In the age of asphalt, concrete and computer technology, we hardly think about the fact that there are entire civilizations developing parallel to ours. They have no idea about phenomena such as economic crisis, but are familiar with the consequences of floods or drought. They do not know how to use calendars, but at the same time they know about the stars and the phases of the moon.
The Amazons, and these are the ones we are talking about, are gradually disappearing under the pressure of civilization, but by some miracle they managed to preserve their original culture. And the most amazing thing is that many small Indian groups have absolutely unique traditions, unlike those of their closest neighbors.
Tribes of the Amazon: small nations with a rich past
Today, in the Amazon delta, the presence of several dozen small wild tribes has been officially registered, living isolated from each other in the most remote corners of the jungle.
Scientists began studying the life of the Amazon tribes not so long ago, but it is already clear that the number of such groups is rapidly declining. For example, the Sinta Larga tribe had more than 5,000 members 100 years ago, but today their number barely reaches 1,500 people.
Another group of Amazon Indians is known throughout the world as the Bora Bora. The history of this tribe also goes back centuries. Despite constant interaction with the civilized world in the person of tourists and scientists, its members continue to strictly observe their traditions and customs.
It is worth noting that almost all tribes, including Bora Bora, are happy to host “white” guests. However, few of the aborigines are seduced by life in cities, preferring dense jungle thickets and endless freedom from the prejudices that are characteristic of modern man.
Daily life in the tribe, aboriginal activities
The wild tribes of the Amazon and Africa are very similar in their way of life in that their daily activities are based on satisfying basic human needs: nutrition and procreation. The main occupation of women in them is gathering, making clothing, household utensils and caring for the younger generation. Men are mainly occupied with hunting, fishing, manufacturing of the simplest tools and weapons.
The wild tribes of the Amazon, despite their isolation from each other, have much in common. For example, many people use bows and poisoned arrows when hunting. Moreover, one tribe uses exclusively one type of weapon. In addition, many groups of Aboriginal people who have never met each other make pottery, beads, and clothing that are similar in shape. Leisure in the tribes of the Amazon is never aimless. Even ordinary dances carry a special ritual meaning.
Customs, beliefs and traditions of the wild tribes of the Amazon
Since scientists made contact with some tribes on the banks of the Amazon, attempts have been made to understand the essence of their faith and find something in common between the beliefs of the tribes. Then it was found out that the wild tribes of the Amazon begin to believe in monotheism with great difficulty, and more often perceive information about Jesus, for example, as a beautiful fairy tale. They understand the world of spirits more clearly, good or evil - it doesn’t matter. Literally every creature and plant is identified with some kind of deity that influences their existence.
Each tribe has its own unique customs: some with the onset of a new period in their life ( puberty, starting a family, having a child, etc.) change their names, others do not even take on everyday work without the “blessing” of the tribal shaman, and still others even eat their own kind. Of course, such a phenomenon as cannibalism is very rare today, since many wild tribes of the Amazon have abandoned it. Today, there is only one that still raids small Aboriginal villages - the Korubo.
Amazonian woman: what is beauty?
Beauty in the concept of Amazonian Indians is not at all what most people imagine civilized people. Almost every tribe has its own distinctive features, which are especially visible in women. Body painting with colored clay is widespread. The colors of the villagers depend on which deposits are located in close proximity to the tribe’s place of residence. While some aborigines paint their bodies with white stripes and curls, others prefer to decorate their bodies with designs in black, red or yellow.
Sometimes the “beauty” of Aboriginal women can cause shock, since in the minds of a particular tribe it consists of an excessively long neck or a clay plate inserted into the cut of the lower lip. Relief tattoos, piercings, complete or partial shaving of the hair on the head, and coating of braided hair with clay are considered a little more acceptable in a civilized society.
Communication between tribes and the outside world
Despite recent isolation and lack of contact with outside world, the aborigines of the Amazon tribes in most cases willingly make contact with tourists. Sometimes this becomes the only way for them to survive, because photographs, presence at a ceremony or consultations with a shaman are well paid.
The ethnic diversity on Earth is amazing in its abundance. People living in different corners planets are at the same time similar to each other, but at the same time very different in their way of life, customs, and language. In this article we will talk about some unusual tribes, about which you will be interested to know.
Piraha Indians - a wild tribe inhabiting the Amazon jungle
The Pirahã Indian tribe lives among the Amazon rain forest, mainly along the banks of the Maici River, in the state of Amazonas, Brazil.
This nation South America known for its language, Pirahã. In fact, Pirahã is one of the rarest languages among the 6,000 spoken languages around the world. The number of native speakers ranges from 250 to 380 people. The language is amazing because:
- does not have numbers, for them there are only two concepts “several” (from 1 to 4 pieces) and “many” (more than 5 pieces),
- verbs do not change either by numbers or by persons,
- there are no names for colors,
— consists of 8 consonants and 3 vowels! Isn't this amazing?
According to linguistic scholars, Piraha men understand rudimentary Portuguese and even speak very limited topics. True, not all male representatives can express their thoughts. Women, on the other hand, have little understanding of the Portuguese language and do not use it at all to communicate. However, the Pirahã language has several loanwords from other languages, mainly Portuguese, such as "cup" and "business".
Speaking of business, the Piraha Indians trade Brazil nuts and provide sexual services in order to buy consumables and tools, for example, machetes, milk powder, sugar, whiskey. Chastity is not a cultural value for them.
There are several more interesting moments associated with this nation:
- Pirahã have no compulsion. They don't tell other people what to do. There seems to be no social hierarchy at all, no formal leader.
- This Indian tribe has no idea of \u200b\u200bdeities and God. However, they believe in spirits, which sometimes take the form of jaguars, trees, or people.
— it feels like the Pirahã tribe are people who don’t sleep. They can take a nap of 15 minutes or at most two hours throughout the day and night. They rarely sleep through the night.
The Wadoma tribe is an African tribe of people with two toes.
The Vadoma tribe lives in the Zambezi River valley in northern Zimbabwe. They are known for the fact that some members of the tribe suffer from ectrodactyly, three middle toes are missing from their feet, and the outer two are turned inward. As a result, members of the tribe are called “two-fingered” and “ostrich-footed”. Their huge two-toed feet are the result of a single mutation on chromosome number seven. However, in the tribe such people are not considered inferior. The reason for the common occurrence of ectrodactyly in the Vadoma tribe is isolation and the prohibition of marriage outside the tribe.
Life and life of the Korowai tribe in Indonesia
The Korowai tribe, also called the Kolufo, live in the southeast of the autonomous Indonesian province of Papua and consist of approximately 3,000 people. Perhaps before 1970 they did not know about the existence of other people besides themselves.
Most Korowai clans live in their isolated territory in tree houses, which are located at an altitude of 35-40 meters. In this way, they protect themselves from floods, predators, and arson by rival clans who take people, especially women and children, into slavery. In 1980, some of the Korowai moved to settlements in open areas.
Korowai have excellent hunting and fishing skills, and are engaged in gardening and gathering. They practice slash-and-burn agriculture, when the forest is first burned and then crops are planted in this place.
As far as religion is concerned, the Korowai universe is filled with spirits. The most honorable place is given to the spirits of ancestors. In times of need, they sacrifice domestic pigs to them.
It seems to us that we are all literate, smart people, we enjoy all the benefits of civilization. And it’s hard to imagine that there are still tribes on our planet that are not far removed from the Stone Age.
Tribes of Papua New Guinea and Barneo. People still live here according to the rules adopted 5 thousand years ago: men go naked, and women cut off their fingers. There are only three tribes that still engage in cannibalism, these are the Yali, Vanuatu and Karafai. . These tribes take great pleasure in eating both their enemies and tourists, as well as their own elderly and deceased relatives.
In the highlands of the Congo there lives a tribe of pygmies. They call themselves Mong. The amazing thing is that they have cold blood, like reptiles. And in cold weather they were capable of falling into suspended animation, like lizards.
On the banks of the Amazonian River Meiki lives a small (300 individuals) Piraha tribe.
The inhabitants of this tribe have no time. They have no calendars, no clocks, no past and no tomorrow. They have no leaders, they decide everything together. There is no concept of “mine” or “yours”, everything is common: husbands, wives, children. Their language is very simple, only 3 vowels and 8 consonants, there is also no counting, they cannot even count to 3.
Sapadi tribe (Ostrich tribe).
They have an amazing property: they have only two toes on their feet, and both are big! This disease (but can this unusual foot structure be called that?) is called claw syndrome and is caused, according to doctors, by incest. It is possible that it is caused by some unknown virus.
Cinta larga. They live in the Amazon Valley (Brazil).
The family (husband with several wives and children) usually have their own house, which is abandoned when the land in the village becomes less fertile and game leaves the forests. Then they move away and look for a new site for a home. When the Sinta Larga move, they change their names, but each member of the tribe keeps their “true” name a secret (only their mother and father know it). Sinta Larga have always been famous for their aggressiveness. They are constantly at war both with neighboring tribes and with “outsiders” - white settlers. Fighting and killing are an integral part of their traditional way of life.
The Corubo live in the western part of the Amazon Valley.
In this tribe, it is literally survival of the fittest. If a child is born with any defect, or falls ill with a contagious disease, he is simply killed. They know neither bows nor spears. They are armed with clubs and blowpipes that shoot poisoned arrows. Korubo are spontaneous, like small children. As soon as you smile at them, they start laughing. If they notice fear on your face, they begin to look around warily. This is almost a primitive tribe, which has not been touched by civilization at all. But it is impossible to feel calm in their environment, since they can become furious at any moment.
There are approximately 100 more tribes that do not know how to read and write, do not know what television or cars are, and moreover, they also practice cannibalism. They film them from the air, and then mark these places on the map. Not in order to study or enlighten them, but in order not to let anyone near them. Contact with them is not advisable not only because of their aggressiveness, but also for the reasons that wild tribes may not have immunity from the diseases of modern humans.
Mursi tribe. This is one of the most aggressive tribes in Africa. For little girls, their lower lip is cut and a round wooden plate is inserted there. As the child ages, the plate changes to a larger one.
A man from one of the friendliest Ethiopian tribes, Hamer, Africa.
Hamer woman.
On the website beauty-world.ru you can admire large number works made not only by professional artists, but also by simply amateurs of their craft. Pencil drawings always attract attention, sometimes they fascinate so much that the hand itself reaches for a pencil or brush to try to reproduce something similar.
Girls of the Hamer tribe, located in Africa, drink an alcoholic drink in the morning that tastes like beer and dance in circles. The heat and alcohol put them into a kind of trance.
Residents of the Karo tribe are engaged in animal husbandry, they are considered the best masters on body painting, as well as preparation for dances and holidays.
Photo of representatives of the Bena tribe, whose traditions have not yet been fully studied.
Men of the Hamer tribe go to graze cattle in the morning, armed with spears. Africa.
The Mursi are one of the most aggressive tribes in Ethiopia, whose men carry sticks and beat to death those who encroach on their leadership.
The people of the Karo tribe love a strict geometric style - they draw stripes, circles, and spirals on the body. They use natural materials for painting: chalk, iron ore, ocher deposits, coal.
African tribe Karo is the smallest (about a thousand people).
A woman from the Surma tribe, which is located in the southwestern part of Ethiopia. These tribes are fenced off from the rest of the world by inaccessible mountains.
Hamer woman.
Photo of a woman from the Surma tribe with a child.
The tribes of Ethiopia mainly speak Amharic and Oromo languages.
An Ethiopian tribal woman smokes a pipe.
A child from the Surma tribe, whose population lives by raising cattle.
Men and women of the Surma tribe shave their heads to be beautiful, and children decorate each other with designs.
Unlike the children of other peoples of Ethiopia, the children of the Hamer, Karo and Benna tribes do not ask for money.
The Ethiopian Hamer tribe is interested in communicating with tourists who come to photograph them, touch and look at the white man.
Cattle breeding is well developed in this African tribe. The number of livestock measures the well-being of a family. In the Hamer language there are about thirty words for various shades color and texture of livestock skin.
Women from the Hamer tribe.
Distinctive features Hamer representatives have high cheekbones. They decorate themselves with beads, leather and thick copper necklaces around their necks.
Each tribe in the valley is unique, with its own customs and beliefs.
The Hamer people number approximately 35-50 thousand people; they inhabit the eastern part of the lowland Omo Valley.
The Hamer are Sunni Muslims. They believe that natural objects have a soul, and also believe in spirits that are able to take the form of a person or animal.
Representatives of the Arbore, a people belonging to the Afro-Asian linguistic group, live in one of the villages. There are about five thousand of them.
The Hamer tribe has a very interesting ritual - “running on the backs of bulls”, which men who have reached adulthood undergo before getting married. They must run four times along the backs of bulls standing in a row. A Hamer man performs the ritual naked, symbolizing the childhood he is about to leave behind. Cows do not always stand still, so it is important not only to run, but also not to fall, losing your balance. After successful completion According to the ritual, the young man is classified as a “maza”. If he falls, he will train and undergo this ritual in a year.
The Arbore differ from other nationalities in that they wear numerous multi-colored beads. During ritual dances, they sing, believing that this relieves them of accumulated negative energy.
Before marriage, a tribal girl must be a virgin.
Representatives of the Hamer tribe have neither surnames nor passports.
A girl gets married at the age of 12.
A Hamer man has two or three wives and many children.
Typically, an African tribal village consists of several dozen round huts standing on stilts with conical roofs. Their frame is knitted from poles, and the top is covered with a thick layer of dried grass and straw.
The inside of the hut is divided into a living area, a granary and a goat pen. The master's bed is made of stones, covered with a layer of clay and straw, and covered with many goat skins on top.
African women They braid their hair into a certain number of dreadlocks and smear them with ocher (for beauty and protection from insects).
A woman from one of the Ethiopian tribes drinks water.
The western and southwestern regions of the country are inhabited by various races: Afar, Agau, Oromo, Sidamo, Somali, Kafa, Beja, etc. And if you consider that each race includes up to a dozen different tribes speaking their own dialects, then different languages in Ethiopia it will be more than 200.
Almost every man from the African Suri tribe has a Kalashnikov assault rifle, which is always ready to shoot.
Not every man can have a wife, not everyone can afford marriage. The groom negotiates with the bride's father about the amount of the ransom. A wife costs 8-10 cows - for Ethiopia this is a fortune.
After the groom has paid the ransom to the bride's family, he builds her his own new house, no matter what kind of wife she is. There she brings her dowry (clothes, several bags of grain, a dozen chickens and other small things necessary for arranging a new home). The husband himself does not have his own separate house; he leads a semi-nomadic lifestyle, living alternately in the houses of his wives, which he builds either close to each other or in one large fenced yard.
If suddenly the wife dies soon after marriage, then the husband has the right to return his ransom back. If the bride’s family has another daughter who has reached marriageable age, then the widower receives her in return for the deceased. Widows do not remarry.
Among the African tribes Surma and Mursi, the labial disc traditionally plays an important role social role. The larger its diameter, the higher the girl’s authority and the greater demand she is as a bride.
Women take out the discs during meals or before bed, but do not leave them outside the home or in public. African women Surma and Mursi often exchange these jewelry among themselves (except those given by their husbands).
Hamer (Africa) woman with a pipe.
A Karo chief who participated in numerous raids and battles.
The African tribe Daasanach, whose people have become Orthodox Christians since 1983.
The population of Hamer often goes hungry - droughts lead to crop failure. Africa.
When a member of the Bodi tribe dies, his body is guarded for three days, after which he is eaten by his fellow tribesmen as a sign of respect. Africa.
Chief Hamer. The scars on the skin show the number of enemies he has defeated in battle.
The exact number of African peoples is unknown, and ranges from five hundred to seven thousand. This is explained by the vagueness of the separation criteria, under which residents of two neighboring villages can consider themselves to be different nationalities without having any special differences. Scientists are inclined to the figure of 1-2 thousand to determine ethnic communities.
The bulk of the peoples of Africa include groups consisting of several thousand and sometimes hundreds of people, but at the same time they do not exceed 10% of the total population of this continent. As a rule, such small ethnic groups are the most savage tribes. The Mursi tribe, for example, belongs to this group.
Tribal Journeys Ep 05 The Mursi:
Living in southwestern Ethiopia, on the border with Kenya and Sudan, settled in Mago Park, the Mursi tribe is distinguished by unusually strict customs. They can rightfully be nominated for the title: the most aggressive ethnic group.
They are prone to frequent alcohol consumption and uncontrolled use of weapons (everyone constantly carries Kalashnikov assault rifles or fighting sticks with them). In fights, they can often beat each other almost to the point of near-death state, trying to prove his 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 tightly compressed foreheads, flattened noses and inflated short necks.
The more public Mursi who come into contact with civilization may not always have all these characteristic attributes, but the exotic appearance of their lower lip is business card tribe.
The lower lip is cut in childhood, pieces of wood are inserted there, gradually increasing their diameter, and on the wedding day a “plate” of baked clay is inserted into it - debi (up to 30 centimeters!!). If a Mursi girl does not make such a hole in her lip, then they will give a very small ransom for her.
When the plate is pulled out, the lip hangs down in a long, round rope. Almost all Mursi have no front teeth, and their tongue is cracked and bleeding.
The second strange and terrifying decoration of Mursi women is the monista, which is made from human phalanges of fingers (nek). One person has only 28 of these bones in his hands. Each necklace costs its victims five or six tassels; for some lovers of “costume jewelry,” the monista wraps around the neck in several rows, glistening greasyly and emitting a sweetish, rotting smell of melted human fat, which is rubbed on every bone every day. The source for beads never runs low: the priestess of the tribe is ready to deprive the hands of a man who has broken the laws for almost every offense.
It is customary for this tribe to do scarification (scarring). Men can afford scarring only after the first murder of one of their enemies or ill-wishers.
Their religion, animism, deserves a longer and more shocking story.
Briefly: women are Priestesses of Death, so they give their husbands drugs and poisons every day. The High Priestess distributes antidotes, but sometimes salvation does not come to everyone. In such cases, the widow is drawn on the plate white cross, and she becomes a very respected member of the tribe, who is not eaten after death, but is buried in the trunks of special ritual trees. Honor is due to such priestesses due to 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 will be collectively eaten by the entire tribe. Soft tissues are boiled in a cauldron, bones are used for amulets and thrown in swamps to mark dangerous places.
What seems very wild for a European is commonplace and tradition for the Mursi.
Film: Shocking Africa. 18++ The exact name of the film is Nude Magic / Magia Nuda (Mondo Magic) 1975.
Film: In Search of Tribes of Hunters E02 Hunting in the Kalahari. San tribe.