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Photographer documented an indigenous tribe with strange genetic fluke that causes their eyes to turn blue

Bored Panda · Dec 23, 2025 13:46 · 2 min read

Photographer Documented An Indigenous Tribe With Strange Genetic Fluke That Causes Their Eyes To Turn Blue

Indonesia is a very special country. The Indonesian Archipelago consists of over 17,000 islands. It is considered to be the world's largest island country. Having so many little islands, it is a melting pot of culture. There, over 700 different languages are spoken.

And look at what the melting pot has boiled up on the small island of Buton. Some indigenous people there have a strange genetic fluke known as Waardenburg syndrome, which may cause hearing loss, and in this case, dazzling, piercing, electric blue eyes that remind us of Frank Herbert's Fremen from Dune. As you can see, it can even affect a single eye, making them heterochromatic.

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Waardenburg syndrome may affect only a single eye.

Korchnoi Pasaribu, a geologist and a hobby photographer who hails from the Indonesian island of Java himself, has managed to capture the hypnotic eyes of these tribespeople and share them on his Instagram. It isn't the first tribe that he ever visited, but it may be the most unique one. How often do you see people from the Pacific that have eyes as blue as this? The chances of being affected by this syndrome are 1 in 42,000. Count the odds of stumbling upon a few of those in a single small tribe. It's like finding a gem, but in this case, the gem is in someone's eyes.

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Korchnoi told Bored Panda about the circumstances of his photoshoot. "I've known them since 2019, but I only went to photograph them now on September 17, 2020. I was very happy to [finally] take pictures of them." He's also done a few "themed" shots regarding ecology and the environment, which speaks powerfully through the eyes of the subject.

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The internet is in awe, and the photos have been shared and published far and wide. Show your support for this unique photographer by following his Instagram, where you can find even more pictures of the indigenous people of Indonesia from many other tribes. Rev up your Dune, White Walker, and other references, and share with us what you think.

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Editor's note: the breathing mask is used for artistic purposes.

You might also like: “Makes Me Physically Cringe”: 22 People List Beauty Standards That Need To Retire

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Photographer documented an indigenous tribe with strange genetic fluke that causes their eyes to turn blue

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