The thought of a tribe in Nigeria that goes about their everyday business naked is one that some will have difficulty reconciling.
However, it is true that there are still some communities in Nigeria where both the old and young, male and female live life the same way they came into the world – without clothes.
The ancient rural community of the Kambari people are in Niger state are one of the few who still practice nudity. This reclusive tribe has been hugely isolated from civilization and western influences.
Kambari is a remote community in Birnin Amina in Rijau Local Government Area in Niger state where people go about naked.
They are a forgotten tribe satisfied with their simple way of life and their lack of governmental support for a sustainable community. The Kambari people pride themselves as being as independent from the government as possible.
Their language is the native Kambari. They stay in their small communities and only interact with others when they have to go to the farm and market.
Nudity as a culture was passed down to them by their ancestors and is a part of them they aren’t willing to let go of.
However, when the people go to the market to sell their farm produce, the women cover the bottom half of their bodies with wrappers while the men do the same. Donkeys provide the only means of transport for a largely agrarian and nomadic people.
In Kambari, marriage is celebrated by slaughtering goats and cows for food while the parents of the bride cook food for the groom. Once the food is eaten, the marriage is contracted.
According to the community chief, what attracts men is not the nudity of the women but how they plait their hair, good manners and the tattoos the young women have.
It is entirely normal for a 60-year-old Kambari man to marry an eighteen-year-old girl. But that is not the strangest. In these communities, cousins marry one another while they never marry outsiders due to the fact that many of their neighbours don’t even understand their cultures.
The Kambari people are pagans who worship a god called Magiro. They also believe strongly in witchcraft and magic.
As part of the Rijua local council area, they produce a large percentage of the crops consumed by the entire people of the area. The most popular crops produced are corn, millet, peanuts, beans, and rice. Nearly all of the locals keep chickens and goats for meat while the richer ones have cattle.
