primitive tribes. Wild tribes of Africa Primitive tribes in our time

Surprisingly, there are still the wildest tribes of the Amazon and Africa, who were still able to survive the onset of a ruthless civilization. It is we who are surfing the Internet here, struggling to conquer thermonuclear energy and flying farther and farther into space, and these few remnants of prehistoric times lead the same way of life that was familiar to them and our ancestors a hundred thousand years ago. To fully immerse yourself in the atmosphere wildlife, it’s not enough just to read the article and see the pictures, you need to go to Africa yourself, for example, by ordering a safari in Tanzania.

The wildest tribes of the Amazon

1. Piraha

The Piraha tribe lives on the banks of the Mayhe River. Approximately 300 natives are engaged in gathering and hunting. This tribe was discovered by the Catholic missionary Daniel Everett. He lived next to them for several years, after which he finally lost faith in God and became an atheist. His first contact with the feast took place in 1977. Trying to convey the word of God to the natives, he began to study their language and quickly achieved success in this. But the deeper he sank into primitive culture the more surprised.
The pirate has a very strange language: there is no indirect speech, words denoting colors and numerals (everything that is more than two is “a lot” for them). They did not create, as we do, myths about the creation of the world, they do not even have a calendar, but for all this, their intelligence is not weaker than ours. Piraha did not think of private property, they do not have stocks - they immediately eat the caught prey or harvested fruits, so they do not rack their brains over storage and planning for the future. To us, such views seem primitive, however, Everett came to a different conclusion. Living one day and what nature gives, feasts are freed from fears for the future and all sorts of worries with which we burden our souls. Therefore, they are happier than us, so why do they need gods?

2. Sinta larga

Lives in Brazil wild tribe Sinta larga of about 1500 people. Once it lived in the jungle of rubber plants, but their massive cutting down led to the fact that Sinta larga moved to nomadic life. They are engaged in hunting, fishing and collecting gifts of nature. Sinta larga are polygamous - men have several wives. During his life, a man gradually acquires several names that characterize either his qualities or the events that happened to him, there is also a secret name that only his mother and father know.
As soon as the tribe catches all the game near the village, and the depleted land ceases to bear fruit, then it is removed from the place and moves to a new place. During the move, the names of Sinta Largs also change, only the “secret” name remains unchanged. To the misfortune of this small tribe, civilized people found on their lands, occupying 21,000 square meters. km, the richest reserves of gold, diamonds and tin. Of course, they could not just leave these riches in the ground. However, the Sinta Largi turned out to be a warlike tribe, ready to defend themselves. So, in 2004, they killed 29 miners on their territory and did not suffer any punishment for this, except that they were driven into a reservation of 2.5 million hectares.

3. Korubo

Closer to the origins of the Amazon River lives a very warlike tribe korubo. They live mainly by hunting and raiding neighboring tribes. Both men and women participate in these raids, and their weapons are clubs and poisoned darts. There is evidence that the tribe sometimes comes to cannibalism.

4. Amondava

The Amondava tribe living in the jungle has no concept of time, there is no such word even in their language, as well as such concepts as “year”, “month”, etc. Linguists were discouraged by this phenomenon and are trying to understand whether it is not characteristic and other tribes from the Amazon basin. Amondava therefore does not mention ages, and when growing up or changing his status in the tribe, the aborigine simply takes on a new name. Also absent in the language of amondava and turns, which describe the process of the passage of time in spatial terms. For example, we say “before this” (meaning not space, but time), “this incident is left behind”, but in the Amondava language there are no such constructions.

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5. Kayapo

In Brazil, in the eastern part of the Amazon basin, there is a tributary of the Hengu, on the banks of which the Kayapo tribe lives. This is very mysterious tribe numbering approximately 3,000 people is engaged in the usual activities for the natives: fishing, hunting and gathering. The Kayapo are great experts in the field of knowledge of the healing properties of plants, they use some of them to heal their fellow tribesmen, and others for witchcraft. Shamans from the Kayapo tribe treat female infertility with herbs and improve potency in men.
However, most of all they interested researchers with their legends, which tell that in the distant past they were led by heavenly wanderers. The first chief of the Kayapo arrived in a kind of cocoon drawn by a whirlwind. Some attributes from modern rituals are consonant with these legends, for example, objects resembling aircraft and space suits. Tradition says that the leader who descended from heaven lived with the tribe for several years, and then returned to heaven.

The wildest African tribes

6. Nuba

The African Nuba tribe has about 10,000 people. Nuba lands lie on the territory of Sudan. This is a separate community with its own language, which does not come into contact with outside world, therefore, while protected from the effects of civilization. This tribe has a very remarkable make-up ritual. The women of the tribe scarify their bodies with intricate patterns, pierce lower lip and insert quartz crystals into it.
Their marriage ritual associated with annual dances is also interesting. During them, the girls point to the favorites, putting their feet on their shoulders from behind. The happy chosen one does not see the girl's face, but can inhale the smell of her sweat. However, such an “affair” does not at all have to end in a wedding, it is only permission for the groom to sneak secretly from his parents at night into her parents’ house, where she lives. The presence of children is not grounds for recognizing the legality of marriage. A man must live with domestic animals until he builds his own hut. Only then will the couple be able to sleep together legally, but for another year after the housewarming, the spouses cannot eat from the same pot.

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7. Mursi

Women from the Mursi tribe calling card became an exotic lower lip. It is cut even in childhood for girls, pieces of wood are inserted into the cut over time. bigger size. Finally, on the wedding day, a debi is inserted into the sagging lip - a plate made of baked clay, the diameter of which can reach up to 30 cm.
Mursi easily become an inveterate drunkard and constantly carry batons or Kalashnikovs with them, which they are not averse to using. When battles for supremacy take place within a tribe, they often end in the death of the losing side. The bodies of Mursi women usually look sickly and flabby, with saggy breasts and stooped backs. They are almost devoid of hair on their heads, hiding this shortcoming with incredibly magnificent headdresses, the material for which can be anything that comes to hand: dried fruits, branches, pieces of rough skin, someone's tails, swamp mollusks, dead insects and other carrion. It is difficult for Europeans to be near the Mursi because of their unbearable smell.

8. Hamer (hamar)

On the eastern side of the African Omo Valley, the Hamer or Hamar people live, numbering approximately 35,000 - 50,000 people. Along the banks of the river stand their villages, made up of huts with gabled roofs covered with thatch or grass. The entire household is placed inside the hut: a bed, a hearth, a granary and a goat pen. But only two or three wives with children live in the huts, and the head of the family all the time either grazes cattle or protects the tribe's possessions from the raids of other tribes.
Meetings with wives are very rare, and in these rare moments, the conception of children occurs. But even after returning to the family for a short while, the men, having beaten their wives with long rods, are satisfied with this, and go to sleep in pits resembling graves, and even sprinkle themselves with earth to the point of slight asphyxia. Apparently, they like such a semi-conscious state more than intimacy with their wives, and even they, in truth, are not happy with the “caresses” of their husband and prefer to please each other. As soon as a girl develops external sexual characteristics (at about 12 years old), she is considered ready for marriage. On the wedding day, the newly-made husband, having beaten the bride hard with a reed rod (the more scars remain on her body, the more he loves), puts a silver collar around her neck, which she will wear all her life.

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9. Bushmen

IN South Africa there is a group of tribes collectively called the Bushmen. These are people of short stature, broad cheekbones, with a narrow slit of the eyes and swollen eyelids. Their skin color is difficult to determine, since it is not customary in the Kalahari to waste water on washing, but they are definitely lighter than neighboring tribes. Leading a wandering, half-starved life, the Bushmen believe in an afterlife. They have neither a tribal leader nor a shaman, in general there is not even a hint of a social hierarchy. But the elder of the tribe enjoys authority, although he does not have privileges and material advantages.
Bushmen surprise with their cuisine, especially "Bushman rice" - ant larvae. Young Bushwomen are considered the most beautiful in Africa. But as soon as they reach puberty and give birth, how appearance changes dramatically: the buttocks and hips are spreading sharply, and the stomach remains swollen. All this is not a consequence of dietary nutrition. To distinguish a pregnant Bushwoman from other belly-bellied women, she is coated with ocher or ash. Yes, and the men of the Bushmen at 35 already look like 80-year-old old men - their skin sags everywhere and becomes covered with deep wrinkles.

10. Masai

The Maasai people are slender, tall, they cleverly braid their hair. They differ from other African tribes in their manner of holding on. While most tribes easily come into contact with strangers, the Maasai, who have an innate sense of dignity, keep their distance. But nowadays they have become much more sociable, they even agree to video and photography.
There are about 670,000 Masai, they live in Tanzania and Kenya in East Africa, where they are engaged in cattle breeding. According to their beliefs, the gods entrusted the Maasai with the care and custody of all the cows in the world. Maasai childhood, which is the most carefree period in their lives, ends at the age of 14, culminating in an initiation ritual. And it is in both boys and girls. The initiation of girls comes down to the terrible custom for Europeans of circumcision of the clitoris, but without it they cannot marry and do housework. After such a procedure, they do not feel the pleasure of intimacy, so they will be faithful wives.
After initiation, the boys turn into Morans - young warriors. Their hair is coated with ocher, and covered with a bandage, they give out a sharp spear, and a kind of sword is hung on their belt. In this form, the moran should pass with a proudly raised head for several months.

They don't know what a car, electricity, a hamburger and the United Nations are. They get their food by hunting and fishing, they believe that the gods send rain, they do not know how to write and read. They may die from catching a cold or the flu. They are a godsend for anthropologists and evolutionists, but they are dying out. They are wild tribes that have preserved the way of life of their ancestors and avoid contact with the modern world.

Sometimes the meeting happens by chance, and sometimes scientists are specifically looking for them. For example, on Thursday, May 29, in the Amazon jungle near the Brazilian-Peruvian border, several huts were found surrounded by people with bows who tried to shoot at the plane with the expedition. IN this case experts from the Peruvian Center for Indian Tribes flew around the jungle in search of savage settlements.

Although in Lately scientists rarely describe new tribes: most of them have already been discovered, and there are almost no unexplored places on Earth where they could exist.

Wild tribes inhabit the territory South America, Africa, Australia and Asia. According to rough estimates, there are about a hundred tribes on Earth that do not or rarely come into contact with the outside world. Many of them prefer to avoid interaction with civilization by any means, so it is quite difficult to keep an accurate record of the number of such tribes. On the other hand, tribes that willingly communicate with modern people gradually disappear or lose their identity. Their representatives gradually assimilate our way of life or even go to live "in the big world."

Another obstacle that prevents the full study of tribes is their immune system. "Modern Savages" for a long time developed in isolation from the rest of the world. The most common diseases for most people, such as a runny nose or flu, can be fatal for them. In the body of savages there are no antibodies against many common infections. When the flu virus strikes a person from Paris or Mexico City, his immune system immediately recognizes the "attacker" because it has already met him before. Even if a person has never had the flu, immune cells "trained" for this virus enter his body from his mother. The savage is practically defenseless against the virus. As long as his body can develop an adequate "response", the virus may well kill him.

But recently the tribes have been forced to change their habitual habitats. Development modern man new territories and deforestation where savages live, forcing them to found new settlements. In the event that they are close to the settlements of other tribes, conflicts may arise between their representatives. And again, cross-contamination with diseases typical of each tribe cannot be ruled out. Not all tribes were able to survive when faced with civilization. But some manage to maintain their numbers at a constant level and not succumb to the temptations of the "big world".

Be that as it may, anthropologists have managed to study the way of life of some tribes. Knowledge about their social structure, language, tools, creativity and beliefs helps scientists to better understand how human development went. In fact, each such tribe is a model ancient world, representing possible options for the evolution of culture and thinking of people.

Piraha

In the Brazilian jungle, in the valley of the Meiki River, a tribe of firah lives. There are about two hundred people in the tribe, they exist thanks to hunting and gathering and actively resist the introduction into the "society". Pirahã is distinguished by unique features of the language. First, there are no words for color shades. Secondly, the Pirahã language lacks the grammatical constructions necessary for the formation of indirect speech. Thirdly, Pirahã people do not know the numerals and the words "more", "several", "all" and "each".

One word, but pronounced with different intonation, serves to denote the numbers "one" and "two". It can also mean "about one" and "not very many". Due to the lack of words for numbers, Pirahãs cannot count and cannot solve simple mathematical problems. They are unable to estimate the number of objects if there are more than three. At the same time, there are no signs of a decrease in intelligence in the Piraha. According to linguists and psychologists, their thinking is artificially limited by the peculiarities of the language.

Pirahãs have no creation myths, and a strict taboo forbids them from talking about things that are not part of them. own experience. Despite this, Pirahas are quite sociable and capable of organized activities in small groups.

Sinta larga

The Sinta Larga tribe also lives in Brazil. Once the number of the tribe exceeded five thousand people, but now it has decreased to one and a half thousand. The minimum social unit of the Sinta Larga is the family: a man, several of his wives and their children. They can move freely from one settlement to another, but more often establish their own home. Sinta larga are engaged in hunting, fishing and farming. When the land where their house is located becomes less fertile or game leaves the forests, the sinta larga are removed from their place and look for new plot for home.

Each Sinta Larga has several names. One - "real name" - each member of the tribe keeps a secret, only the closest relatives know it. During the life of the Sinta Larga, they receive several more names depending on their individual characteristics or important events that happened to them. The Sinta Larga society is patriarchal, male polygamy is widespread in it.

Sinta larga have suffered greatly due to contact with the outside world. In the jungle where the tribe lives, many rubber trees grow. Rubber collectors systematically exterminated the Indians, claiming that they interfere with their work. Later, diamond deposits were discovered in the territory where the tribe lived, and several thousand miners from all over the world rushed to develop the land of Sinta Larga, which is illegal. The members of the tribe themselves also tried to mine diamonds. Conflicts often arose between savages and diamond lovers. In 2004, 29 miners were killed by Sinta Larga people. After that, the government allocated $810,000 to the tribe in exchange for a promise to close the mines, allow them to set up police cordons near them, and not engage in stone mining on their own.

Tribes of the Nicobar and Andaman Islands

The group of Nicobar and Andaman Islands is located 1400 kilometers from the coast of India. Six primitive tribes lived in complete isolation on the outlying islands: the great Andamanese, the Onge, the Jarawa, the Shompens, the Sentinelese, and the Negrito. After the devastating 2004 tsunami, many feared that the tribes had disappeared forever. However, later it turned out that most of them, to the great joy of anthropologists, escaped.

The tribes of the Nicobar and Andaman Islands are in the Stone Age in their development. Representatives of one of them - Negrito - are considered the most ancient inhabitants of the planet, preserved to this day. Average height Negrito is about 150 centimeters, and even Marco Polo wrote about them as "cannibals with dog muzzles."

Korubo

Cannibalism is a fairly common practice among primitive tribes. And although most of them prefer to find other sources of food, some have retained this tradition. For example, Korubo living in the western part of the Amazon Valley. The Korubo are an extremely aggressive tribe. Hunting and raiding neighboring settlements are their main means of subsistence. The korubo's weapons are heavy clubs and poison darts. Korubo do not practice religious rites, but they have a widespread practice of killing their own children. Korubo women have equal rights with men.

Cannibals from Papua New Guinea

The most famous cannibals are perhaps the tribes of Papua New Guinea and Borneo. Cannibals of Borneo are cruel and promiscuous: they eat both their enemies and tourists or old people from their tribe. The last surge of cannibalism was noted in Borneo at the end of the past - the beginning of this century. This happened when the Indonesian government tried to colonize some areas of the island.

In New Guinea, especially in its eastern part, cases of cannibalism are observed much less frequently. Of the primitive tribes living there, only three - the Yali, the Vanuatu and the Carafai - still practice cannibalism. The most cruel is the Carafai tribe, while the Yali and Vanuatu eat someone on rare solemn occasions or out of necessity. The Yalis are also famous for their festival of death, when the men and women of the tribe paint themselves in the form of skeletons and try to appease Death. Previously, for fidelity, they killed the shaman, whose brain was eaten by the leader of the tribe.

Emergency ration

The dilemma of primitive tribes is that attempts to study them often lead to their destruction. Anthropologists and travelers alike find it difficult to turn down the prospect of going to stone Age. In addition, the habitat modern people is constantly expanding. primitive tribes managed to carry their way of life through many millennia, however, it seems that in the end the savages will join the list of those who could not stand the meeting with modern man.

Photos from open sources

There are still untouched places on the planet where the way of life is the same as a couple of millennia ago.

Today, there are about a hundred tribes that are hostile to modern society and do not want to let civilization into their lives.

Off the coast of India on one of the Andaman Islands - North Sentinel Island - such a tribe lives.

They were nicknamed the Sentinelese. They fiercely resist all possible contact from the outside.

The first evidence of a tribe inhabiting the North Sentinel Island of the Andaman archipelago refers to XVIII century: sailors, being nearby, left records of strange "primitive" people who do not allow to descend to their land.

With the development of navigation and aviation, the ability to observe the islanders has increased, but all the information known to date has been collected remotely.

Until now, not a single outsider has managed to find himself in the circle of the Sentinelese tribe without losing his life. This non-contact tribe lets a stranger come no closer than a bow shot. They even throw rocks at helicopters flying too low. The last daredevils to try to make their way to the island were poachers in 2006. Their families are still unable to pick up the bodies: the Sentinelese killed the intruders, burying them in shallow graves.

However, interest in this isolated culture is not diminishing: researchers are constantly looking for opportunities to contact and study the Sentinelese. IN different time they were given coconuts, dishes, pigs and other things that could improve their living conditions on a small island. It is known that they liked coconuts, but the representatives of the tribe did not guess that they could be planted, but simply ate all the fruits. The islanders buried the pigs, doing it with honors and without touching their meat.

The experiment with kitchen utensils turned out to be interesting. The Sentinelese accepted the metal utensils favorably, and the plastic ones were divided by color: they threw out the green buckets, and the red ones suited them. There are no explanations for this, just as there are no answers to many other questions. Their language is one of the most unique and completely incomprehensible to anyone on the planet. They lead a hunter-gatherer lifestyle, hunting, fishing, and gathering wild plants for their livelihood, while they have not mastered the agricultural activity in the millennia of their existence.

It is believed that they do not even know how to make a fire: using accidental fires, they then carefully store smoldering logs and coals. Even the exact size of the tribe remains unknown: the numbers vary from 40 to 500 people; such a scatter is also explained by observations only from the side and assumptions that some of the islanders at this moment may be hiding in the thicket.

Even though the Sentinelese don't care about the rest of the world, big land they have protectors. Tribal rights organizations call the people of North Sentinel Island “the most vulnerable society on the planet” and remind that they have no immunity to any common infection in the world. For this reason, their policy of driving away outsiders can be seen as self-defense against certain death.

The many-sided Africa, on the vast territory of which in 61 countries, in the secluded corners of this continent, more than 5 million people of almost completely wild African tribes still live.

The members of these tribes do not recognize the achievements of the civilized world and are content with the benefits that they inherited from their ancestors.

Squalid huts, modest food and a minimum of clothes suit them, and they are not going to change this way.

African tribes

There are about 3 thousand different tribes and nationalities in Africa, but it is difficult to name their exact number, since most often they are either densely mixed with each other, or vice versa, radically separated. The population of some tribes is only a few thousand or even hundreds of people, and often only 1-2 villages are inhabited. Because of this, there are dialects and dialects on the territory of the African continent, which are sometimes only understood by representatives of a particular tribe. A variety of rituals cultural systems, dances, customs and sacrifices is huge and amazing. In addition, the appearance of the people of some tribes is simply amazing.

However, since they all live on the same continent, all African tribes still have something in common. Some elements of culture are characteristic of all nationalities living in this territory. One of the main defining features of African tribes is the orientation to the past, that is, the erection of the culture and life of their ancestors into a cult.

The majority of African peoples reject everything new and modern, and withdraw into themselves. Most strongly they are attached to constancy and immutability, including in everything that concerns Everyday life, traditions and customs, leading their existence from great-grandfathers.

It is hard to imagine, but among them there are practically no those who would not subsistence farming or cattle breeding. Hunting, fishing or gathering are completely normal activities for them. Just like many centuries ago, African tribes they fight among themselves, marriages are most often concluded within one tribe, intertribal marriages among them are very rare. Of course, more than one generation leads such a life, each new child from birth will have to live the same fate.

Tribes differ from each other in their own unique system of life, customs and rituals, beliefs and prohibitions. Most of the tribes invent their own fashions, often stunningly flamboyant, often astonishing in their originality.

Of the most famous and numerous today, tribes can be considered: Masai, Bantu, Zulu, Samburu and Bushmen.

Masai

One of the most famous African tribes. They live in Kenya and Tanzania. The number of representatives reaches 100 thousand people. Most often they can be found on the side of the mountain, which figures prominently in the mythology of the Maasai. Perhaps the size of this mountain influenced the worldview of the members of the tribe - they consider themselves the favorites of the gods, superior people and sincerely sure that there are no people in Africa more beautiful than them.

This self-image gave rise to a contemptuous, often even derogatory attitude towards other tribes, which caused frequent wars between the tribes. In addition, it is customary for the Maasai to steal animals from other tribes, which also does not improve their reputation.

The dwelling of the Maasai is built from branches smeared with manure. This is done mainly by women, who also, if necessary, take on the duties of pack animals. The main share of nutrition is milk or blood of animals, less often - meat. A distinctive sign of beauty in this tribe are elongated earlobes. At present, the tribe is almost completely exterminated or dispersed, only in the remote corners of the country, in Tanzania, there are still separate Masai nomad camps.

Bantu

The Bantu tribe lives in Central, South and East Africa. In truth, the Bantu is not even a tribe, but a whole nation, which includes many peoples, for example, Rwanda, Shono, Konga and others. They all have similar languages ​​and customs, which is why they were united into one big tribe. Most Bantu speakers speak two or more languages, the most commonly spoken of which is Swahili. The number of members of the Bantu people reaches 200 million. According to research scientists, it was the Bantu, along with the Bushmen and Hottentots, who became the progenitors of the South African colored race.

Bantu have a peculiar appearance. They have very dark skin and an amazing hair structure - each hair is curled in a spiral. Wide noses and wings, a low nose bridge, and tall stature—often over 180 cm—are also hallmarks of Bantu people. Unlike the Maasai, the Bantu do not shy away from civilization and willingly invite tourists to study tours of their villages.

Like any African tribe, a major part of Bantu life is occupied by religion, namely, traditional African animistic beliefs, as well as Islam and Christianity. The Bantu dwelling resembles a Maasai house - the same round shape, with a frame of branches covered with clay. True, in some areas Bantu houses are rectangular, painted, with gable, single-pitched or flat roofs. The members of the tribe are mainly engaged in agriculture. hallmark Bantu can be called an enlarged lower lip into which small discs are inserted.

Zulu

The Zulu people, once the largest ethnic group, now number only 10 million people. The Zulus use their own language - Zulu, which comes from the Bantu family and is the most common in South Africa. In addition, English, Portuguese, Sesotho and other African languages ​​​​are in circulation among the members of the people.

The Zulu tribe went through a difficult period during the apartheid era in South Africa, when, as the most numerous people, was defined as the population of the second class.

As for the beliefs of the tribe, most of the Zulus remained true to national beliefs, but there are also Christians among them. The Zulu religion is based on belief in a creator god, superior and separate from the daily routine. Representatives of the tribe believe that you can contact the spirits through the soothsayers. All negative manifestations in the world, including illness or death, are considered as the machinations of evil spirits or the result of evil witchcraft. In the Zulu religion, the main place is occupied by cleanliness, frequent ablutions in the custom of representatives of the people.

Samburu

The Samburu tribe lives in the northern regions of Kenya, on the border of the foothills and the northern desert. About five hundred years ago, the Samburu people settled in this territory and quickly populated the plain. This tribe is distinguished by independence and is much more confident in its elitism than the Masai. The life of the tribe depends on livestock, but, unlike the Maasai, the Samburu raise livestock themselves and roam with them from place to place. Customs and ceremonies occupy a significant place in the life of the tribe and are distinguished by the splendor of colors and forms.

Samburu huts are made of clay and skins, outside the dwelling is surrounded by a thorny fence to protect it from wild animals. Representatives of the tribe carry their houses with them, assembling anew at each parking lot.

It is customary for samburu to divide labor between men and women, this also applies to children. Women's duties include gathering, milking cows and fetching water, as well as arranging firewood, cooking and looking after children. Of course, the general order and stability is in charge of the female half of the tribe. Samburu men are responsible for herding livestock, which is their main livelihood.

most important detail the life of the people is childbearing, sterile women are subjected to severe persecution and bullying. Normally, the tribe worships the spirits of ancestors, as well as witchcraft. The Samburu believe in charms, spells, and rituals for fertility and protection.

Bushmen

The most famous, for a long time, European African tribe is the Bushmen. The name of the tribe consists of the English "bush" - "bush" and "man" - "man", but it is dangerous to call representatives of the tribe this way - it is considered offensive. It is more correct to call them "san", which in the language of the Hottentots means "foreign". Externally, the Bushmen are somewhat different from other African tribes, they have lighter skin and thinner lips. In addition, they are the only ones who eat ant larvae. Their dishes are considered a feature national cuisine this people. The Bushmen's way of life also differs from that generally accepted among savage tribes. Instead of chieftains and sorcerers, the elders choose elders from among the most experienced and respected members of the tribe. Elders lead the life of the people, without using any advantages at the expense of others. It should be noted that the Bushmen also believe in an afterlife, like other African tribes, but they do not have the ancestor cult adopted by other tribes.

Among other things, the San have a rare talent for storytelling, song, and dance. Musical instrument they can do almost anything. For example, there are bows stretched with animal hair or bracelets made from dried insect cocoons with pebbles inside, which are used to beat the rhythm during the dance. Almost everyone who has the opportunity to observe musical experiments Bushmen, try to write them down in order to pass them on to future generations. This is all the more relevant since current century dictates its own rules and many Bushmen have to deviate from centuries-old traditions and go as workers to farms for the sake of family and tribe.

This is a very small number of tribes living in Africa. There are so many of them that it would take several volumes to describe them all, but each of them boasts a unique value system and way of life, not to mention rituals, customs and costumes.

In the modern world on Earth, every year there are fewer and fewer secluded places where the foot of civilization has not set foot. She comes everywhere. And wild tribes are often forced to change the places of their settlements. Those of them that make contact with the civilized world are gradually disappearing. They, libor dissolve in modern society or simply die out.

The thing is, centuries of life in complete isolation did not allow the immune system of these people to develop properly. Their body has not learned to produce antibodies that can resist the most common infections. A common cold can be fatal for them.

Nevertheless, anthropological scientists continue to study, as far as possible, wild tribes. After all, each of them is nothing but a model of the ancient world. Kind, possible variant human evolution.

Piahu Indians

The way of life of wild tribes, in general, fits into the framework of our idea of primitive people. They live mostly in polygamous families. They are engaged in hunting and gathering. But the way of thinking and the language of some of them is able to amaze any civilized imagination.

Once, the famous anthropologist, linguist and preacher Daniel Everett went to the Amazonian tribe of Piraha for scientific and missionary purposes. First of all, he was struck by the language of the Indians. It had only three vowels and seven consonants. They did not have the slightest idea of ​​the only and plural. In their language there were no numerals at all. And why would they need them, if the Piraha did not even have a clue about more and less. It also turned out that the people of this tribe live outside of all time. He was alien to such concepts as the present, past and future. In general, the polyglot Everett had a very difficult time learning the language of Pirahu.

The missionary mission of Everett was in for a big embarrassment. First, the savages asked the preacher if he knew Jesus personally. And when they found out that they had not been, they immediately lost all interest in the Gospel. And when Everett told them that God himself created man, they completely fell into complete bewilderment. This bewilderment could be translated something like this: “What are you? Such a fool is not how people are made?

As a result, after visiting this tribe, the unfortunate Everett, according to him, almost turned from a convinced Christian into a complete one.

Cannibalism still exists

Some wild tribes also have cannibalism. Now cannibalism among savages is not as common as about a hundred years ago, but still cases of eating their own kind are not rare. The most successful in this business are the savages of the island of Borneo, they are famous for their cruelty and promiscuity. These cannibals eat with pleasure, and tourists. Although the last outbreak of kakkibalizma dates back to the beginning of the last century. now this phenomenon among savage tribes is episodic.

But in general, according to scientists, the fate of wild tribes on Earth has already been decided. In just a few decades, they will finally disappear.