Girls shouldn’t eat eggs … and other African taboos

All The Old African Taboos Like, “No Eggs for Girls”! And if it is a slaughtered chicken, they shouldn’t touch the breast either.

Sounds strange? It was

Okay, so picture this.

You wake up tomorrow.

You do a big stretch.

And suddenly then you remember… you have to follow, like, a million rules just before breakfast.

Well, that’s a bit of a stretch but the Zulus of South Africa (and in fact almost all communities on the continent) really had a ton of rules in the good old days!

No looking at your grandpa.

Not even in the eyes!

No saying your dad’s name.

Ever!

And if you’re a girl?

Forget about eating eggs.

People might think you’re, wait for it…looking for a boyfriend!

Whoa! That sounds crazy, right?

But for kids growing up in Zulu villages of South Africa, a long, long time ago, this was just… totally normal.

In the Zulu socieeties, these rules were called taboos (Ukuhlonipha), and they were everywhere.

They told you what to eat, where to go, and even how to talk. In Swahili they were mila, desturi and Miiko.

Now, before you say, “No way, that sounds like zero fun,” there was a big reason for it.

African ancestors in practically all parts of the continent, south of Sahara weren’t trying to be mean.

They truly believed that if everyone followed the rules, the whole village would be safe and happy.

It was their way of keeping everyone in check.

Let’s talk about a new bride. Yikes! Imagine moving into your new husband’s house.

So much pressure!

She had to bow down when talking to the older men. No standing up straight.

She couldn’t call her new mum or dad by their real names.

And get this, if any normal word sounded even a little bit like their names, she had to make up a brand-new word to use instead!

She couldn’t eat in front of them, either.

And she couldn’t even walk into the family’s special hut until everyone had a big party to welcome her.

And if you were a mum-to-be?

You had a whole other list of rules.

If a woman was pregnant, she couldn’t hang out near the cattle pen.

Why? Because they said they used strong traditional medicines there to protect the cows, and they worried it might hurt the baby.

The lady couldn’t stand in the doorways.

She couldn’t walk backwards into a house either.

And she couldn’t travel across rivers.

People thought these things might cause bad luck or make the baby late.

We know today that pregnancy is all about science, but back then, some of these rules showed how much everyone cared about keeping mums and babies safe.

Even a simple snack, like sour milk, had rules! A new bride couldn’t drink it until she was officially introduced to the family.

And girls were only allowed to drink it at home, never at the neighbor’s place.

And guess what?

When the baby finally arrived, new rules just kept dripping in! The new mum and baby got to stay in a quiet room for days.

No boys allowed! It sounds strict, right? But it actually gave the tired mum the perfect excuse to just lie down and rest without having to talk to visitors.

Brilliant!

Today, things are quite different. Thanks to doctors, schools, and new ideas, lots of Zulu families don’t strictly follow these old rules anymore.

But looking back is like opening a time capsule. It shows us that in many cases, our great-great-grandparents really cared about respect and looking after each other.

Interestingly, many of these taboos cut across cultures in Eastern, Western and Southern Africa regions.

So, next your parents tell you to clean your room or chew with your mouth closed? Just think…it could’ve been way, way harder, were you born a bit earlier!

Reference

1. Dlamini-Myeni, B., Mazibuko, G. & Shumba, K., 2024. The significance of female-specific taboos in Zulu culture, South Africa. Mankind Quarterly, 65(1), pp.42–57.