People in the Sursurunga tribe see physical touch as a sexual gesture. In their culture, a man and a woman holding hands in public is equivalent to a man and woman having sex in public in our culture in terms of shock value. Hugging is not even considered.
Which makes you wonder what a family unite must look like.
Which makes you wonder what a family unite must look like.
Once a brother reaches puberty it is mandatory that he leave his house and never interact with his sister. This doesn't mean that he leaves the village, it simply means he can't go back into his house or involve himself in the privacy of his sister.
If a brother and sister are seen going into the same house together it is presumed that they are participating in something sexually deviant.
The men end up raising themselves in what they call "Men's Houses" where the village elders and young men meet, smoke, and discuss life.
If you are married in that tribe you may not engage in sexual activity in your house. Instead, you must take a trip to "the jungle" and finish your business there.
There is such an extreme sense of privacy and a distance from physical emotion in that culture even among family - so much so, that I began to go through emotional withdrawal. You are surrounded by people that you cannot communicate with and cannot interact with physically. How do you show them that you love them? That you care about them?
Emotional improvisation was a unique experience. I hugged and kissed my family when I got home.
Your friendly neighborhood giant,
~Alan
As someone who shares a condominium with her older brother this was definitely an interesting read! Although my brother and I are not very touchy feel-y at all, I appreciate how you share your thoughts from experiencing other cultures. When reading your blog, I can easily follow your reflections regarding family and parenting as a Westerner looking at other cultures. It makes me want to go out and experience different cultures as well! You and your blog come off as very friendly and thoughtful.
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Elma :D
I thought that this blog was an extremely interesting and surprising read. I knew some cultures frowned upon physical interaction but I did not figure any culture to be this extreme. I enjoy reading your blogs because you actually raise questions for us to answer. After reading your blog (especially the end), I started to wondering the same questions. Your grammar and ideas flow well in your blogs and your topics are all very interesting. I think you are doing a great job and keep writing about interesting topics because your blogs are fun to read.
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