Аннотация:The study of contemporary traditional pastoralist societies of Eastern
Africa provide perfect examples of norms enforcement by third parties,
and the life cycle ceremonies is a good example. The Datoga are
characterized by exceptionally well-preserved traditional childbirth
and postpartum rites, as well as by multistage system of integration of
an infant into the tribe, clan, and family. The ceremonies represent
a complex process of social interactions between a newborn, his or
her relatives, and neighbors. During the ceremonies, an interrelation
between an infant and others is established through a complex exchange
of responsibilities, favors, and presents, as prescribed by the
cultural scenario. In this paper we present the description of postpartum
ceremonies and caloripuncture ceremony of an infant, conducted
by contemporary Datoga. This particular example demonstrates
the importance of cultural group selection in small-scale societies
and one of the possible mechanisms to achieve human ultrasociality,
rooted in self-identification with others on the basis of culturally
installed similarity ques.