The mysterious African Nuer In order to continue the offspring, ladies can also "take wives".
On Earth, the continent after Asia is Africa, which is the second largest in the world in terms of area, accounting for about a quarter of the Earth's home.
This vast land is inhabited by many primitive peoples, such as the Zander people who live in eastern and central Africa, as well as the Hiluk people, Kandi people, etc.
Over time, some tribes gradually disappeared due to wars or their inability to adapt to the rapid changes in the external environment, and their existence can only be known to future generations through some cold written records.
However, there are also tribal peoples who still carry on their blood and culture in ancient ways with their strong genetic abilities.
The Nuer people living in southeastern Sudan are one of them.
Almost every family in this group of more than 400,000 people has a long history of thousands of years. A look through their genealogy reveals that there has been almost no fault line since the family was founded.
How did they achieve this magnificent feat? This requires an in-depth understanding of their ways, how to keep their blood and culture alive.
The Nuer, a mysterious and ancient nomadic people, dates back more than 3,300 BC. They have thrived in the lands of southeastern Sudan for four to five thousand years and have endured many existential crises.
Throughout history, in the late 6th and mid-7th centuries AD, Arab armies swept across the continent, bringing not only war, but also their caravans. Through the trade of goods, Arab culture gradually became part of the continent's bloodline, in an attempt to replace local traditions.
However, when confronted with the traditional Nuer, the Arabs were surprised to find that their methods, which had worked well in other tribes, were useless here.
The Nour people's persistence stems from a fundamental reason – the only thing they trade for is "cattle".
Similar to our herders, the Nuer people graze longhorned cattle called "Ankola" and other economic animals on hundreds of miles of land. Unlike other tribes, they trade in a more special way, as long as the other party can exchange money or goods of equal value, both buyers and sellers can benefit.
However, the unique culture and lifestyle of the Nuer people left Arab traders helpless. They kept only one animal, the "Ankola" cattle, which became a national totem in the hearts of the Nuer people. This cattle are not only the source of their livelihood, but also participate in their buying and selling transactions.
The headache for Arab traders was that doing business with the Nuer, whether buying or selling, involved only this breed of cattle. This means that you can only buy Nuer cattle and sell only this type of cattle to make a deal with them.
The Nuer people have lived near the equator for a long time, and with their unique habits and customs, they hardly wear anything other than the necessary mask. Due to the language barrier, their writing and living needs are significantly different from the outside world.
Therefore, the Arabs wanted to assimilate the peoples of other regions in a covert way by borrowing foreign cultures, but in the case of the Nuer, they were rejected. This is not an isolated case.
In 1898, the Omdurman War broke out between Britain and Sudan, and soon after, Sudan fell and became part of a vast British colonial empire.
During the nearly 60-year colonial period, despite the various measures taken by the British colonizers, the Nuer people still insisted on their independence, maintained their own cultural traditions, and resolutely rejected the British colonial culture.
As a result, the Nuer people still retain their unique script and language to this day.
In addition to this, the Nuer people also adhere to a rule that originated from their ancestors. This rule is not only the fundamental reason why this ethnic group has survived to this day, but it has also made the Nuer people the focus of modern society, that is, their mysterious and unique marriage system.
Originating from ancient ethnic rules, in ancient China, the marriageable age for a man and a woman to marry was usually about 15 years old, while the man was about 20 years old after the weak crown.
By modern standards, 20 may be acceptable for a man, but 15 is the equivalent of a junior high school student for a woman, and it is unacceptable to ask them to marry and bear the pressure of childbearing at this age.
However, in the perception of the Nuer people, this is already considered a relatively late marriage and late childbearing.
According to the ancient tradition of the Nuer people, men can enter the marriage hall at the age of 15 and girls at about 10 years old, that is, in the third or fourth grade of primary school.
To ensure the inheritance of the community, the patriarch or chief often designates a marriage partner for the children when they reach marriageable age. The man offers a certain amount of dowry, such as an "Ankola" longhorn ox, after which the man and woman are married and begin to reproduce offspring.
However, because the body of young couples is not yet fully developed, they cannot have children for many years. Even if you get pregnant successfully, it can lead to various problems due to the immaturity of the mother. For a nomadic people with relatively poor hygiene and medical conditions, any illness of a newborn, even a mild cold and fever, can be fatal.
Those who are lucky enough to survive and grow up**, after absorbing large amounts of protein from longhorns, gradually develop into tall and brave individuals, and are thrown into the hunting ground or more brutal battlefields early.
In this process, if you are attacked by a fierce beast or an enemy, and a large mouth appears on your body, beef products that are usually considered to strengthen your body will have the opposite effect.
Similar to the view in TCM theory, it is best to avoid high-protein foods such as beef and milk for individuals who have wounds on their bodies or have just undergone major surgery. This is because proteins tend to cause wound inflammation, which can lead to bacterial infections.
In modern cities, wound infections can have irreversible consequences if left untreated, especially for pastoralists who have been on the move for long periods of time.
In the shorter life expectancy, early marriage and early childbearing may seem like a good option in order to maintain the continuation of the race, but in fact there is a certain vicious circle.
As a result, the Nuer also adopted another system of marriage.
For example, a family has two brothers, and the brother and sister-in-law have been married for many years but have never had children. If the elder brother dies for any reason, the younger brother must marry the elder brother's widowed sister-in-law, regardless of whether the younger brother is married or not.
This system has some similarities with the Xiongnu, a foreign enemy during the Han Dynasty.
The difference is that after the death of her husband, a Xiongnu woman is forced to marry her husband's uncle, uncle, brother, or brother, mainly for the sake of survival.
In the Nuer people, the younger brother marries a widow for the continuation of the family, which is an obligation and responsibility.
In addition, their offspring will be called "father" by their deceased uncle, and only "uncle" by their biological father. What's even more interesting is that these children will become heirs in the name of the uncle, thus inheriting all the property he left behind.
The other is more brutal, similar to the ancient "adoptive", but more severe. When both husband and wife die without leaving an heir, the patriarch of the family will choose a suitable boy from among the clan to pass under the deceased couple's name. These children will change their names and surnames and will no longer be related to their biological parents. Even the last trace of blood ties will be completely ignored, no one will pay attention to it, let alone mention it, including the parties themselves.
This clearly shows that the Nuer people's focus on ethnic continuity is not about the so-called blood lineage, but more about the "surname". As long as the family name and property are inherited, the existence of the family is proved. In the ethnic continuity of the Nuer, the existence of blood ties has become extremely unimportant, especially in terms of the fact that their women can "take wives".
The system of "taking a wife" among women among the Nuer is a unique and mysterious institution of marriage that has not been seen in any other country or nation to date. This is not what we usually understand as a legally recognized "same-sex marriage".
According to Nuer rules, women can only "marry wives" and "have children" with the assistance of the patriarch if they are widowed, divorced, and unable to have children. Or, when a tragedy occurs in a family and everyone dies one after another, and the only surviving woman is the last woman, whether she is a daughter-in-law, daughter, or sister, she is eligible to continue the family by "marrying a wife" and "having children."
On this day when a woman "marries", the whole tribe is full of lively and joyful celebrations. This is not a noisy noise, nor is it a mockery, but a sincere and sincere blessing from everyone. Every family will hold a grand feast to slaughter chickens and sheep to celebrate, hoping that the family will continue in peace.
On this happy day, the bride and groom are dressed in gorgeous wedding dresses, supported by relatives and friends, and sit on a well-groomed donkey with a small bell around their necks. In the blessings of many relatives and friends, the bell makes a cheerful sound, just like the joyful music we play when welcoming our relatives. The "groom" happily leads the bride into a new life.
As for how to "have children", although they are both "grooms", due to physiological reasons, the female "groom" and the bride cannot really achieve an intimate relationship to have offspring.
At this time, the patriarch appeared again. He will personally attend the wedding and select a suitable man on the spot, so that the man and the bride can start a new life in the open and open, until the bride gives birth to a son.
After that, the bride and groom must sever all ties and tolerate no entanglements. The child born must regard the female "groom" as the father and inherit the family name.
A woman's becoming a female "groom" is not just a superficial change, in essence, except for the fact that gender cannot be changed, everything else will change dramatically.
The female "groom" has the duty to guard and continue the family responsibilities, such as ensuring that the family has more cattle so that when the "son" reaches the age of 15, he can provide more dowry and marry a good daughter-in-law.
She had to go out hunting or go to battle like a real man, and the hardships were self-evident.
At the same time, in the family, she also has supreme power.
is like Bai Wen's "second grandmother" played by Siqin Gaowa in the TV series "Mansion Gate", she said that even the elders of the family must put her first, and no rebellious behavior is allowed.
The wife "must treat her in the same way, with care and consideration, except for not having children with her."
And the "illegal" son must also respect her and treat her as a biological father. Even if she eventually dies, her family must refer to her with honorific titles, enshrined as supreme and must not be disobeyed.
Influenced by the cultural beliefs of **Christianity, the child's name will include the name of the father, grandfather and other paternal elders. Thus, once a woman is transformed into a female "groom", she becomes a member of the patriarchal elders, and her name will remain in the hearts of at least three generations of grandchildren.
In that ancient patriarchal community, when a woman was mentioned, it was often replaced by a surname, and sometimes there was no separate name at all. Although the process is quite difficult and the purpose is simply to continue the bloodline, it can also be seen as a unique challenge and victory.
Although the Nuer have a long 5,000-year-old civilization, like our Han Chinese, there is a huge difference between the two, one being a great nation and the other being a nomadic group with a population of only a few hundred thousand. The dilemmas and challenges are incomparable.
Even in modern times, with the rapid development of science and technology, the Nuer people have begun to go global. However, most of them still guard the ancient and mysterious traditional culture to ensure the continuation of their national heritage.
Known as "the 'living fossil' of African humanity", the Nuer people deserve it. This title is the best compliment to their resilient cultural heritage.