These African women amaze with their appearance. Himba children and initiation rites

The Himba have almost no water at all: every drop that can be obtained will be carefully preserved and drunk. To also wash with water is unimaginable here.

The Himba have been helped to survive since time immemorial by a magical ointment, to which they owe their now famous red skin tone: a mixture of butter churned from the milk of their skinny cows, various plant elixirs, as well as bright red volcanic pumice “okra” ground into the finest powder. Himba women apply this mixture to their entire body and hair several times a day.

The ointment helps maintain the required level of hygiene, protects against sunburn and insect bites.

Surprisingly, Himba women have absolutely perfect skin. And they smell quite pleasant - except that they smell a little like melted butter...

The same super cream serves as the basis for a traditional hairstyle. Long "dreadlocks", however, are grown approximately twice as long with someone else's hair: usually male, most often respectfully accepted from the father of the family.

By the way, every resident of a Himba village has, in addition to the one received at birth, also a “European” name.

Children receive it when they study in mobile free schools, organized by the state: almost everyone goes to school, so almost everyone knows how to count, can write their name, say a few English words and phrases (first of all, English numbers will come in handy - especially when it comes time to bargain).

After the first two or three classes, very few continue to study. Only a rich family can afford to send a child to the city, to a “big” school: education, housing, clothing, food in the city cost an average of seven cows a year. But sometimes it happens.

From there, from the city, comes the most terrible problem of the Himba: AIDS. In Namibia, almost 20 percent of the population is infected with AIDS, and the Himba have a purely philosophical attitude towards the danger of becoming infected: God gave, God takes away.

Of course, they are not talking about any kind of prevention. But if you’re lucky and don’t get infected with AIDS in childhood or youth, the Himba live for quite a long time: often longer than 70 years, and sometimes live up to 100. However, old people are not visible in the village: either in distant pastures, with livestock, or in huts where tourists are not allowed.

An ideal starting point for a trip to the Himba settlements is the town of Opuwo. Already here, by the way, you can meet representatives of the Himba. Don't be surprised if you see one of these gorgeous ladies in the supermarket.

It is better to go directly to the Himba village with a local guide. He will be able to negotiate with the tribal leader about visiting the “kraal” ( traditional home Himba) and he will talk about the life and culture of the Himba.

Rarely do any of our contemporaries dare to go to this point on Earth, so a virtual trip, sitting in a chair, in in this case- the very thing!)))

In the north of Namibia, in hard-to-reach areas of the Kaokoland plateau, lives unique people- Himba. Himba women wear only loincloths and cover their bodies with dark ocher paint. It is prepared from stone quarried on the mountain, past which the only road to the Himba country passes.

The Himba call this mountain Sacred. They come to her from all over Kaokoland, a vast region of Namibia where the Himba mainly live. There is only one such mountain in the whole of Kaokoland. It consists of a rock rich in iron, so it looks red, almost burgundy. This Himba breed is used to make paint that covers the body from head to toe.

The Himba have always led a semi-nomadic lifestyle and even today they are not very willing to make contact with whites. Therefore, neither Christian missionaries nor the colonial administration managed to change their way of life.

The main difference between the Himba and other peoples of Namibia is that they still retain the full weight of their traditions and beliefs. Christianity had no influence on the life of this people. The life of the Himba, their customs have hardly changed. Today there are no more than 10 thousand of them.

The main form of settlement among the Himba is the kraal, where the family lives. The kraal has a circular layout. In the center there is a cattle yard, fenced with fences, where cows and goats are kept. Around are the huts of the family - children, wives, elderly parents.

What is a Himba home like? The Himba dwelling is a hut, round or square at the base, consisting of poles. The poles are dug into the ground and coated with clay. Inside there is an earthen floor at the entrance home, there is no hood. The roof is made of poles, tied with leather straps. The roof is covered with straw and dry reeds. There is no furniture; they sleep on the floor with dirty mattresses.

Like any people, the Himba have a myth about their origin. A long-standing legend among some Himba states that the ancestor of the people, Mukuru, and his wife, along with their cattle, emerged from the sacred Omumborombongo tree. In other legends, Mukuru is identified with the creator god, the creator of all things, who endowed the souls of deceased ancestors with supernatural abilities.

Mostly women work in the kraal. The oil is beaten in vessels made from dried pumpkin, the skins are processed, and the flesh is scraped off with a scraper.

The Himba make men's and women's legguards from the skins of antelopes, gazelles, but more often from the skins of domestic animals - goats and cows. This is probably the correct name for this item. national costume. A legguard for men is a rectangular piece of tanned skin, secured to the body with a belt. Women wear their legguards in approximately the same way.

Women also prepare body paint. They grind soft stones mined at Sacred Mountain, into powder and mix it with animal fat. You have to stock up a lot of paint. Every self-respecting Himba begins the morning by covering her entire body with it.

This, firstly, is beautiful, secondly, it saves the skin from the rays of the scorching sun, and thirdly, it is hygienic. Paint replaces soap for the aborigines. When it is scraped off the body, the dirt comes off with it. In my opinion, a very useful invention in conditions of constant water shortage.

In addition to the body paint, Himbu women wear so many things that you quickly stop noticing the lack of clothing: luxurious necklaces made of leather, iron and brass, pendants, belts, bracelets, ankle jewelry. They do all this with their own hands.

Himba marriages are polygamous: a man can have several wives. Hence big number children. When they reach a certain age they go through quite a lot cruel rite initiation.

All Himbas over ten or twelve years of age are missing four lower teeth. This suggests that they went through the rite of growing up and became teenagers. This procedure is very painful. A person’s healthy teeth are deprived of them using simple objects - a burnt stick from the “sacred” fire and a stone. Each tooth is knocked out individually, and the wounds are then cauterized with a hot iron. If you want to be an adult, then be patient.

You can tell a boy from a girl by their hairstyle. Girls wear two pigtails hanging over their eyes. Boys - alone, in the back, or do without her at all. A girl who has reached the age of 14 is considered a bride. As a sign of this, she has many braids braided so that they almost completely cover her face. Married women have the same hairstyle, but their faces are open. The hair is supported by an intricate headdress made of leather.

The kraal is the real kingdom of women. They are the boss here.

The Himba have this order - if a husband kills his wife, this happens in family life, then he pays compensation to his wife’s family in the amount of 45 cows. If a wife kills her husband, this also happens, then nothing goes to the husband’s family. The authorities do not punish those responsible for the incidents or put them in prison. They believe that this is an internal matter for the Himba and do not interfere.

Every morning, while the sun is not too hot, the women set off on the water. I tagged along with the chief's wife. On the way, I learned that “yuru” in Himba means nose, “oho” means eye, and “otiyo” means hand. Using gestures, I also found out that my companion’s name is Wacchus, she is 25 years old and has three children.

Previously, the Himba had to get water by digging huge holes in the beds of dried up rivers. When water appeared at the bottom, they scooped it up with bags made of leather. Now everything is much simpler. The government has drilled artesian wells for the Himba, and the water problem seems to have been solved.

I helped carry the empty canister and was ready to make the return trip with the full one. But Wacchus resolutely refused me this. Having fitted a kind of rag pie on her head, she placed a 20-liter container on it and walked briskly towards the house.

The range of women's responsibilities, of course, is not limited to trips to fetch water. Women here prepare fuel, maintain order, and do the gathering. For days on end they comb the savannah in search of food.

Himba are unpretentious in food. Wacchus and I came across a tree that they call buffalo thorn here. Its fruits are edible.
It takes a lot of effort and time to fill a small container with all kinds of edible roots, fruits, and berries. Without them, the Himba diet would be extremely meager - only milk. Himba meat is rarely eaten, despite the fact that they own large herds. For them, livestock is more of a capital than a means of subsistence.

When we returned to the kraal, Chief Karapaha Musutua gave me a short interview.

Karapaha Musutua:
- There is only one family in my kraal. But we also have large villages where several families live.
A.P.:
- How many wives can a Himba have?
Karapaha Musutua:
- As much as you can feed - 4, 6, 10, sometimes more. - I have three wives.
A.P.:
-Why are there so few men and so many children in the village?
Karapaha Musutua:
-I have 16 children. I don’t even know how many grandchildren there are. Their fathers live in the city. Our wife has the right, when her husband is away for a long time, to spend the night with whomever she wants. If after this she becomes pregnant, the man will only be happy. The more children he has, the better.

Himba weddings do not happen often. You need to pay a large ransom for the bride, and not every man is able to do this.

I asked the leader to introduce me to wedding ceremony. It begins with the bride, accompanied by her friends, and the groom on all fours leaving her hut. Then everyone rises to their feet and, holding each other by the loincloths, slowly move towards the “sacred fire”... If someone in the procession stumbles, this is considered an evil sign.

When the participants in the ceremony are seated around the fire, the chief is presented with three vessels of milk - one each from the hut of the groom, the bride and the chief himself. He takes a few sips, after which the vessels are passed around in a circle. The milk is drunk, and those present head to the chief's hut.

In front of her, they get down on all fours again and walk around the house counterclockwise. After this, the young people are left alone. They must not leave the hut for three days. But even when a man and woman are married, they are not obliged to observe marital fidelity.

The Himba still have a custom of exchanging wives during holidays. This kind of moral freedom worries the government.

After achieving independence, the Namibian authorities launched an offensive against Himba customs. Officials are calling on people to abandon ancient traditions due to the threat of AIDS. The Himba believe that their ancestors were distinguished by enviable health because they religiously observed traditions. And it is not good to abandon traditions, although each time has its own dictates.

Himba- people (20,000 - 50,000 people) living in northern Namibia in the Kunene region.

Household activities. The Himba breed cattle, goats and sheep. Women are responsible for milking the cows. Women also take care of children (one woman can take care of the children of another). In addition, women often do more difficult work than men: carrying water to the village and building houses.

Housing. Himba houses are cone-shaped and are built from young trees, which are then covered with mud and dung.

Beliefs. The Himba have retained their traditional beliefs, including ancestor worship and rituals associated with the sacred fire (okoruwo), which is considered an important link between the world of the living and the afterlife. The sacred fire is maintained as long as the head of the tribe is alive. When he dies, his house is destroyed and the fire is put out. His family performs ritual dances all night. Before the leader’s funeral, everyone tells him: “Karepo nawa,” which can be translated as “don’t get sick.”

Cloth. For the Himba, hairstyle, clothing and jewelry are important in their traditional culture. Even newborn babies are adorned with pearl necklaces, while older children wear copper bracelets decorated with shells. Himba women wear goatskin skirts decorated with shells and copper jewelry. Both men and women cover their bodies with a mixture of ocher, tallow and ash to protect their skin from the sun. Quite often, the aromatic resin of the omuzumba bush is added to this paste (otjize) (Klaus G. Förg 2004: 145). This mixture gives their skin a reddish hue, which symbolizes blood, which in turn symbolizes life. Women braid each other's hair and also cover them with this mixture. You can identify her by her hairstyle Family status. Men's hairstyles also reflect their marital status. For example, married men wear turbans. Modern clothing is practically absent among the Himba, but if it appears, it is men who receive it.

Himba women are considered the standard of beauty on the African continent.

In our age it is becoming increasingly difficult to find a corner globe, untouched by civilization. Of course, in some places the so-called national flavor still remains the main attraction for tourists. But all this is mostly feigned and artificial exoticism. Take, for example, the formidable Maasai - business card Kenya. Hearing the sound of an approaching bus engine, representatives of this tribe hide their TVs, phones and jeans away and urgently give themselves primitive look. It’s a completely different matter for the Himba - not big tribe in northern Namibia. They have preserved the traditions of the Stone Age in their everyday life not for the sake of tourists, but because they do not want to live differently, they write with reference to Records and Facts.

The climate of the Kunene province, where the Himba roam, cannot be called mild. During the day, the thermometer inexorably tends to the +60° mark; at night, frost sometimes falls. The breath of the oldest desert on the planet - the Namib - takes its toll.

The Himba moved to northern Namibia about several hundred years ago from East Africa. It was once a large tribe, but in the mid-19th century it split. Most of it migrated south, to an area richer in water. The people who broke away from the Himba became known as the Herero. They came into contact with Europeans, which ultimately killed them.

Several decades ago, Namibia realized that there were only a few indigenous people left who had preserved the way of life and beliefs of their ancestors. In general, they decided to leave the Himba alone and let them live the way they want. Any laws of Namibia on their territory come into force only after the approval of the tribal leader, who is called the king.

Like hundreds of years ago, the tribe leads a semi-nomadic life. The main occupation is breeding cows, goats and sheep. The number of cows determines social status, Burenki also serve as a means of payment. The Himba are practically not interested in money, because they do not use any industrial goods in everyday life. The exception is plastic canisters for storing and carrying water and various small items that accidentally fall into your hands.

The Himba live in kraals that have a circular layout. In the middle is a barnyard surrounded by a wicker fence. There are round or square huts around. They are built from poles dug into the ground and secured with leather straps. The frame is coated with clay, and the roof is covered with straw or reeds. The huts have earthen floors and no furniture. The Himba sleep on mattresses stuffed with straw. At the entrance to the hut there is a fireplace, which is heated in black.

As the pastures become depleted, they dismantle the huts and migrate. The Himba used to extract water by digging deep holes in the sand, and found suitable places for this in one way they knew. They never place the kraal close to the source, so that outsiders cannot see where the water comes from. Not long ago, by order of the government, artesian wells were dug along nomadic routes. But the aborigines do not drink this water, except to feed their flocks with it.

In the old-fashioned way, life-giving moisture can only be obtained for one’s own use, and even then only in short supply. There is no question of washing. A magic ointment helps, to which the Himba owe their red skin tint. This is a mixture of butter whipped from cow's milk, various plant elixirs and bright red volcanic pumice crushed into the finest powder. It is mined in one and only place - on a mountain on the border of the plateau occupied by the Himba. The mountain, naturally, is considered sacred, and they do not reveal the recipe for the ointment to anyone.

Himba women apply this mixture to their entire body and hair several times a day. The ointment protects against sunburn and insect bites. In addition, when the ointment is scraped off in the evening, dirt comes off with it, which, although strange, is an effective means of personal hygiene. Surprisingly, Himba women have perfect skin. Using the same ointment, they make a traditional hairstyle: someone else's hair - usually a man's, most often from the father of the family - is woven into their own, creating “dreadlocks” on the head.

As a rule, one kraal is occupied by one family, but there are larger settlements. Almost all Himba can read, count, write their name and know a few phrases in English. This is thanks to the mobile schools that almost all the children of the tribe attend. But only a few graduate from more than two or three classes; to continue their education, they need to go to the city.

Only women work in the kraals. They carry water, care for livestock, churn butter, sew and mend simple clothes. In addition, the weaker sex is engaged in gathering, so that the diet of the tribe consists not only of dairy products. Of course, women are also involved in raising children. By the way, children are not divided into friends and strangers.

Old people and teenagers graze the cattle. Himba men do not overwork themselves. Assembling and dismantling the kraal - that, by and large, is all they do. Hunting is not one of the regular activities of the tribe; it is rather a hobby of Himba men. The constant duty of the representatives of the stronger sex is the extraction of that very reddish rock that is used to prepare body paint. However, the composition is also made by women.

The weaker sex is also a kind of engine of progress. If tourists want to buy some souvenir from the tribe, they only have to bargain with women. IN last years Bright plastic bags began to enjoy unprecedented popularity among the people of the tribe. The Himba are ready to give their last for them. After all, these bags are so convenient to store your modest belongings, jewelry and, of course, scallops. With the help of the latter it is very convenient to create fantastic hairstyles for which Himba women are famous. They, by the way, are considered the standard of beauty on the African continent.

By the age of 12-14, every Himba is missing four lower teeth. This is a consequence of the initiation rite. Teeth are knocked out with a stone. If you want to be an adult, be patient. By the age of 14, Himba are allowed to marry, but weddings do not happen often, since a large bride price must be paid for the bride.

The wedding ceremony is very original. The newlyweds spend the night in the bride's family's hut. In the morning, they, accompanied by friends of their future wife, leave their parents' house, going out onto the street without fail on all fours. Then everyone rises to their feet and, taking each other by the loincloths, head towards the “sacred fire”, where the leader is already waiting for the newlyweds to perform the ceremony. If someone from the procession stumbles, the ritual will have to be repeated, but not earlier than in a few weeks.

The ceremony participants sit around the fire, and the leader is presented with three vessels of milk - one each from the huts of the groom, the bride and the leader himself. He takes a sample, after which the rest of the tribe members take turns applying it to the vessels. After this, everyone present heads to the leader’s hut, where the newlyweds will spend three days. To be the first the wedding night was successful, in front of the hut the bride and groom again get down on all fours and walk around the house counterclockwise.

Even if a Himba man and woman are married, they are not obliged to observe marital fidelity. Each Himba can have as many wives as he can support. You can change wives, and if a man goes on a long journey, he arranges for his wife to live with someone he knows.

This freedom of morals worries local authorities. More than 20% of the Namibian population has AIDS, so the Himba are a kind of risk group. However, the tribe takes a philosophical approach to medical problems. The gods give life, but they can also take it away, the Himba say. In general, they are long-livers: almost all live up to 70 years, and some up to a hundred.

The Himba justice system is also interesting. If, for example, a husband kills his wife or one of her relatives, he must pay compensation of 45 cows. If a wife or one of her relatives kills her husband, then no ransom is provided. The Namibian authorities do not punish the Himba in any way, considering all this to be their internal matter.

The Himba believe that their tribe descended from the ancestor Mukuru, who, along with his wife, emerged from the sacred Omumborombongo tree. Mukuru created all things and endowed the souls of the deceased Himba ancestors with supernatural powers. But then the enemies drove the tribe from its ancestral lands and captured the tree. Someday the Himba will return there. By the way, without any idea of ​​geography, any head of the clan will point with his hand in the direction where to look for Omumborombongo.

In the middle of the 19th century, the Himba almost disappeared from the face of the earth. They were attacked by the largest and most powerful tribe in Namibia - the Nama. As a result of brutal raids, the Himba lost all their herds and fled to the mountains. There they had to hunt, but they did not like such a life, and they went north to Angola.

For some time it was believed that the Himba had died out or mixed with other tribes, when they suddenly reappeared in their old place. This happened in 1903, when the Nama rebelled against the German colonialists. European troops quickly defeated the Nama and the Herero allies, after which they committed a real genocide. As a result, both tribes practically ceased to exist. The Germans and Himba did not ignore them. Almost all the Himba were killed or captured and sent to camps for blacks. Fortunately, after the First World War the colonies were taken away from Germany. And if the Herero and Nama never recovered from the blow, the Himba “rose up” like a phoenix from the ashes.

The third time they were considered extinct was in the mid-1980s. A terrible multi-year drought destroyed 90% of the livestock, and in 1988 the last outbreak in the last Himba kraal went out. The remaining people of the tribe were resettled in the city of Opuwo as refugees. But in the early 1990s, the Himbas returned. Now they number just under 50 thousand, and the population is growing. At the same time, they live exactly the same as their ancestors hundreds of years ago.

In the north of Namibia lives an amazing tribe that few people knew about. Its inhabitants, who had no contact with white people, for a long time They did not allow journalists to approach them, and after several reports, interest in them increased incredibly. There were many people who wanted to visit the tribe and tell the world about nomads living by their own laws.

Herder tribe

The Himba tribe, whose number does not exceed 50 thousand people, has lived in scattered settlements since the 16th century and leads a semi-sedentary, semi-nomadic existence in the desert where there is no water. Now it is engaged in cattle breeding: residents breed cows of a special breed, unpretentious and ready to do without water for a long time. Pets are the main wealth and inheritance, which is not considered as food.

People unfamiliar with the benefits of civilization

By selling animals, they earn some money, and frequent guests buy souvenirs and crafts. The Himba spend their earnings on buying sugar, corn flour, and treats for the children. The inhabitants do not need clothing; they make clothes from animal skins and fasten them to their bodies with a belt. All they need are flip-flops to walk through the scorching desert. None of them uses technology, hardly knows writing, the tribe members’ dishes are replaced by vessels hollowed out in a pumpkin, but they do not suffer at all from the lack of attributes of civilization.

The Himba tribe, whose photos began to be often published in various publications, observes ancient customs, worships the souls of the dead and the god Mukuru, raises livestock and does not shed the blood of others. They lead a peaceful existence in a lifeless desert, in conditions of severe water shortage.

Attention to appearance

For members of the tribe, appearance matters important role in traditional culture. It indicates position in society and certain phases of life. For example, married women wear a kind of crown on their heads, which is made from goat skins, and married men wear a turban.

Girls braid their long hair in braids above their forehead; as they age, they do hairstyles that consist of huge amount braids, and boys pull their hair into a ponytail tied in a bun.

Women voted the most beautiful

Representatives of the Himba do not miss a single detail and carefully monitor their appearance, taking care of their skin and hair. They compensate for the lack of clothing with numerous jewelry made from copper, shells and pearls. This is an important part of centuries-old traditions, and the women of the Himba tribe are recognized as the most beautiful. Their subtle features faces and almond-shaped eyes are admired by travelers who claim that every girl could work as a model on the catwalk.

These are tall and slender women who stand out from the rest. They deftly carry containers of precious water on their heads, thanks to which they have developed excellent posture. The jewelry that representatives of the fair sex wear on their necks, legs, and arms serve not only for beauty - thus local girls protect themselves from snake bites.

Magic mixture for face and body

Every drop of water is worth its weight in gold, and what they manage to get is drunk, so the members of the tribe do not wash, and a special mixture of red-orange color helps them survive, to which the Himba owe their special skin tone. Women grind volcanic rocks into powder and mix it with butter whipped from cows' milk, ash, and herbal elixirs. Every morning begins with the natives applying ocher paint, which maintains the necessary level of hygiene and protects against insect bites and scorching fires. sun rays, all over the body and face.

The women's incredibly soft skin looks great and smells nice with an aromatic resin that is often added to the mixture, which also serves as the basis for the complex hairstyles that distinguish the Himba tribe.

Each resident has a second, “European” name. Children receive it when they study in mobile schools. Every child can count and knows several phrases in English language, but after the first classes of training few people continue it.

The Himba tribe of Namibia build cone-shaped huts from saplings and palm leaves, which are woven with leather straps, and later cover them with dung and silt. There are no amenities inside such a home, except for a mattress on the floor.

The tribe lives in a clan, led by an elder - the grandfather, who is responsible for housing, religious aspects, observance of laws and traditions, economic issues, and property management. His powers are confirmed by a special bracelet on his erenge hand. The headman concludes marriages, conducts various ceremonies and rituals near the sacred fire, attracting the spirits of ancestors to resolve pressing issues.

Marriages are arranged in such a way that wealth is distributed equally. After the wedding, the wife moves in with her husband and accepts the rules of the new clan.

Women get up very early, at dawn, to milk the cows, which the men take to pasture. As soon as the land becomes scarce, the Himba tribe leaves the place and moves to another place. Husbands wander with their herds, leaving their wives and children in the village.

Among the modern things the tribe has adopted are plastic bottles in which jewelry is stored.

It is best to go to the village with a guide, who will tell you in detail about the life of the tribe and will be able to negotiate with the leader about visiting the home.

Amazing tribe Himba are hospitable and smiling people, not benefit seekers from frequent travelers. An original people existing in isolation from outside world, is indifferent to the benefits of civilization, and every case of preserving traditional ways of life is of great interest to scientists and tourists.

The guy passed away for 20 minutes.

He was in heaven for just 20 minutes. What was happening to him all this time? How could he come back to life? This story may seem incredible, but life gave this 17-year-old a second chance. In fact, no one can say reliably what happens to a person when he dies.

But the people who lived through clinical death, they tell approximately the same thing. Yes, they claim to have seen bright light at the end of a long dark tunnel, and at the same time they flew, feeling peace and tranquility. And now you can find out this amazing story the resurrection of an ordinary teenager named Zack.

Doctors can go into great detail about what happens to the body when a person dies. But no one can say for sure what is happening to human soul when the heart stops beating. Experts are always trying to avoid this question, because it is indeed very difficult to give a reasonable answer.

But again and again there are cases where people start talking about it. Many of those who were near death claim that they saw some kind of light at the end of the tunnel. They also report a feeling of peace and calm as the light gets closer.

We would like to present to you another story of a person who was on the verge of death for a long time.
Zach Clement is a teenager awaiting his 17th birthday on May 5th.
Zach is an ordinary teenager from Brownwood, Texas, a player on the local football team who really likes video games. Victoria Academy was holding its usual football training that day.

Everything was going absolutely fine until one of the team's players knocked Zach to the ground. Gary Bey, who was a volunteer ambulance that day, was fortunately not far from the incident.

The ambulance crew and team coach rushed to take Zack to the emergency room. According to them, “this was the most difficult case in their practice.”

Zach was taken to Central Children's Hospital in Fort Worth, Texas. Zach's parents, Teresa and Billy Clement, were in the hospital when they received ominous information. “Zach has been dead for 20 minutes. The cause is irreversible brain damage." But a miracle happened: the teenager’s heart suddenly began to beat.

The teenager was put into an induced coma. His body temperature was lowered to allow his brain to cope with the heart injury. A day after the tragedy, Zach woke up in his hospital ward. Even the doctors were shocked: they thought that the teenager, as happens with such severe injuries, would never wake up. His heart stopped beating due to rhythm problems, inflammation and an abnormal coronary artery.
Doctors admitted that they had never had such a severe case. After the patient's pulse disappeared, they could only hope for a miracle. Three days after the incident, Zach told his parents about what he saw while unconscious. The guy said that he saw a man with a thick beard, blue eyes and long hair. The teenager says that Jesus was surrounded by angels.

Zach also noted that the man did not give his name. But he is sure it was Jesus. “He put his hand on my shoulder and told me everything would be okay. It seemed to me that he was looking through me.” His mother says he said he saw angels and Jesus.
A lot of strangers believed this family. But there were also those who were distrustful. Some critics even noted that the parents may have given their son a pill that could have stopped his heart. “People can argue with science and logic, but you can’t argue with human experience,” says the boy’s father.

Zach returned to school, but doctors forbade him from participating in sports or any vigorous physical activity. He is wearing a special defibrillator that measures the condition of his heart. Doctors note that the risk of cardiac arrest still remains.

TERRIBLE TRAGEDY!
A man in a neighboring house saw a thin, pale face through the window. It's hard to believe what the police found inside...
American police officer Mark Holst will probably not forget that call he received on July 13, 2005. The caller reported a mystical, pale little girl looking out into the street from the window of a nearby abandoned house.

The strange thing was that no one had lived in the house for a long time. And seeing a living child inside seemed crazy.
Officers immediately began an investigation.
Mark Holst knocked down the door after knocking and getting no answer. What he saw plunged the experienced police officer into complete shock: rats feasted on the garbage on the floor, the rooms were infested with cockroaches and spiders, and the old furniture and bathroom seemed to be covered with centuries-old layers of dirt.

The strangest and very scary thing is that in the midst of all this hell a child was sleeping! A pale 6-year-old girl in a torn shirt and dirty diaper sat on the floor, and seemed not to notice the hungry rats around her.
“When I walked in, she opened her eyes. Then she opened her mouth - apparently she tried to scream - and crawled like a crab into the corner. With her arms wrapped around her knees, she suddenly began making very strange sounds,” says the policeman.
The baby's name was Daniel. Officers immediately took the girl to the hospital. At 6 years old, Danielle could neither walk nor speak - in terms of development, she was more like a 6-month-old baby. Need I say that mother's love this poor girl never knew.
We also managed to find out who Danielle’s mother is. The woman was preliminarily imprisoned for 26 hours, her property was seized and her parental rights were deprived.

Danielle was incredibly lucky - after some time she was adopted by Diana and Bernie Learous, who had always dreamed of a little girl. Baby who never knew parental love, took root incredibly quickly in new family, became friends with her half-brothers. She just accepted it very successfully and joined the family.
Despite the joys of her new life, Danielle still has to cope with her old psychological wounds.
“She has panic attacks 7-8 times a day,” says Bernie. “She eats all the time until she vomits.”

And this was the reason for the lock on the refrigerator - otherwise Daniel would immediately empty everything.
Now the baby, who was once found in an abandoned house, is already 15 years old. She goes to a special school and has a very close relationship with her new father. But still, seeing women who are somewhat similar to her biological mother, Danielle rushes into panic fear. "She's like a 2-year-old in a 15-year-old's body," Bernie says.
Danielle's adoptive parents believe that one day she will be able to start a full life, get married and have children. However, until now, every step towards the maturation of this unusual girl comes with great difficulty. “It’s like a roller coaster. You never know where it’s going to take you,” the Lirous couple say.
One cannot help but admire the patience and love of Danielle’s adoptive parents! We can only hope that their care will one day help this poor girl start a new life.

At a tattoo and piercing studio in Las Vegas, she "suffered" for several hours to break the previous world record of 3,100 piercings in one day.
The piercer only pierced the girl on one side because at some point she fainted. Immediately after setting the record, the piercer refused to continue.

A wedding ring is a ring made of precious metal, which is worn in some countries on the ring finger of the left hand (in the UK, USA, Brazil). In most other countries of the world, this ring is worn on the ring finger of the right hand.

A wedding ring symbolizes the bond of marriage: spouses wear it as a sign of their commitment to be faithful to each other. This European custom spread far beyond Europe.
According to custom, the wedding ring is the last of a series of gifts that may also include an engagement ring. IN Lately, appeared not without the participation of jewelers new tradition give a promise ring when courtship becomes serious, an eternity ring, symbolizing the rebirth or immortality of an ongoing marriage (sometimes this ring is given after the birth of the first child), as well as a trilogy ring, which is three rings, each with a sparkling round a diamond that symbolizes the past, present and future of marriage.

By European traditions The name of the surrogate and the wedding date are engraved on the inside of the ring, which enhances the symbolism and sentimental feelings associated with the rings, which are then passed on to generations.

Among Orthodox and Catholics, the exchange of rings is not part of the wedding ceremony, but rather a betrothal ceremony. Here two rings are always used. Usually the groom's ring, made of gold, and the bride's ring, made of silver, are blessed by the priest with holy water. He blesses the groom with the bride's ring and places it on the ring finger of his right hand, then blesses the bride with the groom's ring and also puts the ring on her.

Then the priest or witness on the groom's side exchanges the rings of the bride and groom three times. While engagement ceremonies now often take place right before the wedding (or nuptials, as it is more correctly called), the true act of marriage is not the exchange of rings between the bride and groom, but the holding of crowns over their heads, and they drink three times from the wedding cup.

Traditions of the wedding ceremony.
In Britain, the groom's witness keeps the bride and groom's rings and presents them during the traditional wedding ceremony. At weddings with a more elaborate ceremony, the ring bearer (usually a boy relative of the bride or groom) ceremoniously brings in the rings, lying on a special cushion.

In ancient times, wedding rings not only served as a sign of love, but were also associated with the act of giving “serious amounts of money.” In the prayer book of Edward VI we find: after the words “with this ring I betroth you” come the following: “this gold and silver I give you,” and at the same time the groom had to give the bride a leather wallet with gold and silver coins.

Not only in England, but also in many other countries European countries the wedding ring was in to a greater extent associated with the act of exchange of values ​​at the time of marriage, which served as a symbol eternal love and dependencies on each other. Sometimes the exchange of rings was carried out with special conditions, as, for example, in Germany: “I give you this ring as a sign of the marriage bond between us, on the condition that your father gives me 1000 Reichsthaler together with you.”

The bride can place the engagement ring on the ring finger of her left hand, and the groom places her wedding ring on the same finger. Or the bride can wear an engagement ring on the ring finger of her right hand. After the wedding, the bride can still wear both rings on different hands, thereby protecting them from scratches. Another option is that the engagement ring is kept by the bridesmaid in a special bag, on a plate, etc. After the ceremony, the ring can be put back on either the right or left hand.

Post-wedding customs.
In some Western cultures(USA, UK, Italy, France, Sweden) wedding rings are worn on the left hand. The tradition of wearing a ring on the ring finger dates back to very ancient times, when it was believed that the “vein of love” (vena amoris) passed through this finger of the left hand, and married couple, putting rings on the ring finger, symbolically declared eternal love for each other. Currently, this custom has become a tradition and standard of etiquette in these countries.

In other countries such as Greece, Germany, Russia, Spain, India, Colombia, Venezuela and Chile, the wedding ring is worn on right hand. Orthodox Christians and Eastern Europeans also wear a wedding ring on their right hand. Jews wear it on the left hand, despite the fact that during the wedding ceremony the ring is worn on the right hand. In Holland, Catholics wear a ring on their left hand, everyone else wears it on their right; In Austria, Catholics wear a ring on their right hand. In Belgium, the choice of hand depends on the region. Greeks, many of whom are Orthodox, wear a wedding ring on their right hand in accordance with Greek tradition. The reason for this lies in the Roman custom of wearing a wedding ring on the right hand, because... in Latin the word for "left" is "sinister", which in English means "evil, sinister". In Latin, "right" is "dexter", from which in English the word "dexterity" comes from, which means "agility, dexterity, skill." Hence, left hand is associated with negative feelings, and the right one is associated with positive feelings.

Traditions associated with the funeral ceremony.

Although according to the law and norms adopted in many religions, a marriage ends with the death of one of the spouses, the customs and symbolism of wearing wedding rings in this case vary greatly: the widower or widow continues to wear his wedding ring, but on the other hand; some remove their wedding ring and put on and wear the ring of their deceased spouse.

In many cultures, the duration of wearing and the custom of how to wear a ring depend not on the norms accepted in society, but on family traditions and from the choice of the spouse himself. Sometimes a widow or widower adds the deceased spouse's ring to hers and wears two rings on the same finger.

Modern traditions.
In the UK and US, it was a common belief among older people that wedding rings should mostly be worn by women. Nowadays, it is common for both spouses to wear rings, but may remove them from time to time for reasons related to the nature of the job, comfort or safety. Some people don't like the idea of ​​using precious metals or they do not want to declare their legal status through jewelry. There are people who prefer to wear their wedding ring on a chain around their neck.

The tradition of using two rings, i.e. for both spouses, is relatively young. Its origin is unclear and it was never widespread. In the late 19th century, the American jewelry industry began a marketing campaign to encourage the use of two rings. This tradition was not widespread at that time, although an etiquette book published in 1937 recommended that both spouses wear rings. The lessons of the 1920s, the changing economic situation and the impact of World War II led to a second, more successful marketing campaign, and as a result, by the end of the 1940s. The “two rings” tradition was used by 80% of those getting married, compared to 15% before the Great Depression.

There are many interpretations of ways to wear rings. Thus, it is argued that a woman should wear her wedding ring lower than her engagement ring, thereby placing it closer to her heart. Other rules require that the wedding ring be placed above the engagement ring in order to maintain an engaged atmosphere in the marriage. Some people believe that you should only wear your wedding ring. In the US, you can see a set of three rings in stores: a man's wedding band, a woman's engagement ring and a thin ring that is attached to the engagement ring before the wedding and turns it into a permanent wedding ring.

Materials for making rings.
In many religions it is allowed during marriage ceremony use rings of any material as a symbol of the marriage vow, and in unusual circumstances, even use unusual substitute rings.

Jewelers mainly make wedding rings from a precious yellow alloy of gold, copper, tin and bismuth. Platinum and white gold alloys are also used, although the previously used light yellow white gold alloys are now increasingly being replaced by cheaper nickel-gold alloys, coated with a thin layer of rhodium, which must be reapplied after a few years.
Titanium has recently become very popular as a material for wedding rings due to its durability, affordability, and the gray color associated with gun material. Tungsten carbide was also used, often with gold or platinum inlays.
The cheapest material for wedding rings is nickel-plated silver - for those who prefer this metal over others for its appearance or cost. Increasingly, couples are buying rings made of stainless steel, which is as durable as platinum and titanium, and its polishing is of a higher quality than that of the latter.
Silver, copper, brass and other cheaper metals are not often used because... they are susceptible to corrosion over time and thus cannot symbolize permanence. Aluminum or toxic metals are never used.

Contrary to popular legend, titanium rings can be easily removed using a special jewelry tool and ring pliers.

Styles and fashion trends.

Jewish wedding ring from the 14th century.

Gladkoe Golden ring- This is the most popular example. People associated with medicine often wear such rings because... they are easy to wash. Women usually wear narrow rings, men - wider ones.

In France and French-speaking countries, the most common ring consists of three rings intertwined. They symbolize Christian virtues: faith, hope, love, where “love” is equated to a special type of beautiful sublime love, designated ancient Greek word"agape". However, such rings are used less and less, because they fall on top of each other.

Women in Greek, Italian and Anatolian cultures sometimes receive and wear so-called puzzle rings - a series of interlocking metal rings that must be joined together to form one ring. Men give such rings as a witty test of their women's monogamy: even if a woman can easily solve the puzzle, she still cannot quickly remove and replace the ring.

IN North America and some European countries, many married women wear two rings on one finger: an engagement ring and a wedding ring. Couples often buy a set of two rings - one for the groom and one for the bride - where the ring designs complement each other. In addition, some women who have been married for many years wear three rings on their finger (from palm to fingertip): a wedding ring, an engagement ring, and an eternity ring. This three-ring combination is especially common in the UK.

In the United States, the tradition of engraving rings is becoming increasingly popular.

In the USA, Canada and other English-speaking countries, the Celtic style has become popular among people of Irish and Scottish descent. Rings of this style are distinguished by the presence of an engraving or embossing of the Celtic Knot on the ring, symbolizing unity and continuity. The Claddagh design is sometimes used to symbolize fidelity.