4 fascinating African cultures to know

Africa boasts of some of the world’s most fascinating cultures and traditions that dates back to hundred of years. There are a couple of fascinating African cultures that you probably don’t know or might not even have heard of. Here, we share four fascinating African cultures to know.

1) Living With Their Mothers

In the Gio tribe in Ivory Coast, children never live with their fathers. The women of the tribe have their own houses (typically small huts), where they live with their children until the children are old enough to move out.

2) Sons are Raised by Uncles

In the Northern Angolan Songo tribe, when male children reach the age 5 or 6 years, they are sent to live with their uncles on the mother’s side. This is because, in their society, chiefs inherit their titles and positions through matrilineal lines.

3) Preserving Wild Animals

The Massai people of Kenya and Tanzania are averse to killing wild animals. They freely keep cattle and livestock, but wild animals are left untouched. This is largely because they consider these wild animals clan members, and each clan is associated with a specific species which they often keep close to them and treat as a clan member.

4) Beating the Suitor

In the Fulani tribe in West Africa, the custom of beating the suitor is followed as part of the Sharo tradition. The custom is followed when two men are vying for the same woman. To determine the eventual suitor of the woman, the men are asked to compete for the hand of the woman by beating themselves up. The man who is able to take the beating while showing the least or no sign of pain, can take the woman as a wife. The people of the tribe might not practice the tradition as strictly as they once did, but there are still some parts of the tribe that practice it to the letter.

By Damilola Ojo

 

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