The Hunza Valley in Pakistan is the home to a community of people said to survive longer than anyone on Earth. So, what are the their health secrets to longevity? The secluded Hunza people have an average life expectancy of 100 years old and exceeding 120 years in some cases. Meanwhile, the average life expectancy in Pakistan is only 67 years. It is a fact that their isolation and quality of life have some interesting characteristics that would certainly make one healthier. The Hunza are said to be able to bear children later than usual, never getting sick, and being impervious to cancer. While there may be validity to some of these claims, others might be taken with a grain of salt. One website states that Hunza women can conceive between the ages of 60 and 90 – a claim most women would find incredibly hard to believe. Another common belief is that the Hunza are all descendants of Alexander the Great, who left men too weak to continue on treks through the mountains during the Greek’s conquests in the fourth century BCE. While the former claim sounds exaggerated, there is a possibility that the Hunza could be descendants of an Indo-European race that settled in the area. We’ll come back to this later on. The Hunza Valley is situated in a remote, pristine area of northern Pakistan, where locals grow their own food and utilize fresh glacier water for drinking and bathing. Cut-off from any nearby cities or commercial hubs, the Hunza do not consume any processed foods and eat a diet rich in vegetables, milk, grains and fruit, especially apricots. Apricots are a staple for the Hunza, who are said to go for several months a year on a diet consisting purely of apricot juice. The Hunza are said to not suffer from cancer, due to their consumption of vitamin b-17, also known as amygdalin, found in apricot seeds. Their diet also consists largely of raw fruits and vegetables, and lesser quantities of meat. There are certain areas of the world, known as Blue Zones, with high concentrations of centenarians and longer life expectancies. Though the Hunza aren’t included on that list, they share some similar characteristics with Blue Zone denizens. Much like the Blue Zones, the Hunza live in an area of high elevation, where many work physically strenuous jobs, keeping them in peak physical shape, while breathing clean, fresh air. Whether the Hunza longevity is exaggerated, is up for debate, but what is undoubtedly that they lead a healthy life. NOMADIC TRIBE TEAM Plan your trip to visit the Hunza in our Tribes section.
Travel Tips
For many reasons, the Nenets are one of the most fascinating cultures in the world. Perhaps the most striking thing being their ability to adapt their lives to the most challenging climate in the Northern Hemisphere, and a mutual dependence between communities and their reindeer. Much has been written about them, but very few people have had the opportunity to visit, and having lived with one of the Nenet families during the winter period, the Nomadic Tribe team uncovered 17 curious facts that you won’t often find mentioned in books. Nenets live on the edge of the world. Nenets inhabit the northern part of the western Siberian plain. This includes the ‘Yamal’ peninsula, which is surrounded by the Arctic Ocean, and in Nenet language means "the edge of the world". Nenets have lived with reindeer for one thousand years. Evidence of indigenous peoples being dedicated to the reindeer economy in the Yamal Peninsula dates back a thousand years. Nenets were originally hunters, but for centuries specialized in the domestication of reindeer, which created a bond in which they were mutually dependent on each other for survival. Nenets can recognize an individual reindeer in a herd of thousands. For most people, all reindeer look practically the same, but the Nenets can recognize individual animals among dozens of different types and within herds of thousands. In the Nenet language there is a different word to identify each and every one of those thousands of reindeer. Every Nenet family has a sacred reindeer. The sacred reindeer of each family cannot pull a sled or be sacrificed under any circumstances (the exception to the latter being when old age means they are no longer able to walk). The animal is treated like a member of the family and lives — alongside other pets such as sheepdogs —around their home throughout its life. The Nenets' entire existence depends on reindeer. Reindeer provide everything the Nenets need to survive. Their skins serve to cover their homes — the ‘Chum’ — and protect them from the cold. The Nenets' coats, boots and blankets are made from their fur, with the seams constructed using the animal's nerves. Bones are used to make utensils and sled parts, and of course its meat, which can be eaten raw, boiled or frozen, is a primary component of their diet. Their blood is specifically valued as a rich source of vitamins, and is drunk immediately after slaughtering the reindeer. Nenets use carved mammoth ivory to create utensils. Mammoths were giant woolly elephants that lived during the Pleistocene — some hundreds of thousands of years ago — in Siberia. When the thaw occurs, the permafrost uncovers the bones of these animals, which the Nenets then find when they take the reindeer to graze and carve into utensils and decorative elements. Even when it’s minus 50 degrees Celsius outside, inside the Chum, the temperature is still like summer. Chums are the homes of the Nenets. They are built by erecting a skeleton of fir wood posts and covering it in reindeer skins: a construction which can be assembled and disassembled in less than two hours. While outside temperatures of minus 50 degrees Celsius can be reached in winter, inside the Chum the thermal insulation of the reindeer skin keeps the temperature warm and pleasant by retaining the heat produced by the chimneys. Snow is the Nenets’ primary source of water. The Nenet women go outside the Chum with a small sled and a shovel whenever they need water. They collect clean snow which, on their return, is thrown into a saucepan over the fire on their return until it melts and — once cools — can be used as drinking water. Nature is the Nenets’ toilet. The Chums have only one very small open space, therefore there is no room for a separate toilet. If they have to relieve themselves, they go outside and walk a long way (until they are sure that no one can see them from the camp) and do so in the snow. Men must walk to one side of the camp and women to the opposite. As reindeer are attracted by the smell of urine — even from long distances — this activity can prove quite the adventure! The Nenets have no weekend. Taking care of the reindeer and making sure they have the food they need is a job that needs attention seven days a week. Nenets only rest from work once a year: at a festive celebration where families within the community get together to compete in sled races and participate in traditional activities such as reindeer herding and other events from their culture. Nenets are affected by climate change. The Nenets’ environment is one of the most severely impacted by climate change, as in the Arctic, the permafrost thaws faster and faster in the spring, meaning that each year it takes longer to freeze again in the fall. For this reason, herders have to modify their migration routes in search of snow, which is where the reindeer find their main sources of food. Reindeers find their food under the snow. Reindeer mainly feed on lichens that grow under the thick layer of snow. Their acute sense of smell allows them to track their food, digging holes with their snouts until they find it. In Nenet language these little holes, or pits, are called "kiekerö" and when the reindeer migrate to another place of pasture, to see thousands of them left on the snow plains is quite a sight. The Nenets spend long periods in total darkness. "Kaamos" is the period of time from November to January where, in the northernmost areas, the sun does not rise at all, making it a difficult time for the survival of both people and animals. The snow layers are thicker, meaning it is harder for reindeer to forage for food, and although today the Nenets use flashlights, it’s not hard to imagine just how much of a challenge this has posed over the past centuries. The only way into a camp is by sled. Nenets migrate from time to time, an activity which can take anything from a few days to an entire month depending on the food sources available to the reindeer. As soon as the lichen runs out, they have to change their area and to do so they cross their camps. For this reason, Nenet settlements are usually located where access is practically impossible. With no roads and a landscape covered in snow, the sled is the only viable means of transport, and the journey in can take anything from a few hours to several days. The Nenets have a great sense of humor. Nenet people spend most of the year isolated from any other type of civilization, instead living in their small social nuclei. In these periods, many hours of the day are spent inside the Chum, talking and sharing stories while they warm up, eat, and rest from their exhausting daily work. It is wonderful to witness these intimate moments in which the Nenets play pranks on each other and laugh out loud about the unexpected and often peculiar adventures of the day. Nenets eat up to six times a day. Living in such extreme temperatures and doing such hard, physical work causes the body to burn more calories than under normal circumstances, meaning that the Nenets have to stop working with the reindeer multiple times during the day to return to the Chum and recharge their energy. Their diet ranges from frozen fish — eaten raw — to reindeer meat, which is either eaten raw or boiled with rice and other staples bought from nearby towns on rare occasions in which they enter civilization. When they stray so far from their settlements that it is impossible to return home to refuel, the Nenets sacrifice a reindeer and eat it raw in order to continue working. The Nenet language is in danger of disappearing. Today, Nenents are required by Russian law to go to school, where the curriculum is taught entirely in Russian and there are very few lessons on the history and culture of the Nenets. This means that in order to learn the Nenet language, the family is the only resource. This means that Nenet children get used to speaking Russian before their own dialect and only the older generations continue to use it daily. For this reason, although the language is still used, it’s not difficult to see how it’s gradually being lost and might eventually disappear forever. NOMADIC TRIBE TEAM Plan your trip checking out the Nenets in our Tribes section. Photo credits / Javier Salinas
Travel Tips
Spread across Kenya and Tanzania, the Maasai community is arguably the most famous and well-known tribe in East Africa. They have traditionally lived as semi-nomadic pastoralists around the Masai Mara and Serengeti National Parks on both sides of the border. For decades, foreigners have visited Maasai villages as part of safari packages and the tribe has perhaps one of the longest running relationships with the tourism industry. This relationship has been beneficial for the Maasai, but also contributed to many challenges, as whilst tourism can provide a sustainable alternative livelihood for villages, it can equally be damaging if not carried out in a culturally appropriate way. Before you decide to head to Kenya or Tanzania and visit a Maasai community, there are a few things to consider and bear in mind as you embark upon your adventure. Here are eight things you need to know. Avoid stereotypes and leave your misconceptions at home There are a lot of misconceptions surrounding the Maasai, and it’s easy to revert to stereotypes. We have all seen photos of the women wearing colourful beads around their necks and the tall, slim men jumping metres into the air. However, there is much more to the Maasai culture than the aspects made famous by tourism posters and National Geographic covers. The best thing you can do when visiting the Maasai, or any other tribal community in East Africa, is keep an open mind. We shouldn’t be bound by stereotypes that we have seen in the media, especially in tourist publications, which often reduces the Maasai culture to a few recognisable features (such as beaded jewellery and athleticism) when in fact there is so much more to the complex traditions and history of the tribe. Be willing to learn new things. You might find that some of your misconceptions are challenged or even changed as a result of the experience. Why it is important to travel with an ethical and responsible tour operator The most difficult decision when visiting a traditional tribe is picking an ethical and responsible travel company. Tourism is not a new concept for the Maasai community - in fact, they have been open to tourism for many decades thanks to their close proximity to the Maasai Mara and Serengeti National Park: the continent’s big safari game parks. For a long time, Maasai communities have seen the benefit of allowing visitors into their villages as a way to diversify their livelihoods beyond pastoralism and subsistence. Tourism represents a huge boost in income and opportunities for many remote communities, however some travel companies have gone on to exploit the Maasai for their own commercial gain: sometimes the money is not given back fairly to the community and often specific demands are placed on the villages in order to please tourists. You should always ask the company you choose to travel with about their sustainable practice, and the policies and projects they have put in place to protect the heritage of the community to ensure that tourism is mutually beneficial for everyone involved. Be aware of ‘display’ or fake villages One major impact of tourism in the Maasai areas around safari national parks has been the setting up of fake villages: villages built for show. Many safari packages take tourists to such places, where additional money is required to enter and exploits the tourists themselves as well as the Maasai people, who are in turn forced to portray a certain stylised show for visitors. By visiting the Maasai tribes using a responsible travel company you will not only have a more genuine experience at a legitimate village, but be sure that the community itself will also benefit from a more authentic connection with the tourists. Respect the Maasai traditions The Maasai are a very proud and traditional tribe that have maintained many of their ceremonies and ways of life for generations. This is perhaps the main appeal for us as outsiders to visit their communities and learn about the relationship they have cultivated and nurtured with the land in which they live, however it also means we need to be respectful of their practices not dismiss something as ‘wrong’ just because it is not something we would do in our own lives. For example, the Maasai are traditionally warriors — morans — and, in many of the remote communities, boys are still sent away for training to become a moran. This training involves hunting and surviving in the bush for weeks at a time, something we might consider cruel but is in fact an essential part of their tribal identity. It’s important we acknowledge and respect these different cultural practices and traditions. Show an interest in their culture One of the other key reasons people are interested in visiting the Maasai is to learn about the proud traditions of this fascinating tribe. Rather than simply using your short visit to take a few photographs, be curious and use your time proactively by asking respectful questions. The Maasai are very proud people and appreciate the chance to share their culture with foreigners. Take the time to ask them about how they live and perhaps think of questions that show you can relate to them. After all, travel is all about the cross-cultural connections and the sharing of knowledge and stories between people. Ask before taking photos or videos Taking a photograph to capture a memory is often an instinctive reaction when travelling. Although lots of of the Maasai communities are well accustomed to this, with many villages having a long-standing relationship with the tourism industry, you should still always ask permission before taking photos or shooting video footage: imagine if someone entered into your town and began taking photographs of your home, family and way of life without asking. It’s particularly important to ask the permission of parents before taking photographs of children, however as a general rule you should ask before taking anybody’s photograph. The Maasai are generally very friendly and most will be happy to oblige, especially if they’re dressed in traditional clothing, as this is an enormous source of pride for them. However, you should remember that older members of the community may not appreciate this, and it’s important to respect any villager’s decision to decline a photograph. You should also be aware that for the Maasai people their livestock is the backbone of their livelihoods and that traditionally, rearing cattle has been how they have survived. As a result, a family’s livestock is very sacred to them and taking a photograph of their animals can be seen as disrespectful or threatening, so always ask before lifting your camera. Don’t offer money or gifts One of the major concerns raised by the introduction of tourism into remote communities is the perception that foreigners are simply visiting for charity purposes. As we’ve mentioned, tourism can be a major force for a more sustainable and diversified livelihood for many communities, however the act of handing out money or gifts, although well-intentioned, can actually do more harm than good. One of the most valuable things about travelling is the ability to interact and exchange stories and knowledge across different cultures, and this can be lost when tourists take the opportunity to hand out sweets or money. Although you may feel compelled to give something, especially to children, this can promote begging and confirm the notion that foreigners are there for this sole purpose of charity. The best way you can give back to the communities that you visit is simply by being there and making sure that the travel company you choose to go with is doing the right thing in supporting the livelihood of the community. You can also help in other ways, such as purchasing local handmade goods which may support a family as well as the local economy. Be prepared for an adventure Many of the Maasai communities live in harsh, arid landscapes that are often quite far from large urban settlements, and you may notice that the villages don’t have access to many of the basic needs and privileges you take for granted. It’s okay to be a little confronted by what you see, however it’s important to do your research in advance so you are prepared for the adventure you’re signing up for. There might be certain things that you can’t fully prepare for, but it’s important to try where you can, and to be as adventurous as possible when you’re there. For example, one of the staples of the traditional Maasai diet is the blood and milk of a cow. As semi-nomadic pastoralists, this is how they have survived in harsh landscapes and it is often still an important part of their culture, especially when animals are slaughtered ceremoniously. This is likely to be troubling, even distressing for some outsiders, but by being as open minded and respectful as possible it will put both yourself and them at ease. It might mean stepping out of your comfort zone, but that’s often what travelling is all about. ELISA DONKIN Elisha Donkin is an Australian freelance writer and photographer, having written for Lonely Planet, Remote Lands, Matador Network and Travel Play Live magazine. You’ll usually find her in offbeat places, wherever there are mountains and always with a camera in hand. She also documents her journey on her blog, Going Somewhere. Going Somewhere blog Plan your trip checking out the Maasai in our Tribes section. Nomadic Tribe offers an ethical and sustainable experience to visit the Maasai helping protect their heritage and ensuring a mutually beneficial experience for both the tribe and the visitors. Photos credit: Elisha Donkin
