50 Indigenous and Enchanting Facts about Native Tribes – Part 2

The Banyankole tribe in Uganda allows the bride's aunt to sleep with the groom before marriage as a confirmation of the groom's potency and virility. The bride's aunt also takes on the responsibility of confirming that the bride has defended her virginity before the marriage is consummated.

2. The Dorobo tribe of Kenya has for thousands of years followed the practice of stealing fresh meat from the mouths of lions. They find a pride that has had a fresh kill during daytime, then walk up to them while they are feeding and cut off some meat. The lions are too startled to react and usually run away.

3. Children belonging to the Moken tribe of Thailand have perfect vision underwater. They do this by constricting their pupils and changing the shape of their lens, just like dolphins and seals. They use this ability to hunt for fish, clams, and shells to eat.

4. The Man of the Hole is an indigenous Brazilian man who is believed to be the last member of his tribe. His name comes from the holes that he digs, and he has signaled to government officials before to warn them about his pitfalls.

5. During the 19th century, a Scottish missionary named Mary Slessor lived in Nigeria, where she helped end the practice of killing twin babies among the Efik tribe. The natives believed mothers who gave birth to twins were guilty of sin and they accused them of procreating with an evil spirit.

The Korowai Tribe of New Guinea is one of the last few tribes in the world who are thought to still practice cannibalism.

7. Ethiopia's Hamar tribe has a ritual for young men about to marry. A row of bulls are held together, and the man - stripped naked - is required to walk over the bulls four times. If he falls, he is whipped by the women, isn't allowed to marry the chosen wife, and must wait a year to attempt again.

8. A Filipino diver from the Badjao tribe can descend 65 feet to the seafloor and stay underwater for up to 5 minutes. Even without weights, he is negatively buoyant and can 'walk' across the bottom of the sea as if like hunting on land.

9. The nomadic tribes of the Arabian deserts known as the Bedouin have a strange way of resolving grave civil or criminal disputes, in cases where there are no witnesses. A metal ladle is stuck down into flames while both parties recount their sides. The defendant then licks the ladle 3 times, and if his tongue is scarred, he is judged guilty.

10. The “Awá” of Brazil is the world’s most threatened tribe because years of illegal logging and land grabs have brought the Amazon Indians to the brink of extinction (there are approximately only 350 members left as of 2012).

Members of the Yaohnanen Tribe of the Tanna Island in Vanavatu worship Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (the husband of Queen Elisabeth II) as a divine being. They even celebrated the 2018 wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle by holding a party, where they hoisted the Union Jack, danced, and ate pigs.

12. The Native American of Uncompahgre Ute used to make special ceremonial rattles filled with quartz that would emit flashes of light when shaken. This was an early example of triboluminescence.

13. The Kogi tribe which is indigenous to the South American nation of Colombia chooses their priests at birth only to raise them in a dark cave for a decade to connect them to the earth.

14. The Moken Nomad Tribe of southern Thailand saved their lives during the 2004 tsunami thanks to their elders’ ability to read the “Sea Signs.” Soon minutes before the waves hit the shore, the entire community was able to flee up hills for cover.

15. To become a warrior in the Sateré-Mawé tribe of Brazil, they have an initiation ritual where they subject boys to the sting of over 120 bullet ants. These ants have a sting 30 times more painful than that of a wasp.

The ruler of the Natchez tribe of Lower Mississippi Valley was entitled to marry several wives and maintain servants. Upon his death, however, his wives and some servants, along with any others who wished to join him in the afterlife, were ritually sacrificed.

17. Members of the Pedi tribe in South Africa are known to wear red tartan kilts similar to Scots. Citing oral history, they have been using kilts since 1879. They say that’s when the tribe lost a battle because its warriors thought kilted Scots leading a British army were women and held their fire until realizing their mistake too late.

18. There is a tribe named Piraha in the Amazonas state in Brazil that does not engage in linear thinking and has no words for colors or numbers.

19. There is a gypsy tribe named Satiyaa Community in India that celebrates death as one of the happiest events in their lives while treating births as occasions of great grief.

20. The Vanuatu tribe in the South Pacific uses a form of bungee jumping as a rite of passage but instead of bungee cords, vines are used and some people do the feat at the age of 5.

Lacking access to saltwater or salt deposits, the remote Apatani tribe of Northeast India has made use of a homemade salt substitute called tapyo that is made from shrubs and ash.

22. When Dutch explorers first encountered the Asmat tribe of Papua, the Asmat frightened the Dutch into fleeing with loud noises and bursts of white powder.

23. The Sewee was a Native American tribe who in 1670 decided to build a navy and sail en masse to England. Their canoes were swamped and survivors were sold to slavery in the West Indies, wiping out the tribe. They believed that by rowing to the point on the horizon where English ships came from, they could reach England, and once there, establish a profitable, direct trade.

24. The Hadza tribe from Tanzania finds honey by whistling a special tune to a "honeyguide" bird that then leads them to a nearby beehive.

25. The women of Bari tribe of Venezuela believe that a child can have multiple biological fathers. They believe that a child is not born from the sperm of a single man, but from the accumulation of sperm in a woman’s womb.