Tribe

The competing teams in Survivor are called "tribes". They live separately from each other and compete against each other in challenges. Commonly there only two teams battling in the game, but there are three seasons that had more than two rival tribes.

Dividing Into Tribes
In most seasons, the tribes are put together by the producers before the game actually begins, though there have been exemptions over the years (see below).

Gender Equality
Dividing the cast into tribes have been made in several ways over the years. Early seasons had tribes divided based on a roughly equal distribution of age and gender within each tribe.
 * Therefore in a pool of 16 players, both teams equally have 4 males and 4 females.
 * In Panama, the 16 players were divided into four tribes with two tribes representing both genders.
 * If there are 18 people playing in one season, they can be divided into 2 tribes of 9 (one tribe will have 5 men and 4 women while the other has the opposite) or 3 tribes of 6 (with 3 men and 3 women at each tribe).
 * In a 20-person cast, there can be either 2 teams of 10 with 5 people from both genders, or 4 tribes of 5 (with two tribes containing 3 men and 2 women and the other two having the opposite)

The "Schoolyard Pick"
Some seasons have had the tribes selected in various manners by the contestants themselves, known as the "Schoolyard Pick".
 * In Thailand and Gabon, the oldest male and female castaways were told that elders were given utmost respect in the location, and it was only fitting that they were the ones who will pick their tribe members.
 * Palau and Fiji had a schoolyard-style picking process.

The Schoolyard Style selection is not limited to just selecting one's starting tribe, but can be also used in a tribe shuffle (see below).

Other
In some seasons, the castaways are divided into tribes with a common theme:
 * In Amazon and Vanuatu, tribes are separated by gender, thus having an all-male tribe and an all-female tribe.
 * In Panama, their 16 survivors were divided into four tribes of four divided by age and gender (namely, the Younger Men, Younger Women, the Older Women and the Older Men).
 * Cook Islands on the other hand generated controversy when the 20 players were segregated by ethnicity (Caucasian-American, Asian-American, African-American, and Hispanic-American).
 * The castaways of Fiji created a lavish shelter using pre-cut lumber and tools. After Sylvia Kwan divided the tribes, they competed in a combined Reward/Immunity challenge where the winning team wins the shelter with additional amenities, while the losing tribe will move to a new beach where they will have nothing more than a pot and a machete. This is known as the "Haves vs Have-nots" or mainly "Rich vs. Poor" setup.
 * In Micronesia, the 20 cast members were divided into two tribes: One tribe containing 10 all-new players, while the other has 10 players from past seasons, thus creating the "Fans vs. Favorites" format.
 * As the name suggests, the twentieth season had the castaways divided by how most the audience perceived them in their earlier seasons.
 * In Nicaragua, the tribes were split by age.
 * In Redemption Island and South Pacific, 16 contestants were already drafted into tribes while the returning 2 celebrity survivors got their tribes picked by random drawing. Redemption Island featured Rob and Russell putting their hands in a jar and drawing out a buff with its color signifying which tribe they would join. In South Pacific, Coach and Ozzy chose eggs and broke them with force. The eggs splattered paint and the paint color from the egg they were holding signified which tribe they would join

Starting Tribes
Each Survivor season starts with 16, 18, or 20 (19 in Fiji; unintended) contestants (dubbed as the "castaways" or "survivors") stranded in a remote location and will be left there for the next 39 days (42 in Australia). The castaways will be then equally divided into teams "tribes". These tribes then will be sent out to separate camps identified by a colored tribe banner. Both camps are far apart from each other and they have an equal distance from the Challenge areas, the production team's encampment and the Tribal Council set (example, if tribe A has a 1-mile distance from Tribal Council, so as tribe B, see the Camp article for more information). The resources of both camps (food and water) can be either equally found or compromising (example, tribe A's camp may have a better water source but finding food would be difficult, while the tribe B will have the opposite). From there on out, the contestants must fend for themselves in all aspects of survival (foraging for food, creating shelter, fishing etc.). Tribes will also be given meager supplies (with a machete, water canteens and a pot as staples), depending on the season (there are seasons that that have limited food rations, but there are some seasons that they they were given only the staples). Earlier seasons allowed castaways to have a "luxury item" (a piece of home), though some seasons pit the players into the game without preparation (merely making them competing with only the clothes they are currently wearing). In Palau, Running shoes are also provided for the contestants.

Starting tribes are given unique names (based on local language, culture or history) and identifying colors which are used on tribe flags, challenge props, on-screen text and various other items. Each player is given a buff, an elastic ring of cloth generally adorned with the logo for the current season, that can be worn as an armband, headband, tube top, mini skirt or recently, a bow tie. Players are required to wear the buff with the color of their tribe in a visible location at all times, allowing the audience to identify tribal affiliation.

Tribe Switch
A tribe switch is the very first Survivor twist. Jeff Probst will ask the contestants to drop their buffs, and must choose a new tribe. They can either stay at their original tribe or they will be swapped into the other. They must give up their old buff and must don a new one. The switch can occur at any time in the game before the merger (or can never happen at all), commonly catching players off-guard. As seen in All-Stars and Gabon, the switch twist may sometimes happen even when there are only ten players left (because the remaining players will most likely to assume that a merge is coming). The logic of the switch is that the old relationships they had in their first tribe will be tested in their new team, and this will definitely come into play when the tribes finally merged. Oftentimes, players who are either unable not fit in with their old tribes or thought that they could have been next to be voted out from their old tribe use the switch as an opportunity to create new bonds, and potentially last longer in the competition.

There have been several ways of how the tribe swap was conducted over the course of the TV series:


 * In Africa, the very first Survivor tribe switch happened where Samburu and Boran received a Tree Mail containing vague information, where they must send their "best players." Surprisingly, they were instructed to drop their buffs and must proceed to the other tribe's camp.
 * Marquesas had the players stand on wooden disks with new buffs underneath. Three members from both tribes will be swapped.
 * In Amazon, the tribes' youngest member of both teams were sent into a lavish feast, and they were instructed to reshuffle the tribes, mixing up the tribes once divided by gender. They switched three tribemates from both camps.
 * In All-Stars, with the ten remaining players expecting a merge, they were instructed to pick a new buff from a wooden pot held by Jeff Probst. Surprisingly, the castaways picked the familiar red Chapera or the green Mogo Mogo buffs, thus revealing that a tribe swap, and not the merge they anticipated. Interestingly, five of the six old Chapera members became the new Mogo Mogo and all former Mogo Mogos turned into the new Chapera. Amber on the other hand stayed on Chapera, while the rest merely swapped buffs and camps.
 * In Vanuatu, their pre-selected "tribe chiefs" swapped the tribes.
 * In Guatemala, the castaways were quizzed about their tribemates. Two members were given a shower bath. Another two were given an apple to eat. Then two members of both tribes were away for a picnic. While they are away, Jeff Probst asked the question, "Who has the most tribe pride, the tribe members they answered stayed in their old tribe as the other were swapped.
 * In Fiji, tribes were instructed to produce a representative, and they must reshuffle the tribes.
 * In China, Tree Mail instructed the players to send two of their "warriors" to join the other tribe, receiving two new ones.
 * In Fans vs. Favorites, both tribes will be picking stones. All stones are colored white, except for two, a purple and an orange. The "Fan" and the "Favorite" that will get the colored stone will be selecting a new tribe members, mixing up the "Fans" and the "Favorites." Both Airai and Malakal have four "Fans" and four "Favorites."
 * In Gabon, two tribe swaps occurred twice:
 * During the first one, the tribes were asked to rank their comrades according to their significance in the tribe. Whoever gets the highest rank from both tribes will be choosing their new tribemates.
 * In another Survivor first, the tribes were reshuffled for a second time. Expecting a merge, both Kota and Fang were sent to what they thought was the "merge feast." But things are yet to take another turn as they see a small box containing 10 numbered chips and the players were asked to pick a chip. Whoever gets the chips containing odd and even numbers will be new Fang and Kota tribes, respectively.
 * In Nicaragua, all contestants will pick one stone from a bag. The two people who will pick the yellow and blue rocks will choose new tribemates from the rival tribe.

Mutiny
The mutiny is a subcategory of the tribe switch. this twist allows players to change tribes at will. Like in a traditional swap, the "mutineer" must surrender his/her old buff and will be given the same colored buff as his new tribe. The Mutiny is a rare twist, for it was unpopular among players (for this is deemed a big, bold move for many, thus doing so will be very risky) Three seasons have offered a chance to mutiny, though from those three times, the offer was accepted only once.


 * In Thailand, the first ever mutiny was offered through the Survivor Auction (another first, for Survivor Auctions are commonly held post-merge). No one accepted the offer.
 * In Cook Islands, Candice, a former Raro member, felt uneasy since transferring to the Aitu tribe. When the mutiny was offered, she turned on her current tribe and jumped back to her original team. Jonathan followed suit, leaving Aitu with four members. Raro's numbers increased to eight.
 * In Tocantins, the mutiny was a sub-twist of Exile Island. Both banished castaways must pick one of two bottles. One bottle contains a clue of the whereabouts of the Hidden Immunity Idol and a choice to join the other camp, while the second one holds nothing. Nobody from the players who got that option accepted the offer.

Tribe Dissolves
Another variant of the tribe switch is the "Dissolve." In seasons that have more than two starting tribes, an early tribe dissolution before the merger will likely take place. The tribe will be permanently disbanded, spreading its old members into the other two tribes. Like in a traditional swap, the members of the dissolved tribe must surrender his old buff and must join his/her new tribe.
 * Before All-Stars' fourth Reward Challenge commenced, a twist was revealed that only two of the three tribes will exist after the challenge, as the losing tribe will be permanently be gone and will be absorbed by the two winning teams. Saboga wrote Survivor history as the very first tribe to retire way before the merge. Ethan and Jerri were absorbed by Mogo Mogo, while Rupert and Jenna L. transferred in Chapera.
 * In Panama and Cook Islands the four tribes integrated into two new teams. Two of the four groups were disbanded, spreading the remaining players into two new tribes.

Merged Tribe
The Merged tribe will be composed of the remaining members of the two starting tribes. Unlike the starting tribes where their tribes were named by the producers, the new tribe will be named by the castaways themselves. Since combining as one, the two opposing tribes will no longer be (this will be the formal "dissolve" of the starting tribes), as they will be staying a single group and will live in one camp until the final Day 39. They will be given a new, blank tribe flag and buffs with some paint to decorate the new flag. Usually, a feast is held at the new tribe's camp to celebrate the event. The merged tribe camp generally was the better of the two former tribe camps, but in rare cases (Australia, Amazon, and Redemption Island) they will be relocated into an all-new beach. Reward challenges can be still a group effort (depending on the number of remaining players) and Immunity Challenges will be conducted on an individual basis.

No Merge

In Palau, no merger took place since Koror had conquered Ulong (by reducing the tribe to its last member). Stephenie, the last Ulong member was just given a brown Koror buff, and the challenges from there on out were individually-based

"Ghost" Tribe
The only "ghost tribe" that appeared in the show was the infamous Outcasts in Pearl Islands, where the six eliminated players return for a second chance to play the game. This caused a lukewarm response from viewers and fans.

Trivia

 * Over the course of twenty-three seasons, there have been fifty-one starting tribes. If one adds in the twenty-two merged tribes (as Palau didn't have a technical merge), this brings the total tribe count to seventy-three.
 * Of the fifty-one starting tribes, twelve have been yellow, eleven have been blue, nine have been red, five have been green, five have been purple, one has been black, and one has been brown. Of the merged tribes, six have been black, four have been green, three have been red, three have been blue, two have been yellow, two have been orange, one has been purple, and one has been magenta.
 * Thusly, this finds that yellow is the most common starting tribe color, and black is the most common merge tribe color.