When an academic conference turns into a wrestling match

Following the [Tasaday controversy](https://www.reddit.com/r/HistoryMemes/comments/1t741zz/forced_to_cosplay_as_a_stone_age_tribe_for/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button), a series of anthropological conferences were held in 1986 in Manila^(1) and in 1988 in Zagreb to discuss whether this supposed “Stone Age” tribe of [Manuel “Manda” Elizalde Jr.](https://artsandculture.google.com/entity/manuel-elizalde/g128dgqpnp?hl=en) was a hoax or not.

But rather than your typical academic conference, it devolved into a series of chaotic confrontations between hoax and authenticity proponents. Do take note that this was after [the fall of President Ferdinand Marcos](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People_Power_Revolution) and the memories of Martial Law were still fresh in people’s minds. Most of the hoax proponents were anti-Marcos academics and journalists who tends to suspect anyone associated with the dictatorship, particularly the authenticity proponents who were involved in on-site Tasaday fieldwork and journalistic reporting.

As a personal anecdote, my historian friend of mine was present in one of these conferences where he told me that the presenters “*almost ended up shooting each other on stage.*” (Tagalog: *muntikan na magbarilan sa entablado*)

*Sidenote: Due to the number of people who were involved in these conferences, I’ll put a parenthesis alongside their names, e.g.* **Juan Dela Cruz (hoax/authenticity)***, to determine on which side of the debate each person belongs to.*

# Key moments in 1986 Manila Conference:

1986 International Conference on the Tasaday Controversy And Other Urgent Anthropological Issues

**”Son of a Bítch!”**

During the presentation by German researcher Christian Adler (hoax), he accused the late mentor of anthropologist Carlos Fernandez (authenticity) of orchestrating the hoax. Fernandez flew into a rage shouting, “*son of a bítch!*” and rushed toward the stage, threatening “*fireworks the next morning*” because he felt his mentor was being maligned in the most hateful manner. Witnesses noted that he “*spouted a lot of fiery remarks*” and made “*actual threats of violence*” against several foreign scholars in attendance.

The conference chairman Jerome Bailen (hoax) took the “*fireworks*” comment literally and stationed six police officers outside the conference hall, which also act as protection against rumored goons of Manda Elizalde threatening to disrupt the conference.

**Sabotage Attempt**

As Adler showed photos of Tasaday in his presentation, Associated Press journalist John Nance (authenticity) got infuriated that his photos were being used without his permission. So he mad rush to pull the plug on the projector to stop the presentation, but was blocked by other attendees and ordered to sit down.

**Family Trees, Relatives, and Being Naked**

Days before the conference, anthropologist and historian Zeus Salazar (hoax) was visited at midnight by a certain George Tanedo, a T’boli staff of Manda Elizalde who, at one point, was shown half-naked pretending to be a Tasaday to President Gerald Ford during his visit to the Philippines in 1975. He presented a series of genealogical charts that supposedly show that the Tasaday members were blood relatives of nearby tribal groups. Tanedo also introduced a number of individuals who claim to be actual relatives of the Tasaday.

Tanedo, the charts, the relatives, and others were presented by Salazar in the conference where it devolved into an inquisition-esque cross-examination, being interrogated under bright spotlights and in front of numerous journalists and TV reporters. It was later revealed that the charts and relatives were fabrications by Tanedo as he was doing the whole thing to get a share of the Tasaday lands in exchange for his half-naked performance in front of President Ford.

# Key moments in the 1988 Zagreb Conference:

12th International Congress of Anthropological And Ethnological Sciences

**Unexpected Visitors**

The conference session was intentionally stacked full of hoax proponents so as to “*put the final nail in the coffin*” in the Tasaday as a hoax, thereby excluding the academics who actually conducted fieldwork on the Tasaday. But Manda Elizalde somehow got word of the conference and immediately send his own team unannounced, triggering a wave of paranoia among the conference organizers and attendees.

**Yugoslav Guards Intervention**

Judith Moses (hoax), a producer from the ABC, approached the conference organizers and accused Tony Cervantes (authenticity) of being Manda Elizalde’s hitman trained by the CIA who brought a gun to assassinate the Filipino hoax proponents present such as Salazar and Bailen. This accusation led to a bizarre scene where Yugoslavian security guards intercepted Cervantes and demanded to search his briefcase. But instead of a weapon, they found only research papers, which the security guards nonetheless confiscated.

**Filibuster**

The session began with a nearly hour-long presentation by Gerald Berreman (hoax). Witnesses described him as reading an exhaustively long paper while literally holding up his hand to block anyone from interrupting him. The situation became so tense that an anthropologist finally stood up and publicly challenged Berreman, asking if this was a “filibuster” and if anyone else would be allowed to speak that day.

**Corpse Photograph**

During her presentation, Judith Moses (hoax) passed around a gruesome photograph of a corpse on a slab with its head sewn back on. She claimed the man had been murdered by an associate of Manda Elizalde as part of the cover-up. While the photo was real, critics noted that it didn’t contribute anything on the academic discussion and was instead an attempt to promote shock value to the attendees present.

**Public Shaming**

Judith Moses (hoax) addressed John Nance (authenticity) directly in front of academics and cameras from the BBC, where she delivered a damning indictment:

>*”John, if you did know about the hoax, then shame on you. And if you didn’t know, double shame on you.”*

Moses mocked Nance for what she called a “one-man cartel” making a “cottage industry” of the Tasaday tribe, and suggested that his defense of Manda Elizalde was inexcusable.

Nance, visibly shaken and emotional almost to the point of crying, attempted to defend himself during the few minutes he was allotted in the conference session. This public shaming ruined his professional career as a journalist where major news organizations, including his employer the Associated Press, refused to publish his works.

Segments of these conferences were shown in the BBC Horizon Episode “Trial In The Jungle” and in the PBS Nova Documentary “The Lost Tribe.”

NOTES:

1. The “Manila” Conference was held in the University of the Philippines Diliman in Quezon City, which is technically a different city from Manila. But for the sake of convenience, the conference is referred to as being located in “Manila” since Quezon City is a part of the wider “Metro Manila” area.

Academic drama might be best kind of drama there is