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Bruce Parry’s ‘Tribe’ Series Returns with Controversial Angolan Desert Episode
Television presenter Bruce Parry’s return to the small screen after a decade-long absence in his new BBC series, Tribe with Bruce Parry, has sparked debate following its first episode filmed in the Angolan desert. The second instalment of the series featured the broadcaster’s two-day journey to reach the remote Mucubal tribe in Angola, Central Africa, immersing viewers in the tribe’s unique cultural practices and traditions.
Viewers React to Intense Cultural Immersion
Many viewers expressed surprise as the 56-year-old television personality fully engaged in the Mucubal tribe’s rituals and explored their distinctive culture. Sunday night’s broadcast (April 6) showed Parry participating in hut maintenance, using cow dung to resurface the floor and subsequently using dung as a hand cleaning agent. However, this was only the beginning of the episode’s confronting content.
Disturbing Rituals Unfold
The episode depicted a young boy undergoing circumcision by a village elder, his intense cries of pain audible despite the administration of local anaesthetic. Following this, viewers witnessed a more graphic scene: Parry participating in a sacrificial ritual, suffocating a goat to death with his hands. Tribal members restrained the animal as Parry held his hands over its mouth and nose until it ceased to breathe. Further unsettling scenes included the removal of a young girl’s teeth as a beauty custom, a practice Parry also underwent by having his teeth “sharpened.”
Social Media Outcry Over “Brutal” Scenes
The broadcast of these graphic scenes prompted immediate reactions from shocked viewers on X (formerly Twitter), who voiced their distress online, labelling the scenes “brutal.” Online commentary included remarks such as “Can’t watch!” and “I’ve just spent the last 5 minutes wincing #tribe.”
- “Jeeeesus, this ep of #TribeWithBruceParry has been brutal in so many ways,” one viewer exclaimed.
- Another lamented, “Ah Bruce, you’re hitting rock bottom!” expressing disappointment.
Reactions to Teeth Sharpening and Tribal Life
The scene where Parry underwent teeth sharpening with a blade while lying on his back proved particularly unsettling for some viewers. The practice was described as “grim and backward” by one observer, while another injected humour, commenting, “Watching the Bruce Parry fella on #Tribe has made me cancel next week’s dental appointment!”
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Survival and Superstition in the Mucubal Tribe
The programme highlighted the challenging living conditions of the tribe, noting the nearest medical assistance was an eight-hour journey away. Parry expressed astonishment at learning that tribe members frequently walk distances of up to 50 miles daily. Another striking aspect of Mucubal culture presented was the use of divination employing animal entrails as a substitute for medical intervention.
Divination Ritual: Reading Animal Entrails
The episode showed a deceased goat, its internal organs being examined for omens from “the spirits” to predict the recovery or death of an unwell individual. A village elder was shown intently scrutinizing the goat’s abdomen, explaining that crossed strands of entrails signified mortality.
Parry’s Gruesome Revelation
After learning that goats are suffocated to preserve their “nutrient-rich blood,” a visibly disturbed Parry, having just performed the act himself, confessed, “That’s the most gruesome thing I’ve ever done!” He further reflected that “feeling the life force of an animal disappearing in your own hands” was an experience he wishes to avoid repeating.