Wodaabe, Gerewol

At the end of the rainy season near Lake Chad, northern Niger, Wodaabe people come

together for Cure Salee, the “Festival of Nomads.” At the center of celebrations is

Gerewol, a male beauty contest and courtship ritual. Young men -- traditionally herdsmen

-- wear full makeup, jewelry and their finest clothes and stand in line to await inspection

by female onlookers. White teeth and white eyes are highly prized, so participants will

grin broadly and pull all manner of expressions in the hope of attracting attention. It’s

flirtation en masse,* in the hope of winning a night of passion with one of the judges.

*en masse: in a group; all together

Mursi, lip plates

Circular lip plates called dhebi a tugion are worn by some Mursi women near Jinka in

Ethiopia’s Omo Valley. They are one of the few tribes that continue the practice in East

Africa, but archaeologists have discovered lip plates in the region stretching back 30,000

years, says anthropologists Dr. Jerome Lewis of University College London. “It’s a body

modification that people find beautiful,” he says. “It’s also very striking and a distinctive

way of marking your difference from other people around you.”

The bottom lip is pierced with a wooden peg inserted, which is replaced with larger pegs

thereafter. Once the hole is big enough the first of a succession of ornamental ceramic

saucers are inserted, stretching it over a period of years -- one example from the

neighboring Surma tribe measured 19.5cm wide.

Himba, otjize

Women of the semi-nomadic Himba tribe in northern Namibia are famous for their

reddish hair and complexion. It’s the result of otjize, a paste of butter, fat, and red

ocher*, applied daily to their hair and skin. It was once speculated that the otjize served

as a form of sun protection and to ward off insects, however the women say it’s purely

for aesthetic reasons -- which makes sense, given that Himba men don’t take part in the

practice.

*ocher: an earthy pigment containing ferric oxide, typically with clay, varying from light

yellow to brown or red

Hamar, bull jumping

Herdsmen become hurdlers in the Omo Valley, Ethiopia. Young men of the Hamar tribe,

one of many in the valley, prove their manhood by jumping on prize bulls and then

running across their backs -- all while naked. The purpose? It’s a coming of age ceremony,

and only when the participant has traversed the bull run four times will he be allowed to

marry. Slip and you risk a hard fall: “Because it’s a manhood initiation ritual. [failure] is

likely to affect the perception of someone’s manhood and that of course can have all

sorts of dire consequence,” adds Dr. Lewis.

Xhosa, Ulwaluko

In Eastern Cape, South Africa, young Xhosa men take part in a coming of age initiation

called Ulwaluko. The youths, known as abakhwetha are first circumcised without

anesthetic, before being sent away from their village and into the bush, with minimal

supplies and wrapped in a blanket. Wearing white clay on their faces, initiates will fend

for themselves for up to two months, living in a structure built by the village’s adult

community for Ulwaluko. Upon their return they are no longer referred to as “boy” and

receive a new blanket. The initiation has not been without its criticisms, due to

complications and malpractice surrounding the circumcision process.

Chewa, Nyau brotherhood

The Nyau brotherhood is a secretive society who can channel spirits and perform a ritual

dance called Gule Wamkulu (The Great Dance) around harvest and at weddings and

funerals. The masks and costumes of the Nyau represent the spirits of animals, called

‘nyama,’ and of their ancestors, called ‘mozimu.’ Many locals are afraid of the Nyau and

consider them dangerous. One type of Nyau, known as Nyau ‘kampini’ or ‘dangerous

Nyau,’ (pictured) walk around with machetes and have a reputations for attacking

people. The Nyau brotherhood keep both their rituals and their identity a closely-guarded

secret. During a ritual, the dancers will rotate so no one can tell their identity.

Maasai, spitting

Spittle is an essential part of life for the Maasai of East Africa, as it acts as a blessing.

“People have different views about where the power and essence of somebody resides,”

explains Lewis. For some, “spit represents and essence of you as a person.”

To spit is “a way of blessing people by giving something of yourself; your own power to

someone else.” It starts at an early age, when newborn babies are spat on to wish them a

good life. “If you leave a place, elders will come and spit on your head in order to bless

your departure, and that whatever you do you’re safe and kept well,” adds Lewis.

San, healing danceThe San of South Africa, Botswana, Angola and Namibia are, according to some

researchers, the world’s oldest people. Their hunter-gatherer culture stretches back tens

of thousands of years, and integral to it is the trance dance, also known as the healing

dance. Historically and all-night affair, the practice brings the whole community together,

led by healers and elders dancing around a fire, chanting and breathing deeply until they

induce a trance state. It offers the change to commune with ancestral spirits of the

departed and for healers, cure sickness within other dancers.

Lewis says that this tradition is under threat: “In some places in southern Africa the san

now perform their traditional culture exclusively for tourists, because they’ve been

forced out of all their territories as hunter-gatherers by conservationist organizations.

This means that by extension...these performances are not the original initiations but a

facsimile* of them.*Facsimile: an exact copy, especially of written or printed material

Bantu-speaking tribes, lobola

A feature of marital affairs for manu Bantu-speaking tribes in South Africa, Zimbabwe and

Swaziland, lobola is practiced by Zulus. Lobola is also referred to as “bridalwealth,” with

the prospective groom’s family negotiating with the bride’s for her hand in marriage. The

dowry comes in many forms, including money, but some choose cattle.

“It’s the cause of much conflict,” says Lewis, “because in order for a man to get married

he must provide often quite a substantial head of cattle, and so he’s in indentured labor

to his father until the herd he’s caring for is big enough.” In societies that are cattle

based, men tend to marry in their mid-forties, he adds, explaining that “there’s always a

backlog of women who are available but unable to marry” because men of a similar age

have not yet raised the required bridalwealth.

Tuareg, tangelmust

Tuaregs are the only tribal communities in which men wear veils instead of women. The

tangelmust, a wrapped headdress up to eight meters in length, is ubiquitous among the

“blue men of the desert.” The name does not allude to the muslin* headdress, dyed with

indigo, but rather because the dye gradually leeches out into the skin of the wearer.

Tuaregs use the tangelmust for practical reasons: it protects from the sun and sand, but

men still wear them at night, and even during meals. Men cover their faces with

tangelmust in front of strangers and women, while women are free to show their face.

*Muslin: lightweight cotton cloth in a plain weave

Bodu, Ka’el obesity pageant

Every June or July in the Omo Valley, Ethiopia, the Ka’el -- the Bodi lunar new year -- takes

place. With it comes an extraordinary show of pageantry. In the months before the event

men live in isolation and drink to excess a mixture of cow milk and cow blood for months

in order to become vastly bloated and overweight. Each clan will then present an

unmarried male to compete for the title of fattest man -- and with the glory, the greater

chance of finding a wife. With stomachs swollen, balance and fatigue can be an issue, but

once the event it over, contestants return to their normal size in a matter of weeks.

Dassanech, recycled jewelry

“It’s important to remember that tradition doesn’t mean ‘the same’,” says Lewis,

“cultures will adapt and add elements all the time.” A perfect example of this is the

Dassanech tribe, another group found in Ethiopia’s Omo Valley on the border with Kenya.

Rubbish of all manner, but particularly bottle tops, have begun to be recycled by

dassanech women, who weave the metal caps into vibrant jangly headdresses. Other

women have adapted broken watched and trinkets for similar purposes -- and a sure fire

way of getting yourself noticed.