Nigeria has a variety of cultural customs, some of which seem strange, such as the Magun, witchcraft, and female circumcision. Some activities used today to maintain cultural values and conventions may seem weird to those from other cultures and may even be viewed as inappropriate.
Let's look at five cultural customs that different tribes in Nigeria have that some may find odd.
1. Sharo Festival:
A "sharo" is a beating. It is a public ritual that shows the community that a young man has reached adulthood and is now eligible to marry. The young contestant is repeatedly spanked by another person, known as a challenger, but he cannot show any evidence of discomfort.
People from all walks of life are drawn to the Sharo cultural festival, a significant occasion in the Fulani settlements, to behold the spectacular display the young, vivacious Fulanis put on. The event, which lasts for a week and is typically hosted in a market, displays grit and tenacity in young men to endure the pain of harsh whipping.
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2. The Magun:
Adultery is not tolerated in Nigerian culture. For adulterers, the Yoruba ethnic group possesses a potent form of black magic called Magun, and the outcome is typically unpleasant because the offender might lose his life. The Magun is inserted into a married lady either by her husband or his relatives without her knowledge. If she marries another man, he can end up dying or becoming trapped in the act.
3. Inheritance Practices:
Many believe that the woman is a property that may be passed around, which is the foundation of inheritance customs. In some Nigerian traditions, a man's wife may pass to one of his brothers upon death. However, ungrateful family members now employ it as a means of getting access to the deceased man's money. As more women become informed and reject it, this tradition is fading.
4. Widowhood Practice:
A woman would endure extra humiliation to demonstrate that she was not involved in her partner's death as if losing him to the cold, cruel hands of death wasn't enough. The widow may be made to drink water used to wash her husband's body in some Nigerian tribes. Her hair was forcibly cut off by the deceased's family, who made her sleep next to the body. It disproves the widow's guilt in her husband's passing. Gradually, this civilization is becoming extinct.
5. Witch Hunting:
The Edos are primarily those that practice this. A man or woman will be sent to a witch doctor if they are suspected of practising witchcraft due to weird events or deaths in their family or community. The suspect is subjected to various forms of torture to coerce them into confessing. The witch doctor forces the confession, and if the person is proven guilty, the community will excommunicate them.
