The Immunity Idol is a totem that symbolizes Tribal Immunity and is awarded to the winning tribe(s) of an Immunity Challenge. Not to be confused with the Hidden Immunity Idol or the Immunity Necklace, the Immunity Idol serves as a trophy-of-sorts that grants an entire tribe exemption from Tribal Council, thus avoiding elimination.
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.
Contents
Description
Survivor (U.S.)
- 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 bust 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, resembling 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 Rangda statue. During the three-tribe portion of the game, the tribe that finished second received a smaller version of the 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 dancing Devi statue. During the expansion phase, a "reversed" version of the original idol was awarded to the runner-up tribe.
- Survivor: Kaôh Rōng: A human warrior statue.
- Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X: An orange tiki.
- Survivor: Game Changers: The bust of a diving helmet. During the expansion phase of the season, 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. A phoenix statue was introduced following the expansion to be given the runner-up tribe.
- Survivor: Island of the Idols: Two Fijian moai faces tied to a wooden structure with vines. The idol can be split in half as it was supposed to cater two winning tribes during the planned three-tribe phase of the pre-merge, but the idea was shelved as the tribes stayed two throughout the pre-merge.
- 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.
Australian Survivor
- Australian Survivor (2002): An old bell.
- Celebrity Survivor Australia: A staff with a skull and rib-like front.
- Australian Survivor (2016): A Samoan spear.
- Australian Survivor (2017): A Samoan tiki.
- Australian Survivor: Champions v Contenders (2018): A wooden vase with hanging coloured stones.
- Australian Survivor: Champions v Contenders (2019): An animal skull tied to a base with string.
- Australian Survivor: All Stars: A rusted sword.
Hidden Immunity Idol
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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.
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