Sandbox:Skull Islanders (RKO)
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The indigenous people of Skull Island are a tribe of humans living on Skull Island who first appear in the 1933 film King Kong, its 1932 novelization, and its derivative works.
Appearance
In the films, the Skull Islanders have dark skin and hair, but later material sometimes gives them lighter skin and tattooing more reminiscent of Polynesian cultures. They are typically adorned in feathers and grasses.
Culture
The culture of the people of Skull Island is not explored directly in the source material, but their language and worship of Kong is suggested by Captain Englehorn to link them to the peoples and cultures of the Malay archipelago. (QUOTE SOURCE) They demonstrate that they have many elaborate facets of civilization. Their clothes can be seen made of cloth, grasses, feathers, skins and fur, suggesting access to weaving and tanning technologies. The decoration seen on their faces and shields made of wood or leather implies an artistic tradition. An examination of their spears reveals them to be roughly uniform with long, straight shafts, and attached, sharpened heads, revealing an understanding of weaponsmithing.
A central part of their culture is the worship of Kong, to whom they sacrifice a woman at intervals. Supplementary materials suggest that this may occur annually(RIPPERGER? SOURCE), and that Kong, like many gods/monsters is worshipped as much for protection from the monsters beyond the wall, good rainfall and bountiful harvests(KK91 SOURCE), as he was to keep him from destroying them. They are led by a chieftain, and have a "witch doctor" in charge of ceremony and spirituality. Part of their ritual to Kong typically includes people dressed as apes to some degree, but whether these are costumes or the skins of actual animals is not widely agreed upon (APE SKINS QUOTE, CONTRA EVIDENCE)
The people seen by Denham's film crew are not widely interpreted as being the builders of Skull Island's great wall, but they do maintain it to ensure their safety. While the origins of the wall are usually left ambiguous, the 1933 newspaper serial by Kingsley Long posits the possibility that the island was once a great continent, now sunken, and that it had once been colonized by Atlantis, who built the wall as well as an ancient city lost to time in the jungle.
History
- King Kong (1933)
- Son of Kong (1933)
King Kong
In the village, in front of a giant gate in a high wall, the islanders were performing a ceremony to prepare for a sacrifice. They were decorating a young girl with flowers to the sound of drums, when Chief noticed that Carl Denham and the Venture crew were watching them. Chief, accompanied by his bodyguards, approached and spoke to them in a language that the Captain Englehorn understood. When Chief saw the blonde Ann Darrow, he wanted to sacrifice her to the monstrous Kong and offered six women of his tribe in exchange for Darrow. Englehorn refused, and the crew returned to the Venture. The following night, the natives rowed boats to the ship, found Darrow, and tied her to two posts on a giant altar on the other side of the wall. When they had finished their preparations, they beat a gong and called upon Kong. The giant ape came and carried Darrow away into the jungle, and a team led by Jack Driscoll followed them. The alarmed chief watched from the wall as they fled into the jungle. As Englehorn later recounted, they had to fire several shots into the air to scare the islanders into hiding in their huts.
When Driscoll and Darrow returned a day later, Kong came for them and tried to break down the gate in the wall. Forgetting their conflict with Englehorn's men, the Skull Islanders joined them in trying to hold the gate. Their attempts were unsuccessful, and Kong, having broken the massive bolt, invaded the village, plunging it into panicked chaos. Having destroyed many huts on his way, Kong brutally killed several natives, crushing some and tearing others apart with his teeth. Wooden spears proved too weak a weapon against such a monster. Having passed through the village, Kong came to the coast, where Carl finally put him to sleep with chloroform. Inspired by such a victory, he was eager to take this beast to New York City to show it to the public.
Son of Kong
With Kong gone, the island fell into dissaray, which the Chief of the islanders blamed on his absence. A series of earthquakes would shake the island time and time again, and when their peninsula was approached by a canoe holding Carl Denham, the islanders shooed him away with spears, seeing him as the forefather of their misfortune. Within days of this unlikey meeting, a last great earthquake plunged the island into the sea, taking with it its secrets and prehistoric life. The fate of the villagers is left unknown, but their practice of canoe building leaves hope for their survival.
Technology
Weaponsmithing
Skull Islanders use mainly wooden spears. These spears are used by the chieftain's bodyguards and those warriors who defend the village when Kong comes. The giant ape feels the blows of the spears, but they are unable to hurt him severely. For their own protection from spears, the natives use wooden shields.
Weaving
TBA
Tanning
TBA
Language
TBA
Masonry
The natives built a wall from giant cubic stone blocks. When placed vertically, the largest blocks are taller than a human.
Agriculture
The natives breed chickens, which they apparently brought with them when they colonized the island.
Firemaking
Like many tribes, the Skull Islanders can make fire.
Books & short stories
- King Kong (1932)
- "King Kong" (1933) - Boys' Magazine
- "King Kong" (1933) - The Mystery Magazine
- "King Kong" (1933) - London Daily Herald
- "After King Kong Fell" (1973)
- The Illustrated King Kong (1976)
- King Kong (1983) - Step Up Adventures
- Anthony Browne's King Kong (1994)
- Kong Reborn (2005)
Audio Plays
Comics
- King Kong (1933)
- Son of Kong (1933)
- King Kong (1968)
- King Kong (1991) [issues 1-6]
Gallery
King Kong
Son of Kong
Trivia
- The Skull Islander costumes are reproduced very accurately in the 2005 King Kong remake. However, they are not worn by actual natives, but by performers at Kong's first New York City exhibition.
- Unlike the islanders in other films, these natives have white chickens as pets.
References
This is a list of references for Skull Islanders (RKO). These citations are used to identify the reliable sources on which this article is based. These references appear inside articles in the form of superscript numbers, which look like this: [1]
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