When tribes convene at an Immunity Challenge, the winning tribe passes the Immunity Idol back to the host.
The idol is different every season and reflects the local culture or motif theme of the season. In seasons with more than two initial tribes, the Immunity Idol is separated into multiple pieces, to be shared by multiple tribes. In the event when the multiple tribes are spread into two new tribes, the tribe that wins the challenge would obtain the complete idol. The three exceptions were on Survivor: Philippines, Survivor: Cagayan, and Survivor: Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers, where two separate tribal Immunity Idols were up for grabs.
The Immunity Idol could sometimes be representative of a local deity and not just a cultural object. For example, in Survivor: Thailand, the Immunity Idol is a statue of Thepanom, the angel of protection in Thai culture, and in Survivor: Blood vs. Water it is Caishen, the god of wealth in Chinese mythology.
In most seasons, the idol is shaped like an ornate trophy, but in some seasons such as Survivor: Pearl Islands, Survivor: Vanuatu, Survivor: Panama, Survivor: Fiji, and Survivor: Samoa, the idol is shaped like a spear, and is stuck in the ground instead of being placed on a pedestal.
After the season, the idol is sold on eBay and, like with all Survivor memorabilia that is sold, the proceeds go to charity.
Description
- Survivor: Borneo: a large, colorful statuette with three faces on it.
- Survivor: The Australian Outback: A large statuette with colorful stones with a face.
- Survivor: Africa: A statuette with two figures standing on top of each other with faces.
- Survivor: Marquesas: A large tiki statuette.
- Survivor: Thailand: A Buddha statuette.
- Survivor: The Amazon: A figure of a person with a face, a colorful necklace, and cloth.
- Survivor: Pearl Islands: An ax with a skull on top with a coin in one of the skulls eyes.
- Survivor: All-Stars: A statuette of a person holding a drum, sitting on a clay figure. If three tribes were competing, the first-place tribe received the drum-player and the second-place tribe received the base.
- Survivor: Vanuatu: A long, spear-like object with a carved tiki and a pig jaw.
- Survivor: Palau: A humanoid figure with necklaces around its neck.
- Survivor: Guatemala: An ancient, colorful, Mayan statuette.
- Survivor: Panama: A tall stand with three heads on it. If four tribes were competing, the second- and third-place tribes receiving one head each and the first-place tribe received the staff itself with the remaining head.
- Survivor: Cook Islands: A large tiki statuette. If four tribes were competing, he first-place tribe received the head, and the other two winning tribes received the abdomen and feet.
- Survivor: Fiji: A Fijian war club attached to a skull with bones.
- Survivor: China: A terracotta warrior statuette.
- Survivor: Micronesia: A humanoid figure with shells and carvings.
- Survivor: Gabon: A Gabonese humanoid figure.
- Survivor: Tocantins: A red and tan human figure with motifs, called a ritxòtò.
- Survivor: Samoa: A large spear-like idol with a diamond shaped object and an animal skull.
- Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains: A large tiki statue.*
- Survivor: Nicaragua: A statue of a conquistador.
- Survivor: Redemption Island: A large humanoid figure
- Survivor: South Pacific: A large tiki statue.
- Survivor: One World: A tiki statue, known as the Hei-Tiki.
- Survivor: Philippines: A bird-like statue, called the Sarimanok.
- Survivor: Caramoan: A wooden Ifugao totem statue.
- Survivor: Blood vs. Water: A statue of a man, known as Cai Shen.
- Survivor: Cagayan: A Rangha statue.
- Survivor: San Juan del Sur: A human statue resembling Xochipilli, the Aztec god of arts and games.
- Survivor: Worlds Apart: A warrior statuette. If three tribes were competing, the second-place tribe received the base the statuette stood on.
- Survivor: Cambodia: A humanoid statue.
- Survivor: Kaôh Rōng: A human warrior statue.
- Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X: An orange tiki.
- Survivor: Game Changers: The bust of a diver's helmet. If three tribes were competing, the second-place tribe received the stand the bust was mounted on.
- Survivor: Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers: A statuette of a woman holding a shell.
- Survivor: Ghost Island: A tiki statue.
- Survivor: David vs. Goliath: A carved, white, wooden tiki statue.
- Survivor: Edge of Extinction: A carved, wooden dragon statue holding a yellow gem, and a phoenix-like statue. (The phoenix statue was used following the expansion.)
- Survivor: Island of the Idols: Two Fijian moai faces tied to a wooden structure with vines.
- Survivor: Winners at War: A skull with a Fire Token in each eye held up by chain-adorned crossbones. If three tribes were competing, the first-place tribe received the skull and the second-place tribe received the crossbones.
Hidden Immunity Idol
Gallery
Trivia
- Out of sheer joy, Rory Freeman accidentally broke the spear-like Immunity Idol in Vanuatu after violently sticking it into the ground when his tribe got back to camp after winning an Immunity Challenge. As said challenge was the last tribal Immunity Challenge before the merge, the damage was considered inconsequential and the idol not repaired.
- CBS gave the Survivor: China Immunity Idol to celebrity Neil Patrick Harris, an avid reality TV fan, as a gift for his 37th birthday.[1] However, the idol was apparently bought back as a prop for Ghost Island.
References
