DIMITRA STASINOPOULOU OMO VALLEY The vanishing tribes of

Dimitra
Stasinopoulou
DIMITRA STASINOPOULOU
OMO VALLEY
The vanishing tribes of Ethiopia
OMO VALLEY
The vanishing tribes of Ethiopia
OMO VALLEY
The vanishing tribes of Ethiopia
Photography - Text
Dimitra Stasinopoulou
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dimitra Stasinopoulou is a Greek amateur photographer,
born in Athens, Greece in 1953. She worked in the banking
sector for 20 years, and later on, in the family business
in Romania. Her first Book “Romania of my Heart” was
awarded with the Romanian UNESCO prize. Ever since
then, her love of travelling around the globe and her desire
to share the images she brought back with her, led her
to the publiction of books for Bhutan, India, Burma and
Papua New Guinea. Her pictures have been awarded in
international photo-competitions and have been displayed
in Greece and abroad.
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
6 - 17
SURMA TRIBE
10 - 163
KARA TRIBE 164 - 249
NYANGATOM TRIBE 250 - 285
HAMER TRIBE
286 - 359
INTRODUCTION
Surma woman with lip plate.
At a young age, they remove
their bottom teeth and they
pierce their bottom lip, which
is stressed to allow insertion
of a clay lip plate.
Surma men spend most of
their time looking after their
precious cattle. They guard
them with AK-47 Kalashnikov
machine-guns.
Cattle, goats and sheep are
vital to most tribes’ livelihood
providing them with blood,
milk and meat. They are
highly valued and used to buy
brides.
Omo is a major river in southern Ethiopia. Its
course is entirely contained within the boundaries
of the country and empties into Lake Turkana, on the
border with Kenya. However, its final destination was a
source of controversy: Did it end in the Indian Ocean,
the Nile River, or Lake Turkana? In 1896 the famous
Italian explorer Vittorio Bottego, under the auspices
of the Italian Geographical Society, put an end to this
controversy. His expedition explored the lands known
as the Lower Omo Valley, confirming that its waters
were in fact the great source which fed Lake Turkana.
Towards the end of the 19th century the Omo region
became part of Ethiopia, but remained isolated from
the historic events which shaped the rest of the
country. Bordering with Kenya and Sudan, far from
any city, it is a lost world, a region traversed only by a
few bad quality roads, passable only in the dry season.
In its 500 mile course the river curls through gorges of
volcanic rock and channels of ancient mud. Near the
Kenyan border, the Omo carves serpentine oxbows as
the countryside flattens, and ribbons of forest appear
along its banks. Riverine creatures, including crocodiles and hippos, become more abundant.
In the 1970s and ‘80s, international anthropologists
and linguists found it quite disconcerting that a territory, which was not excessively large, could be home
to so many different ethnic and cultural groups. For
generations the tribes of the Omo were shielded from
the outside world by mountains, savanna, and by Ethiopia’s unique status, as the only African nation never
to have been colonized by the Europeans. In 1980,
UNESCO declared the Lower Omo Valley a World Heritage Site, in recognition of its uniqueness, and from
then on few tourists begun travelling in the region.
Here live some 15 semi-nomadic tribes, the largest
comprising by some 70,000 people and the smallest
no more than 1,000, a total of about 200,000. Amazingly, these small groups are interrelated in such a
way that over time, they underwent their own evolution marked by a process of displacement, changes in
survival means, symbiotic relationships, conflicts and
acculturation under the influence of the dominant
groups. Their evolution, in one of the most isolated
regions of Africa, puzzles specialists. Undoubtedly,
the most striking difference lays in their languages
– despite the efforts of the Ethiopian government
to introduce Amharic, the official one. Neighboring
tribes may have languages of completely different
origins, some harking back to Nilotic cultures and
others rooted to the mountainous regions of Ethiopia.
To this day, the Omo Valley remains rich in traditional culture and human history, and is considered
to be the cradle of mankind. It’s been said: “If Africa
was the mother of all humanity, the Omo River acted as
a main artery”. Remains of early humans dating back
to nearly four million years have been found here –
evidence of an almost continuous human presence.
DNA analysis suggests that every living person is
related to a single woman from the Omo Valley – the
famous “Lucy” skeleton, that was discovered during
excavations in southern Ethiopia in 1974.
Geographically, the tribes live along the banks
of the River Omo, whose silt-laden waters run into
Lake Turkana, in the Kenyan border, and whose
levels are changing greatly between the rainy and
dry seasons, enduring hardships caused either by
the cycles of nature, or the hand of man. Long dry
seasons, extreme temperatures and difficult terrains
make survival a monumental challenge. Young people
learn that endurance is an essential virtue and part
of the inheritance handed down from their ancestors.
The challenge of survival has forged the strength and
indomitable spirit of the tribes.
The nomadic ways of herdsmen do not allow for
the development of any material culture, either for
aesthetic or spiritual purposes. Continuous movement requires few and easily portable possessions,
primarily those necessary to facilitate minimal daily
functions. Their small huts provide shelter from the
sun and the rain and are sparsely furnished. Simple
fires with a crude earthenware pot sit beside gourds of
different shapes and sizes, goat and cow skins and few
baskets and rudimentary utensils. The most exquisite
functional artisan work is the wooden neck support,
which also preserves their elaborately decorated
hairstyles. Their size, light weight and wide use make
them essential – objects that men carry all the time,
using them for sitting as well. Lack of material culture
is compensated by the exceptional ornamental and
symbolic wealth of their decorated bodies.
One of the most astonishing things about these
people is their beauty. Both boys and girls have
magnificent physiques, slender and unusually supple.
They adorn themselves to express status and tribal
identity, not only to enhance their physical appearance but also to demonstrate messages and signals
through scarification, paintings and hair styles.
Cattle are an integral part of tribal life. Almost
everything depends on cows. Along with milk and
meat, the blood – which the tribesmen regularly take
from a vein in the neck of each animal – is a staple
food. Cows also act as local currency; everything is
calculated in terms of cattle heads. But they represent a lot more than food and currency. They are the
cultural heritage that stands at the very heart of the
tribe and its survival.
Fighting the enemy is also an inherent part of
their culture and tradition. The intertribal conflicts go
on from generation to generation. They are fighting
over the diminishing resources they need to run their
herds: water, and land. The only piece of modern
technology widespread among the tribes is the automatic weapon.
The ongoing conflict in Sudan and Somalia, have
created trade in Russian Kalashnikovs and European
G-3 rifles. These weapons have been entering from
neighboring Sudan for about 15 years and are sold
according to a well established price list: an old model
is worth eight cows, which is relatively affordable,
whereas the latest Kalashnikov costs between 30 and
50 cows – exactly the same price as a beautiful girl.
Africa is a continent of rituals; a land where the
process of “becoming” is celebrated at every stage
of life as an essential part of the journey of the individual and their cultural identity. The place of every
man, woman and child is defined within the framework of the extended family, age grade, ethnic group,
and nation. These roles in turn give individuals a sense
of belonging and purpose, and the sure knowledge
that they are valued. From childhood to manhood,
the different phases are marked by initiations,
Decorating their bodies with
paint, is a great source of fun
for small Surma children. In
this way they are learning
to decorate themselves for
courtship rituals later in life.
Mixing chalk with water to
form a thick paste, Surma
men, draw linear, intricate
designs on their bodies, using
their fingertips.
Surma women, perform scarification by slicing their skin
with a razor blade after lifting
it with a thorn. The sliced skin
is left open to eventually scar.
They are proud of their scars.
accompanied by rituals and tests that vary according
to the tribe.
Kara, decorate their bodies,
often imitating the spotted
plumage of a guinea fowl.
Feather plumes are inserted
in their hair buns to complete
the look.
Kara women have a very
distinctive hair style: they put
red clay, mixed with butter on
their hair, so that it looks like
a bunch of coffee beans.
Goats and cattle are only
killed on special occasions.
Men are the first to eat, and
what remains is shared
amongst women and children. Honey beer is consumed.
Political organization is not based on monarchies
or hereditary lineage, but is determined by the generation-group with the maximum politico-economic
power, under the authority of the elders, the guardians of traditional values. Omo tribesmen show
extreme respect towards their elders, considering
them as teachers and guides. They are also an essential link between the experience of the past generations and the challenges of the present one.
The traditional religion is basically animistic and
contains a whole world of symbolism and rites, which
are principally social (initiation, age and generation-groups, ceremonies) and economic (livestock,
harvests). Those who are presumed to have special
gifts are charged with mediating between the physical and spiritual worlds. Some groups recognize a
supreme God, more or less linked to their common
ancestor. The Surma have a sky god named Tuma, and
they also believe in spirits and use medicine men to
undertake sacrifices or prayers to directly send them
to Tuma. Another belief of the Surma is the rainmaker.
This position in the tribe is passed down through
heredity and is only given to one male in the tribe. A
dead person is impure, and is a taboo to be touched,
except for members of the specified clan. They see to
the actual funeral, after which they have to be washed
with sheep’s blood. Men who fall on the battlefield
are not interred but are left there and covered with
branches. Every deceased person is mourned in his or
her homestead for five days. Cattle are sacrificed; the
entrails are read, and the meat is distributed among
the visitors. With the blood and certain other parts of
the killed cow or ox, the compound is ritually purified.
For the tribes, life is absolutely finished with physical
death – there is no concept of an afterlife on earth or
in heaven.
There is no sharing between the sexes. Men supervise and command, women work and obey; men have
status, women have none. Women receive attention
because they are needed to do the innumerable jobs.
For the women of these tribes the satisfaction that
makes their lives worth, above all, is their children. As
a wife a woman gets few, if any signs, of appreciation
or reward for work done. But as a mother she receives
concern and appreciation from her children, especially from her sons, as the daughters leave the home
to go and become the mothers of other children.
The sons stay in their mother’s home, or if they move
away, they never forget her. A mother has the power
to curse her children, while her children recognize her
as a vital force, their origin. They bring her tobacco,
coffee, salt, and they give her cattle in appreciation of
her care in bringing them up.
Today the Omo Valley is a destination for wealthy
tourists who cross vast, uncomfortable distances
to witness those ancient rituals, wild animals, body
paintings and dancing. But the presence of travelers
can alter the already unstable cultural balance of the
tribes. The impact of tourism in this isolated zone
represents a serious threat to the future of the people
who live there.
Omo Valley tribes have lived there for centuries,
but their future is uncertain. A huge hydro-electric
dam, the largest in Africa, is under construction on
the Omo. When completed, it might destroy the environment and the livelihoods of the tribes, which are
closely linked to the river and its annual flood.
As globalization takes over, much in our unique
world is vastly disappearing. It is a world with strict
rules and rituals, where wars are fought out of the
need to survive and where justice and honor are
natural ingredients.
I sincerely hope these photos will enhance our
respect for what we may call the origins of man.
When I first asked for details about this trip I was
told that “do remember that you probably have never
been anywhere quite as remote and inhospitable as the
Omo River. If you are inconvenienced by Spartan accommodations, intense human contact or are apprehensive
in unfamiliar situations, then I’m sorry but this expedition is not for you.” But on the other hand, today, the
greatest luxury, is to return with unique experiences.
Our small traveling group had been walking from
dawn until evening’s first mosquito bite, observing
ancient customs, rites, everyday activities, and of
course, taking pictures. We were on a safari where
people – not wildlife – was the attraction. We didn’t
come to see the wildlife (dry and pestilent, the terrain
supports abundant birdlife and not much else) but to
photograph some of the most extraordinary tribes in
Africa as they go about their daily life.
Omo tribesmen have adopted the practice of
demanding money for each picture taken, another
way for the community to share resources and
nowadays to buy guns and bullets as well. They take
this money/ photo exchange very seriously. There is
a set price: 5 birr –about 30 cents- for an adult, 2 birr
for a child (the market rate for a bullet is fifteen birr,
the price of three photographs). So for two weeks, we
were walking around feeling rich with large amounts
of birr. Everyone is in on the deal and if you take a
photo of someone’s back without them noticing, you
can be sure that he or she will be told that you did
so, and that a payment will be claimed. And since
most tribesmen walk around with an AK-47 on their
shoulders, it’s wise not to risk it. If we wanted to take
a picture of someone we had to “ask for permission”
and then pay. When we were invited to events such as
dances, our guide would pay to compensate for each
of us being there.
Visiting this remote area and experiencing their
culture was a trip-of-a-lifetime. Staying at two
different camps over two weeks, I was able to meet
the Surma (also called Suri), the Kara (Karo), the Nyangatom (Bume) and the Hamer (Hamar) tribes - all very
different, physically and culturally.
Omo river, is full of ferocious
looking crocodiles. Deadly
accidents are very common,
when children go to the river
to fetch the daily water for
the village.
Nyangatom men courtship
dance, and jump to impress
the ladies. They also decorate
their legs in white, forming
various patterns.
An early morning charter flight from Addis Ababa
transported us to Tulgit, in the remote Surma homeland, in the Upper Omo Valley.
Known only to a small segment of the outside
world – primarily for the incredible lip plates worn
by women, the ritual stick-fighting called Donga, and
the fantastic clay facial and body painting. We spent
the next day’s camping next to their settlements and
watching their daily activities. We also hiked to meet
them. Small family settlements branch off on narrow
Heavy necklaces and long
skirts from goat skins, which
are richly decorated, are a
characteristic amongst Nyangatom women, also signaling
their social status.
tracks from the central roadway near camp – so hiking
was an important part of visiting Surma villages.
Aerial view of Nyangatom
homesteads (bomas) in the
Lower Omo valley. The nomadic ways of herdsmen do
not allow for the development of any material culture.
The second week we took another charter flight
to Murulle, in the Lower Omo Valley and from there
drove to Lumale Camp, adjacent to the Kara Village
Dus, that is seldom visited by other travelers, which
is also the seat of their government. The second Kara
village we visited was Lebouk. Kara tribe is known
for their ritual body scarification, colorful beadwork
and flamboyant body painting. With fewer than 2,000
members, the Kara are the smallest tribe in the Omo
Valley. Men scar their chests to represent enemies
killed from rival tribes; women with their decorativelyscarred abdomen are considered sensual and desirable, but they are also known for their exuberant and
photogenic dancing.
The fourth tribe to see was the Hamer. Occupying
a mountainous region in the eastern part of the Lower
Omo Valley, they are currently the biggest Omotic
language group in the region – about 20,000. Hamer
women are considered the most beautiful and most
elaborately dressed from all the tribes. We visited
the Turmi weekly market, but also had the chance to
see the unique Bull Jumping ceremony ritual, which
determines whether a young male is ready to make
the social jump from youth to adulthood.This is an
initiation rite of passage for boys coming of age in
Hamer tribe.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
VAN OS PHOTO SAFARIS TOUR INFORMATION
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC EDITION
VANISHING CULTURES OF ETHIOPIA’S OMO VALLEY
THE LAST FRONTIER: ETHIOPIA’S REMOTE OMO VALLEY
ORIGINS SAFARIS
FORBES ARTCLE (March 2013) By David Hochman
GUIDELINES TO CULTURALLY SENSITIVE TOURISM
–REMOTE TRIBES OMO
BBC TRAVEL Articles
TOUCHING ETHIOPIA by Javier Gonzalbez and Dulce Cebrian
CNN : Is the tide turning against the killing
of ‘cursed’ infants in Ethiopia?
ETHIOPIA - PEOPLES OF THE OMO VALLEY
By Matthew D. LaPlante, Nov 2011
During the Bull Jumping ceremony, Hamer women are
volunteering to be whipped
as a sign of commitment to
the young man who is about
to be initiated.
HANS SILVESTER, Copyright: 2006 Editions de la Martiniere - English
I thought the best way to illustrate the similarities and differences among the four tribes I saw, is
to present them separately in the pages that are
following.
edition copyright: Thames & Hudson, London and Abrams, New York
“Lip plates and the people who take photographs
Uneasy encounters between Mursi and tourists in
BEFORE THEY PASS AWAY
Southern Ethiopia” Article by David Turton
BY JIMMY NELSON, October 2013
Think Africa Press (Kenya):
Hamer mothers carry their
babies in a leather back sling.
The general belief is that a
baby left alone, may be taken
by evil spirits.
Hamer women are considered the most beautiful of all
tribes. They are very elaborately dressed, with goatskin
skirts and colorful necklaces
and iron jewellery.
The third tribe to visit was the Nyangatom, who
live across the river from our camp, and are the arch
enemies of the Kara. To get to Lokulan, the closest
Nyangatom village to us, we cruised on the Omo
River with a small boat, among numerous ferociouslooking crocodiles, magnificently goliath herons and
colobus monkeys clambering in the fig tree. Deadly
accidents are very common, when children go to
the river to fetch the daily water for the village. From
shore, we walked about 3.5 klm to reach their homes.
The Nyangatom today are approximately 14,000 and
they are considered the most feared warriors in the
Omo Valley, while they are the first ones to have used
automatic weapons. Heavy necklaces and long richly
decorated skirts from goat skins, are the women’s
characteristic, signaling also their social status.
My special thanks to Joseph Van Os Photo Safaris
and my gratitude to Steve Turner, the best tour leader,
founder of Origins Safaris. Due to his special contacts
with tribal groups we gained access and insight into
these marvels. I am also grateful and deeply indebted
to the authors of the books I used for my research.
Their deep knowledge has granted me precious input
regarding these unique tribes - in fact the completion
of this book would have been impossible without
their contribution.
FRANCE LECLERC, World travel and photography blog
Ethiopia’s Controversial Gibe III Mega-Dam
Ethiopian tribes
16 January 2013
DISCOVERING WOMANHOOD THROUGH FIELDWORK
ETHIOPIA’S OMO VALLEY | AFRICA’S LAST FRONTIER
By Jean Lydall Contribution to the seminar “Frauen und
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE, BY RANDY OLSON
Forschung: Feld - Fantasie - Fortschritt” Heidelberg 1994
A Hamer “first wife” must
always wear a “burkule”, a
necklace made of leather and
metal that has a distinctive
detail in the front.
WIKIPEDIA
TWILIGHT OF THE TRIBES: ETHIOPIA’S OMO RIVER VALLEY
CONDE NESTE TRAVELLER ARTICLE BY SUSAN HACK, JANUARY 2012
VARIOUS INTERNET SOURCES
FACES OF AFRICA
Dimitra Stasinopoulou
Athens, June 2014
CAROL BECKWITH & ANGELA FISHER
The Bull Jumping ceremony
(Ukuli Bula) is the way to
determine whether a young
Hamer male is ready to make
the social jump from youth to
adulthood.
THE SURMA tribe
The Surma (or Suri) is a subcategory of the Mursi tribe and are about
4,000. They are pastoralists and cultivators. Violent confrontations
with other tribes, aggravated by the use of automatic weapons, are
responsible for a decrease in their population.
The Surma have elevated the custom of body painting to an
amazing art form. They regard a healthy body as a gift to be
celebrated without shyness or shame. Men paint every inch of their
bodies. They draw lines with their fingertips, after having washed
first their bodies in the river water. Then they scrap chalk from the
riverbank and mix it with water to form a thick paste, which they
slather over their bodies, while their friends begin drawing intricate
linear designs using their fingertips to expose the dark skin beneath.
From start to finish the process is one continuous flow. The additional
application of local plants, fruits and feathers enhances the effect.
Young girls also paint their faces and bodies, highlighting their
designs with red ochre paint, made from pulverized rock containing
iron. In anticipation of maturity, a girl encircles her breasts with
white chalk designs. These innovative face and body patterns are
designed to attract the opposite sex. The pattern of dots is inspired
by the spotted guinea fowl.
The most distinctive characteristic of the Surma is the labial and
lobular plates of their women. An incision is made in the lower
lip and ear lobes of a young girl during initiation rituals. A small
wooden or ceramic disc is then inserted into the incision and is
gradually replaced by larger ones, until the full sized disc can be
placed. Having a lip plate is a sign of beauty and the bigger the plate,
the more cattle the woman is worth. One theory says lips plates
were used to discourage slave owners from taking the women who
had them.
The Surma pride themselves on the number of scars they carry.
Women perform scarification by slicing their skin with a razor blade,
after lifting it with a thorn and living it open until it eventually scars.
Men on the other hand scar their bodies after killing someone from
an enemy tribe. They also are expert in a form of stick-fighting called
Donga, a highly prestigious event, at which men demonstrate their
strength and skills.
The lives of the Surma tribesmen revolve around cattle. Cows (and
goats) are some of the most prized possessions, and men spent a
lot of time with them. They very rarely eat the meat of their cow;
they breed them for their milk and blood, which they both drink.
The average male owns somewhere between 30 to 40 cows. These
cows are not usually killed, unless they are needed for ceremonial
purposes. Every young male is named after their cattle, which they
are ruled to look after. To praise their cattle or mourn their deaths,
they sing songs for them.
Young warriors often spend many weeks or even months away
from the village with their herds. At those times they eat only milk
mixed with blood. To draw the blood, they shoot a short arrow into
a cow’s neck, opening a vein. They also paint each other’s naked
bodies with white clay, mainly because they want to look menacing
and command respect.
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THE KARA tribe
The Kara (Karo) tribe is the smallest ethnic group of the Omo valley,
with less than 1,500 members left. They live in the eastern side of
the Omo by practicing flood retreat cultivation and a traditional
pastoralist lifestyle.
According to their oral tradition, they believe that their roots are as
herdsmen who emigrated to the mountains of the Hamer and Banna
peoples. They lived there for some time until one day their livestock
disappeared in search of water. The livestock eventually returned,
but when they disappeared again, they followed them, discovering
the Omo River and came to settle on its banks. However, the tsetse
fly wiped out their herds and they ended up dedicating themselves
to agriculture in order to survive (sorghum, corn and beans).
A part of the Kara’s small accumulation of livestock (goats and
sheep) is looked after the Hamer tribe. In return, they receive
sorghum. This is all connected by a series of links and alliances
between both groups, and the belief that they all share a common
genealogy. Nowadays they supplement their survival economy with
beekeeping and fishing, which was taboo until necessity drove them
into it recently. Only single young men are allowed to fish, but they
must complete a purification ritual immediately afterwards.
The most important ceremony in the life of a Kara is the Pilla, or
Jumping over a group of oxen, marking the passage to adulthood
and allowing the young man to marry. The ceremony is similar to
that of the Hamer, however, the Kara only have four chances to
jump over the oxen without falling. The dowry is fixed at 125 goats
and is generally made up after marrying. Similar to other groups of
the region, sexual relationships between young, single people are
open, but produce serious social problems if any children result
from these relationships. Such children are considered bad luck
“mingi”– or cursed. The custom, still practiced, is for elders to take
the infant from the parents, as soon as it’s born, and kill it, so its bad
blood won’t pollute the tribe, cause misfortune and disgrace the
family. The same happens to any child born with a deformity or does
not attain predetermined expectations, such as the growth of the
upper teeth before the lower ones, or being twins. Efforts made by
the government have faced strong opposition. It remains easy to
deny a newborn food until it starves, telling the government worker
it died naturally - or, to slip into the bush, stuff its mouth with dirt,
and leave it for the hyenas, or just fling it into the river.
The most striking thing about Kara people’s symbolic and
ornamental expressions is their painted body and face decorations.
This is an elaborate process which ranges from fine and exquisite
details to rough, but striking paintings traced with the palms
or fingers. The most beautiful expressions are in the facial and
chest paintings that combine while (chalk), black (coal), yellow,
ochre and red (minerals). They also decorate their lower lips with
flowers. In the villages, people reside in conical huts. Their neighbors,
the Nyangatom tribe (on the other side of Omo river), are their
main enemies.
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THE NYANGATOM tribe
The Nyangatom (Bume) tribe live in the dry, semi-desert lands of
South-West Ethiopia and Southern Sudan, where their lives revolve
around their herds of zebu cattle and raising crops, including
sorghum, maize and tobacco. Today they are approximately 14,000
and they are considered as the most feared warriors in the Omo
Valley, while they are the first ones to have used automatic weapons.
The 20-year civil war in neighbouring Sudan meant the traditional
weapons of spears, bows and arrows were replaced by automatic
rifles in the 1980s (AK47s).
tribes. Should they try to take animals, the Nyangatom will stop
them or die in the process; and raids are followed by counter-raids.
When these warriors kill an enemy, they scar their upper body to
release the bad blood. They are called by the pejorative exonym
“Bume” meaning “the smelly ones” by their neighbors.
The tribes are fighting over the diminishing resources they need
to run their herds: water, and land. Cattle raids are frequent, bloody
feuds commonplace, and death a real prospect. The men guarding
their cattle, are armed with guns against attacks by neighbouring
Heavy necklaces and long skirts from goat skins, which are richly
decorated, are a characteristic amongst women, and are also
signaling their social status. A single woman will wear necklaces
from colorful beads, while a married one, uses only neutral colors.
They were once referred to derisively as Elephant-eaters (nyamatom), which they turned against their enemies by a clever pun,
transforming it into Nyang-atom (literally “yellow guns”).
The women also decorate themselves with ornamental scarification
on their faces, chests, and bellies.
The main form of social organisation is by generation-set. The
men of one generation-set, father the men and women of the next,
while each on is given a name. The earliest ancestors are called
the Founders; their sons were the Wild Dogs, then the Zebras, the
Tortoises, the Mountains and so on. The oldest generation-set still
living now are called the Elephants; then Ostriches and the Antelopes;
or the Birds and the Ibex. The youngest are now known as the
Buffaloes. Fathers and sons always socialise separately. The Elders
remain in the village, while the job of the boys is to herd the goats,
which wonder on bushes round the village; and the women milk
the livestock.
As part of their initiation, the sons must prove they can look after
their Elders. In a ceremony witnessed by the whole village, the young
men attempt to kill a bull with their spear, showing they can provide
for the tribe. Once they are initiated, they will become the dedicated
fighting force of the village. It’s their job to defend the tribe and the
cattle. They will be the ones to spend their days out with the herds,
risking their lives to protect them.
The Nyangatom are famous among the tribes for their storytelling
and singing. Their cattle songs are also used by neighbours of other
language families. Reciprocally, the Nyangatom appreciate and
acquire pots from Surma and Kara women, because their own wives
have not mastered the skill of pottery.
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THE HAMER tribe
The Hamer (Hamar) tribe occupy a mountainous region in the
eastern part of the Lower Omo Valley. They have integrated with
many of their neighbours and currently make up the biggest Omotic
language group in the region (approx. 20,000). They are peaceful
and friendly. Honey collection is their major activity and their life
is centered around their cattle. There are at least 27 words for the
subtle variations of colors and textures of cattle, while each man has
three names: a human, a goat and a cow name.
Women are very beautiful and the most elaborately dressed of
the region. Usually, they carry their babies in a leather back sling.
Because they believe that a baby left alone, may be taken by evil
spirits. Their goatskin skirts are almost always decorated with
coloured glass beads, the rear of the skirt has its own amusing
touch, its longer pointed cut strongly resembles the tail of a gazelle.
Their girdle belts are covered in cowry shells, while their heads are
adorned with the bala, a band with an oval-shaped metal plaque.
Solid metal necklaces called esente are worn and are never taken
off. The status of married women is indicated by a third necklace of
leather and metal that also has a distinctive detail protruding from
the front. The profusion of metal bracelets on their arms and legs also
adds to their ornamentation. Women’s hair is thoroughly covered in
a mixture of grease and red ochre colouring. In comparison, male
decoration is simpler, by applying clay and honey on their tight
curls, they are able to stick small feathers on it.
The Bull Jumping ceremony (Ukuli Bula) is their most important
ceremony, the way to determine whether a young Hamer male is
ready to make the social jump from youth to adulthood and the
responsibilities of raising a family. While the boys walk on bulls, Hamer
women accompany them: they jump and sing in circles, blowing
their trumpets and whistles, while they volunteer to be whipped
until bleeding, to show their courage and their commitment to a
relative. The young man is called Ukuli. Once the ritual is completed
successfully, he becomes a cherkali, and after eight days have passed,
a maz. The ceremony takes place in clearings in the countryside and
is attended by the family, relatives and close friends of the Ukuli.
The more common practice is matrimonial commitment. Hamer
marriages include the handing over of a large dowry to the family
of the chosen girl. This dowry is negotiable, while the high price
of goats and sheep is the reason why there is not a set age for the
Ukuli Bula. This all depends on the wealth of the young man’s family,
as well as the of number of brothers he has.
The weekly markets in Dimeka and Turmi are meeting points, not
only for the Hamer, but also for the neighbouring groups, where
purchases and exchanges of fruit, honey, butter, sorghum, and
coffee are made.
The livestock market is in a separate area where they display their
goats, sheep and their few cows. The transactions are small, based on
the daily or weekly needs. The morning market guarantees survival
for the next week and creates social links and friendships.
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Copyright© Athens, June 2014
Dimitra Stasinopoulou
e-mail: dimitra@imedica.ro
PHOTOGRAPHY/ TEXT: Dimitra Stasinopoulou
BOOK DESIGN: Phoebe Skotida
Color Separations/ MONTAGE: Nikos Alexiadis - TOXO OE
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