Ulonging is a term used to describe a circumstance when a tribe enters the merge with few members due to constantly losing Immunity Challenges. The term was coined in reference to the infamous Ulong tribe from Survivor: Palau, who failed to win a single Immunity Challenge, entering the "merge" with only one member.
This is similar to, but not the same as, Pagonging, where a tribe is picked off in succession post-merge.
History
Before Ulong became known for this "achievement", there was Maraamu from Survivor: Marquesas. The tribe lost all but one Immunity Challenge and entered the merge with only three members, with only two making the jury stage. Despite this, Maraamu produced the winner of that season.
In Survivor: Palau, the infamous Ulong tribe coined this popular term by losing every single Immunity Challenge. The tribe was decimated until only one member remained, Stephenie LaGrossa. As a result, there was no official merge that season. Instead, Stephenie simply moved to Koror and the game began the individual phase. She would later be voted out at the Final Seven and became the third juror.
Survivor: Fiji featured the infamous Haves vs. Have Nots twist, with one tribe being well-fed and well-rested while the other started with nothing but a pot and a machete. Predictably, this led to Moto annihilating Ravu at every single Immunity Challenge. The only time Moto had to vote somebody out was when they were forced to choose to keep immunity or lose their luxurious camp. However, of the four original Ravu members that entered the merge, one eventually won the season unanimously against two original Moto members.
Survivor: Micronesia saw the post tribe swapped Malakal tribe lose every single Immunity Challenge up until the merge phase. Despite their rivals losing Jonathan Penner and Kathy Sleckman due to a medical evacuation and quit respectively, the tribe still managed to have a numerical disadvantage at the merge.
While Fang from Survivor: Gabon performed very badly, losing five of the first six Immunity Challenges, the original incarnation of the tribe still managed to enter the merge in the majority due to the season's two tribe switches occurring at points advantageous to the tribe, allowing the original Fang to pick off the original Kota members in a pre-merge pagonging. While not Ulonged in the traditional sense, their long losing streak makes them worth a mention in this article.
Survivor: Samoa saw the Foa Foa tribe lose all but one Immunity Challenge to their rival Galu tribe. This was likely due to Russell Hantz dumping out the entire tribe's water canteens, leaving the entire tribe dehydrated. However, despite these drawbacks, the Foa Foa Four dominated the merge thanks to their use of the Hidden Immunity Idol and their ability to appeal to the weaker members of the Galu tribe. In the end, all four Foa Foas reached the Final Five, made up the entirety of the Final Three and produced the winner of the season.
In Survivor: Nicaragua, the older Espada tribe dwindled until the merge due to constant immunity losses and conflicts between its members. Like Foa Foa, the tribe entered the merge with only four members compared to the younger La Flor's eight. The last Espada, Holly Hoffman was voted out one day before the finals, leaving three La Flor members represented in the Final Three.
Survivor: Philippines saw the Matsing tribe, a tribe that many consider to be the true successor to Ulong. The tribe, plagued by failure and poor leadership, became the first tribe in Survivor history to not have a single challenge win to its name. Having lost four straight Immunity Challenges before the tribe dwindled to its last two members; Denise Stapley and Malcolm Freberg. Afterward the tribe officially dissolved with Denise and Malcolm joining Kalabaw and Tandang respectively. After Denise joined Kalabaw, they faced a similar problem with Dana Lambert quitting due to concerns about her health as well as losing the next two Immunity Challenges. This left only three Kalabaw's reaching the merge, all of them being male. Despite all of these drawbacks, Matsing and, by extension, Kalabaw produced the winner of the season.
In Survivor: Caramoan, Gota, the tribe of Fans lost nearly every Immunity Challenge except the first one and another forfeited by the rival tribe of Favorites, Bikal. Although Gota won every Immunity Challenge after the Tribe Switch, the numbers still dwindled as the original Bikal held the majority on both sides. Like Foa Foa and Espada, the tribe of Fans would merge with only four members compared to the eight on the Favorites side. Although one Fan made it to the Final Three, she lost unanimously to a Favorite.
In Survivor: Cagayan the Luzon tribe, nicknamed the "Brains", was plagued by poor challenge showings and dysfunction at camp, leading to them losing three of four Immunity Challenges, and were reduced to a paltry three by Day 11. The tribe was dissolved on Day 12. However, all three who survived the original incarnation of Luzon lasted to the merge, and each of them won Individual Immunity at least once.
In Survivor: San Juan del Sur, the Coyopa tribe showed poor performances in challenges. They lost five out of six Immunity Challenges, and four out of five Exile Island duels. Coyopa was forced to vote out three people in a row to start out the season and was down to six members on Day 9. The tribe shuffle on Day 11 mixed up the tribes, but didn't change their losing streak. From the start of the tribe shuffle, the tribes looked uneven. The tribe continued to lose, voting out loved one pair Dale and Kelley Wentworth. When the tribes merged on Day 16, there were only 5 original Coyopa members left.
In a unique take on "Ulonging", the Ta Keo tribe in Survivor: Cambodia would lose a majority of its members before the merge, despite winning (or coming in second) in the majority of the tribal challenges. After voting out two of their own due to Immunity losses, another two were eliminated on Angkor, Terry Deitz would then quit two episodes later with Woo Hwang being voted out in the same episode, leaving their tribal numbers were in a 4-9 deficit heading into the merge. Monica was the only original Bayon member who failed to make the merge.
Trivia
- Maraamu, Ravu, Foa Foa, and Matsing all produced the winners of their respective seasons despite their terrible track record.
- Ulong (Palau), Matsing (Philippines) and Luzon (Cagayan) are the only tribes to be dissolved after being Ulonged. Every other Ulonged tribe merged without being dissolved.
- The term "Matsinging" is sometimes used by fans for Matsing and Luzon, as a subset of Ulonging in three-tribe seasons.
- The term Ulonging is similar to Pagonging in that both refer to the consistent eliminations of their name sake. The difference being that Ulonging refers to a tribe's members being decimated before the merge, not after. Additionally, Pagonging is a strategic move, whereas Ulonging is, in most cases, solely the result of challenge performance.
References
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