African women: description, culture. Features of life in Africa

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:41

Many people consider Africa to be a very beautiful continent, inhabited by many tribes with interesting and sometimes quite strange traditions. Life in Africa for modern people who use mobile phones, know what drugs, nanotechnology, etc., seems primitive and absurd. But these tribes honor the memory of their ancestors, follow their advice, instructions and teachings. Today we will talk about African women and their plight.

Dance while you're young

In many tribes there is a tradition to gather for the so-called bride gatherings. Girls who will soon be married off come to a common "bachelorette party". During it, they prepare a dowry, share their plans for the future, and undergo a virginity test. If a girl had sexual relations before marriage, she can be burned at the stake.

Girls are also tested for endurance. This is quite logical, given that African women must perform heavy physical work daily under the scorching sun. But the test takes place in a rather interesting form of disco. The girls are forced to dance and sing. The dance of African women undergoing testing lasts for 10 days. Of course, there are small breaks for sleep, but only for a couple of hours. They give only a couple of bananas to eat, which are allowed to be washed down with a few sips of water. In the evening, a large fire is lit in the center of the dance floor.

If a girl fails this test, she is expelled from her parental home forever. No one else will marry her, and there will be no “retake” either.

One more test for offspring. Women of African tribes who have not become pregnant for 3 years after marriage are considered inferior. At best, such an unfortunate woman is returned to her parents, but some tribes prefer to drive them out of the village.

There is an explanation for such a strange tradition. It is believed that such African women pass on their barrenness to the earth, gardens, men and animals. Even the neighbors of a barren woman can be affected.

But there is one tribe that treats this tradition very gently. African women of the Rundu tribe can feign pregnancy while wearing a false belly. After 9 months, childbirth is staged, then a newborn from a large family is adopted or adopted. At the same time, no one has the right to talk about the secret of a small child, since the leader forbids this.

African beauty

Most likely, African women have not heard about the model parameters 90 × 60 × 90. Each tribe has its own ideals of beauty. For example, in the Bantu tribe women are considered very beautiful withnarrow and long face, and in the Akan tribe, beauties with long and even noses are especially popular.

Mehndi women whiten their skin throughout their lives using special clay.

African girls are considered very attractive, on whose body there are many scars earned not in battles, but at home. To do this, beauties specially cut their bodies, rub their wounds with ashes or sand, so that the scars remain as visible as possible.

African fashion

Even at school, for sure, every student thought about why rings were needed on the necks of African women. For representatives of the Ndebele tribe, this is a kind of decoration that indicates the viability of her husband. Accordingly, the richer the husband, the more rings on his wife's neck. Remove these jewelry only in case of death of the spouse.

Mursi tribal women from the age of 12 strive to become fashionable. It is at this age that girls are allowed to insert a plate made of baked clay or a smooth disc from wood into their lips. To do this, a small incision is made in the lower lip. First, a small plate is inserted, which is changed over time. The desired size of the disc, which the girls aspire to, reaches 12 cm in diameter.

The women of Kenya decorate their faces with their fashion designs. Residents of the Mwila tribe prefer to focus on a stylish hairstyle. To make it, a special paste is applied to the hair.oncula. It is made from red stone, grinding it. Oil, manure, plants and tree bark are then added.

Female circumcision

If male circumcision is considered a tribute to religion and a way to prevent the development of many infections, then female circumcision is a rite that every woman must endure. It is considered humane in more than 30 African countries. For their inhabitants, this rite is a kind of purification. They believe that a woman is called to give birth to children, while there is no place for pleasure.

The circumcision procedure has not changed for hundreds of years. To do this, use a ritual knife. There is no way to escape the ceremony. In addition, from early childhood, girls are told that this procedure will improve their lives.

Although many women's rights activists have raised the issue of eradicating this tradition, it has not been possible to solve the problem. If circumcision is put on the medical stream, the tradition will take root even more, but if nothing is done, unsanitary conditions during operations will continue to provoke the occurrence of genital infections.

Weekdays

Women in Africa are constantly working. They carry water themselves, cook food, work in the fields, clean, wash, trade in the market, and at the same time still have time to look after the children. Therefore, when they see a woman with bales in her hands and a child on her back, only tourists are surprised. Men are only responsible for financing their families.

If the hostess has a surplus of any crops, she can freely dispose of them. For example, sell. At the same time, finance can be spentat your discretion.

African women who live in villages are tied to their land as it is the only thing they have.

African city life

All villagers want to move to the city and work. But it is very difficult for illiterate people to find work. In addition, although there are positive changes in the legislation, discrimination against women is still visible in all spheres of life. Active and purposeful ladies become entrepreneurs, trying to develop their small businesses.

The financial injections provided by many countries practically do not change the overall picture of the economic and social development of the continent. Legislation is trying to make changes that will make life easier and easier in Africa, but, unfortunately, these changes are happening too slowly.