveland Browns of tribes” on Survivor: Edge of Extinction, the Maraamu tribe wasn’t particularly good at anything. They lost the first seven challenges and would go on to lose eight total challenges before the merge while only notching three victories.

It’s bad enough not to win much while on the island, but the Maraamu tribe also made some pretty dumb decisions during their brief time together. Before we get more into that, let’s look at the eight individuals who made up the first-ever dysfunctional Survivor tribe:

• Gina Crews
• Hunter Ellis
• Patricia Jackson
• Peter Harkey
• Rob Mariano (Yup, before he won Amber’s heart or was the winner of Survivor: Redemption Island, Boston Rob was a member of the Maraamu tribe)
• Sarah Jones
• Sean Rector
• Vecepia Towery (Eventual winner of the season)

One of the most iconic moments from this season was when Maraamu was paddling to their beach, and Sarah wasn’t contributing at all. She was just lying on the raft like Cleopatra, as Sean would mention in a confessional. That might have set the tone for what this tribe would provide, but we were only just getting started.

After Maraamu lost the first Immunity Challenge, Peter was the first man to ever be the first out due to his odd conversation topics and wanting to discuss point-blank who should be booted.

Maraamu probably should have kept Peter around for his strength because they’d end up losing the next batch of challenges. The team voted off Patricia next, who drove everyone crazy because she wanted everyone to work around camp.

Boston Rob said at the third Tribal Council, which Maraamu went to because of course, they lost again, that the team wasn’t performing poorly; they were always just one step behind. He followed that up by voting out their strongest member – Hunter – because that’s what dysfunctional tribes do.

After going 0-6 and losing three members already, production decided to throw Maraamu (Okay, let’s be real – Gina) a bone and have a tribe swap.

Rob, Sean, and Vecepia went over to Rotu while Kathy, Neleh, and Paschal joined Gina and Sarah on the doomed Maraamu tribe. This was back before tribes were split evenly at tribe swaps, so it was still an 8-5 Rotu advantage.

Even with new members, Maraamu was still bad at just about everything, but the difference was that they were suddenly lovable underdogs. Once Sarah was voted off, and it was down to Gina and the three former Rotu members, the new Maraamu tribe were so darn cute. They won three straight challenges, and that was the most Maraamu would accomplish through 20 days.

Sadly, the tribe lost in the final pre-merge challenge and Gina (who I will always have a crush on, no matter how much time passes) was voted off, meaning no more original Maraamu members were left on their own tribe.

The two tribes merged after that and Maraamu was no more, but diehard fans of the show will always remember them for their flaws early on in the game and later for becoming some of the biggest underdogs in Survivor history. Their three-game win streak was one of the highlights of the season and was all the tribe ever really accomplished.

In recent seasons, it’s rare when the tribes remain competitive throughout, but in season four, it was a first for Survivor viewers. Fans truly felt for Maraamu after they got beat time and time again, but the dysfunction put the game into perspective. This was a tribe that couldn’t figure anything out or work together as a team, and that was ultimately their downfall.

It is worth noting, however, that the winner of this season – Vecepia – did hail from the original Maraamu tribe and the team as a whole did provide us with some great players. From “holey” Peter to informercial Hunter to Gina who fans were gutted to see voted off to the eventual Survivor: Redemption Island winner Boston Rob, we should appreciate everything Maraamu provided for us. They even had their own morning show, which was highly entertaining!

Even though worse tribes have appeared over the years, Maraamu was the first of its kind, and for that, we thank them. Here’s to you, Maraamu; we appreciate you, flaws and all.