The many-sided Africa, on the vast territory of which in 61 countries, in the secluded corners of this continent more than 5 million people of almost completely wild African tribes still live.
Members of these tribes do not recognize the achievements of the civilized world and are content with the benefits that they received from their ancestors.
Poor huts, modest food and a minimum of clothing suit them, and they are not going to change this way of life.
African tribes
There are about 3 thousand different tribes and nationalities in Africa, but it is difficult to name their exact number, since most often they are either densely mixed together, or, on the contrary, radically separated. The population of some tribes is only a few thousand or even hundreds of people, and often inhabit only 1-2 villages. Because of this, on the territory of the African continent there are adverbs and dialects that sometimes only representatives of a particular tribe can understand. And the variety of rituals, cultural systems, dances, customs and sacrifices is enormous and amazing. Besides appearance the people of some tribes are simply amazed by their looks.
However, since they all live on the same continent, all African tribes still have something in common. Some cultural elements are characteristic of all nationalities living in this territory. One of the main defining features of African tribes is their focus on the past, that is, the cult of the culture and life of their ancestors.
The majority of African peoples deny everything new and modern and withdraw into themselves. Most of all, they are attached to constancy and immutability, including in everything that concerns Everyday life, traditions and customs that originate from our great-grandfathers.
It’s hard to imagine, but among them there are practically no people who are not engaged in subsistence farming or cattle breeding. Hunting, fishing or gathering are completely normal activities for them. Just like many centuries ago, African tribes They fight among themselves, marriages most often take place within the same tribe, intertribal marriages are very rare among them. Of course, more than one generation leads such a life; every new child from birth will have to live the same fate.
Tribes differ from each other by their own unique system of life, customs and rituals, beliefs and prohibitions. Most tribes invent their own fashion, often stunningly colorful, the originality of which is often simply amazing.
Among the most famous and numerous tribes today are the Maasai, Bantu, Zulus, Samburu and Bushmen.
Maasai
One of the most famous African tribes. They live in Kenya and Tanzania. The number of representatives reaches 100 thousand people. They are most often found on the side of a mountain, which features prominently in Maasai mythology. Perhaps the size of this mountain influenced the worldview of the tribe members - they consider themselves the favorites of the gods, the highest people, and are sincerely confident that there are no more beautiful people in Africa than them.
This opinion of oneself gave rise to a contemptuous, often even derogatory attitude towards other tribes, which became the cause of frequent wars between tribes. In addition, it is the Maasai custom to steal animals from other tribes, which also does not improve their reputation.
The Maasai dwelling is built from branches coated with dung. This is done mainly by women, who also, if necessary, take on the duties of pack animals. The main share of nutrition is milk or animal blood, less often meat. Distinctive feature The beauty of this tribe is considered to be the elongated earlobes. Currently, the tribe has been almost completely exterminated or dispersed; only in remote corners of the country, in Tanzania, are some Maasai nomads still preserved.
Bantu
The Bantu tribe lives in Central, Southern and East Africa. In truth, the Bantu are not even a tribe, but an entire nation, which includes many peoples, for example, Rwanda, Shono, Konga and others. They all have similar languages and customs, which is why they were united into one large tribe. Most Bantu people speak two or more languages, the most commonly spoken of which is Swahili. The number of members of the Bantu people reaches 200 million. According to research scientists, it was the Bantu, along with the Bushmen and Hottentots, who became the progenitors of the South African colored race.
Bantus have a peculiar appearance. They have very dark skin and an amazing hair structure - each hair is curled in a spiral. Wide wings of the nose, low bridge of the nose and high growth- often taller than 180 cm - are also distinctive features of Bantu people. Unlike the Maasai, the Bantu do not shy away from civilization and willingly invite tourists on educational walks around their villages.
Like any African tribe, a large part of Bantu life is occupied by religion, namely, traditional African animist beliefs, as well as Islam and Christianity. The Bantu home resembles a Maasai house - the same round shape, with a frame made of branches coated with clay. True, in some areas Bantu houses are rectangular, painted, with gable, lean-to or flat roofs. Members of the tribe are mainly engaged in agriculture. Distinctive feature Bantu refers to an enlarged lower lip into which small discs are inserted.
Zulu
The Zulu people, once the largest ethnic group, now has only 10 million people. The Zulus use their own language, Zulu, which comes from the Bantu family and is the most widely spoken in South Africa. In addition, English, Portuguese, Sesotho and other African languages are in circulation among members of the people.
The Zulu tribe suffered a difficult period during the apartheid era in South Africa, when, being the most numerous people, was defined as a second-class population.
As for the beliefs of the tribe, most of the Zulus remained faithful to national beliefs, but there are also Christians among them. Zulu religion is based on the belief in a creator god who is supreme and separate from everyday routine. Representatives of the tribe believe that they can contact the spirits through fortune tellers. All negative manifestations in the world, including illness or death, are considered as the machinations of evil spirits or the result of evil witchcraft. In the Zulu religion, the main place is occupied by cleanliness, frequent bathing is a custom among representatives of the people.
Samburu
The Samburu tribe lives in the northern regions of Kenya, on the border of the foothills and the northern desert. About five hundred years ago, the Samburu people settled in this territory and quickly populated the plain. This tribe is independent and confident in its elitism much more than the Maasai. The life of the tribe depends on livestock, but, unlike the Maasai, the Samburu themselves raise livestock and move with them from place to place. Customs and ceremonies occupy a significant place in the life of the tribe and are distinguished by the splendor of colors and forms.
Samburu huts are made of clay and skins; the outside of the home is surrounded by a thorny fence to protect it from wild animals. Representatives of the tribe take their houses with them, reassembling them at each site.
Among the Samburu, it is customary to divide labor between men and women, this also applies to children. Women's responsibilities include gathering, milking cows and fetching water, as well as collecting firewood, cooking and looking after children. Of course, the female half of the tribe is in charge general order and stability. Samburu men are responsible for herding livestock, which is their main means of subsistence.
Most important detail The life of the people is childbearing, sterile women are subjected to severe persecution and bullying. It is normal for the tribe to worship the spirits of ancestors, as well as witchcraft. The Samburu believe in charms, spells and rituals, using them to increase fertility and protection.
Bushmen
The most famous African tribe among Europeans since ancient times is the Bushmen. The name of the tribe consists of the English “bush” - “bush” and “man” - “man”, but calling members of the tribe this way is dangerous - it is considered offensive. It would be more correct to call them “san,” which means “stranger” in the Hottentot language. Externally, the Bushmen are somewhat different from other African tribes; they have lighter skin and thinner lips. In addition, they are the only ones who eat ant larvae. Their dishes are considered a specialty national cuisine of this people. The way of society of the Bushmen also differs from that generally accepted among wild tribes. Instead of chiefs and sorcerers, the ranks choose elders from among the most experienced and respected members of the tribe. The elders lead the lives of the people without taking any advantage at the expense of others. It should be noted that the Bushmen also believe in afterlife, like other African tribes, however, they do not have the cult of ancestors adopted by other tribes.
Among other things, the Sans have a rare talent for stories, songs and dances. Musical instrument they can make almost all of them. For example, there are bows strung with animal hair or bracelets made from dried insect cocoons with pebbles inside, which are used to beat the rhythm during dance. Almost everyone who has the opportunity to observe the musical experiments of the Bushmen tries to record them in order to pass them on to future generations. This is all the more relevant given that present century dictates its own rules and many Bushmen have to deviate from centuries-old traditions and work as workers on farms in order to provide for their family and tribe.
This is a very small number of tribes living in Africa. There are so many of them that it would take several volumes to describe them all, but each of them boasts a unique value system and way of life, not to mention rituals, customs and costumes.
It seems to us that we are all literate, smart people, we enjoy all the benefits of civilization. And it’s hard to imagine that there are still tribes on our planet that are not far removed from the Stone Age.
Tribes of Papua New Guinea and Barneo. People still live here according to the rules adopted 5 thousand years ago: men go naked, and women cut off their fingers. There are only three tribes that still engage in cannibalism, these are the Yali, Vanuatu and Karafai. . These tribes take great pleasure in eating both their enemies and tourists, as well as their own elderly and deceased relatives.
In the highlands of the Congo there lives a tribe of pygmies. They call themselves Mong. The amazing thing is that they have cold blood, like reptiles. And in cold weather they were capable of falling into suspended animation, like lizards.
On the banks of the Amazonian River Meiki lives a small (300 individuals) Piraha tribe.
The inhabitants of this tribe have no time. They have no calendars, no clocks, no past and no tomorrow. They have no leaders, they decide everything together. There is no concept of “mine” or “yours”, everything is common: husbands, wives, children. Their language is very simple, only 3 vowels and 8 consonants, there is also no counting, they cannot even count to 3.
Sapadi tribe (Ostrich tribe).
They have an amazing property: they have only two toes on their feet, and both are big! This disease (but can this unusual foot structure be called that?) is called claw syndrome and is caused, according to doctors, by incest. It is possible that it is caused by some unknown virus.
Cinta larga. They live in the Amazon Valley (Brazil).
The family (a husband with several wives and children) usually have their own house, which is abandoned when the land in the village becomes less fertile and game leaves the forests. Then they move and look for new site for home. When the Sinta Larga move, they change their names, but each member of the tribe keeps their “true” name a secret (only their mother and father know it). Sinta Larga have always been famous for their aggressiveness. They are constantly at war both with neighboring tribes and with “outsiders” - white settlers. Fighting and killing are an integral part of their traditional way of life.
In the western part of the Amazon Valley live the Korubo.
In this tribe, it is literally survival of the fittest. If a child is born with any defect, or falls ill with a contagious disease, he is simply killed. They know neither bows nor spears. They are armed with clubs and blowpipes that shoot poisoned arrows. Korubo are spontaneous, like small children. As soon as you smile at them, they start laughing. If they notice fear on your face, they begin to look around warily. It's almost primitive tribe, which was completely untouched by civilization. But it is impossible to feel calm in their environment, since they can become furious at any moment.
There are approximately 100 more tribes that do not know how to read and write, do not know what television or cars are, and moreover, they also practice cannibalism. They film them from the air, and then mark these places on the map. Not in order to study or enlighten them, but in order not to let anyone near them. Contact with them is not advisable not only because of their aggressiveness, but also for the reasons that wild tribes may not have immunity from the diseases of modern humans.
It is believed that there are no less than a hundred “isolated tribes” in the world that still live in the farthest corners of the world. Members of these tribes, who have preserved traditions long left behind by the rest of the world, provide anthropologists with an excellent opportunity to study in detail the paths of development different cultures for many centuries.
10. The Surma People
The Ethiopian Surma tribe avoided contact with Western world for many years. However, they are quite famous in the world due to the huge plates they put on their lips. However, they did not want to hear about any government. While colonization, world wars and the struggle for independence were in full swing around them, the Surma people lived in groups of several hundred people each, and continued to engage in their modest cattle breeding.
The first people who managed to establish contact with the people of Surma were several Russian doctors. They met the tribe in 1980. Because the doctors were white-skinned, the tribe members initially thought they were the living dead. One of the few pieces of equipment that members of the Surma people have adopted into their lives is the AK-47, which they use to protect their livestock.
9. Peruvian tribe discovered by tourists
While wandering in the jungles of Peru, a group of tourists suddenly encountered members of an unknown tribe. The entire incident was captured on film: the tribe tried to communicate with the tourists, but due to the fact that the tribe members did not speak either Spanish or English, they soon despaired of making contact and left the puzzled tourists where they found them.
After studying the tape recorded by the tourists, Peruvian authorities soon realized that the group of tourists had encountered one of the few tribes that had not yet been discovered by anthropologists. Scientists knew about their existence and searched for them without success. long years, and tourists found them without even looking.
8. Lonely Brazilian
Slate magazine called him "the most isolated person on the planet." Somewhere in the Amazon there is a tribe consisting of only one person. Just like Bigfoot, this one mysterious person disappears just when scientists are about to discover it.
Why is he so popular, and why won’t they leave him alone? It turns out that according to scientists, he is last representative isolated tribe in the Amazon. He only person in a world that has preserved the customs and language of its people. Communication with him will be tantamount to finding a precious treasure trove of information, part of which is the answer to the question of how he managed to live alone for so many decades.
7. Ramapo Tribe (Ramapough Mountain Indians or The Jackson Whites)
During the 1700s, European settlers completed their colonization of the east coast North America. By this point, every tribe between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mississippi River had been added to the catalog of known peoples. As it turned out, all but one were included in the catalogue.
In the 1790s, a previously unknown tribe of Indians emerged from the forest just 56 kilometers from New York. They somehow managed to avoid contact with the settlers, despite some of the biggest battles, such as the Seven Years' War and the Revolutionary War, actually taking place in their backyards. They became known as the Jackson Whites because they had light color skin, and also due to the fact that they were believed to have originated from "Jacks" (a slang word for British).
6. Vietnamese tribe Ruc (Vietnamese Ruc)
During the Vietnam War, unprecedented bombings of regions isolated at that time took place. After one particularly heavy American bombing raid, North Vietnamese soldiers were shocked to see a group of tribesmen emerging from the jungle.
This was the first contact of the Rook tribe with people with advanced technology. Because their jungle home was badly damaged, they decided to stay in modern Vietnam and not return to their home countries. traditional dwellings. However, the values and traditions of the tribe, passed down from generation to generation for many centuries, did not please the Vietnamese government, which led to mutual hostility.
5. The Last of the Native Americans
In 1911, the last Native American untouched by civilization walked calmly out of the woods in California, in full tribal garb - and was promptly arrested by shocked police. His name was Ishi and he was a member of the Yahia tribe.
After questioning by the police, who were able to find a translator from a local college, it was revealed that Ishi was the only survivor of his tribe after his tribe was wiped out by settlers three years earlier. After trying to survive alone using only the gifts of nature, he finally decided to turn to other people for help.
Ishi was taken under the wing of a researcher from Berkeley University. There, Ishi told the teaching staff all the secrets of his tribal life, and showed them many survival techniques, using only what nature provided. Many of these techniques were either long forgotten or completely unknown to scientists.
4. Brazilian tribes
The Brazilian government was trying to find out how many people lived in isolated areas of the Amazon lowland in order to add them to the population register. Therefore, government aircraft equipped with photographic equipment regularly flew over the jungle, trying to locate and count the people below it. Tireless flights did indeed produce results, albeit very unexpected ones.
In 2007, a plane performing a routine low flight in order to obtain photographs was unexpectedly hit by a rain of arrows, which a previously unknown tribe used to fire at the plane with bows. Then, in 2011, satellite scanning detected several specks in a corner of the jungle where people were not even expected to be present: as it turned out, the specks were people after all.
3. Tribes of New Guinea
Somewhere in New Guinea there likely remain dozens of languages, cultures and tribal customs that are still unknown. to modern man. However, because the area is largely unexplored, and because the character and intentions of these tribes are uncertain, with frequent reports of cannibalism, the wild part of New Guinea is very rarely explored. Despite the fact that new tribes are often discovered, many expeditions that set out to track down such tribes never reach them, or sometimes simply disappear.
For example, in 1961, Michael Rockefeller set out to find some of the lost tribes. Rockefeller, the American heir to one of the world's largest fortunes, was separated from his group and apparently captured and eaten by members of the flames.
2. The Pintupi Nine
In 1984, an unknown group of Aboriginal people was discovered near a settlement in Western Australia. After they fled, the Pinupian Nine, as they were eventually called, were tracked down by those who spoke their language and told them that there was a place where water flowed from pipes and there was always an ample supply of food. Most of them decided to stay in modern city, several of them became artists working in the style traditional art. However, one of the nine, named Yari Yari, returned to the Gibson Desert, where he lives to this day.
1. The Sentinelese
The Sentinelese are a tribe of approximately 250 people who live on North Sentinel Island, located between India and Thailand. Almost nothing is known about this tribe, because as soon as the Sentinelese see that someone has sailed to them, they greet the visitor with a hail of arrows.
Several peaceful encounters with this tribe in 1960 have given us almost everything we know about their culture. The coconuts brought to the island as a gift were eaten rather than planted. Live pigs were shot with arrows and buried without being eaten. The most popular items among the Sentinelese were red buckets, which were quickly dismantled by members of the tribe - however, exactly the same green buckets remained in place.
Anyone who wanted to land on their island had to first write their will. The National Geographic team was forced to turn around after the team leader took an arrow to the thigh and two local guides were killed.
The Sentinelese have built a reputation for their ability to survive natural disasters - unlike many modern people living in similar conditions. For example, this coastal tribe successfully escaped the effects of the tsunami caused by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, which wreaked havoc and terror in Sri Lanka and Indonesia.
The exact number of African peoples is unknown, and ranges from five hundred to seven thousand. This is explained by the vagueness of the separation criteria, under which residents of two neighboring villages can consider themselves to be different nationalities without having any special differences. Scientists are inclined to the figure of 1-2 thousand to determine ethnic communities.
The bulk of the peoples of Africa include groups consisting of several thousand and sometimes hundreds of people, but at the same time they do not exceed 10% of the total population of this continent. As a rule, such small ethnic groups are the most savage tribes. The Mursi tribe, for example, belongs to this group.
Tribal Journeys Ep 05 The Mursi:
Living in southwestern Ethiopia, on the border with Kenya and Sudan, settled in Mago Park, the Mursi tribe is distinguished by unusually strict customs. They can rightfully be nominated for the title: the most aggressive ethnic group.
They are prone to frequent consumption of alcohol and uncontrolled use of weapons (everyone constantly carries Kalashnikov assault rifles or fighting sticks with them). In fights, they can often beat each other almost to death, trying to prove their dominance in the tribe.
Scientists attribute this tribe to a mutated Negroid race, with distinctive features in the form of short stature, wide bones and crooked legs, low and tightly compressed foreheads, flattened noses and inflated short necks.
In the more public Mursi who come into contact with civilization, it is not always possible to see all these characteristic attributes, but exotic look their lower lip is business card tribe.
The lower lip is cut in childhood, pieces of wood are inserted there, gradually increasing their diameter, and on the wedding day a “plate” of baked clay is inserted into it - debi (up to 30 centimeters!!). If a Mursi girl does not make such a hole in her lip, then they will give a very small ransom for her.
When the plate is pulled out, the lip hangs down in a long, round rope. Almost all Mursi have no front teeth, and their tongue is cracked and bleeding.
The second strange and terrifying decoration of Mursi women is the monista, which is made from human phalanges of fingers (nek). One person has only 28 of these bones in his hands. Each necklace costs its victims five or six tassels; for some lovers of “costume jewelry,” the monista wraps around the neck in several rows, glistening greasyly and emitting a sweetish, rotting smell of melted human fat, which is rubbed on every bone every day. The source for beads never runs low: the priestess of the tribe is ready to deprive the hands of a man who has broken the laws for almost every offense.
It is customary for this tribe to do scarification (scarring). Men can afford scarring only after the first murder of one of their enemies or ill-wishers.
Their religion, animism, deserves a longer and more shocking story.
Briefly: women are Priestesses of Death, so they give their husbands drugs and poisons every day. The High Priestess distributes antidotes, but sometimes salvation does not come to everyone. In such cases, a white cross is drawn on the widow's plate, and she becomes a very respected member of the tribe, who is not eaten after death, but is buried in the trunks of special ritual trees. Honor is due to such priestesses due to the fulfillment of the main mission - the will of the God of Death Yamda, which they were able to fulfill by destroying physical body, and releasing the highest spiritual Essence from his man.
The rest of the dead will be collectively eaten by the entire tribe. Soft tissues are boiled in a cauldron, bones are used for amulets and thrown in swamps to mark dangerous places.
What seems very wild for a European is commonplace and tradition for the Mursi.
Film: Shocking Africa. 18++ The exact name of the film is Nude Magic / Magia Nuda (Mondo Magic) 1975.
Film: In Search of Tribes of Hunters E02 Hunting in the Kalahari. San tribe.
Amazingly, in this age of atomic energy, laser guns and Pluto exploration, there still exist primitive people, almost unfamiliar with the outside world. A huge number of such tribes are scattered all over the earth, except Europe. Some live in complete isolation, perhaps not even knowing about the existence of other “bipeds”. Others know and see more, but are in no hurry to make contact. And still others are ready to kill any stranger.
What should we do? civilized people? Try to “make friends” with them? Keep an eye on them? Completely ignore?
Just these days, the disputes resumed when the Peruvian authorities decided to make contact with one of the lost tribes. Defenders of Aboriginal people are strongly against it, because after contact they may die from diseases to which they have no immunity: it is not known whether they will agree to medical help.
Let's see who it's about we're talking about, and what other tribes infinitely far from civilization are found in modern world.
1. Brazil
It is in this country that the largest number of uncontacted tribes live. In just 2 years, from 2005 to 2007, their confirmed number immediately increased by 70% (from 40 to 67), and today there are already more than 80 on the lists of the National Foundation of Indians (FUNAI).
There are extremely small tribes, only 20-30 people, others can number 1.5 thousand. Moreover, together they make up less than 1% of the population of Brazil, but the “ancestral lands” that are allotted to them are 13% of the country’s territory (green spots on the map). 
To search for and count isolated tribes, authorities periodically fly over dense forests Amazons. So in 2008, hitherto unknown savages were spotted near the border with Peru. First, anthropologists noticed from an airplane their huts, which looked like elongated tents, as well as half-naked women and children. 
But during a repeat flight a few hours later, men with spears and bows, painted red from head to toe, and the same warlike woman, all black, appeared in the same place. They probably mistook the plane for an evil bird spirit. 
Since then, the tribe has remained unstudied. Scientists can only guess that it is very numerous and prosperous. The photo shows that people are generally healthy and well-fed, their baskets are full of roots and fruits, and even something like orchards were spotted from the plane. It is possible that this people have existed for 10,000 years and have preserved their primitiveness since then. 
2. Peru
But the very tribe with which the Peruvian authorities want to come into contact are the Mashco-Piro Indians, who also live in the wilderness of the Amazon forests in the territory national park Manu in the southeast of the country. Previously, they always rejected strangers, but in last years They began to often leave the thicket into the “outside world.” In 2014 alone, they were spotted more than 100 times in populated areas, especially along the banks of the river, from where they pointed at passers-by. 
“They seem to be making contact on their own, and we can’t pretend we don’t notice. They also have the right to this,” the government says. They emphasize that in no case will they force the tribe to make contact or change their lifestyle. 
Officially, Peruvian law prohibits contact with the lost tribes, of which there are at least a dozen in the country. But many people have already managed to “communicate” with the Mashko-Piro, from ordinary tourists to Christian missionaries, who shared clothes and food with them. Maybe also because there is no punishment for violating the ban. 
True, not all contacts were peaceful. In May 2015, the Mashko-Piros came to one of the local villages and, having met the residents, attacked them. One guy was killed on the spot, pierced by an arrow. In 2011, members of the tribe killed another local and wounded a national park ranger with arrows. Authorities hope the contact will help prevent future deaths.
This is probably the only civilized Mashco-Piro Indian. As a child, local hunters came across him in the jungle and took him with them. Since then he has been named Alberto Flores. 
3. Andaman Islands (India)
The tiny island of this archipelago in the Bay of Bengal between India and Myanmar is inhabited by the Sentinelese, who are extremely hostile to the outside world. Most likely, these are direct descendants of the first Africans who ventured to leave the black continent approximately 60,000 years ago. Since then, this small tribe has been engaged in hunting, fishing and gathering. How they make fire is unknown. 
Their language has not been identified, but judging by its striking difference from all other Andamanese dialects, these people have not come into contact with anyone for thousands of years. The size of their community (or scattered groups) is also not established: presumably, from 40 to 500 people. 
The Sentinelese are typical Negritos, as ethnologists call them: rather short people with very dark, almost black skin and short, fine curls of hair. Their main weapons are spears and bows with different types arrow Observations have shown that they accurately hit a human-sized target from a distance of 10 meters. The tribe considers any outsiders enemies. In 2006, they killed two fishermen who were sleeping peacefully in a boat that accidentally washed up on their shore, and then greeted a search helicopter with a hail of arrows. 
There were only a few "peaceful" contacts with the Sentinelese during the 1960s. Once coconuts were left on the shore for them to see if they would plant them or eat them. - Ate. Another time they “gifted” live pigs - the savages immediately killed them and... buried them. The only thing that seemed useful to them were the red buckets, as they hurried to carry them deeper into the island. But the exact same green buckets were not touched. 
But do you know what is the strangest and inexplicable? Despite their primitiveness and extremely primitive shelters, the Sentinelese generally survived the terrible earthquake and tsunami in the Indian Ocean in 2004. But almost 300 thousand people died along the entire coast of Asia, which made it disaster deadliest in modern history! 
4. Papua New Guinea
The vast island of New Guinea in Oceania holds many unknown secrets. Its inaccessible mountainous regions, covered with thick forests, only seem uninhabited - in fact, they are native home for many uncontacted tribes. Due to the peculiarities of the landscape, they are hidden not only from civilization, but also from each other: it happens that there are only a few kilometers between two villages, but they are not aware of their proximity. 
The tribes live so isolated that each has its own customs and language. Just think - linguists distinguish approximately 650 Papuan languages, and in total more than 800 languages are spoken in this country! 
There may be similar differences in their culture and lifestyle. Some tribes turn out to be relatively peaceful and generally friendly, like a funny nation to our ears bullshit, which Europeans learned about only in 1935. 
But the most ominous rumors are circulating about others. There were cases when members of expeditions specially equipped to search for Papuan savages disappeared without a trace. This is exactly how one of the members of the richest group disappeared in 1961. American family Michael Rockefeller. He became separated from the group and is suspected to have been captured and eaten. 
5. Africa
At the junction of the borders of Ethiopia, Kenya and South Sudan live several nationalities, numbering about 200 thousand people, who are collectively called Surma. They raise livestock, but do not roam and share general culture with very cruel and strange traditions. 
Young men, for example, engage in stick fights to win brides, which can result in serious injuries and even death. And girls, when decorating themselves for a future wedding, remove their lower teeth, pierce their lip and stretch it so that a special plate fits there. The larger it is, the more cattle they will give for the bride, so the most desperate beauties manage to squeeze in a 40-centimeter dish! 
True, in recent years, young people from these tribes have begun to learn something about the outside world, and that’s all more girls Surma now refuse such a ritual of “beauty”. However, women and men continue to decorate themselves with curly scars, which they are very proud of. 
In general, the acquaintance of these peoples with civilization is very uneven: they, for example, remain illiterate, but quickly mastered the AK-47 assault rifles that came to them during civil war in Sudan. 
And one more interesting detail. The first people from the outside world to come into contact with Surma in the 1980s were not Africans, but a group of Russian doctors. The Aborigines were then frightened, mistaking them for the living dead - after all, they had never seen white skin before!
