7 most amazing African traditional practices that you need to know

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Africa is an epicentre of many traditional practices that have always attracted tourists from different corners of the world. Some of the practices have survived thousands of years. Despite modernization, some have been almost purely preserved to date. 

This list is composed of 7 amazing African traditional practices and is only made up of a few of the countless fascinations that are practised from the San people of South Africa to the Berbers in North Africa.


1. The Mursi Lip Plate

Mursi people are a tribe in Ethiopia who are widely known for their traditional practice of piercing women (mostly) and placing a plate in the opening. When a girl reaches the age of 15 or 16, an elder woman in the society performs this practice on her, it might be her mother or someone else.

Mursi women with lip plates.

The cut is held open by a smaller plate and replaced by bigger ones until it reaches a considerable size. The girls also have their lower teeth removed for the plates to fit well. The practice is taken as a personal choice, however, most girls opt for it.


2. The Maasai Spitting

Maasai people are today found mainly in Kenya and Northern Tanzania. While in some traditions spitting is considered a negative sign, for the Maasai spitting, it is a symbol of greetings, blessings to someone, saying goodbye to a friend, clinching a bargain or incredibly, wishing someone good luck.

A Maasai mother spitting on a child.

When two friends greet each other, they may spit on their hands first. A newborn child may also have the relatives spit on it as a sign of passing their blessings to the child. Spitting on the child is believed to protect it from evil spirits.

This practice is common to the Agriama people of Kenya, the elders may take some water by the mouth and spit on a younger person to bless them.

3. Wife stealing of the Wodaabe tribe

Wodaabe people in Niger, West Africa, carry out this practice that might have made you curious now. According to their culture, a Wodaabe wedding is planned at infancy between cousins of the same lineage. 

A Gerewol Festival among the Wadaabe.

After puberty, during the Gerewol Festivals, men wear elaborate make-up and costumes to a dance. The courtship dance is intended to attract a girl for marriage. Here, a man may attract a newer bride or at times, someone else's wife.

Among the Wadaabe, male beauty is ideal. At the dance, they will often roll their eyes and bare their teeth to show off their sex appeal. When any of the dancer men attract someone's wife secretly, their marriage is recognized socially.

4. Bull Jumping In Ethiopia

This practise is most common among the pastoral tribes in Ethiopia, notably the Hamar tribe. In Africa, most tribes have practices that young men have to perform certain acts to prove their manhood. 

This event is very important to the boys and their families. A young man would strip naked and jump over 15 castrated bulls that have dung applied on their back to make them slippery. The bulls are always held by their tails and horns, by elder men.

Himba bull jumping ceremony.

In this tough task, if a man passes, he is considered fit to marry and raise a family. To the unlucky men, they have to wait a year for the next initiation ceremony.

5. The Himba Sand-bath

In Namibia, the Himba women start to apply red orche on their skin as soon as they have grown to take care of their hygiene. The tribe considers this unique Otjize (made of fat, butter and red orche) as traditional make-up. 

Himba women applying red orche.

The assumed make-up is applied to the whole body including the hair which is craftily made. While researching for this article, I couldn't ignore the beauty of these women.

6. The Ka'el obesity competition

 This pageantry show is carried out among the Ka'el tribe of Ethiopia. The event takes place mainly in June or July of every year. Months before the show, men of the tribe excessively feed on a mixture of cow milk and blood to gain weight.

The Ka'el obesity competition

On the d-day, every clan will present an unmarried man who will compete for the title of the fattest man in the tribe. It is also a time for courtship. The participants will appear fat with big bellies. After the competition, it is common for them to go back to their normal size in a few weeks.

7. The Luo bridal kidnapping event

Most African cultures carried out planned weddings in which the family chose a possible spouse for their child. Among the Luos in Kenya, the two families will negotiate and reach an agreement on the bride price. 

During the kidnapping, the groom's family will invade the bride's home where they will engage with them and finally take the bride with them. The resistance of the bride's family was to test the courage of the groom.

Luo traditional ceremony.

The bride is also said to be in the knowledge of the kidnapping, however, she would try to resist the kidnap, showing attachment to her father's house. In case she did not approve of the marriage, the bride would show it by climbing a termite mound while crying and watching her village, she would also collect soil, put it in her mouth and spit on his captors.

In conclusion, different African tribes practised different cultures that were relevant to them. It is also evident that most practices have some similarities e.g. the spiting practice of the Maasai and Agiriama. It may also be a common practice in other African cultures. The cultural similarities are said by historians to prove that Africans were at one point one people.

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