Modernization is a global phenomenon; we are often in a constant need to make everything easier through the use of technology. I am really glad to have been born in this era where the world is a global village and information is just a tap away, however, there are some communities in the world that are still keeping their traditions alive and have no desire to join the modern world.
There is beauty in their authentic way of life. It is a simple, peaceful life and the tribes’ people may be materially poor but they are very rich socially and emotionally. There is very little known about these tribes as they have managed to seclude themselves from the rest of the world. It is however exciting that some of them are allowing people to get to know them. Some of these tribes are also dwindling in numbers due to encroachment and interference from outsiders.
Here are some of the most authentic places to visit a tribal village and immerse yourself in their unique, undiluted culture before some of them end up with the same fate as the dinosaur species.
1. The Waiapi tribe
Brazil
These amazing village people are located in the dense jungle of the rainforest. They are self- sufficient as everything they need to survive is found in the forest. They survive by hunting and subsistence farming.
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2. The Batwa tribe
Uganda
They are also known as the Pygmies, they are a group of endangered people living in the Kabale District of Southwestern Uganda. They live in small grass and stick huts. They have lived in harmony with the forest for than 500,000 years. They don’t practice farming or livestock keeping.
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3. The Huli tribe
Papua New Guinea
They are the largest indigenous group inhabiting Papua New Guinea. They are famous for their dramatic head gears and beautiful face paintings. They survive by practicing shift farming whereby they leave old worn-out tracts of land to recuperate and move on to virgin lands.
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4. The Hadzabe Tribe
Tanzania
They are one of the last hunter-gatherers in Africa. It is a small tribe of about 1,300 people who live between Lake Eyasi and the embankment of the Great Rift valley in Tanzania. Just like the Batwa of Uganda, they don’t practice farming or keep livestock.
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5. The San tribe
Southern Africa
They are the oldest inhabitants of Southern Africa. They are commonly known as the Bushmen. They currently live in Botswana and speak a click language. As they are descendants of the Early Stone Age ancestors, they live in caves under rocky overhangs or in temporary shelters.
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6. The Kazakh tribe
China
They are commonly known as the golden eagle hunters and they inhabit the province of Bayan -ölgii which means the rich cradle. They are the descendants of Turkic, Mongolic, and Indo-Iranian. The Kazakh can be found in Mongolia and Xinjiang, China. Apart from hunting golden eagles, they are also great bird trainers.
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7. The Himba tribe
Namibia
They are located in the Kunene region in Northern Namibia. They are the last semi-nomadic people of Namibia. They survive by practicing subsistence farming and livestock rearing. Their staple food is sour milk and maize porridge.
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8. The Dogon Tribe
Mali
They are best known for their masks dances, wooden sculptures, and their religious traditions. They live in Mali, Africa and are probably one of the country’s major tourist attractions. They are believed to be of Egyptian descent.
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9. The Chimbu tribe
Papua New Guinea
These mysterious tribesmen inhabit the Chimbu Province situated in the Central Highlands of Papua New Guinea. The most fascinating thing about them is perhaps their skeletal paints and their dances during their cultural festivals.
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10. The Asaro tribe
Papua New Guinea
They are also known as the Mudmen tribe. They inhabit the Eastern Highlands of Papua New Guinea just on the outskirts of the Gora village. They have a very unique way of dressing, they paint their skin white and wear eerie clay masks decorated with pigs’ teeth and shells.
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11. The Ifugao mountain people
Philippines
They reside in the Philippines in Northern Luzon. They are famous rice cultivators. The best time to visit is in April during the Imbayah festival. The festival is a celebration of good harvest and abundance.
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12. The Katu tribe
Laos
They live in Southern Laos. They are mostly known for performing Buffalo sacrifices. The tribe are animists, which means that they have a religious belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct spiritual essence.
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13. The Batak People
Singapore
They are situated in Samosir, Singapore and main importance to the tribe is that they are big on ancestral worship. They even have graves which are bigger than their homes located within the grounds of the family home.
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14. The Truku/Taroko tribe
Taiwan
They are one of the officially recognized aboriginal tribes of the Island of Taiwan. They live in Taro in Taiwan. The best time to visit is during their traditional hunting ceremonies.
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15. The Black Hmong
East and Southeast Asia
They are an ethnic group in East and Southeast Asia. The most fascinating fact about them is their tradition to honor the Buffalo. The Buffalo to them is a highly regarded animal as it represents wealth and has medicinal value.
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16. The Warli/Varli tribe
India
They live in India and are among the numerous indigenous tribes found in the country. The word ‘Warli’ means a piece of land. They are a multi-lingual tribe as they speak Hindi, Tamil, Urdu, and another unwritten language.
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17. The Kurukh/Oraon Tribe
Nepal and Bangladesh
This tribe lives both in Nepal and Bangladesh. They speak the Kurukh language which originates from the Dravidian languages and also use a lingua-franca known as Sadri to communicate with non-tribal people.
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18. The Maasai tribe
Kenya and Tanzania
The Maasai are found in Kenya and Tanzania the tribe are nomadic pastoralists who are very attached to their livestock as it signifies wealth. They are famous for their brave warriors known as the Morans. The Maasai people have managed to remain true to their traditions.
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19. The Red Dzao tribe
Vietnam
The Red Dzao people are originally from China but migrated to Vietnam around the 12th and 13th century. The women wear long blouses over trousers which are colorfully embroidered. The people survive by farming and livestock keeping.
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20. The Gondi/Adivasi Tribe
India
This tribe speaks the Gondi Language which originates from the Dravidian language. Gondi people have always had strong outer worldly, astronomical ideas.
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So there it is, our list of twenty tribes you need to visit if you want to experience a different way of life, and have lessons from people who have kept their traditional values alive for hundreds if not thousands of years. Take a step out of the 21st century and reconnect with elder ways of life that can often be forgotten in this modern world.
Christine Kinori