Some scholars believe that the prevalence of tribalism in newly independent African nations is cause for concern. Members of more progressive areas of newly created administrations are more likely to be tribal members than members of more traditional tribes, and the number of tribal members in neither category has decreased in recent years. However, members of more traditional tribes are less likely to be tribal members than members of more progressive administrations.
Imagine a population of Africans who, in contrast to the vast majority of their fellow citizens, do not take regular showers or baths in clean water. This population would be at a significantly higher risk of contracting a contagious disease.
This Himalayan tribe not only provides its guests with free sex, but they also gift their newborn children with necklaces made of colorful beads when they are born. They steer clear of people in order to avoid being found out, so they can live their lives in seclusion. They go to extreme lengths in order to ensure that their religious and cultural observances are passed down to subsequent generations of their people.
People of several different Himba ethnic groups call the Kunene region of Namibia home. The bulk of the population in this part of the country works in agriculture or ranching. Women are responsible for gathering wood and making meals for the household, while men are responsible for hunting and collecting food and other supplies. The availability of water that can be consumed is critical to the health of the household as a whole. Women are actively encouraged to be married at a young age and to wed multiple husbands throughout the course of their lives.
The Himba have a hard time finding water suitable for bathing, and the intense heat that prevails in their region precludes them from doing so anyhow. It is strange that these people do not periodically bathe in a stream because it would be really refreshing.
For millennia, Indian women have relied on the time-honored practice of putting red ochre to their skin and occasionally smoking to keep their complexions glowing with vitality and youthfulness. Devotees get down on their knees and pray as the room fills with smoke coming from a bowl of plants. The bowl produces heat, which in turn induces perspiration, which is then evacuated into the air, so speeding up the natural detoxification process that occurs within the body. Because of this, there is no discernible difference in their appearance regardless of how regularly they bathe. They are the only ones who can access this information; no one else can.
Please jot down any reflections you have on today’s lesson in the space provided. We are quite grateful for the attention you have paid to our conversation. This is something that is of incalculable importance to me.