These people live in the terrible heat of the Kalahari Desert. There is almost no water here.
For this reason, they not only do not wash, but are also mystically afraid of moisture. The fear of her is even of a religious nature, since it is believed that water is life-threatening and brings only misfortune. Therefore, you should never wash yourself. In this case, we are talking about the Bergdam, who call themselves "black people."
The name is not accidental, since even in Africa, bergdams are distinguished by a special darkness. Perhaps this is a consequence of the natural color of the body, perhaps the result of dirt accumulated on the skin over many years. At the same time, they watch their teeth very carefully, and their smile is amazingly white. To do this, the bergdams constantly chew a small lump of skin and brush their teeth with brushes carved from wood. Nevertheless, due to the coarse and monotonous food, consisting of roots and insects, teeth quickly wear out and are removed without regret by local "aesculapians".
Unsolved mystery
The origin and history of the Bergdams is a still unsolved mystery in South West Africa. Even in the 20th century, they managed to maintain a strikingly primitive lifestyle that dates back to the Stone Age. They are distinguished from other African peoples not only by their wild habits and customs, but also by their unusual appearance. Most bergdams are tall and thin, but sometimes they are short and plump. Therefore, they can hardly be called a pure race. Most of them have an Australoid face type with large features and a low forehead.
They have forgotten their native language and speak one of the dialects of the Hottentot language, who were slaves for a long time. They also have words similar to the language of Sudanese blacks. Therefore, it is hypothesized that the Hottentots brought them from the north to Southwest Africa, where they mixed with other African races. Including with Sudanese blacks, who also have very dark skin, even with a shade of blue. According to another version, the Bergdams are descendants of the local South African people, who for centuries were enslaved by the Hottentots and Herero.
In the last century, thanks to the efforts of missionaries, several reservations were set aside for the "black people". Most of the bergdams settled in them. Only a few tribesmen have remained in remote mountainous regions, where they continue to live off hunting and gathering. Both remain adherents of the traditional way of life: they build primitive huts from branches and grass, cook food on fires, sow corn in small areas and keep goats.
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Usually, during the rainy season, when hunting is impossible, women cook soup from termites, which are abundant at this time. They are collected and put into leather bags. At night, they catch grasshoppers, which become inactive due to temperature changes. Roasted, they are very nutritious and delicious. When there is no meat and insects, bergdams, like their ancestors, feed on plant roots, berries and honey from wild bees. Such a lifestyle, anthropological type and hunting methods allowed scientists to believe that the mysterious tribe of the Bergdam are the distant descendants of the ancient and original people of Africa.
Stop - stone age
This tribe has no leaders or even simple laws. Most likely, the harsh living conditions and the struggle for survival did not leave them the opportunity to create their own social structure. Virtually all bergdams are equal in their poverty, which does not imply reflections on equality, justice and morality. Perhaps the primitiveness of spiritual life is due to centuries of slavery and a permanent lack of freedom.
However, they still have religious ideas. First of all, they were preserved in remote mountainous regions and are expressed in the worship of the supreme deity Kamab - the lord of the sun, rain and hunting. Communication with him is maintained with the help of sorcerers, who simultaneously act as healers. The role of this deity can hardly be overestimated - because he is also the master of life and death of people. According to the Bergdam, deceased tribesmen often miss their living relatives, and in order to speed up the meeting with them in the heavenly abode, they can let the disease go. Therefore, the dead are buried as soon as possible, and the burials are filled up with massive stones, making it difficult to exit the grave. “Black people” have no doubt that Kamabu eats human flesh. Therefore, he calls people to the land of the dead, and only skeletons lie in the ancient graves. This fact is explained by the factthat human remains are being devoured by the inhabitants of heaven.
The main value in the settlements is considered to be a sacred fire, which can only be held by men. Women and children are strictly prohibited from approaching him. It is believed that they can desecrate the fire, and then misfortune will fall on the tribe. After a special ritual, the elders set fire to it. They also maintain a sacred fire, which is usually asked for good luck on the hunt. According to tribal beliefs, outstanding men who have died can get a job with him. Only this happens in heaven, where life is the same as on earth.
The earthly life of these people is not distinguished by special joys and diversity. Many people still dress in skins or wear rags. Children under a certain age are not supposed to wear clothes at all. At the same time, the bergdams are not averse to decorating themselves with various "jewels". Thus, men sometimes wear only one piece of jewelry - steel or copper earrings in their ears, while women can wear ostrich egg shell necklaces or leather bracelets on their unwashed bodies. The latter are both a sign of wealth and a sign of men's attention. The fact is that after a successful hunt, a happy husband can give his wife a bracelet made of the skin of a killed animal. The more such bracelets a woman wears, the more her husband loves her.
Tired of living
Despite the primitive lifestyle, the Bergdam have a paired family. The dirtiest people on the planet actually get married, but they do not have wedding ceremonies. However, certain family rituals do exist. For example, a baby is given a name the moment the umbilical cord is cut. During this process, the father roasts a piece of meat and rubs the dripping fat into himself. Then he rolls the greasy dirt off the body and collects it in a leather pouch. Attaching it to the baby's neck, he always spits on his chest, rubs his saliva and repeats the name of the newborn several times. What this ritual means and what protects it seems to be unknown to the Bergdam themselves. But in the future, the dirt collected from the parent's body serves as a kind of amulet for the child. The tribe also has another ancient tradition. If twins are born in a family, then this is akin to a curse. To get rid of it, you need to bury one of the two babies alive.
Despite their virtually primitive lifestyle, the bergdams have developed certain healing skills. They remove the teeth of fellow tribesmen in the simplest way. In this case, the "dentist" sits down in front of the patient and presses a pointed stick into the gum under the tooth root. Then he hits her hard with a stone - and the operation is complete! Naturally, we are not talking about any anesthesia.
"Healing procedures" are usually performed by sorcerers who determine how serious the disease is. If the sorcerer sees that the patient is old, weak, or the disease is neglected, he announces that the god Kamabu wants to take his life. In this case, the poor man is left to fend for himself, without giving him any help. A similar tradition is characteristic of all primitive communal societies, when the tribe got rid of extra mouths that were not able to get their own food. It is significant that in this case the patient himself calmly accepts the sentence of the sorcerer and resigns himself to the destiny.
However, “cure” does not guarantee recovery, since the doctor “drives” the disease into any part of the body, from where he burns it out with a smut. So on the body of "patients" appear scars similar to tattoos. Interestingly, many primitive peoples "treat" ailments in this way.
Almost all travelers who have visited Bergdam note their apathy and lack of any passion. Currently, they are ranked among the endangered peoples. And there are reasons for that. On the one hand, today they are rapidly being swallowed up by civilization. On the other hand, they are assimilated by other peoples. Therefore, we can agree with those scientists who believe that the disappearance of bergdams in the near future is inevitable.
Evgeny YAROVOY
