Photographer Jimmy Nelson travels the world capturing wild and semi-wild tribes who manage to maintain a traditional way of life in the modern world. Every year it becomes more and more difficult for these peoples, but they do not give up and do not leave the territories of their ancestors, continuing to live the same way as they lived.
Asaro tribe
Location: Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. Taken in 2010. Asaro mudmen ("People from the river Asaro, covered in mud") first encountered the Western world in the mid-20th century. Since time immemorial, these people have smeared themselves with mud and put on masks to instill fear in other villages.
“Individually, they are all very sweet, but with their culture under threat, they are forced to stand up for themselves.” - Jimmy Nelson.
Tribe of Chinese fishermen
Location: Guangxi, China. Taken in 2010. Cormorant fishing is one of the oldest methods of fishing with the help of waterfowl. To prevent them from swallowing their catch, the fishermen tie their necks. Cormorants easily swallow small fish, and bring large ones to their owners.
Masai
Location: Kenya and Tanzania. Taken in 2010. This is one of the most famous African tribes. Young Maasai go through a series of rituals to develop responsibility, become men and warriors, learn how to protect livestock from predators, and keep their families safe. Thanks to the rituals, ceremonies and instructions of the elders, they grow up to be real brave men.
Livestock is central to Maasai culture.
Nenets
Location: Siberia - Yamal. Taken in 2011. The traditional occupation of the Nenets is reindeer herding. They lead a nomadic life, crossing the Yamal Peninsula. For more than a millennium, they survive at temperatures down to minus 50°C. The 1000 km long annual migration route lies across the frozen river Ob.
“If you don’t drink warm blood and don’t eat fresh meat, then you are doomed to die in the tundra.”
Korowai
Location: Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. Taken in 2010. The Korowai are one of the few Papuan tribes that do not wear koteki, a kind of penis sheath. The men of the tribe hide their penises by tightly tying them with leaves along with the scrotum. Korowai are hunter-gatherers who live in tree houses. This nation has strictly distributed rights and duties between men and women. Their number is estimated at about 3,000 people. Until the 1970s, the Korowai were convinced that there were no other peoples in the world.
Yali tribe
Location: Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. Taken in 2010. Yali live in the virgin forests of the highlands and are officially recognized as pygmies, since the height of men is only 150 centimeters. The koteka (penis gourd case) serves as part of the traditional dress. It can be used to determine the belonging of a person to a tribe. Yalis prefer long thin kotekas.
Karo tribe
Location: Ethiopia. Taken in 2011. The Omo Valley, located in Africa's Great Rift Valley, is said to be home to some 200,000 indigenous peoples who have inhabited it for millennia.
Here the tribes from ancient times traded among themselves, offering each other beads, food, cattle and fabrics. Not so long ago, guns and ammunition came into circulation.
Dasanech tribe
Location: Ethiopia. Taken in 2011. This tribe is characterized by the absence of a strictly defined ethnicity. A person of almost any origin can be admitted to dasanech.
Guarani
Location: Argentina and Ecuador. Taken in 2011. For thousands of years, the Amazonian rainforests of Ecuador have been home to the Guarani people. They consider themselves the bravest indigenous group in the Amazon.
Vanuatu tribe
Location: Ra Lava Island (Banks Island Group), Torba Province. Taken in 2011. Many Vanuatu people believe that wealth can be achieved through ceremonies. Dancing is an important part of their culture, which is why many villages have dance floors called nasara.
Ladakhi tribe
Location: India. Taken in 2012. The Ladakhs share the beliefs of their Tibetan neighbours. Tibetan Buddhism, mixed with images of ferocious demons from the pre-Buddhist Bon religion, has been at the heart of Ladakhi beliefs for over a thousand years. The people live in the Indus Valley, are mainly engaged in agriculture, and practice polyandry.
Mursi tribe
Location: Ethiopia. Taken in 2011. "Better to die than to live without killing." Mursi are pastoralists-farmers and successful warriors. Men are distinguished by horseshoe-shaped scars on the body. Women also practice scarification, and also insert a plate into their lower lip.
Rabari tribe
Location: India. Taken in 2012. 1000 years ago, the Rabari tribe was already roaming the deserts and plains that today belong to Western India. The women of this nation devote long hours to embroidery. They also manage the farms and deal with all financial matters, while the men look after the flocks.
Samburu tribe
Location: Kenya and Tanzania. Taken in 2010. The Samburu are a semi-nomadic people who move from place to place every 5-6 weeks to provide pasture for their livestock. They are independent and much more traditional than the Maasai. Equality reigns in samburu society.
mustang tribe
Location: Nepal. Taken in 2011. Most Mustang people still believe that the world is flat. They are very religious. Prayers and holidays are an integral part of their lives. The tribe stands apart as one of the last strongholds of the Tibetan culture that has survived to this day. Until 1991, they did not let any outsiders into their environment.
Maori tribe
Location: New Zealand. Taken in 2011. Maori - adherents of polytheism, worship many gods, goddesses and spirits. They believe that ancestral spirits and supernatural beings are omnipresent and help the tribe through hard times. The Maori myths and legends that originated in ancient times reflected their ideas about the creation of the Universe, the origin of gods and people.
"My tongue is my awakening, my tongue is the window of my soul."
Goroka tribe
Location: Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. Taken in 2011. Life in the highland villages is simple. The residents have plenty of food, friendly families, people honor the wonders of nature. They live by hunting, gathering and growing crops. Internecine clashes are not uncommon here. To intimidate the enemy, the warriors of the Goroka tribe use war paint and decorations.
"Knowledge is just hearsay as long as it's in the muscles."
Huli tribe
Location: Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. Taken in 2010. This indigenous people fight for land, pigs and women. They also put a lot of effort into impressing the enemy. Huli paint their faces with yellow, red and white paint, and are also famous for the tradition of making elegant wigs from their own hair.
Himba tribe
Location: Namibia. Taken in 2011. Each member of the tribe belongs to two clans, one by one's father and one by one's mother. Marriages are arranged for the purpose of expanding wealth. Here, appearance is vital. He talks about the place of a person within the group and about his phase of life. The leader is responsible for the rules of the group.
Kazakh tribe
Location: Mongolia. Taken in 2011. Kazakh nomads are the descendants of the Turkic, Mongolian, Indo-Iranian groups and the Huns, who inhabited the territory of Eurasia from Siberia to the Black Sea.
The ancient art of eagle hunting is one of the traditions that the Kazakhs have managed to preserve to this day. They trust their clan, count on their herds, believe in the pre-Islamic cult of the sky, ancestors, fire, and the supernatural powers of good and evil spirits.
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The main part of the peoples of Africa includes groups consisting of several thousand, and sometimes hundreds of people, but at the same time - does not exceed 10% of the total population of this continent. As a rule, such small ethnic groups are the wildest tribes.
It is to this group that, for example, the Mursi tribe belongs.
Ethiopian tribe Mursi - the most aggressive ethnic group
Ethiopia is the oldest country in the world. It is Ethiopia that is considered the progenitor of mankind, it is here that the remains of our ancestor, modestly named Lucy, were found.
More than 80 ethnic groups live in the country.
Living in southwestern Ethiopia, on the border with Kenya and Sudan, settled in the Mago Park, the Mursi tribe is distinguished by unusually tough customs. They, by right, can be nominated for the title of the most aggressive ethnic group.
Prone to frequent alcohol consumption and uncontrolled use of weapons. In everyday life, the main weapon of the men of the tribe is the Kalashnikov assault rifle, which they buy in Sudan.
In fights, they can often beat each other almost to death, trying to prove their dominance in the tribe.
Scientists attribute this tribe to a mutated Negroid race, with distinctive features in the form of short stature, wide bones and crooked legs, low and strongly compressed foreheads, flattened noses and pumped up short necks.
Mursi female bodies often look flabby and sickly, bellies and breasts drooping, and backs stooped. There is practically no hair, which was often hidden under intricate headdresses of a very fantasy appearance, using as a material everything that can be picked up or caught nearby: rough skins, branches, dried fruits, marsh clams, someone's tails, dead insects, and even an incomprehensible smelly fall.
The most famous feature of the Mursi tribe is the tradition of inserting plates into the lips of girls.
In the more public, in contact with civilization, Mursi, you can not always see all these characteristic attributes, but the exotic look of their lower lip is the calling card of the tribe.
Plates are made of wood or clay in different sizes, the shape can be round or trapezoidal, sometimes with a hole in the middle. For beauty, the plates are covered with a pattern.
The lower lip is cut in childhood, pieces of wood are inserted there, gradually increasing their diameter.
Mursi girls start wearing plates at the age of 20, six months before marriage. The lower lip is pierced and a small disk is inserted into it, after the lip is stretched, the disk is replaced with a larger one and so on until the desired diameter is reached (up to 30 centimeters !!).
The size of the plate matters: the larger the diameter, the more the girl is valued and the more cattle the groom will pay for her. Girls must wear these plates at all times except during bedtime and meals, and they can also take them out if there are no males of the tribe nearby.
When the plate is pulled out, the lip droops like a long round cord. Almost all Mursi have no front teeth, the tongue is cracked to the point of blood.
The second strange and frightening adornment of Mursi women is the monista, which are recruited from human finger phalanges (nek). One person has only 28 of these bones in their hands. Each necklace usually consists of phalanxes of five or six tassels, some lovers of "jewelry" monist wrap their neck in several rows
It glistens with fat and emits a sweetish rotting smell of melted human fat, every bone is rubbed daily. The source for the beads never runs out: the priestess of the tribe is ready to deprive the hands of a man who has violated the laws for almost every offense.
It is customary for this tribe to do scarification (scarring).
Men can afford to be scarred only after the first murder of one of their enemies or ill-wishers. If they kill a man, they adorn the right hand, if a woman, then the left.
Their religion, animism, deserves a longer and more shocking story.
Short: women are priestesses of death so they daily give their husbands drugs and poisons.
Antidotes are distributed by the High Priestess, but sometimes salvation does not come to everyone. In such cases, a white cross is drawn on the widow's plate, and she becomes a very respected member of the tribe, who is not eaten after death, but buried in the trunks of special ritual trees. Honor is given to such priestesses because of the fulfillment of the main mission - the will of the God of Death Yamda, which they were able to fulfill by destroying the physical body and freeing the highest spiritual Essence from their man.
The rest of the dead are waiting for the collective eating of the whole tribe. Soft fabrics are boiled in a cauldron, bones are used for jewelry-amulets and thrown on swamps to mark dangerous places.
What seems very wild for a European, for Mursi is commonplace and tradition.
Bushmen tribe
The African Bushmen are the most ancient representatives of the human race. And this is not an assumption at all, but a scientifically proven fact. Who are these ancient people?
The Bushmen are a group of hunting tribes in South Africa. Now these are the remains of a large ancient African population. Bushmen are notable for their short stature, wide cheekbones, narrow slit eyes and much swollen eyelids. It is difficult to determine the true color of their skin, because in the Kalahari they are not allowed to waste water on washing. But you can see that they are much lighter than their neighbors. Their skin tone is slightly yellowish, which is more typical for South Asians.
Young bushwomen are considered the most beautiful among the female population of Africa.
But as soon as they reach puberty and become mothers, these beauties are simply unrecognizable. Bushmen women have overdeveloped hips and buttocks, and their belly is constantly swollen. This is a consequence of malnutrition.
To distinguish a pregnant Bushwoman from other women of the tribe, she is coated with ash or ocher, since this is very difficult to do in appearance. Bushmen men already by the age of 35 become like octogenarians, due to the fact that their skin sags and the body is covered with deep wrinkles.
Life in the Kalahari is very harsh, but even here there are laws and regulations. The most important wealth in the desert is water. There are old people in the tribe who know how to find water. In the place that they indicate, the representatives of the tribe either dig wells or bring water out with the help of plant stems.
Each Bushman tribe has a secret well, which is carefully filled with stones or covered with sand. During the dry season, the Bushmen dig a hole at the bottom of a dried-up well, take a stem of a plant, suck water through it, taking it into their mouths, and then spit it out into the shell of an ostrich egg.
The South African Bushmen tribe is the only people on Earth whose men have permanent erections. This phenomenon does not cause any discomfort or inconvenience, except for the fact that during foot hunting men have to attach the penis to the belt so as not to cling to it. branches.
Bushmen don't know what private property is. All animals and plants growing on their territory are considered common. Therefore, they hunt both wild animals and farm cows. For this they were very often punished and destroyed by entire tribes. Nobody wants such neighbors.
Among the Bushmen tribes, shamanism is very popular. They do not have leaders, but there are elders and healers who not only cure diseases, but also communicate with spirits. Bushmen are very afraid of the dead, and firmly believe in the afterlife. They pray to the sun, moon, stars. But they do not ask for health or happiness, but for success in hunting.
Bushman tribes speak Khoisan languages which are very difficult for Europeans to pronounce. A characteristic feature of these languages is clicking consonants. The representatives of the tribe speak among themselves very quietly. This is a long-standing habit of hunters - so as not to scare the game.
There is confirmed evidence that even a hundred years ago they were engaged in drawing. Rock paintings depicting people and various animals are still found in the caves: buffaloes, gazelles, birds, ostriches, antelopes, crocodiles.
In their drawings there are also unusual fairy-tale characters: monkey people, eared snakes, people with a crocodile face. There is an entire open-air gallery in the desert that presents these amazing drawings by unknown artists.
But now the Bushmen do not paint, they are great in dance, music, pantomime and legends.
VIDEO: Shamanic ritual rite of healing of the Bushmen tribe. Part 1
Shamanic ritual rite of healing of the Bushmen tribe. Part 2
Surprisingly, there are still the wildest tribes of the Amazon and Africa, who were still able to survive the onset of a ruthless civilization. It is we who are surfing the Internet here, struggling to conquer thermonuclear energy and flying farther and farther into space, and these few remnants of prehistoric times lead the same way of life that was familiar to them and our ancestors a hundred thousand years ago. In order to fully immerse yourself in the atmosphere of wildlife, it’s not enough just to read the article and look at the pictures, you need to go to Africa yourself, for example, by ordering a safari in Tanzania.
The wildest tribes of the Amazon
1. Piraha
The Piraha tribe lives on the banks of the Mayhe River. Approximately 300 natives are engaged in gathering and hunting. This tribe was discovered by the Catholic missionary Daniel Everett. He lived next to them for several years, after which he finally lost faith in God and became an atheist. His first contact with the feast took place in 1977. Trying to convey the word of God to the natives, he began to study their language and quickly achieved success in this. But the more he immersed himself in primitive culture, the more he was surprised.
Piraha have a very strange language: there is no indirect speech, words denoting colors and numerals (everything that is more than two is “a lot” for them). They did not create, as we do, myths about the creation of the world, they do not even have a calendar, but for all this, their intelligence is not weaker than ours. Piraha did not think of private property, they do not have stocks - they immediately eat the caught prey or harvested fruits, so they do not rack their brains over storage and planning for the future. To us, such views seem primitive, however, Everett came to a different conclusion. Living one day and what nature gives, feasts are freed from fears for the future and all sorts of worries with which we burden our souls. Therefore, they are happier than us, so why do they need gods?
2. Sinta larga
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In Brazil, there is a wild Sinta Larga tribe of about 1,500 people. Once it lived in the jungle of rubber plants, but their massive felling led to the fact that Sinta larga switched to a nomadic life. They are engaged in hunting, fishing and collecting gifts of nature. Sinta larga are polygamous - men have several wives. During his life, a man gradually acquires several names that characterize either his qualities or the events that happened to him, there is also a secret name that only his mother and father know.
As soon as the tribe catches all the game near the village, and the depleted land ceases to bear fruit, then it is removed from the place and moves to a new place. During the move, the names of Sinta Largs also change, only the “secret” name remains unchanged. To the misfortune of this small tribe, civilized people found on their lands, occupying 21,000 square meters. km, the richest reserves of gold, diamonds and tin. Of course, they could not just leave these riches in the ground. However, the Sinta Largi turned out to be a warlike tribe, ready to defend themselves. So, in 2004, they killed 29 prospectors on their territory and did not suffer any punishment for this, except that they were driven into a reservation of 2.5 million hectares.
3. Korubo
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Closer to the origins of the Amazon River lives a very warlike tribe of Korubo. They live mainly by hunting and raiding neighboring tribes. Both men and women participate in these raids, and their weapons are clubs and poisoned darts. There is evidence that the tribe sometimes comes to cannibalism.
4. Amondava
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The Amondava tribe living in the jungle has no concept of time, there is no such word even in their language, as well as such concepts as “year”, “month”, etc. Linguists were discouraged by this phenomenon and are trying to understand whether it is not characteristic and other tribes from the Amazon basin. Amondava therefore does not mention ages, and when growing up or changing his status in the tribe, the aborigine simply takes on a new name. Also absent in the language of amondava and turns, which describe the process of the passage of time in spatial terms. For example, we say “before this” (meaning not space, but time), “this incident is left behind”, but in the Amondava language there are no such constructions.
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5. Kayapo
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In Brazil, in the eastern part of the Amazon basin, there is a tributary of the Hengu, on the banks of which the Kayapo tribe lives. This very mysterious tribe of about 3,000 people is engaged in the usual activities for the natives: fishing, hunting and gathering. The Kayapo are great experts in the field of knowledge of the healing properties of plants, they use some of them to heal their fellow tribesmen, and others for witchcraft. Shamans from the Kayapo tribe treat female infertility with herbs and improve potency in men.
However, most of all they interested researchers with their legends, which tell that in the distant past they were led by heavenly wanderers. The first chief of the Kayapo arrived in a kind of cocoon drawn by a whirlwind. Some attributes from modern rituals are consonant with these legends, for example, objects resembling aircraft and space suits. Tradition says that the leader who descended from heaven lived with the tribe for several years, and then returned to heaven.
The wildest African tribes
6. Nuba
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The African Nuba tribe has about 10,000 people. Nuba lands lie on the territory of Sudan. This is a separate community with its own language, which does not come into contact with the outside world, therefore, so far it has been protected from the influence of civilization. This tribe has a very remarkable make-up ritual. The women of the tribe scarify their bodies with intricate patterns, pierce their lower lip and insert quartz crystals into it.
Their marriage ritual associated with annual dances is also interesting. During them, the girls point to the favorites, putting their feet on their shoulders from behind. The happy chosen one does not see the girl's face, but can inhale the smell of her sweat. However, such an “affair” does not at all have to end in a wedding, it is only permission for the groom to sneak secretly from his parents at night into her parents’ house, where she lives. The presence of children is not grounds for recognizing the legality of marriage. A man must live with domestic animals until he builds his own hut. Only then will the couple be able to sleep together legally, but for another year after the housewarming, the spouses cannot eat from the same pot.
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7. Mursi
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For women from the Mursi tribe, an exotic lower lip has become a visiting card. It is cut even in childhood for girls, pieces of wood are inserted into the cut with time of increasing size. Finally, on the wedding day, a debi is inserted into the sagging lip - a plate made of baked clay, the diameter of which can reach up to 30 cm.
Mursi easily become an inveterate drunkard and constantly carry batons or Kalashnikovs with them, which they are not averse to using. When battles for supremacy take place within a tribe, they often end in the death of the losing side. The bodies of Mursi women usually look sickly and flabby, with saggy breasts and stooped backs. They are almost devoid of hair on their heads, hiding this shortcoming with incredibly magnificent headdresses, the material for which can be anything that comes to hand: dried fruits, branches, pieces of rough skin, someone's tails, swamp mollusks, dead insects and other carrion. It is difficult for Europeans to be near the Mursi because of their unbearable smell.
8. Hamer (hamar)
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On the eastern side of the African Omo Valley, the Hamer or Hamar people live, numbering approximately 35,000 - 50,000 people. Along the banks of the river stand their villages, made up of huts with gabled roofs covered with thatch or grass. The entire household is placed inside the hut: a bed, a hearth, a granary and a goat pen. But only two or three wives with children live in the huts, and the head of the family all the time either grazes cattle or protects the tribe's possessions from the raids of other tribes.
Meetings with wives are very rare, and in these rare moments, the conception of children occurs. But even after returning to the family for a short while, the men, having beaten their wives with long rods, are satisfied with this, and go to sleep in pits resembling graves, and even sprinkle themselves with earth to the point of slight asphyxia. Apparently, they like such a semi-conscious state more than intimacy with their wives, and even they, in truth, are not happy with the “caresses” of their husband and prefer to please each other. As soon as a girl develops external sexual characteristics (at about 12 years old), she is considered ready for marriage. On the wedding day, the newly-made husband, having beaten the bride hard with a reed rod (the more scars remain on her body, the more he loves), puts a silver collar around her neck, which she will wear all her life.
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9. Bushmen
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There is a group of tribes in South Africa collectively called the Bushmen. These are people of short stature, broad cheekbones, with a narrow slit of the eyes and swollen eyelids. Their skin color is difficult to determine, since it is not customary in the Kalahari to waste water on washing, but they are definitely lighter than neighboring tribes. Leading a wandering, half-starved life, the Bushmen believe in an afterlife. They have neither a tribal leader nor a shaman, in general there is not even a hint of a social hierarchy. But the elder of the tribe enjoys authority, although he does not have privileges and material advantages.
Bushmen surprise with their cuisine, especially "Bushman rice" - ant larvae. Young Bushwomen are considered the most beautiful in Africa. But as soon as they reach puberty and give birth, their appearance changes dramatically: the buttocks and hips spread sharply, and the stomach remains swollen. All this is not a consequence of dietary nutrition. To distinguish a pregnant Bushwoman from other belly-bellied women, she is coated with ocher or ash. Yes, and the men of the Bushmen at 35 already look like 80-year-old old men - their skin sags everywhere and becomes covered with deep wrinkles.
10. Masai
The Maasai people are slender, tall, they cleverly braid their hair. They differ from other African tribes in their manner of holding on. While most tribes easily come into contact with strangers, the Maasai, who have an innate sense of dignity, keep their distance. But nowadays they have become much more sociable, they even agree to video and photography.
There are about 670,000 Masai, they live in Tanzania and Kenya in East Africa, where they are engaged in cattle breeding. According to their beliefs, the gods entrusted the Maasai with the care and custody of all the cows in the world. Maasai childhood, which is the most carefree period in their lives, ends at the age of 14, culminating in an initiation ritual. And it is in both boys and girls. The initiation of girls comes down to the terrible custom for Europeans of circumcision of the clitoris, but without it they cannot marry and do housework. After such a procedure, they do not feel the pleasure of intimacy, so they will be faithful wives.
After initiation, the boys turn into Morans - young warriors. Their hair is coated with ocher, and covered with a bandage, they give out a sharp spear, and a kind of sword is hung on their belt. In this form, the moran should pass with a proudly raised head for several months.
When it comes to the birth of a child, first of all, an ordinary clinic comes to mind, then a maternity hospital, and so on. But in remote corners of the planet, where life still differs little from what it was a hundred or two hundred years ago, rituals have been preserved that accompany childbirth in natural conditions. The founder of the scientific and creative project Wild Born travels the world and captures the beauty of this purely feminine thing - the sacraments of bearing and giving birth to a child.
(Total 11 photos + 1 video)
“Native American women have a wide traditional knowledge of nature, which contributes to healthy pregnancy and childbirth. The women of the Kosua tribe prepare a hollow with boiled water heated by stones and throw in a collection of cinchona, roots and herbs. Then they sit on top of this recess, allowing the steam to wrap around their body and relieve pain, help them relax and recover from childbirth.
The project participants set themselves the goal of studying the socio-cultural, ecological and economic aspects of the traditions and rituals of natural childbearing among women from various aboriginal tribes that were on the verge of extinction due to the influence of civilization.
The project was founded by photographer Alegra Elli in 2011. She wanted to study and capture the traditional ways and sacred practices associated with pregnancy and childbirth and how they change over time. The photographs taken during the expeditions study the role of ancient knowledge in childbearing, midwives, ecology, local flora and fauna for rituals, pain relief and nutrition.
A girl from the Taut Batu tribe, Palawan (Philippines).
Every seven years, this tribe performs a ritual to purify the world and restore cosmic balance.
In 2011 and 2012, an expedition traveled to Papua New Guinea to find out what it's like to give birth in the jungle. The following year, the activists traveled to Palawan, Philippines. In 2014, they went from pregnancy to childbirth with the Himba tribe in Namibia, and this year they will observe how women in Yamal cope with the birth of children.
These vivid pictures remind us to take care of customs and traditions, try to preserve the richness and diversity of cultures, and that the birth of children is perhaps the most natural and at the same time the most mysterious process that can be observe.
In this video, an experienced midwife from the Himba tribe in Namibia massages the belly of a pregnant woman a few hours before giving birth.
Before the birth of a child.
Himba newborn.
“On the path to becoming a woman. I witnessed several social rites while living among the Himba tribe, including the initiation ceremony of a girl. Having reached puberty, the girl leaves the village until, during the ceremony, she is brought to a new social status. With the support of women from the community, the girl is brought to a special room where she is spiritually protected during her first menstruation. At this time, she receives many gifts, and as soon as she is introduced to the spirit, the change of status becomes official and a traditional leather crown is put on her head as a sign that she can be married. In the photo, the girls are gathered in a small temporary tent, which was built for an initiation ceremony to give them the status of women with the onset of their menstrual cycle. As part of the ceremony and on a regular basis, women burn various roots to obtain a fragrant smoke that is used as a body perfume.
The many-sided Africa, on the vast territory of which in 61 countries with a population of more than a billion people, surrounded by cities of civilized countries, in the secluded corners of this continent, more than 5 million people of almost completely wild African tribes still live.
The members of these tribes do not recognize the achievements of the civilized world and are content with those modest benefits that they inherited from their ancestors. Squalid huts, modest food and a minimum of clothes suit them, and they are not going to change this way.
African b...
There are about 3 thousand different tribes and nationalities in Africa, but it is difficult to name their exact number, since most often they are either densely mixed with each other, or vice versa, radically separated. The population of some tribes is only a few thousand or even hundreds of people, and often only 1-2 villages are inhabited. Because of this, there are dialects and dialects on the territory of the African continent, which are sometimes only understood by representatives of a particular tribe. And the variety of rituals, cultural systems, dances, customs and sacrifices is huge and amazing. In addition, the appearance of the people of some tribes is simply amazing.
However, since they all live on the same continent, all African tribes still have something in common. Some elements of culture are characteristic of all nationalities living in this territory. One of the main defining features of African tribes is the orientation to the past, that is, the cult of the culture and life of their ancestors.
The majority of African peoples reject everything new and modern, withdrawing into themselves. Most of all, they are attached to constancy and immutability, including in everything related to everyday life, traditions and customs, leading their existence from great-grandfathers.
It is hard to imagine, but among them there are practically no those who would not be engaged in subsistence farming or cattle breeding. Hunting, fishing or gathering are completely normal activities for them. Just like many centuries ago, African tribes are at war with each other, marriages are most often concluded within one tribe, intertribal marriages among them are very rare. Of course, more than one generation leads such a life, each new child from birth will have to live the same fate.
Tribes differ from each other in their own unique system of life, customs and rituals, beliefs and prohibitions. Most of the tribes invent their own fashions, often stunningly flamboyant, often astonishing in their originality.
Of the most famous and numerous today, tribes can be considered: Masai, Bantu, Zulu, Samburu and Bushmen.
Masai
One of the most famous African tribes. They live in Kenya and Tanzania. The number of representatives reaches 100 thousand people. Most often they can be found on the side of the mountain, which figures prominently in the mythology of the Maasai. Perhaps the size of this mountain influenced the worldview of the members of the tribe - they consider themselves the favorites of the gods, the highest people and sincerely believe that there are no more beautiful people in Africa than they are.
This self-image gave rise to a contemptuous, often even derogatory attitude towards other tribes, which caused frequent wars between the tribes. In addition, it is customary for the Maasai to steal animals from other tribes, which also does not improve their reputation.
The dwelling of the Maasai is built from branches smeared with manure. This is done mainly by women, who also, if necessary, take on the duties of pack animals. The main share of nutrition is milk or blood of animals, less often - meat. A distinctive sign of beauty in this tribe are elongated earlobes. At present, the tribe is almost completely exterminated or dispersed, only in the remote corners of the country, in Tanzania, there are still separate Masai nomad camps.
Bantu
The Bantu tribe lives in Central, South and East Africa. In truth, the Bantu is not even a tribe, but a whole nation, which includes many peoples, for example, Rwanda, Shono, Konga and others. They all have similar languages and customs, which is why they were united into one big tribe. Most Bantu speakers speak two or more languages, the most commonly spoken of which is Swahili. The number of members of the Bantu people reaches 200 million. According to research scientists, it was the Bantu, along with the Bushmen and Hottentots, who became the progenitors of the South African colored race.
Bantu have a peculiar appearance. They have very dark skin and an amazing hair structure - each hair is curled in a spiral. Wide noses and wings, a low nose bridge and high stature - often over 180 cm - are also hallmarks of Bantu people. Unlike the Maasai, the Bantu do not shy away from civilization and willingly invite tourists to study tours of their villages.
Like any African tribe, a major part of Bantu life is occupied by religion, namely, traditional African animistic beliefs, as well as Islam and Christianity. The Bantu dwelling resembles a Maasai house - the same round shape, with a frame made of branches coated with clay. True, in some areas Bantu houses are rectangular, painted, with gable, shed or flat roofs. The members of the tribe are mainly engaged in agriculture. A distinctive feature of the Bantu can be called an enlarged lower lip into which small discs are inserted.
Zulu
The Zulu people, once the largest ethnic group, now number only 10 million people. The Zulus use their own language - Zulu, which comes from the Bantu family and is the most common in South Africa. In addition, English, Portuguese, Sesotho and other African languages are in circulation among the members of the people.
The Zulu tribe suffered a difficult period during the apartheid era in South Africa, when, being the most numerous people, it was defined as a second-class population.
As for the beliefs of the tribe, most of the Zulus remained true to national beliefs, but there are also Christians among them. The Zulu religion is based on belief in a creator god, superior and separate from the daily routine. Representatives of the tribe believe that you can contact the spirits through the soothsayers. All negative manifestations in the world, including illness or death, are considered as the machinations of evil spirits or the result of evil witchcraft. In the Zulu religion, the main place is occupied by cleanliness, frequent ablutions in the custom of representatives of the people.
Samburu
The Samburu tribe lives in the northern regions of Kenya, on the border of the foothills and the northern desert. About five hundred years ago, the Samburu people settled in this territory and quickly populated the plain. This tribe is distinguished by independence and is much more confident in its elitism than the Masai. The life of the tribe depends on livestock, but, unlike the Maasai, the Samburu raise livestock themselves and roam with them from place to place. Customs and ceremonies occupy a significant place in the life of the tribe and are distinguished by the splendor of colors and forms.
Samburu huts are made of clay and skins, outside the dwelling is surrounded by a thorny fence to protect it from wild animals. Representatives of the tribe carry their houses with them, assembling anew at each parking lot.
It is customary for samburu to divide labor between men and women, this also applies to children. Women's duties include gathering, milking cows and fetching water, as well as arranging firewood, cooking and looking after children. Of course, the general order and stability is in charge of the female half of the tribe. Samburu men are responsible for herding livestock, which is their main livelihood.
The most important detail of the life of the people is childbearing, sterile women are subjected to severe persecution and abuse. Normally, the tribe worships the spirits of their ancestors, as well as witchcraft. The Samburu believe in charms, spells, and rituals for fertility and protection.
Bushmen
The most famous African tribe among Europeans since ancient times is the Bushmen. The name of the tribe consists of the English "bush" - "bush" and "man" - "man", but it is dangerous to call representatives of the tribe this way - it is considered offensive. It is more correct to call them "san", which in the language of the Hottentots means "foreign". Externally, the Bushmen are somewhat different from other African tribes, they have lighter skin and thinner lips. In addition, they are the only ones who eat ant larvae. Their dishes are considered a feature of the national cuisine of this people. The Bushmen's way of life also differs from that generally accepted among savage tribes. Instead of chieftains and sorcerers, the elders choose elders from among the most experienced and respected members of the tribe. Elders lead the life of the people, without using any advantages at the expense of others. It should be noted that the Bushmen also believe in an afterlife, like other African tribes, but they do not have the ancestor cult adopted by other tribes.
Among other things, the San have a rare talent for storytelling, song, and dance. Musical instrument they can make practically them all. For example, there are bows stretched with animal hair or bracelets made from dried insect cocoons with pebbles inside, which are used to beat the rhythm during the dance. Almost everyone who has the opportunity to observe the musical experiments of the Bushmen tries to record them in order to pass them on to future generations. This is all the more relevant because the current century dictates its own rules and many Bushmen have to deviate from centuries-old traditions and go as workers on farms in order to provide for their family and tribe.
This is a very small number of tribes living in Africa. There are so many of them that it would take several volumes to describe them all, but each of them boasts a unique value system and way of life, not to mention rituals, customs and costumes.
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