Before toilet paper, Africans, like people globally, used readily available natural materials such as leaves, grass, moss, corn cobs, and water for cleansing, with methods varying by location, climate, and social customs; water cleansing was also very common, sometimes with the left hand. Choices depended on what was absorbent, non-abrasive, and easily found nearby, including stones, shells, or even snow in colder areas.
Nature makes great toilet paper
Leaves, sticks, moss, sand and water were common choices, depending on early humans' environment. Once we developed agriculture, we had options like hay and corn husks. People who lived on islands or on the coast used shells and a scraping technique.
Options included rocks, leaves, grass, moss, animal fur, corn cobs, coconut husks, sticks, sand, and sea shells. Water and snow were also used to wash and clean. The material used depended on various factors, such as socioeconomic status, weather conditions, social customs, and location.
Vikings (and really, anyone living outdoors before mass-produced paper) would have used whatever soft, absorbent natural material was around—moss, leaves, grass, snow, even smooth stones.
Snow. Inuit and other populations in the Arctic regions used snow and ice for their wiping needs.
In Viking society, 12-year-old girls were considered young women, often involved in household labor, with some entering marriages, having rights like inheriting property, and facing risks like enslavement during raids, while Viking raids themselves targeted wealthy settlements for riches, sometimes involving violence, though their specific actions towards young girls varied by context.
In many Amish homes, rags are a common toilet paper alternative. These rags are typically old clothes that have been worn out. After simple processing, they become practical cleaning tools. After use, they are washed clean and can be reused multiple times.
Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, Jordan and other countries will use a small shower for rinsing off after you do your business. Most of these cultures believe that you can get your bum cleaner with water than you can with toilet paper which is why they chose that option.
Cultural Differences in Toilet Paper Usage
In Asia, bidets are a popular alternative to toilet paper. In the Middle East, water is used for personal hygiene after using the toilet. In Africa, the usage of toilet paper is not as common and many people resort to alternatives such as wiping with water or cloths.
Eating any food while on the toilet is forbidden. After defecating, the anus must be washed with water using the left hand, or an odd number of smooth stones or pebbles called jamrah or hijaarah (Sahih Al-Bukhari 161, Book 4, Hadith 27). Many jurists agree that toilet paper suffices in place of these stones.
Muslims use water after using the toilet because *Islam emphasizes cleanliness* and purity. Using water ensures *better hygiene* and is part of *ritual purification (ṭahārah)* required for prayer. It's not that tissue is forbidden—many use both—but water is seen as more thorough and cleaner.
Tissues: Egyptian people do not typically use toilet paper, and you often will not find it in bathrooms. Instead, they use a bidet, which is much more hygienic, and in my opinion, far superior to toilet paper!
1. Mullein aka “cowboy toilet paper” Even hard men want a soft leaf. If the cowboys used the large velvety leaves of the mullein (Verbascum thapsus) plant while out on the range, then you can too!
"In the 14th century, perfumed paper sheets were 'manufactured' for the Hongwu dynasty. But only the royal family and the imperial court had access to them. Around the same time in Europe, people used rags to clean up after a trip to the loo. Rich Europeans used wool, hemp or even lace.
The xylospongium or tersorium, also known as a "sponge on a stick", was a utensil found in ancient Roman latrines, consisting of a wooden stick (Greek: ξύλον, xylon) with a sea sponge (Greek: σπόγγος, spongos) fixed at one end.
"If (someone) has a bowel movement and it's so clean and well-formed that it doesn't leave any residue and just sinks, that is actually a very healthy bowel movement," says De Latour.
Around the world, you are not allowed to flush toilet paper in Egypt, China, and rural South America either. In remote areas, you may be unable to flush paper as plumbing may not be as good as in the cities.
That maybe where the name Ships Head originated. Instead of Toilet Paper there was a long, poo-smeared rope that snaked through the hole in the Seats of Ease. The frayed end of the rope dangled in the sea and could be hauled up and used to wipe oneself clean.
The Amish wedding night will usually be spent in the bride's parent's home, as the couple will need to assist in clean up the following day. They will then spend their first months of marriage – their honeymoon – visiting relatives. (This is when most gifts they receive will be given.)
A sponge on a stick
If you went to the toilet in ancient Rome, you would not have any toilet paper. Instead you may have used a sponge (Latin: tersorium) to wipe. These ancient devices consisted of a stick with a vinegar- or salt water-soaked sponge attached. They were often shared!
I don't know about all of them but 28 years ago before I left we did not use any store bought tampons or pads. Instead we used these ripped up towels and rags and they would be like this long and we would roll them four or five times and then we would use four safety pins and pin them to our homemade underwear.
Yes, it's highly likely there were gay people (men and women) among the Vikings, but their experiences differed greatly from modern LGBTQ+ identities, with same-sex acts sometimes tolerated if societal duties (marriage/children) were met, but passive roles in male-male sex stigmatized as unmanly (ergi), leading to insults and potential punishment, especially after Christianization, though evidence for lesbian relationships is scarce in sources, according to historians.
In the 1700s the legal age for women to get married was twelve years old, and fourteen for men. Marriage was socially significant at the time, and though arranged marriages were decreasing compared to previous centuries, they weren't out of the question. Women of wealthier families were expected to marry well.
In addition to exchanging rings, Viking brides and grooms gave each other swords to acknowledge their union. The sword given to a bride from her groom would be a family heirloom—and would eventually be passed down to the couple's future sons.