This is a funny story from the NYT abou thte feelings of the Ariaal, this tribe in Africa, who have been much studied by scientists due to their historical distance from "modern" culture.
''I thought I was being bewitched,'' Koitaton Garawale, a weathered cattleman, said of the time a researcher plucked a few hairs from atop his head. ''I was afraid. I'd never seen such a thing before.'' ...They have spat into vials to provide saliva samples. They have been quizzed about how often they urinate. Sometimes the questioning has become even more intimate. Mr. Garawale recalls a visiting anthropologist measuring his arms, back and stomach with an odd contraption and then asking him how often he got erections and whether his sex life was satisfactory. ''It was so embarrassing,'' recalled the father of three, breaking out in giggles even years later.
On their observations of the observers:
"The Ariaal note that foreigners slather white liquid on their very white skin to protect them from the sun, and that many favor short pants that show off their legs and the clunky boots on their feet. Foreigners often partake of the local food but drink water out of bottles and munch on strange food in wrappers between meals, the Ariaal observe."
However, in one fascinating study, "Dr. Campbell also found that Ariaal men with many wives showed less erectile dysfunction than did men of the same age with fewer spouses."
Posted by bluprnt at January 11, 2006 12:33 AM