5 BIZZARE CULTURES YOU DIDN’T KNOW EXIST

Would you try using cow urine to take your bathe, if you were suffering from severe drought situation?

Well, this interesting update I’m about to give you would blow your mind, I’m about to tell you about five rare African cultures and lifestyle you’ve probably not heard of before.

Also, the first tribe you’ll be learning about didn’t use cow urine as a result of drought, but as a result of cultural norm.

It’s fascinating to see humans living apart from the pattern of life we have termed to be normal, so, I’ll Starting off with the one that blew my mind the most.

1. The Mundari Tribe

The Mundari tribe located, along the Nile valley, in the north of Juba, in south Sudan.

The Mundari tribe is an African tribe, whose culture is deeply rooted in Cattle reverence and transfer of culture through songs, dance, and other body expressions.

The young indigenes of the community dwell in the cattle camp, the men take the herd to ranch during the day and regroup them at sunset, the women prepare food for everyone, while the children clean the camp ground by collecting the cow dung and burning it at sunset.

UNIQUE LIFESTYLE: The Mundari tribe have been recognized to be unique, for the following features their tribe possess.

• The V mark cut on the forehead.

In the Mundari tradition, men must undergo an initiation rite, which requires them to live in nature and spend 3 months with an older person, isolated from the community. At the end of the rite, the men are marked with V scar on their forehead signifying the complete passage to adulthood.

• The cattle bride price

A person’s position in the Mundari community is known by the number of cattle, with specific size and shape of the horn. Especially a cattle breed called the Ankole-Watusi, considered to be sacred; it is the value, used to calculate a woman’s bride price. The bride price ranged from an average of 10 cows – 40 per bride.

• The use of ashes and cow urine to maintain personal hygiene.

Ashes are used as natural cleansers to protect both the skin of the people and the cows from insects and sun; they also use the ash as toothpaste.

Cow urine is used to wash faces and hands, drank as a sign of purity, and used to bleach teeth and hair. They also mix the urine with the ashes, to paint their cow horns.

2. The Karo Tribe

The Karo tribe, okay, this is the second unique tribe on my list.

The Karo tribe is located along the banks of the Omo River in Ethiopia, they are also found mostly in Central Equatoria. 

The Karo tribe is known for excessive body painting, which shows the representation of nature.

They are predominantly known for the cultivation of cereal crops, and the practice of flood retreat cultivation.

UNIQUE LIFESTYLE: The Karo tribe have been recognized to be unique, for the following features their tribe possess.

• Excessive use of river mud

The Karo people make gross use of river mud, white chalk, and yellow mineral rock to paint various patterns directly onto their faces and bodies. These paintings are done to mimic nature, using their fingers and sticks to paint patterns of animals and plants.

• Extreme body scarring

Both men and women of the Kaaro tribe, take beauty very seriously, and for them beauty is found in scarification.

The women deeply ingrain cuts on their chests, stomachs, waist and backs to produce patterns; this is done to create an impression of beauty, attraction and maturity.

While, the men create scars on their bodies, but to symbolize courageous acts. Each scar made on the chest signifies the number of triumphs the man has made; this is held in high esteem, in the Karo tribe.

3. The Torajan Tribe

The Torajan tribe is located in the mountains of Sulawesi, Indonesia.

They live in boat shaped massive wooden houses, decorated with buffalo horns, and wood carvings.

UNIQUE LIFESTYLE: The Torajan tribe have been recognized to be unique, for the following features their tribe possess.

• Living with the dead

This is the dominant feature of the Torajan people; they do not view a dead person as completely dead, they consider them as “sleepy or sick people”.

The corpses are kept at home for months, or even years, where they are been fed and spoken to.

Periodically, the Torajan people bring out the bodies of their dead, groom, clean, dress and take photos with them, as a sign of reverence.

Their dead are buried in stone tombs and hanging coffins in caves rather than the normal ground burials.

4. The Dinka Tribe

You probably must have heard about the popular black model, Anokyai, well, welcome to her tribe.

The Dinka tribe is located in the Nile region of South Sudan, they’re close neighbours with the Mundari tribe, which was discussed earlier, and therefore, this makes them to share a similar tradition with them.

UNIQUE LIFESTYLE: The Dinka tribe have been recognized to be unique, for the following features their tribe possess.

• Shocking height & skin tone

The dinka people are very famous for their unbelievable height, and beautiful dark skin tone, with their men ranging to about 6’3 foot tall, and their women at 5’9 foot tall, there are also individuals soaring over 7feets.

• Cattle reverence

They share the same culture of cattle reverence with the Mundari tribe, and acquire a second-cow colour name during their ritual.

Fun fact: If a Dinka couple divorces, the cows given as bride’s price may be returned to the groom.

5. The Bajau Laut Tribe

The Bajau Laut tribe is located in south-eastern Asia. They are nomads who transit between Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines.

They live in wooden houseboats over ocean waters.

UNIQUE LIFESTYLE: The Bajau Laut tribe have been recognized to be unique, for the following features their tribe possess.

Deep connection with water:

The Bajau Laut tribe could go their entire lives without setting foot on soil.

They can hold their breath under deep waters for up to 10 minutes, that’s why they are nick-named, “the real-life aqua men”.

Their generations have been known to free-dive for fish a lot, which is also their major source of feeding.

The world is very beautiful with many places and cultures yet to be explored, trust me, these are just a few of them, but like I said earlier, these lifestyles captured my interest the most.

Which culture mentioned above shocked you the most?

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