The black continent has always attracted the attention of travelers. The most unique customs, unusual rituals, strange religions and beliefs are concentrated here, and therefore the traditions of Africa are a significant incentive to book flights to distant lands. This continent is inhabited by various nationalities and tribes, whose representatives speak dozens of languages and dialects. Arabs and Zulus, Tuaregs and Bantu, Bedouins and Mursi - Africa is diverse and heterogeneous, but some of the habits of its inhabitants can be found in different parts of the continent.
Sorcerers and shamans
According to African tradition, spirit servants are the main people in any tribe. Both leaders and commoners listen to them, they ask for advice, they come to them for medicine and blessings, without their knowledge they do not play a wedding and do not bury the deceased.
European civilization brought its own religion to the black continent, which quite successfully took root in a new place. However, the old shamanic traditions of Africa have not disappeared anywhere, but only assimilated with new religious trends, and now the local culture is a strange combination in which people of different faiths jointly celebrate holidays and pray to the gods.
Dances, masks and tattoos
All these attributes of African life are nothing more than an attempt to hide from evil spirits and become closer to the positive gods.
- Ritual dances according to the good old tradition of Africa are performed collectively and serve as a way to appease the heavenly forces before going to battle and work. With the help of the dance, the locals make it rain, fight the locust hordes, discuss hunting plans and bless the new harvest.
- Tattoos are designed to hide the body from evil spirits and be marked for good gods. In many tribes, male body signs in the form of scars serve as a way to demonstrate the skill of a hunter or warrior. Different tribes, according to the tradition of Africa, have their own technique for applying scars and drawings on the body and individual tattoo themes. Be that as it may, on the black continent, a tattoo is a common thing and is not a sign of the criminal past of its owner.
- Masks, skillfully carved from wood, can be an excellent souvenir from Africa or a way to isolate everyone from the same ubiquitous evil spirits. They are made and carefully decorated, and the likelihood of preserving the life of its owner directly depends on the degree of richness of the mask design. According to local beliefs, of course.
