Ethiopia, also called ‘The Queen of Africa’ for its wide range of scenarios containing all the souls of the Dark Continent, is an incredible mosaic of races and ethnic groups, a fascinating blend of humans’ roots and nature.
It was like we were entering another dimension which is suspended in time, being projected into a primitive era where beliefs, rituals and traditions mark the rhythm of the days and of our entire lives.
A land of primordial landscapes, made of bushes and immense skies, Omo Valley takes its name from the river that flows into Lake Turkana, in Kenya, with a route of about one thousand kilometers. In fact, in the last segment of the river, there is a mosaic of ethnic groups dedicated to breeding huge herds of cattle that are the main source of their sustenance and ritual practices. Their traditional dresses, the architecture of the huts and the initiation rituals were surprisingly different, although the various ethnic groups live a few kilometers away from each other.
The ethnic identity and the sense of belonging to the group are still strongly marked and emphasized through the care of the body that is decorated with particular scarification and body painting techniques, symbols of social belonging, hierarchy and beauty, while keeping alive one of Africa’s most primitive artistic forms.
The different ethnic groups are often at war with each other, quarreling over the grazing land. It is not rare to see shepherds with a rifle over their shoulders.
Hamer: the largest ethnic group in the lower Omo Valley area.
In this ethnic group’s area, which is respected and admired by all the other populations for the beauty and sensuality of their women, we experienced the atmosphere and the fascination of ancient tribal traditions: their hair is styled in small braids covered with ocher and animal fat, they wear goatskins and lots of metal bracelets on their wrists, forearms and ankles. The permanent rings on their necks indicate the woman’s marital status: the married ones have a ring around their necks. The first wife has a spiked ring, the second and third have a smooth ring.
Men wear a very short kilt, and some hoist a feather on their heads, that symbolizes the victory over an enemy.
The Bull Jumping Ceremony represents one of the most significant and important events of the Hamer culture, as well as a key event for all the communities that live in the heart of Omo Valley. In fact, this is the male initiation into adulthood. On this special occasion, young Hamers are called to show their strength and courage by jumping with agility on the back of 7 bulls, placed side by side, from which they must get off and on 4 times without ever falling. Only in this way the test can be considered passed and the naala will become a daala, that is, a man by all means.
The actual ceremony ends with the flogging ritual of the women who are related to the naala, thus demonstrating their love for those who have passed the test. You will indeed notice the high number of scars on the back of Hamer women.
Mursi and Surma: the lip plate tribes
These two very similar ethnic groups, despite occupying two distinct areas of the valley, are famous for the lip plate tradition. These discs are applied to symbolize sexual maturity, when they are 15 or 16, 6 or 12 months before marriage. The lower lip is etched and earth or clay disks of different sizes are progressively inserted until the desired size is reached. These plates should be worn all the time, except during sleep and private meals. It is also possible to remove the plates when there are no men around.
Some legends explain why women began to wear lip plates. According to one of these, it was a strategic measure adopted in the past by their fathers in order to discourage Arab slave traders. The second hypothesis is related to the Mursi people’s belief that evil spirits can get hold of a person through their mouth, and the plates are considered as a measure of protection. The third theory, also the most probable one, is that they are used to declare the social status of the girl’s family, thus showing the number of cows planned for her hand in marriage.
Nyangatom
Going through the desert expanses we reached the villages of the Nyangatom people. All around us, the desolation of the barren savannah. Their wary and austere looks told us of a difficult existence, put to the test by a hostile territory.
Despite this, women do not give up enhancing their appearance, by adorning themselves with a multitude of necklaces made of shells and beads that cover the neck and part of the chest completely. The colored beads are worn by unmarried girls, while the married ones show off wooden beads. All of them wear threads of multicolored beads on their waist, plus earrings and large bracelets in iron, ivory and wood. Men never want to separate from their headrests.
Karo
They live in characteristic villages of straw huts; they are reduced to a few hundred individuals and their thousand-year old culture is at risk of extinction.
Like Mursi people, they worship physical beauty, enhanced by scarifications and the pictorial decorations they create by using vegetal and mineral colors.
Konso
Konso people are a large ethnic group: they grow corn, sorghum, beans, potatoes, bananas, coffee and cotton which are sold in large markets where they meet other populations who are dedicated to sheep farming.
Unlike other populations, in the Konso villages the huts are placed one against the other and not scattered; on the other hand, the larger villages observe a further territorial subdivision, each corresponding to a certain group of families. The center of this territorial fraction is represented by the men’s home. In the area outside the men’s house the generational tree is placed. It is made up of as many wooden poles as the number of the succeeding generations and, of course, possessing a very high generational tree is a source of pride, since they bear witness to the seniority and prestige of those families. Next to it, small stone obelisks can be seen often, each one of which represents a generation that is particularly distinguished in hunting actions or for having killed many enemies of some rival tribes.
Another characteristic of Konso people are the wagas, or the wooden funeral steles built by the wealthiest families a few months after the relative’s funeral. They are wooden shovels – about three meters high – that are stuck in the ground in a way that only about a meter would be visible, and which depict the dead surrounded by wives, by the possible ferocious animals killed and by the enemies killed in battle. The latter are devoid of sex because the Konso are traditionally used to castrate the killed enemies in order to show them as a demonstration of courage and virility.
Harbore
Traditionally, they are “traders”. They once had the absolute monopoly on ivory trade in East Africa. They are also skilled shepherds, fishermen and farmers.
They claim that dancing and singing favors the elimination of negative energies which in turn generates prosperity for the whole community. Women are recognized for their colorful ornaments – in particular earrings, necklaces and bracelets with which they cover their bodies (made with the most varied materials such as beads, metal, ivory, pieces of animals) and as black headgear (and often clothes), to protect themselves from the sun.
