Living customs in Mauritania
Mauritania is both an Arab country and an African country in terms of geography, humanity and society. It is known as the Arab-African Bridge. Therefore, it combines Arab and African customs. The capital, Nouakchott, has the currency "Ouguiya". The national language is Arabic and French is commonly used.
Since the first batch of Arab knights came to the northern region of Maota in 734 AD, Islam began to be introduced. Islam is its state religion and almost everyone believes in Islam. They pray five times a day, once at noon, twice in the morning and twice in the afternoon, and wash their hands and faces before praying. Due to the lack of local water, people often use yellow water instead and use sand to wipe their hands and faces. Then he tidied his clothes, faced the direction of the Holy City of Mecca, and prayed piously.
due to the extremely dry climate in Mauritania, the temperature is extremely high, and the poor heat dissipation of ordinary houses, this country is vigorously developing tents that dissipate heat faster. Spieple tents can be seen everywhere. Even in the capital, other tents are set up in courtyards or suburbs as a resting place to enjoy the shade. Mauritania also regard hosting guests in tents as an elegant move. Even National Day banquets hosted by heads of state are used to being held in tents. Therefore, people jokingly call this country a "tent country." In recent years, with the development of urban construction, urban residents generally live in Arab-style cement brick houses.
The costumes in Mauritania are also unique, with strong ethnic and local characteristics, generally men's robes and women's skirts. The man wears a white or blue "DaraA" robe, wears a long turban around his head, and wears bald and heelless leather sandals. There are two long slits on the front of the robe, and two large pockets are sewn inside, which can hold a lot of money and belongings. In recent years, it has become quite popular for young women to wear colorful dresses, while older women still maintain their traditional habits.
The location of the
and in the eyes of the Moors, the symbol that measures whether a bride is beautiful is not based on her appearance and jewelry, but based on whether the muscles of various parts of the girl's body are developed. Any bride who has a thick waist, a short neck, prominent buttocks, and tall breasts is recognized as a beauty. Needless to say, the groom is proud, but her family feels that it is a great honor, and people of the same tribe also feel proud.
Moreover, for a long time, among the Moors, it has always been the mother's decision on their daughter's marriage, and the father is not allowed to interfere. When a young man fell in love with a girl, his mother took gifts and went to the girl's mother to propose marriage. If the girl's mother agreed, the marriage was confirmed on the spot and a specific date for the wedding was agreed upon. Those thin and tall men always long for a fat wife. In their eyes, a fat wife is a symbol of wealth.
They also have a habit that wives are not allowed to eat with their husbands. The wife is allowed to eat only after the husband has finished eating. They have the custom of double days to indicate "good luck" and single days to indicate "unfavorable disaster". Therefore, they often regard double days as "good auspicious days" and are good days for happy events; they often regard single days as days with "bad luck", and most good things should avoid these days.
Mauritania people also like tea very much, but they usually drink green tea and are not used to drinking black tea. The tea they make is as strong as coffee, with a small amount of sugar and fresh mint juice added to the tea. The taste is sweet and mellow, with a slight bitterness. Tea is a necessity for guests. They call it "three cups of tea when meeting".
When meeting with friends, Mauritania people warmly say hello and hold hands tightly. Sometimes from the beginning to the end of the conversation, we will mainly hold both sides of the guests tightly and stare at each other enthusiastically with our eyes. When they meet each other, they don't just have to say hello to others. You should also ask the other person whether their cows, sheep or camels are good. This rare way of greeting is probably because in this agricultural-oriented country, the prosperity of livestock is closely related to people's lives and destiny.
People in the Sahara Desert of Mauritania shake hands warmly when they meet them on the way and greet each other for a long time. In addition, they must bite each other's arms in accordance with their national customs to leave traces as a memorial. When parting, we must kneel down to each other and wish sincerely, and finally bid farewell with tears.
The most solemn and advanced welcome etiquette in Mauritania is the camel welcome gift. When a foreign guest arrives, a person in national costume will come forward and offer camel milk to the guests and wash away the dust for the guests. The guests must take a sip to express their gratitude to the host. When lining the road to welcome, a herd of camels dressed in red and green walked in front of them. The scene was very spectacular.
They received distinguished guests with great sincerity and liked the most hospitable customs of the place. They took big gourd ladles and squeezed camel milk for the guests on the spot to show their respect for the guests. If there is a serious event, when holding a banquet, please eat all roast sheep. After a meal, we often invite everyone to drink three cups of sweetened mint tea. This move is to hope that guests will leave with a sweet taste so that they can leave good memories.
They love green, long for green, yearn for green, and regard green as a symbol of luck, brightness and happiness. They hate people kissing in public. Think this is an unrefined behavior, a shameful and disgusting behavior. They taboo passing things and food with their left hand, believing that this behavior is disrespectful or insulting to others. They hate people scattering food on the ground. Think this is an early insult to God.
And whether they are Moors or black, whether they are old people or children, they can all sing and dance well. The man is slender, has a round voice, and loves to dance powerful folk dances. The women are all very strong, singing while twisting their waists and buttocks. Each region has its own unique dances, and the dances are unique and exciting.