Taku is a tribe from Survivor 42. Their tribe color is orange.
Despite being the first tribe to lose two members, Taku dominated in challenges as a result of Jonathan Young's unparalleled physical strength and the tribe's ability to work as a cohesive unit, allowing its four surviving members to make the merge as the most united of the three tribes. The tribe continued with their strategic collaboration after the merge, later producing four members of the final six and the season's eventual Sole Survivor.
Members
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Tribe History
Even at the marooning, Taku stood out as the most physically stacked of the three tribes, primarily due to Jonathan Young's assignment to the tribe. However, Taku failed to translate this into a challenge win as they lost the opening Reward Challenge, thus having to perform either the "Savvy" or "Sweat" task to earn their flint. Taku decided to pick the mentally-demanding "Savvy" option, which challenged the tribe to count triangles. While half of the tribe started building the shelter, the other half successfully completed the task and earned Taku their flint. On Day 2, Maryanne Oketch volunteered to attend a summit, where she chose to "risk" her vote for an Extra Vote. Later that night, Jackson Fox shared a story about his gender transition with his tribe, providing Taku their first opportunity to bond emotionally.
However, on Day 3, Jackson began to show signs of dehydration. Host Jeff Probst showed up that morning to inform Jackson that it would be unsuitable for Jackson to continue in the game because of his lithium use from which he had only recently withdrawn. Jackson was pulled from the game, putting Taku at an immediate numerical disadvantage. However, Taku's combination of physical dominance, puzzle aptitude and cohesive teamwork allowed the tribe to win the grueling first Immunity Challenge.
On Day 4, Omar Zaheer shared about his Muslim background. The tribe supported him by opening up about their own religions, and seminary student Maryanne offered to weave Omar a prayer mat from fronds for his daily prayers. At the same time, Omar saw that his intellect complemented well with Jonathan's indisputable physical prowess, hence deciding to pair together before joining up with Lindsay Dolashewich, who had already forged a connection with Jonathan. Meanwhile, Maryanne's exuberant personality began to grate on her tribemates, particularly the quieter Marya Sherron. The trio of Jonathan, Lindsay, and Omar saw that they were the core of the tribe and, when they lost the next Immunity Challenge, had to decide whether to side with Marya, who was more mature but failed to make early connections, or Maryanne, whose energy alternated between welcome and grating. Eventually, Taku settled on voting off Marya. Though their lack of subtlety alerted Marya to play her Shot in the Dark at Tribal Council, the tribe was successful in voting her out in a unanimous 4-0 vote. After Tribal Council, Maryanne shared that she had received an Extra Vote from the summit, which she offered to use for the tribe at the merge. The next morning, Taku went on an idol hunt, where Maryanne found the Beware Advantage, which she also shared with her tribe.
Taku continued to dominate in challenges, notably in the next Immunity Challenge where Jonathan's height and strength allowed their tribe to overcome the turbulence in the ocean to easily place first as both Ika and Vati struggled hopelessly in the water. Taku sent Omar with Chanelle Howell from the losing Vati tribe to the summit. Although Chanelle claimed that she would play defensively, unbeknownst to Omar, she ended up risking her vote. Thus, Omar also chose to risk his vote, unaware that he had now lost his vote.
Taku won the next Reward Challenge, after which Jonathan blurted out that the Taku four were a tight family, to his tribemates' chagrin. At camp, tribal dynamics became increasingly tense as Jonathan and Maryanne began clashing more frequently; Jonathan for Maryanne's non-stop high-energy conduct, and Maryanne for Jonathan's occasional brashness. However, despite showing an uncharacteristic struggle at one of the challenges, Taku would proceed to win the final two tribal Immunity Challenges and make the merge on Day 12 with Ika and Vati with four members each.
Merge
After the merge, the Taku Four would continue to work together to control the Kula Kula dynamics to their advantage. Their collaborative efforts would take them to the final six, after which they dissolved the alliance and turned on each other. In the end, Maryanne was crowned the Sole Survivor of Survivor 42.
| Episode | Challenge | Challenge Type | Sit-Out | Result | Eliminated (Vote) |
Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marooning | Reward | None | Lost | Jackson (no vote) |
Evacuated Day 3 |
| Forty Two | Immunity | None | 1st | Tribe Immune | ||
| 2 | Can't Find My Way Home | Reward/Immunity | None | Lost | Marya (4-0) |
2nd Voted Out Day 5 |
| 3 | Spiral Architect | Reward/Immunity | None | 1st | Tribe Immune | |
| 4 | Tangled Up Sled Slide | Reward | None | Won | Tribe Immune | |
| Beyond the Tuna | Immunity | None | 1st | |||
| 5 | Ramplified | Reward/Immunity | None | 2nd | Tribe Immune | |
| Tribes Disbanded, Day 12 | ||||||
Gallery
Trivia
- Taku is the first starting tribe in Survivor to have more than one Canadian member.
- Both members of Taku who were eliminated pre-merge, Jackson and Marya, never cast a vote.
- No male members of Taku ever received the majority of the vote, whereas all three female members received the majority of the vote at their last Tribal Councils.
- Taku is the first orange starting tribe to produce a female Sole Survivor.
- Taku is the second orange tribe overall to produce a female winner, after Barramundi.
- The Taku tribe banner is currently in Maryanne's ownership after she purchased it from the post-season prop auction.[3]
References