Posted on 11/16/2020 12:10:13 PM PST by Red Badger
(Photos Courtesy of Korchnoi Pasaribu)
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A stunning ocular photoshoot has been shared on social media featuring an indigenous Indonesian island tribe full of people with startling blue eyes.
The members of the Buton Island tribe have what is known as Waardenburg syndrome, a rare genetic condition that affects pigmentation and that can cause congenital hearing loss.
Korchnoi Pasaribu, a geologist from Jakarta, Indonesia, captured the sapphire gazes of several tribe members on camera on Sept. 17. His pictures created quite the internet buzz, going viral on Instagram and drawing attention to the unique and distinctive Buton tribe.
Epoch Times Photo
At 38 years old, Pasaribu has been documenting rural areas of Indonesia since September 2019—a hobby that is easy to maintain alongside his field work in geology.
“I actually work as a geologist, at nickel mining,” he told DailyMail. “Photography is my hobby.”
After documenting many tribes and cultural heritages throughout Indonesia, Pasaribu said he found the blue-eyed tribe strikingly unique and inspiring.
“Blue eyes are unique and beautiful and they are my inspiration,” he said. “Blue is the favorite eye color for me.”
Pasaribu’s Instagram followers seem persuaded by his work. His pictures have generated tens of thousands of likes and comments from admirers.
“Very exotic, very rare,” wrote one commenter. “Very beautiful.”
Others shared that the photo subjects looked like “models,” and that it was hard to believe they weren’t wearing contact lenses.
As unbelievable as it may be to some, the blue eye color is very real.
The rainforest-covered Buton Island is the 19th-largest island of Indonesia and home to the Buton people, which includes several smaller tribes.
Waardenburg syndrome affects some of these tribespeople, leaving them with an extremely rare combination of bright ocean-blue eyes and russet skin.
The syndrome, which affects an estimated 1 out of 42,000 people, can also cause bright-blue eyes, two different-colored eyes, and in some cases, lighter patches of hair or skin.
The result is a striking, beautiful contrast in color.
After documenting the beauty of the Buton tribe, Pasaribu continues to capture life throughout rural Indonesia. But the iconic photographs from his time on Buton Island have already made a memorable impression on the internet.
Perhaps it is The Spice...
That didn’t take long.....................
I have to admit that a chick with mixed race (black/white) parents and blue eyes looks really hot on some women
At a company I used to work, a co-worker had two different eye colors.........................
The spice must flow!
the eyes look like they have been boosted in colour and clarity post production- to make them stand out more- common photographic technique- if they haven’t been, then those are some very unusually colourful eyes
Someone I used to work with had blew eyes. One blew East, one blew West. Kinda like this guy:
I am going to “redistribute” that meme.
Mesolithic Europeans had this color combo -
My wife used to have a friend who was mixed French-Vietnamese. Five foot two, oriental slanted blue eyes and natural strawberry blonde hair. This startlingly beautiful woman eventually dyed her hair black in order to fit in with the rest of her Vietnamese girl friends. Still has the blue eyes though.
thanks for the ink- most are duller- but every so often one looks over saturated in those photos- Not saying they are- but i do photography and I see photos like this all the time where the person oversaturates- (especially landscape photos- to give it more ‘eye candy’ to get more views),
Again, not saying they are- just a bit suspicious of the really striking photos- looks like the skin is darkened, and eyes lightened- The ‘duller’ photos in that list are still very striking- it’s just hard to tel life the photos of the super striking ones were retouched or not- to enhance the effect-
Looks like a couple European traders/sailors might have made a pit stop there a few hundred years back.
There were Roman traders in there 1500 years ago..............
Must be something in the water....ask the people of Flint Michigan! (-sarc)
I slept through most of my history classes.
Did Romans have blue eyes noticeably in the gene pool?
I always thought it was the Barbarian tribes that did.
They've also recently discovered another blue-eyed tribe - several thousand miles North and West
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