African culture is so diverse that explorers and scientists are still finding new things about different tribes. The diversity lies in different cultures and beliefs of many African tribes. While they do have a similar lifestyle when it comes to food, homeland and religion, there are many cultural rituals that differ from one tribe to another. Some of these traditions are weird for tourists and explorers, but very normal to tribe members. Exactly these weird rituals are the theme we would like to discuss here and give you some examples.
Proving manhood
One very odd tradition among Sharo people is the ritual of proving manhood. Young men who are ready to start own family, take a beating from older members of the tribe to earn respect and “win” a wife. The most disturbing thing is that they need to sustain pain and if they fail, the wedding will be called off. Unbelievably, many young boys die during this ritual.
Similar by purpose is another ceremony called Khweta. In order to gain status of grown men, boys are left in circumcision lodges during cold winters. Here they face trials of pain endurance and suffer in agony performing exhausting dances and other activities. The Khweta ritual is also known for its innocent casualties that cannot survive these tests.
Chewa culture
Chewa people also have many rituals. However, one is very interesting and disturbing at the same time. When a tribe member dies, a body is taken to a sacred place where other members cut throat of the deceased open. After that, they clean the corpse by pouring water inside the dead body and squeez the stomach until water comes out clean. But wait, here’s the most interesting part – later they use that same water to cook a meal for the whole tribe.
Lobola
Lobola is a name for a marriage negotiation ritual between two families. It has very strict unwritten rules that must be respected. This tradition requires negotiation on price between families so that the marriage is allowed. Although it seems that this is a way of getting easy money, Africans say that Lobola is more than that. They say that Lobola is sort of a test to determine how well the two families appreciate the sacred meaning of marriage and if they can find mutual understanding.
