OMO VALLEY - THE VANISHING TRIBES OF ETHIOPIA

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.
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.
tracks from the central roadway near camp – so hiking
was an important part of visiting Surma villages.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
Dimitra Stasinopoulou
Athens, June 2014
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
VAN OS PHOTO SAFARIS TOUR INFORMATION
VANISHING CULTURES OF ETHIOPIA’S OMO VALLEY
ORIGINS SAFARIS
GUIDELINES TO CULTURALLY SENSITIVE TOURISM
–REMOTE TRIBES OMO
TOUCHING ETHIOPIA by Javier Gonzalbez and Dulce Cebrian
ETHIOPIA - PEOPLES OF THE OMO VALLEY
HANS SILVESTER, Copyright: 2006 Editions de la Martiniere - English
edition copyright: Thames & Hudson, London and Abrams, New York
BEFORE THEY PASS AWAY
BY JIMMY NELSON, October 2013
FRANCE LECLERC, World travel and photography blog
Ethiopian tribes
DISCOVERING WOMANHOOD THROUGH FIELDWORK
By Jean Lydall Contribution to the seminar “Frauen und
Forschung: Feld - Fantasie - Fortschritt” Heidelberg 1994
TWILIGHT OF THE TRIBES: ETHIOPIA’S OMO RIVER VALLEY
CONDE NESTE TRAVELLER ARTICLE BY SUSAN HACK, JANUARY 2012
FACES OF AFRICA
CAROL BECKWITH & ANGELA FISHER
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC EDITION
THE LAST FRONTIER: ETHIOPIA’S REMOTE OMO VALLEY
FORBES ARTCLE (March 2013) By David Hochman
BBC TRAVEL Articles
CNN : Is the tide turning against the killing
of ‘cursed’ infants in Ethiopia?
By Matthew D. LaPlante, Nov 2011
“Lip plates and the people who take photographs
Uneasy encounters between Mursi and tourists in
Southern Ethiopia” Article by David Turton
Think Africa Press (Kenya):
Ethiopia’s Controversial Gibe III Mega-Dam
16 January 2013
ETHIOPIA’S OMO VALLEY | AFRICA’S LAST FRONTIER
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE, BY RANDY OLSON
WIKIPEDIA
VARIOUS INTERNET SOURCES
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.
A Hamer “first wife” must
always wear a “burkule”, a
necklace made of leather and
metal that has a distinctive
detail in the front.
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.