The document provides information about three different tribes - the Bedouin tribe of Egypt, the Kogi tribe of Columbia, and the Bodo tribe of North East India.
For the Bedouin tribe, it discusses their culture of adapting to the harsh desert conditions, their traditional cuisine of cooking over open fires and eating with hands, their distinctive traditional dress including the keffiyeh head covering, and their religious beliefs as predominantly Sunni Muslim.
It then discusses the Kogi tribe's descent from the advanced pre-Columbian Tairona culture, their spiritual beliefs centered around "The Great Mother" and sacred mountains, their coming-of-age tradition of receiving a poporo gourd, and both
3. Bedouin Tribe
The Bedouin are the heart of the Arab peoples. Forged
from the desert, the Bedouin have adapted to the harsh
conditions before them and thrived to become one of the
most well known and most respected cultural peoples in
the world. They are the force behind so many
achievements in the Middle East. They are world
renowned for their honour, courage and hospitality, which
are very dominant in all Bedouin.
4. Food
One thing you will encouter while you stay here is Bedouin
food: an important part of every culture is what people eat.
Of course, this is also true for the us. Over the centuries,
typical dishes and special ways to prepare them have been
developed - secrets we are willing to pass on to our guests.
Some things you might want to know can be found on this
page, but for the real experience, you just have to come and
taste it!
Bedouin food is always cooked in the open fire, which
adds a special taste to even the simplest dish. Usually, a
meal is a social occassion, enjoyed with family or friends.
We eat with our hands: for example, rice is rolled into a
small ball and dipped into the sauce.
5. Traditional Dress
Bedouin clothing is adapted for desert life. They wear loose flowing
clothing that covers the skin so as to prevent heat stroke and sun
burn, but allowing air to still flow around the body so that it can be
cooled in the heat. The Keffiyeh is a large square coth folded in half
so that it forms a triangle. This is then placed on the head and held
in place with a woven cord called an Agal. This is a iconic symbol
of the Bedouin, as it helps shade them from the sun, allows air to
flow freely around the head, but also shades the face, and can be
wrapped around the nose and mouth in case of a dust storm. They
are usually coloured red and white, black and white, or just plain
white. The Bedouin women generally wear the family’s wealth on
them.
6. Religion
Religious Beliefs. Although a few Bedouin societies in Jordan
have remained Christian since the early Islamic period, the vast
majority of Bedouin are Sunni Muslims. The Five Pillars of
Islam are the declaration of faith, the five daily ritual prayers,
almsgiving, fasting, and the pilgrimage to Mecca. Most Bedouin
societies observe the fast of Ramadan, perform the obligatory
prayers, and celebrate the two major Islamic holidays—ʿIid al-
Fitr and ʿIid al-Adhha. Some groups endeavor to make the hajj
(the pilgrimage to Mecca) more than once in a lifetime, and
individual piety is sometimes reflected in the number of
pilgrimages an individual manages to undertake.
8. Kogi people
The Kogi are descendants of the Tairona culture, which
flourished before the times of the Spanish conquest. The
Tairona were an advanced civilization which built many stone
structures and pathways in the jungles. They made many gold
objects which they would hang from trees and around their
necks. They lived not much differently from modern day Kogi.
Before the Spanish conquistadors arrived, the Tairona were
forced to move into the highlands when the Caribs invaded
around 1000 CE. The decision to flee to the mountains proved
beneficial and strategic by the time the Spanish entered
modern-day Colombia in the 15th century.
9. Spiritual Beliefs
The Kogi base their lifestyles on their belief in "Aluna" or "The
Great Mother," their creator figure, whom they believe is the
force behind nature. The Kogi understand the Earth to be a living
being, and see humanity as its "children." They say that our
actions of exploitation, devastation, and plundering for resources
is weakening "The Great Mother" and leading to our destruction.
Like many other indigenous tribes, the Kogi people honor a holy
mountain which they call "Gonawindua," otherwise known as
Pico Cristóbal Colón. They believe that this mountain is "The
Heart of the World" and they are the "Elder Brothers" who care
for it.[5] They also say that the outside civilization is the
"Younger Brothers" who where sent away from The Heart of the
World long ago.
10. Traditions
The Kogi have many characteristics that define their culture.
For example, all Kogi men receive a "poporo" when they
come of age. The "poporo" is a small, hollow gourd that is
filled with "lima," a type of powder that is made by heating
and crushing shells to produce lime. The men also
continuously chew coca leaves, a tradition followed by many
indigenous tribes to connect them to the natural world. As
they chew the coca leaves, they suck on the lime powder in
their poporos, which they extract with a stick, and rub the
mixture on the gourd with the stick to form a hardened layer
or crust. The size of this layer depends on the maturity and
the age of the Kogi man.
11. Traditional Dress
Kogi men and women alike have
simple modes of dress. The
women pick, card, and spin wool
and cotton while men do the
weaving of the cloth. Clothing
for men consists of a tunic and
simple pants tied with a string at
the waist. Clothing for women
consists of a single length of
cloth wrapped around their
bodies as a dress. The Kogi all
wear only pure white clothing.
They say that white represents
the Great Mother and therefore
the purity of nature.
13. Bodo People
The Bodos of Assam is a branch of the great Bodo group of Indo-
Mongoloid family. The Bodos are basically an agrarian people;
still using traditional means to irrigate their land. Their chief
produce is classified into the ‘Ahu' and the ‘Sali' crops. Bodo
villages are situated in the plains of the valleys of Assam, and
hence they are categorized into what is known as the ‘Plains tribe'.
The Bodo people are expert in bamboo and cane craft; hence one
would usually come across houses fashioned out of bamboo and
wood in places where they live in majority. With the changing
times, the Bodos have taken in large numbers to the services,
business and other non-agricultural modes of livelihood.
14. Traditional Dress
Bodos have quite exquisite
dresses which are
exhilirating the beauty and
glamours of women. Dokna
is the dress worn by Bodo
women which they
themselves knit on their own
hands. Shawls form the
major fashion among Bodos
and thus loom is the most
important thing used in the
courtyard of the Bodo House
15. Food
Bodo have favoritism and taste buds for some of the
mouthwatering dishes. They are very much fond of
conventional drink called Zu Mai, Zu means wine and
Mai means rice. Rice is the main staple food but are
savored with a non vegetarian dish like fish or pork.
They now usually prefer non-vegetarian dishes. The
main dishes are Oma Bedor, Onla and Narzi
16. Culture
The Bodo people, akin to most tribal peoples, are a
festival loving people. The three main categories of
festivals are ‘seasonal', ‘religious', ritualistic and
ceremonial'. The seasonal festivals are (i) Baisagu, (ii)
Domashi, and (iii) Katrigacha. These three festivals are
parallel to the Bihu. Among the religious festivals of
the Bodos, the ‘Kherai' is the most famous; usually
understood to be the ‘national festival' of the Bodos.