Check Out Wierd Traditions Across Africa (Photos)

Weird Traditions Across Africa (Photos)

Some of these strange customs still exist many years after civilization. These ethnic communities practice certain traditions that will shock you.

1. Stealing each other's wives - Niger

Stealing each other's wives - Niger

Men are known to snatch each other's wives in the Wodaabe tribe of Niger in West Africa. The first marriage of the Wodaabe is arranged in infancy by their parents and must be between cousins of the same lineage. Wodaabe guys, however, wear elaborate makeup and costumes and dance at the annual Gerewol Festival to impress the women and possibly steal a new woman.

If a man (especially a current husband who may not want to part from his wife) is able to steal away undetected, then they become socially recognized.

2. Spitting as a form of greeting - Massai tribe

Spitting as a form of greeting - Massai tribe

Found in Kenya and Tanzania, the Massai tribe spit as a way of saying hello. While the Englishman will say hello, a way of greeting is to spit.

Furthermore, when an infant is born, it is the custom of men to spit on the newborn and refer to him as evil. This will shield the baby from evil spirits, they say. Before shaking the hand of an elder, Maasai warriors spit in their mouths as well. The Massai tribe, however, is also renowned for drinking fresh animal blood.

3. Festival of the dead - Malawi

Festival of the dead - Malawi

A Bantu tribe found mostly in Malawi is the Chewa group.

It is customary for the body of the dead to be washed during a tribe member's burial ceremony.

By slitting the throat and pouring water through the insides of the dead, the corpse is taken to a holy place where the cleansing is performed.

The water from the body is drained out until it comes out clean. To cook a meal for the whole household, the water is then collected and used.

4. Bull-jumping in Ethiopia

Bull-jumping in Ethiopia

Young boys in Ethiopia have to undergo some sort of ritual to demonstrate their manhood, which includes a series of events.

To strip naked, run, leap and land on the back of a bull, a young boy has to. Then this is accompanied by running through the backs of several bulls arranged by older men in a straight and tightly knit herd pulled by the tail and horns. Training is referred to as Hamar.

5. Potency test in Uganda

Potency test in Uganda

In the Banyankole tribe, a minority tribe living in Uganda, marriage means quite a burden to the bride’s aunt.

When a couple wants to get married, the aunt has to have sex with the groom as a “potency test” and furthermore, she has to test the bride’s virginity.

6. Beating to earn a wife - Fulani

Beating to earn a wife - Fulani

The Fulani tribes practice Sharo before getting married. Here the groom is beaten by the older members of the community so as to earn a wife and respect. If the man is not strong enough to bear the pain, the wedding is called off.


Other than flogging, the bride's family can pick Koowgal, which is a dowry payment option, or the Kabbal, an Islamic ceremony similar to marriage but in the absence of the bride and groom.

7. Lip stretching - Ethiopia and Sudan

Lip stretching - Ethiopia and Sudan

The people of Surma tribe are found in southern Sudan as well as southwestern Ethiopia. During teenage years, females undergo the lip stretching procedure which involves removing their lower teeth to accommodate a lip plate; the lip plate is increased in size yearly until it is an astounding size.

Some of the men do this similar exercise with their ears. They also indoctrinate their warriors known as ‘stick fighters’ by inflicting scars on them, the belief is that the more scars they have, the more attractive they are to female members of the tribe.