I Just Got Peed On... By A Cow In South Sudan (Mundari Tribe)
Intro
If you've been following along on my current trip, which consisted of catching a thousand-pound black marlin, you will find that I am currently in Juba, South Sudan. Well, last night, I spent time with the Mundari tribe in one of their cattle camps and partook in some of their local traditions. Let's just say this was one hell of an experience.
The Traditional Shower
Eventually, I will get around to in-depth reviews about spending the night with the Mundari tribe (just like I am now doing with the Iron Ore train). However, for now, I wanted to speak about the experience of taking a local shower.
Those who are a part of the Mundari tribe live and reside with their cows year-round. Water is limited, and if they want to shower, they do it slightly differently; they use cow urine. Depending on the time of day and the cow's production of urine, there are two ways to do this.
Collect the cow pee in the bucket and wash your body using it
Crouch underneath a cow while it is peeing and get the direct stream...
To them, this is a normal practice. But for me, this was probably one of the craziest things I have ever done in my life; granted, it wasn't for long.
Yes, I was a complete coward and went back to the cat straight after to scrub the urine off of me...
There are two reasons why the Mundari tribe does this. For starters, it is believed that the urine from a cow constitutes an antiseptic. Secondly, the Mundari are known for their orange hair, which is produced from daily showers in the cow's urine.
If you are wondering, they do clean themselves in the river as well.
Final Thoughts
Certain people might look at this practice as wrong or unusual. In my opinion, it is something that is very different and makes sense. While I wouldn't do this ever again, I am happy that I tried it since now I know that cow urine showers aren't for me. I had a lovely time with the Mundari tribe, they are the friendliest people and I am so grateful that they hosted me🙂.
