TOP 10 WEIRDEST TRIBES RITUALS

IN THE WORLD
Tribes are group of people in this world who are relatively bound by kinship relations, reciprocal
exchange, and strong ties to place. It is an oldest and aboriginal society in the history of
mankind. These are group of people, who have maintained traditions long left behind by the rest
of the world, and normally they don’t like the interference of outsiders. They have their own way
of living and usually independent and self-reliant. Many of their traditions, practices and
customs are unique, and being preserved and pass on to future generations. That being said,
there are still some tribes whose traditions are exclusively theirs. Here are handfuls of them.

The Surma Tribe Of Ethiopia

In south western Ethiopia, where the Omo River snakes through the lush, green forests,
disappearing tribes live in their timeless grass huts.

The Surma people, made up of the Suri tribe, Mursi tribe and Mekan tribe, are traditionally
known for their impressive lip plates, a sign of beauty and status for the women. In this remote
Ethiopian tribe, members undergo extremely painful rituals, including lip plates, scarification
and dangerous stick fighting.

In a bizarre ritual, once a girl reaches a certain age, her lower incisors are
knocked out and her bottom lip is pierced and stretched until it can hold the
clay plate, which is considered as a sign of beauty. To have the discs inserted,
their bottom two teeth are removed before the hole is cut, the clay discs is
then inserted into the hole, which is steadily increased, stretching the lip.
Having a bigger lip plate, the more cattle the woman is worth, this is important when the women
are ready to get married.

Women also perform scarification by slicing their skin with a razor

blade after lifting it with a thorn. After the skin is sliced, the piece of
skin left over will eventually scar. It is believed that it gives pride to
themselves on how many scars they carry. They used their skin as a
surface on which they can express themselves artistically, adorning
and decorating themselves suggestively. Using their skin as an art,
emphasizes their confidence and existence as an individual in their
society.

On the other hand, battles usually take place between men in the tribe,
providing an opportunity to attract a partner. The ‘Donga’- or stick fight-
has traditionally been a way men impress women and find a wife. Stick
fight is a combination of martial art, ritual and sport and usually fight
with little or no clothing. The fights aim to get young men used to
bloodshed, and the violent clashes sometimes result in death.

However, this tribe exists on the margins of the Ethiopian state and for
the last 20 years their traditional lives have been in disarray.

The arrival of guns has created an increasingly volatile, unregulated situation in a very unstable
region.

The Zo’é Tribe

In the Amazon rainforests of north Brazil, there is an isolated tribe living, the Zo’é tribe. The
Zo’é live in large rectangular thatched houses which are open on all sides. Here several families
live together, sleeping in hammocks slung from the rafters and cooking over open fires along the
sides.

Both men and women may have more than one partner. It is justly common for a woman with
several daughters to marry several men, some of whom may later marry one of her daughters.
Rituals mark many aspects of Zo’é life such as birth and death, girls’ first menstruation, the first
tapir hunted by adolescent boys and the remarkably lip plug.

One of the most significant rituals, and a rite of passage for

children, is the piercing of the lower lip. From a young age,
around 7 to 9 years, all Zo’é wear the ‘m’berpot’- the long wooden
plug inserted to the lower lip. A sharp bone from a spider
monkey’s leg is used, and a tiny ‘m’berpot’ is inserted. As they
grow older, larger plugs are inserted.

Another greatest collective ceremony of the tribe is called

Seh’py, named after the naturally fermented drink served
during the ritual, which is made from any tuber in season
at the time. Men dress in long fiber skirts called ‘sy’pi’.
Men and women dance together all night in a series of
unique dances accompanied by singing. At dawn, men
finish the drink and expel it by vomiting together.

The Zo’é themselves are curious, and expressed their

desire to learn and understand the world beyond their
frontiers.

The Apatani Tribe

Bounded by blue rolling hills and topographically excise from the rest of the populated areas of
region, Ziro Valley presents an example of how co-existence of man and nature has been
perfected over the centuries by the Apatani civilization.

Apatani’s preserved different myths and traditions, which

throw welcome light on all aspects of their life including
their origin and migration. This tribe is among the few
tribes in the world who continue to worship nature. It is
their relation to nature that regulates their cultural
practices. The traditional customs and practices of the
Apatanis are crucial for maintaining sustainable system
that exists today.

Since times long passed, women of Apatani Tribe, in

India’s Apatani plateau are famous for the bizarre nose
plugs. This traditional Apatani nose plugs are worn by
most elder women. Apatani women have always been
considered the most beautiful among the Arunachal
tribes, their villagers were constantly raided by
neighboring tribes, and women kidnapped. To stop
their beautiful women being abducted by neighboring
tribes, they make themselves unattractive. Apatani
women began wearing these hideous nose plugs and
tattooing their faces with a horizontal line from the forehead to the tip of the nose, and five lines
on their chins.

However, Apatani woman who are born after 1970, hasn’t been practicing wearing nose plug,
and as time passes, this custom will eventually soon be forgotten.

The Yali Tribe

In an isolated and inaccessible area of Jayawiijaya Mountains east of Baliem Valley, a major
tribal group is living, the Yali tribe.The tribe is usually divided into two sub-groups: the
Highland Yalis and the Lowland Yalis. Both are less affected by outside influences due to their
isolation from the modern world and considered as one of the indigenous communities living in
the Papuan region for centuries.

The Yali people are identified as “pygmies” because of

their awfully low heights, ranging from 140 to 150 cm. It is
also one of the rarest tribes where some members of which
still eat the flesh of human beings. Though this practice
has declined, yet still their enemies fear them because of
this dangerous custom. Nowadays they eat flesh but not of
humans. The Yali people live in huts made up palm leaves.

What is interesting about Yalis, is the way they cloth. There is a great similarity between the
clothes of the both Yali sub-tribes. People of both tribes wear sheaths around the male genitals
for protection. Men in Highland Yalis wear Rattan skirts along with Kotekas (also known as
penis sheath or penis gourd that is normally made from dried-out gourd and can be straight or
rounded in structure) around their body to cover their genitals. While women wear shorter skirt
which covers only the female genitals and the breast is left bare. When a girl reaches four years
of age, she is asked to wear clothes which consist of only one layer. A layer is added after each
successive four years and thus when the number of layers becomes four it means the girl has
reached the age of marriage. On the other hand, men in the Lowland Yalis wear only Kotekas or
penis sheath. The women wear a single layer of grass clothes which are much longer and almost
cover the whole body.

The hallmark of the tribe is its isolation from the outside and modern ways of life. They are
preserving their culture and any outside influence is highly discouraged.
The Dinka Tribe

One of the largest ethnic groups in the republic of Sudan is the Dinka tribe. They belong to the
group of cultures known as Nilotic peoples, all of whom thrive in the southern Sudan. Linguists
classify Dinka as a major language family in the Nilotic category of African languages. Their
religion may be regarded as monotheistic (believing in one diety). Nhialic (creator) is thought to
be the source of all life and death.

Along with the Tutsi tribe and Rwanda, Dinka is the

tallest tribe in the world, with an average height of
approximately 5 ft 11.9 in. Men in tribe have to endure
a scarification process marking their metamorphosis
from boy to a man. Using a sharp object, a local
sorcerer carves three scars in shape of V onto their
forehead. Those who scream or wince during the
scarring are considered to be weak. The men then take
up the name of their favorite cattle or its attributes.
Men could also have about fifty to hundred wives, particularly among those belonging to the
upper strata of the society wherein their wealth is measured in terms of the number of cattle.
Preferring minimal clothing, the Dinka men mostly go around naked while the women dress in
goatskin skirts.

One of the hallmark traditions of the Dinka is the funeral of their spiritual leader that was
celebrated on a grand scale with the latter buried alive. When he was on the verge of dying the
other tribal members would place him on the grave and dance until he breathed his last.
Nevertheless this ritual was barred by the British colonialists; it is still practiced at present in
fewer numbers.
The Yanomami Tribe

In the remote forest of the Orinoco river basin in southern Venezuela and the northernmost
reaches of the Amazon River basin in northern Brazil, there is a vast indigenous tribe known as
Yanomami inhabiting the rainforests and mountains. This tribe has special customs that they
follow. They live in this big hut like houses with no roof in the middle that can hold up to 400
people. This hut like houses is called Yano. Literacy is not a part of their lives. Instead the
children learn some survival tips like how to use a bow and arrow and how to hunt for food so
that when they get older they can provide for their families. Like the other tribes, Yanomami
wear little to no clothing. They don’t have marriage ceremonies because of illiteracy, they don’t
believe in marriage. A man can be with as many wives as he wants. A girl can be promised to a
boy as young as 5 0r 6.

One of the astonishing and said to be one

of the most terrible traditions of this tribe
is the practice of traditional Death Ritual
of Endocannibalism. They do not believe
that death is a natural occurrence of life,
instead they believe that a rival tribe’s
shaman sent an evil spirit to strike
someone in the tribe. To get rid of the dead
body, cremation ensues. The Yanomami
view cremations as liberating in
comparison with burials for their loved
ones because decomposition would be a slow, tedious process. The ritual does not yet ends here,
the bones that are being cremated and were collected as ashes are mixed together with a soup
made from fermented bananas and must consumed everyone in the community. However, an
exception to finishing the consumption of ashes in one sitting is permitted in the case where
enemies killed Yanomami men. Rather the entire community consuming the ashes, only the
women must do it on the night that a revenged raid is planned. The ashes of these men killed by
enemies may linger around for years until the tribe believes that their deaths have been
rightfully avenged so that the late loved one can make the peaceful transition to the spiritual
world.
Some of the members of Yanomami tribe nowadays welcomed the modern civilization. There are
Yanomami teachers that are being trained to teach reading, writing and maths in their
communities. Others have been trained as health agents by Urihi, a healthcare NGO.

The Huli Wigmen

One of the most attractive, original and fascinating clans of Tari Highlands in Papua New
Guinea is the Huli Wigmen Tribe. The Huli people are best known on their unique and colorful
traditional body decoration and make colorful wigs from their own hair.

The Huli wigmen are among the traditions of a culture with a deep and spiritual approach to
masculinity. It is where people still live in a very primitive manner and wears their traditional
dresses on daily basis. Body decoration is the Huli Wigmen’s most popular means of expression.
Both men and women spend most of their time beautifying their bodies. The style in which they
wear this facial paint is that they place little daubs of red or yellow paint at the corners of eyes,
over the eyelids or under the eyes, and on the tip of the nose.

Males have a complex wardrobe that consists of

many elements such as earrings, neck bands, and a
pig teeth necklace that is worn on the back of the
neck. In the Huli culture, women wear long grass
skirts and sometimes they are dyed black. They wear
less body decoration than men. Instead of wearing
earrings and wigs they wear a kina shell breast plate
and neck beads. In Huli society the men and women
live separately because the men believe that the
women are a harmful influence and a ‘source of
danger’.
 Most imperative of all is the exquisite and intricately designed
wigs made by men in tribe. The wig making process is an
extremely important process for the males of the Huli. They
enter a school for bachelors for a period of between roughly 18
months to 3 years where they receive instruction on the
biological and ritual processes of masculinization. Special magic
and a restricted diet help build a boy into a man and make his
hair grow strong and fast. Under the guidance of cult expert, it’s
advisable to sprinkle with holy water on hair three times a day,
to keep the hair soft. Boys also have to sleep on a special neck
rest with wooden bar that can be raised as the volume of the wig
increases. Once complete, it is cut away and then stitched to a
light wooden frame before being decorated with shells, superb
bird feathers and other items. Some of the wigs are used every
day while others are reserved for special occasions.

The Kayan Tribe

In the rugged landscape of North West province of Mae Hong Son in Thailand, Kayan tribe is
well known in the area for their distinctive look and age old tradition. It includes the belief that
the Kayan people are the result of a union between a female dragon and a male human/angel
hybrid.

Women of the Kayan tribes identify themselves by

their forms of dress. They are remarkably known
for wearing neck rings, brass coils that are placed
around the neck, appearing to lengthen it. This
gave the people their unflattering nickname the
‘long necks’ or ‘giraffe women’. Girls first start to
wear rings when they are around 5 years old. Over
the years, the coil is replaced by a longer one and
more turns are added which depresses their
shoulders and therefore gives the impression that
their neck is longer and stretched.

The origin of the tradition mystifies even the Kayans. An ancient legend claims rings protected
villagers from tiger attacks, since the tigers attack victims at the neck. Another theory said the
rings helped ward off men from rival tribes by lessening the women’s beauty. Today, people
believe the opposite; the longer their neck, the more beautiful the woman.

The Sentinelese Tribe

An indigenous tribe of North Sentinel Island in the Andaman Islands of India who have rejected
attempts for them to be integrated into other societies is the Sentinelese tribe. They have live
there virtually untouched by modern civilization for thousands of years. A number of attempts
were made to make contact with the islanders in the 1970s and 1990, almost all of which were
met hostility and arrows being fired. It is then illegal to go within five kilometers of the island.

From what can be seen from a distance, the Sentinelese

islanders are clearly extremely healthy and thriving. They
hunt and gather in the forest, and fish in the coastal waters to
survive. It is thought that the Sentinelese live in three small
bands. They have two different houses; large communal huts
with several hearths for a number of families, and more
temporary shelters, with no sides, which can sometimes be

seen on the beach, with space for one nuclear family.

As been described, the women wear fiber strings tied around their waist, necks
and heads. The men also wear necklaces and headbands, but with a thicker
waist belts with spears, bows and arrows.

During the 1970s to 1996, the Indian authorities made occasional trips to
North Sentinel in an attempt to befriend the tribe. Nonetheless the Sentinelese
resumed their hostility to the contact missions. After the tsunami in 2004,
officials made two visits to check, from a distance, that the tribe seemed
healthy and were not suffering in any way. They then declared that no further attempts would
make to contact the Sentinelese.

The Kaningara Tribe

In a secluded jungle area of the island of Papua New Guinea is where the Kaningara people from
Kaningara tribe are living. Coming from an African descent, many of their customs mirror those
of African traditions. One of these extremely important practices, which mark the transition
from boyhood to manhood, is the tradition of scarification. In the largest river, the Sepik, is
where the most intricate, yet bloody body modifications can be found. The initiation rituals are
held in the “Spirit House” which is believed to be the most sacred and private and strictly
forbidden to women. According to the Kaningara people, if a woman enters the Spirit House she
must be killed, that is how sacred it is.

Scarification which is made up of approximately 450 razor cuts,

starting from the chest, shows the importance of a coming of
age ritual that is extraordinary for some. Boys have to endure
physical pain and bleed out their “birth blood” and to fill them
with the power of the crocodile spirit, to be seen as men in the
community. Kaningara celebrate and revere crocodiles, which
serve as a pretext to the initiation ceremony for young men –
skin mutilation to make them look more reptilian and to
emphasize their adulthood.

Prior to the ritual, the men have to spend several months in seclusion in the Spirit House and
are not allowed to look or speak to women. Besides that, they cannot smoke, chew betel, and eat
fruit and vegetables- only fish, sago and occasional banana are allowed. It is believed that if any
of these taboos are broken, the initiate-to-be will soon die.

In this day and age, the initiation is no longer enforced- besides that the ritual itself is very
expensive and many families cannot afford it. Instead, young men are encouraged to leave the
village, seek education and embrace modernization.