Culture is very important to symbolize the identity of a country. It is also one of the reasons for tourists to visit the countries. Some cultures are seemed normal but some of them received negative reactions from the people.
Started with the Yanomami tribe culture, they lived in the Amazon rainforest and didn’t believe that death was a natural incidence. They were certain that a bad spirit was sent to their tribe member so they carried out a rare funeral that is called Endocannibalism.
When the member of their tribe died, they covered the body with leaves and left it for 30 to 45 days. The flesh was eaten and the bones were collected for cremation. After the cremation, they mixed the ashes along with fermented bananas as a soup to be consumed by all. This tradition was to ensure the deceased’s spirit to be at ease and alive for the next life.
The second unnormal culture was being practiced by The Ainu people that were known for sacrificing bears. They had faith that bears are the god of their religion. They also believed that sacrificing bears means to bless their soul.
If a cub were found, the mother will be killed and the cub will be taken care of as their own God. The cub was fed with high-quality food until it reached the age of 1 or 2 years. Then, it will be killed in the middle of Ainu’s village and started to drink the cub’s blood, eat the flesh while the skull will be kept as their worship object.
The last most bizarre culture that was carried around the world is ‘Living with The Dead’ that was practiced by The Toraja people of Indonesia. The corpses of their deceased ones were exhumed, were dressed in special garments and then will be carried around the village. The Toraja didn’t view death as something to be mourned but instead, they saw death as an occasion to be celebrated.
Although some cultures are strangely creepy, we need to remember that authentic cultures do have different practices. It may be odd for the rest of the world but for them, it is for the sake of their survival and to protect their ancient traditions.
Writer:
• Nurul Izzah Binti Mohamad Khairudin is a student of Faculty Film, Theatre and Animation.
• Prof. Madya Dr. Mohd Syuhaidi Bin Abu Bakar is Timbalan Dekan Jalinan Industri (ICAN) and Senior Lecturer, Faculty Film, Theatre and Animation.
