Traditions of South Africa
It is not for nothing that Cape Town is considered one of the most beautiful cities on the planet, and the local landscapes surprise even the most seasoned tourists with an extraordinary combination of simplicity and grandeur. The south of the black continent becomes annually the subject of desire of thousands of travelers who decided to get acquainted with the culture and traditions of South Africa and the customs of the peoples inhabiting it..
From Adam himself
The indigenous South African tribes are considered the most ancient on earth. They are direct descendants of the biblical Adam, and their ancestors appeared on the territory of modern South Africa at least 75 thousand years ago. Scientists have studied the genotype of representatives of the Bantu tribes inhabiting this part of Africa, and confirmed their amazing guesses.
Numerous shamans and healers serve as keepers of the traditions of South Africa and its peoples, and their faith is based on the worship of the higher forces of nature and the male deity, which gives the right to life to people, plants and animals..
The Bushmen have a number of rituals and traditions that you can get acquainted with during a tour in South Africa:
- The men of the tribe are skilled hunters using poison-tipped bows and arrows. The poison is obtained from the larvae of a special type of beetle. The second way to get game is to lure it into traps woven by their animal sinews..
- Bushmen women are engaged in gathering. They find fruits and berries, roots and ant larvae. Special dishes are prepared from them, and fried locusts are considered the main delicacy of the Bushmen, according to the tradition of South Africa..
- The clothes of the inhabitants of the tribe are made from the skins of animals, which are hunted by hunters. These are mainly loincloths and capes.
- Since ancient times, the Bushmen have been drawing. Their rock carvings in the Drakensberg Mountains are an important historical monument..
Family values
The indigenous people of South Africa have many traditions and rituals associated with marriage, the birth and upbringing of children, the burial of the dead or the celebration of special dates. Polygamy is officially allowed here, but not every man can afford a second or third wife, because he will have to pay a large ransom to her family..
Representatives of the stronger sex, upon reaching the age of 14, undergo a special ceremony called initiation into a man. Traditionally, South African boys are left in the wild and have to find their own food in order to survive. Then the young man awaits circumcision and several symbolic rituals, which then allow him to be considered an adult. Having passed the rite of passage, young people get the right to marry.
