About the Omo Valley Tribes
Hamer, Kara and Bena tribes – The Bull-jumping People
In the Southern regional state in Omo valley Ethiopia, beyond the Buska and bita Hamer tribal Mountains, live the Hamer, Kara and Bena peoples. These fascinating and superstitious people have been shrouded in mystery for over half a century. Among the Omotic-speaking peoples of southwestern Ethiopia, three, Hamar, Kara, and Bena, are known for their unique traditional art of ‚bull jumping‘.
Hamer Tribe
Bena Tribe
Kara Tribe
The Kara are a semi-nomadic tribe. They live in round huts made out of a framework of tree branches plastered with mud and the conical roof thatched with local grasses. A typical Kara village has 20 to 30 huts around a meeting place and also enclosures of branches to keep cattle and goats.
The purpose of this ritual is twofold: one is to mark the transition from childhood to adulthood, and the other is to beautify both men and women to attract a mate. The men put peanut buns on their skin and head and put on ostrich feathers, while the women tied their hair into short bundles mixed with fat and wrapped in ochre.
Mursi and Surma tribe – People of the Labyrinth and Lobular Plateau
The Mursi and Surma ethnic groups live in the remote desert of southwestern Ethiopia. These people are almost forgotten both in Ethiopia and outside the world; until the 1970s, they had no knowledge of the outside world, including Ethiopia. The people of this savannah and mountainous land have a wide range of cultural characteristics that never cease to amaze visitors. The women of the Mursi and Surma tribes demonstrate their beauty and resilience through ear piercings and lip piercings, while the men demonstrate courage and bravery through stick fighting rituals called donga.
Mursi Tribe
Surma Tribe
Nyangatom Tribe
The Nyangatom are members of the Ateker or Karamojong cluster that also contains the Turkana, Toposa, Karamojong, Iteso people (Kenya AND Uganda), Ibo People (Nigeria) and Jie who speak closely related languages. A substantial number of Nyangatom also reside in semi-permanent villages. It is common for individuals to move between mobile cattle camps and semi-permanent villages.
Dassanetch and Arbore Tribes
The Dassanetch and Arbore Tribes: – people of circumcision and they speak a completely different language and are actually the Cushitic speaking group of the Omo Valley. The most important ritual of the Dassanetch is the so-called dime. In theory, only a man who has had a daughter can be circumcised, although in practice, circumcision is carried out on the entire age-group. The daughter is most important in the dime ceremony. After the ceremony, which takes six weeks, the participants are upgraded to ‚great men‘, or those that may engage in politics. The dime ritual is directly connected to the upcoming marriage of the daughter when large quantities of cattle are slaughtered for the occasion.
Dassanetch Tribe
Arbore Tribe
