We are now down to less than 30 days left here in Africa. What a wonderful experience this has been. I have come to love the people here and they will forever be part of my heart. I decided to write about some of the more "different" traditions of the people of Africa. Some of these traditions do not apply to everyone - but all of them are still very much in practice today in their individual tribes.
Recently, when we were in Swaziland, there were piles of wood on the sides of the road for sale. It was dark and they were left unattended. I asked if they were worried about them being stolen. "No," they said, they believe if someone steals them, and puts them in the back of their car that the wood will turn into a dead person. No one wants a dead person in their trunk - so the wood piles are left alone!
Handicrafts in the market place were often just covered with a cloth over night also. They believe if you steal these items, they will turn into a snake and bite you! I'm not about to challenge that one!
Another interesting idea is that "their ancestors don't like electricity." So the sangomas, or traditional healers won't sleep in a hut that has electricity (most of them don't have electricity anyway) for fear that their ancestors will not attend them. They even sometimes change huts they are sleeping in up to 4 times per night.
Most all of the people in Africa have no idea when their birthday is. They only know approximately how old they are. Many of the missionaries have celebrated their "first and last" birthday parties with us.
When a couple has a new baby, the baby is laid on the threshold of the door. Family members then jump over the baby to enter the house. For the first 3 months no one (not even the father) is allowed to see the baby. They believe the African people are a very jealous people and someone may bring witch craft into the home and put a spell on the baby. Only the mother cares for it for the first 3 months. She is not allowed to touch a pot to cook in or water to clean with. Everything is done for her. She also is not allowed to cook for her husband during her period. (A week off every month!) Some tribes are now changing this a bit and allow only immediate family after 10 days)
They also very interesting ways to judge if a person is a virgin or not. They can tell if a girl is a virgin by looking at her ankles??? A man is known wether or not he is a virgin by how straight he pees. That's right - if he dribbles he is not a virgin. They can also tell a baby's paternity by comparing the palms of the father and baby. No DNA testing needed!
These are a just a few of the traditions of the people here. Labola (I wrote about earlier) is a huge problem here also. You must pay for your wife in cows before you can marry.
Knowledge of the western world is so new here that they hold on their beliefs and traditions. When we were in Swaziland this past week, we took some live chickens, cabbage, oranges and corn seed to a family there. They were so appreciative. One woman, with tears in her eyes, said, "There has to be a word more than 'thank you.' This just doesn't seem like a big enough word." She was so grateful for the food we had brought to them. This reminded me that "Thank You" is not a big enough word for the Savior's love and sacrifice for us. I agree - I wish there was a bigger word for "thank you."
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