Some tribal traditions are a mystery and a
fascination for most of the modern world. Here are 7 fascinating traditions;
1) Kidnapping your bride: In the Sudanese Latuka tribe, when a man wants to marry a woman, he kidnaps her. Elderly members
of his family go and ask the girl’s father for her
hand in marriage, and if dad agrees, he beats the suitor as a sign of his acceptance of the union. If the father disagrees, however, the man might forcefully marry the woman anyway.
2) Putting a price on the bride:
Lobola is an ancient and controversial Southern
African tradition in which the families of a bride
and groom negotiate how much the groom must pay for the bride. All negotiations must be done in writing — never by phone or in person. The two families cannot even speak until negotiations are complete.
3) Spitting your blessings:
Members of the Maasai tribe in Kenya and
Tanzania spit as a way of blessing. Men spit on
newborns and say they are bad in the belief that if they praise a baby, it will be cursed. Maasai
warriors will also spit in their hands before shaking the hand of an elder.
4) The groom wears a veil:
The Ahaggaren Tuaregs of Algeria are part of a
larger group of Berber-speaking Tuaregs. In their culture, the men wear veils almost all the time. However, they can take their veils off when inside family camps or while traveling.
5) Women have their own houses:
In the Gio tribe in Ivory Coast, each wife has her
own small house that she lives in with her children until they are old enough to move out. The children never live with their fathers.
6) Living with animals:
The Maasai people of Kenya and Tanzania have
strict policies against killing wild animals. They keep cattle and livestock, but leave wild animals
untouched. In fact, each clan is associated with a specific wild species, which they often keep close to them and treat as a clan member.
7) Beating the suitor:
The Fulani tribe live in many countries in West
Africa and follow a tradition called Sharo. Sharo
happens when two young men want to marry the same woman. To compete for her hand, they beat one another up. The men must suppress signs of pain and the one who takes the beating without showing signs of pain can take the wife.
Source: afkinsider.com/35797/16-fascinating-african-tribal-traditions/15/
