When it comes to family tradition, the most popular is that boys who want to get married have to steal a Zebu (a type of cattle) in order to prove to the girl's parents that he has courage. He then has to pay the cattle as the price for his future wife. In recent years, however, this has led to many conflicts between the people of the South region due to the fact that it can lead to the death of the cattle thieves, which they call "dahalo". Before the marriage proposal, the young men and women meet and the women often wear a comb in their usually braided hair to show that they are available. They also gift oil for hair care to the one they love.
Most Bara live a polygamous lifestyle, which sometimes worsens the problems surrounding those of cattle thievery. They traditionally practice "Zebu rodeos", where young Bara men try to stay on the back of an angry bull for as long as possible. This tightens family bonds, but occasionally a Bara will die from this and is buried in a natural cave. The bereaved then cut their hair to express their mourning as well as take the time to remember the deceased. Bara people view the spirits of the dead as dangerous and will sometimes move locations in order to save people's lives.
Trip Down Memory Lane, Electronic document. Nd.
http://kwekudee-tripdownmemorylane.blogspot.com/2013/07/bara-people-madagascarss.html, accessed June 2, 2015.
Tribes of Madagascar, Electronic document. Nd.
http://www.madamagazine.com/en/volksgruppen-madagaskars/, accessed June 3, 2015.
This information about family life is very interesting to me. In my opinion, the family life in the Bara tribe is very strong and close-knit. The traditions that they practice help to unite the family and tighten the bonds between members. Also, it is interesting that they have passed along such old traditions and still practice them today. For example, the "stealing of the zebu" is something that remains constant in the Bara culture whereas it might have evolved into something more modern in America.
ReplyDeleteIn most modern American cultures, people may find the practices of Bara family life quite strange. Specifically, those in America may find it odd that a Bara family would get up and move because they view the dead spirits surrounding them as dangerous. Also, the way that the Bara bury the deceased family members differ from modern American culture. In the tribe, the family member is buried in a natural cave whereas here, family is usually buried in a graveyard or cremated. I also find it very interesting that a young man must steal a cattle to prove his courage, but I like the way that it reflects their culture, being that a large part of their life is dedicated around herding cattle.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed studying the Bara tribe's family life and how each member of the family had an important role. From a science major's perspective, I found that there is a strong importance in tradition and that even if certain practices do not make the most sense, they make sense to the individuals partaking in them. In tribes like the Bara, family is very valued and respected and the ceremonies that take place are of much importance within the community. I think that it would be valuable for Americans to pay close attention to these traditions so that we could have a better understanding of what it means to be a family and how to create close-knit bonds between members of our own community, whether it be blood-related family or the family we've created for ourselves.
http://www.madacamp.com/Bara
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