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Located in the
remote south-west of Ethiopia Omo valley, As many as two
dozen different tribes occupy this region, some numbering
tens of thousands, other no more than 500, each one of them
culturally unique. As The south Omo region is inhabited by
colorful, culturally diverse tribes who continue their
traditional lives, little changed by the outside world. The
major tribes are the Hamar, Mursi, Karo, Bena, Tsemai, Ari
and Surma, each with their different languages, customs and
dress. Some are masters of face and body painting, some have
body scarification and stretching their lower lips with clay
and wooded ‘plates’, whilst others have intricate
hairstyles, using red earth and butter.
The Hamar are
pastoralists who practice the famous bull jumping ceremony
as a rite of passage for the young men of the community. The
unmarried women of the Hamar tribe wear a cow skin ‘tail’,
embroidered with brightly coloured beads (to attract the men
!) and all Hamar women plait each other’s hair with a
mixture of red soil and butter. The men use clay to create a
hair ‘bun’ which is topped off with a feather. These
indicate status and bravery, such as killing a dangerous
animal. A visit to a Hamar market or village is an amazing
spectacle.
The women of
the Mursi tribe wear white body and face paint and earrings
of local fruit dangling through cut and stretched ear lobes.
They are most famous for inserting a lip plate (a clay disc)
inserted into their cut and stretched lower lip. The Karo
are known as the expert face and body painters of all the
tribes, some individuals mimicking the marking of the guinea
fowl. They also use handprints in white, yellow and ochre
colors to decorate themselves. They also use body
scarification and make intricate headdresses using fruit and
vegetables. Both the men and women of the Suri tribe shave
their heads but leave thin lines of hair in different
patterns. The women have ear plates and lip plates and both
sexes have body scarification. The young men take part in
stick fighting contests between villages to prove their
manliness to the girls. The children decorate themselves by
face and body painting almost daily and decorate themselves
with elaborate ‘hats’ made from various fruit and flowers.
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