Do Your Homework

Many people embark on pleasure trips to far-off locales without making any effort to read up on the local customs and traditions. This can (and often does) lead to unnecessary offenses committed entirely unintentionally by the traveler against the local dweller.

For instance, tribes or villages of people who reside near water often incorporate the water in some way into their daily lives. They are dependent upon the water for many of their needs, and many try to “return honor” in some way. The occupants of many villages along the Brahmatupras River in Asia customarily eat their evening meal (but only the evening meal) while sitting waist-deep in the river, believing that taking in sustenance while sitting in the cool flowing water will increase the power of the food that they eat, making them stronger and more resilient to the many diseases that rage around them. The traveler to this area would do well to take along clothes that will not be adversely affected by water. In a totally separate water/food connection, the B’rulus, who live along the shores of Zambweulu Lake in Zambia, have a longstanding tradition of finishing precisely half of the food they are enjoying for dinner and then throwing the other half into the lake. This is their way of repaying the lake for the bounty of fish that it provides to the tribe. Imagine the offense of a traveler sitting down to a supper with the tribe and consuming the entirety of the meal! This would be inexcusable, and so easily avoided if the traveler simply did his or her homework and read up on these little-known customs.

In another example of a local custom that should be studied before visiting, the inhabitants of Panuba Island in the southern hemisphere have a strictly observed habit of keeping their hands clasped behind their heads, with their elbows out to the side, when they are not actively using them. Panuba Island went through a period of violence among its people in the decade from 1930-1940, and ever since have observed the policy of keeping their arms raised, so that their neighbors can be assured that they are harmless. Any uninformed visitor to their island walking around with hands free and visible (and therefore ready to use in violence) would be quickly apprehended and put through a lengthy interrogation and then, with luck, released to return home. The nearby Marpeggar Peninsula has another local custom that is not widely known. On the peninsula, if someone gives you a gift, for you to offer to repay it with money is considered a grievous offense. Rather, they would prefer that you perform for their entertainment; any sort of short dance or song is sufficient. If you bring a smile to their lips, they consider that repayment enough. The traveler to Marpeggar would come to the peninsula prepared if he or she has read up on the local customs and can rehearse some small entertainment before arriving.