Meet the 10 strangest tribes in the world. Amazing!
1. The Dogon tribe
We begin this tour of the strangest tribes in the world with the Dogon, who live in the Mali region, west of Africa. Among the rarities that define this social group is their unusual ability to climb the most risky cliffs. They do this to obtain bat or pigeon guano, which they sell as fertilizer., and also to acquire Telem objects that are sold to art collectors. This tribe is made up of about 400,000 members, although lately unrest and poor harvest times have made their lives more difficult and life expectancy shorter. Their traditional masks also stand out, which they use in festivities and accompany them with impressively colored accessories.
2. The Nenets tribe
Another of the strangest tribes in the world are the Nenets. This is a group of almost 50 thousand nomads originating from Siberia (Russia) who are characterized by being tremendously resistant. Thousands of reindeer are moved along 1,100 kilometers for migratory reasons, in an area whose temperatures are below 50 degrees. Amazing! The Nenets also respect the land and the resources it offers them, to the point that their faith is based on this principle. On the other hand, they also have shamans who connect directly with their deities. These are called tadibya.
3. Himba Shepherds
And between the tribes with strange customs The Himba Shepherds stand out well. It is a semi-nomadic tribe whose members live scattered throughout northwest Namibia and southern Angola. They are also known as the most beautiful town on the African continent. They usually live in structures built with dung and mud. Among them, wealth is measured by livestock. In fact, goat is the centerpiece of their entire diet. The women wear their hair in complicated and surprising hairstyles and usually cover their bodies with a reddish ointment made of butter, ocher and herbs. They are a people who resist the change that «contaminates» them from everywhere and try to maintain their ancestral lifestyle.
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4. The Bayaka tribe
The next among the strangest tribes in the world that we want to tell you about are the Bayaka. They are a pygmy tribe from the Central African Republic that worships ‘Jengi’ or forest spirit. Their culture is fascinating, as their community has extensive knowledge of herbal medicine and uses very particular traditions for hunting. They are also known for their dances and music.
5. The Huli Wigmen Tribe
The Huli Wigmen are one of the most amazing tribes in the world, living in Papua New Guinea and It draws special attention for its way of dressing and adorning its skin. They make their hats with their own hair and they also sell it. They also use yellow paint to cover their faces, carry an ax with claws, an apron made of leaves and a belt made of braids. Following their tradition, they perform a dance that imitates the birds that can be found on the island. They are also called yellow warriors.
6. The Mursi and Surma tribes
The Mursi and the Surma join the strangest tribes in the world due to a peculiar custom that they have in common, and that is that their women carry a plate on their lip. The Mursi are from Ethiopia and the Surma live in areas of Ethiopia and Sudan. Women from both communities usually apply these pumpkin or clay disks in their mouths., while men do the same but on their earlobes.
Of course, lip plates are considered a sign of beauty in these tribes, despite the pain they involve. If a Mursi or Surma woman refuses to wear it, she risks being rejected and spending her life away from her family and without the possibility of marrying a man from her tribe. The plate is installed on the lips of young girls when they reach approximately 15 years of age. By going through this painful ritual, four lower teeth are extracted. The objective of this intervention is to make the plate hold more easily.
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7. The Kayan Tribe
Padaung is the word used to refer to the Kayan Lahwi, the tribe that stands out because its women wear golden rings, like necklaces, around their necks, lengthening it in an extraordinary way. ANDThis tribe lives in Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, although some of its members have emigrated to other countries. But whatWhat do these rings mean? Wearing them, women demonstrate their beauty. How many more golden rings increases this consideration, and its wealth. The idea is that they remind us of dragons, a creature highly praised in Burmese culture that is considered protective against evils such as epidemics and other misfortunes. Does it cost to wear these rings? To give you an idea, sometimes their total weight exceeds ten kilos.
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8. The Maasai tribe
The Maasai are one of the rarest tribes in the world, and one of the most popular. They inhabit territories of Kenya and Tanzania and They are basically ranchers and monotheists, dedicating their faith to a God who gave them the pastures and all the flocks of the world, these being sacred. In its culture, livestock is extremely important, as it demonstrates its wealth. In this patriarchal society, even how many women the owner will have will depend on him and it will be used as punishment, sacrificing him, if he performs punishable acts such as rape.
In this tribe the rituals are extremely important. Among them, the dance called adamu stands out., which allows us to enjoy those scenes that you may have seen of the young Masaai jumping higher and higher, while the rest of the community sings and shouts, encouraging them. Also, in some communities they practice other rituals that are less accepted due to their danger and violation of human rights, such as excision.
9. The Asaro Tribe
The Asaro of Papua New Guinea They are also known as “the Clay Men” and stand out among the strangest tribes in the world for their macabre-looking clay masks. It is not clear where this curious tradition that leads them to cover their skin with mud, leaving it white, and wear these sinister masks comes from, but there is a legend that tries to clarify its origin.
Legend says that for a wedding celebration all attendees were asked to come dressed in the traditional way. One of them did not have time to find clothes, so he decided to cover his body with mud and create a kind of mask with holes so he could see. When he showed up at the wedding, instead of arousing the interest of those who had attended, everyone fled in terror thinking he was a ghost. This gave an idea to the man who decided that being disguised in this way would give them a war advantage. Thus they used this strategy to confront a neighboring tribe with whom they had been in conflict for years and won. In this way, their “mud men” appearance became tradition.
10. The Chimbu Tribe
And we close this fascinating cultural tour of the strangest tribes in the world with the Chimbu of Papua New Guinea, known as the “skeleton warriors.” This community lives in the mountainous area of Papua New Guinea and is still a mystery to the West. Think that it has not yet passed a hundred years since its existence was discovered in 1934. The tradition of painting their bodies as skeletons has its origin, like apparently the appearance of the “mud men”, in the desire to intimidate enemies. However, today it has become a festive and musical ritual that involves nearby clans coming together to participate in it.
The name “Chimbu” comes from “Simbu” which is what the natives said in their language when they saw the first Western men and women they encountered. This word means “pleasant surprise.” Something very kind, especially coming from a town that paints its body in a sinister way, right?
And you, Did you know the strangest tribes in the world? Do you know of any others that you would like to integrate into our article? Leave us your opinions in a comment. We will be looking forward to reading you! And if this topic catches your attention, don’t miss the article in which we tell you about the Korowai tribe, the last indigenous people to practice cannibalism.