1Awá Tribe
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).
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
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6Sateré-Mawé Tribe
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.
7. 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.
8. 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.
9. 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.
10. 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.
11Vanuatu Tribe
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.
12. 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.
13. 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.
14. 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.
15. The Hadza tribe from Tanzania finds honey by whistling a special tune to a "honeyguide" bird that then leads them to a nearby beehive.
16Bari Tribe
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.
17. The Etoro people of New Guinea believe that in order for a boy to achieve manhood they must first ingest the semen of their elders through fellatio. The nearby Kaluli tribe finds this barbaric, and instead, believes that the semen should be delivered to the boys in the anus.
18. Fathers of the Central African tribe of Aka spend more time in close contact with their babies than in any other known society. Aka fathers have their infant within arm’s reach 47% of the time and make physical contact with them five times as often per day as fathers in some other societies.
19. In 1763, members of the Ojibwe and Sauk tribes took over a British fort by holding a baggatiway (like lacross) match in front of it on King George III's birthday and inviting the British, who let players chase the ball through the fort gate, secretly being handed tomahawks by women as they went in.
20. Kanontsistóntie's is a cannibalistic spirit from the Iroquois mythology. Described as a human head with bat wings, long dark hair, and razor-sharp teeth, they are ravenous spirits that are cursed with an insatiable hunger. The legend caused tribes to steer clear of Lake Sacandaga for years.
21Burkitshi Tribe
The Burkitshi tribe hunts with eagles (only female eagles as they are larger and believed to be fiercer). While eagles can live for decades, theirs are captured at the age of four and released after 10 years to live out their lives in the wild.
22. Many plains tribes recognized certain persons as having the role of “reverse” warriors. These were experienced warriors who in battle purposely abided by contrary, foolish or crazy principles. The “reverse” warrior charged when ordered to retreat and could only fall back when he was commanded to attack.
23. The Tlingit tribe of Alaska has a very peculiar origin story of the mosquitoes. According to their legends, a young man got revenge on a cannibal which had killed his two older brothers while they were out hunting. After he burned the cannibal’s body into ashes, he blew on the ashes and they flew off, turning into mosquitoes.
24. The famously isolated Sentinelese hunter-gatherer tribe appears not to know how to set fire. They rely on natural fire from thunderstorms and keep the embers burning as long as they can.
25. Kenya has produced the world’s best long distance runners for decades and most of them belong to the Kalenjin tribe. Until 2011, there only about 17 American men who ran under 2:10 in a marathon. There were 32 Kalenjin who did it in October of 2011 alone.
