Central African Republic: Random Facts and Trivia

Some random facts and trivia for the country of the world Central African Republic including the people and anthropology, Ubangi lips, the various animal species.

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC

NOTES

The people of the Central African Republic have been slow to develop political awareness, and slow to become educated in the ways of the "modern" world. They are still very much involved in the traditional animist rites practiced by their ancestors--cults, fetishes, ancestor worship, and sacrificial ceremony survive in some places. In 1955 John Gunther commented, "This territory is an anthropologist's paradise."

"Ubangi lips" are made by inserting wooden or ivory disks beneath the lower lip, stretching the lip to hold larger and larger disks (up to 8" platters). Originally, Ubangi women were disfigured in this way in order to discourage Arab slave traders from hauling them off. The distended, distorted lip grew to be considered a mark of beauty among Ubangi women, outliving the slave trade by nearly 100 years; the custom is finally dying out now.

Lush forests are full of rare birds and wild animals, butterflies, and flowers, some of which are found nowhere else on earth.

You Are Here: Trivia-Library Home » World Country: Central African Republic » Central African Republic: Random Facts and Trivia
« Central African Republic: Location, History, Size, Population, & Government