I found some similarity between !Kung culture and my culture in terms of menstruation. In Nepal, we have different castes and each caste have different culture. My caste is Newar and in family when someone has periods they are not supposed to go the room where we pray.
My family is not very traditional so they don't put restrictions on other things. But one of my friend who is also from the same caste is not allowed to go to the praying room and kitchen. She has to ask for food from her family members and is not allowed to join her family in the dinner table during the meal. She has to sit on the floor and eat. She is also not allowed to sleep on the bed so she has to sleep on the floor. She didn't like this at all and told me that sometimes she didn't tell them when she was having periods.
When a girl is having her periods we call it “nachuney” which means untouchable and that is why she is not supposed to touch or do holy things. She is not allowed to pray to God or participate in any religious festivals.
I found one thing common among !Kung culture and one of my friend's culture. Her caste is Brahmin. In !Kung culture during the first menstruation they have a festival and men are not supposed to see the girl who is having the periods as it mentions in the book, “Thus !Kung men never see the girl as she lies inside the hut” (Shostak 135). When my friend had her first menstruation, she was also not supposed to show her face to any men for 4 days so she stayed inside her room and only came out occasionally to go to bathroom or eat.
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