Jason Cuna
As an avid traveller across the world for over 40 years, I have learned long ago not to be judgmental about people and their culture and traditions. As the saying goes, “to each his own.”
Yanomami people
That said, there are certain customs that would definitely raise a few eyebrows and might be even considered a taboo around the globe.
Case in point, Yanomami tribe in South America! Different cultures from all over the world have their own special ways of greeting each other. For the Yanomami people, ripping one is the act used in lieu of a firm handshake or a enthusiastic wave.
Farting is something that most people prefer to avoid talking about unless those people happen to be small children. Whether you find the proverbial passing of gas to be something to laugh at or something to be kept behind closed bathroom doors, farts are not only very common part of every day life but have also had a symbolic importance in some cultures. I have not visited the Yanomami tribe, and I am not an authority on their cultural practices; but came across their cacophonic practice in a documentary.
Yanomami mom & child
The handshake is thought to have originated in prehistory as a demonstration of peaceful intent, since it shows that the hand holds no weapon. Another possibility might be that it originated as a symbolic gesture of mutual commitment to an oath or promise: two hands clasping each other represents the sealing of a bond.
With Yanomami people, how and why human stink bomb supplanted the good old handshake we might never know but it nevertheless would make a thought-provoking anthropological study case.
A final note, I cannot help but wonder what type of fart-greeting would be interpreted as a red flag among the good people of Yanomami.
Bonus for those trivia lovers:
Most people think farting is distusting, but not to all. There are actually people who identify flatulence as sexually arousing – the term is “eproctophilia.”
Most people have a grand idea of ancient Japan’s elegant kimono-clad geisha and fearsome katana-armed samurai… but they had plenty of fun in their lives too. During the Edo period (1603-1868), art scroll depictions of “fart battles” (as seen above) were quite popular.
The great Benjamin Franklin, one of the founding fathers, published an essay titled Fart Proudly (c. 1781), in which he suggested that research be undertaken into methods to improve the odor of human flatulence. Lucky he was not called founding farter afterwards.
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