Top 10 Strangest Traditions of African tribes

Africa has always been one of those continents that have grabbed the attention of the entire world by practising numerous fascinating traditions. It is home to over 1000 different rich cultures and traditions that are still bring practised by different tribes. These practices are both fascinating as well as scary. Some African tribal practices are still a mystery but all of these traditions have always been a source of attraction for the entire world. Many tribal communities are living their lives without all the facilities the rest of the world enjoy but they are so connected to their traditions that they do not feel the need of those luxuries. Here is a list of some astonishing practices of the African tribes.

Kidnapping your bride

It is one of the most practised tradition in the Sudanese Latuka tribe. When a man of this tribe wishes to marry a woman, he kidnaps her while the elderly people of the family go and ask the father of the woman for her hand in marriage. If the dad agrees for the marriage, he beats the suitor to show his acceptance for the proposal but if he disagrees, the man might marry the woman forcefully anyway.

Khweta Ceremony
This is ceremony that is being practised by several Southern African tribes where a boy proves his manhood. To prove their manhood, boys at a certain age are sent to spend a number of days or even weeks in a circumcision lodge during winter. They are put through difficult and rigorous tests and traditions such as circumcision and continuous dancing until exhaustion.
Putting a price on the bride
Lobola is a controversial and an ancient tradition that is being practised by the Southern African tribes where the families of bride and groom negotiate the price the groom should pay to the bride. All these negotiations are done in writing and never in person or phone. Both the families are forbidden to talk until all the negotiations are finalized and complete.
Bull jumping
To prove their manhood, young boys in the Ethiopian Hamer tribe must run, jump and land on the back of the bull before trying to run across the backs of the bulls. This tradition is being done several times by the young boys usually in the nude.
Women cannot grieve elders
The Suku tribe, in the Southwestern Congo honours their elders and ancestors with a ceremony arranged in the clearing of a forest, when they die. Here, they present offerings and gifts to the deceased, but all women and outsiders are not allowed to join the ceremony.
  Lip stretching
This tradition is being practised by the Surma tribe of Southern Sudan. When a girl enters teenage, she begins the process of lip stretching. Bottom teeth are removed in order to make space in the mouth for a lip plate, which increases in size annually.
Wealth is measured by cows
The Pokot tribe of Kenya measures the wealth of a family by the number of cows they have. Most people of the tribe are ether cow people or corn people, which means that they cultivate on their land but the wealth of all the people, living in Pokot tirbes, is measured by the number of cows they have. The number of women a man can marry is also determined by the number of cows he has.
Hunter-gatherers
Bushmen, the San People of Botswana, are hunter gatherers who were driven out from their ancestral lands in the 1950s. People of this tribe were forbidden to hunt. They were forcd to apply if they wished to enter the reserves. Bushmen switched to farming but they continued to gather plants for food and herbs for medication. The number of people of this tribe dwindled because they were deprived of the ability to hunt.
A thorough cleansing
The people of Chewa tribe who live throughout Southern and Central Africa are one of the largest native tribes of Malawi. When a person of this tribe dies, a family tradition of the tribe is to take the body into the woods where the throat is slit and water in forced though the body in order to cleanse it. This is done by squeezing the stomach of the deceased person until the ends of the body runs clear.
Beating the suitor
In many countries of West Africa lives the Filani tribe who are famous for following a tradition known as Sharo. This tradition is being practised when two men wish to marry the same woman. In order to decide who should marry her, they compete by beating one another, for her hand. In order to win, the man has to suppress the feelings of pain. The one who does not show the signs of pain wins the competition and takes the wife.