Every nation, in every country of the world, every tribe, even in a small village, has its own traditions. It is sometimes very difficult to understand why people do certain things. The fact is that customs are so strongly embedded in the mass consciousness of a certain circle of people that neither time, nor civilization, nor the environment can drive them out of there. It seems to us that common sense should win, but when people, for their own reasons, throw babies from a 15-meter height, common sense fades into the background. Such is the power of traditions and customs, it is not in our power to change anything. Take, for example, the rituals that fall under the category of the wedding night. Africa especially distinguished itself here, in which even today the most unthinkable traditions are actively carried out.
The first, to put it mildly, strange tradition belongs to the African Berber tribe, where the newlyweds do not manage to retire on their wedding night. Tradition suggests that this ritual of love is performed collectively. Several new married couples fit into one large bedroom, this is called a certain session of teaching love games. The tribe believes that doing something indecent for the first time in life is much more fun when around the same age. Moreover, often the newlyweds did not know each other for very long before the wedding, respectively, everyone in the room is unfamiliar people.
The second tradition belongs to the Swahili culture, in these tribes it is customary to marry children without their consent. The bride and groom are unfamiliar with each other, naturally, their wedding night causes them special difficulties. In this case, the so-called somo comes to the rescue, this is the oldest relative from the bride's side, throughout the first wedding night she is right under the bed of the young. It is this woman who gives young people advice right during their lovemaking, she notices the shortcomings, says that it is necessary to change how one should behave. After the first wedding night, the same woman brings out a sheet of blood for everyone to see.
The people called the Zulu have an equally strange wedding tradition. This can be called a dance competition in which the groom's family and the bride's family compete. The very last stage of this competition is the bride's dance, she must throw her leg as high as possible and remain in this position until the groom's mother looks under her skirt and makes sure that the bride is a virgin. There are a lot of questions in this rite, because how can a simple woman without medical education determine this kind of physiological state.
Another, if I may say so, an unusual wedding night, takes place on the territory of Namibia. The fact is that before getting married, a girl comes to her father for advice, a man talks about what she has to do with her husband. After that, a special headdress made of cow skin is put on the girl's head, after which it is smeared with cow fat. Only after this can a lady go to her groom on her wedding night.
If you pay attention to the African Shona tribe, then the wedding night is even more fun here. For the groom, this day becomes a real surprise, but the fact is that the first wedding night has nothing to do with the wedding, it happens much earlier. So, the girl chooses the day, she puts on a wedding dress, takes her relatives, together they reach the groom's house. It is believed that in this way the girl tests the ability of the future family to react to unexpected events. The joyful procession is met on the street by the stunned relatives of the groom, the lady spends this night in the house of her future husband, and the wedding takes place only the next day.