Fiqh
Ahlul Sunnah
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When you think of the native people of Southeast Asia, you know, the ones who actually call the region's lush rainforests home, it's rather difficult to imagine what would set them apart from the general urban population.
Aside from their way of life, customs, and traditions, there isn't much to physically distinguish them from regular folk.
But there's an Indonesian tribe on the island of Buton, whose people have one distinct feature that sets them apart – blue eyes.
Meet the Buton Tribe. After recent photos of the tribe, taken by geologist and photographer Korchnoi Pasaribu, went viral on social media, many have been wondering how it's even possible for this one group of people to have natural blue eyes, especially considering the fact that most Asians have brown eyes.
It turns out that the tribe developed these piercing blue eyes as a result of a rare genetic disorder called Waardenburg syndrome.
According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, Waardenburg syndrome is a group of genetic conditions that can cause hearing loss, and changes in pigmentation of the hair, skin, and eyes.
But before you start thinking that every single person in the Buton tribe has blue eyes, think again. According to a Facebook post by Discover ASEAN, the Butonese people mostly have normal brown eyes, but a small sub-group have developed blue eyes.
Here are some more blue-eyed Butonese people for you to admire in awe.
[Source]