The southern tribes... of Ethiopia
It is October, and we are back in Addis Ababa. A year before we were with a small group visiting the historical north. The rock-hewn churches, frescos and the historical sites exceeded our expectations but there was another fascinating aspect – the country’s rich and diverse flora, fauna and dramatic landscapes, and, in most cases, gentle and unaggressive people.


Pelicans, Lake Chamo
Some of the southern tribes – Mursi, Hamer, Karo, Dassenach – have retained traditional customs and clothing. Those nearer towns like Dorsi and Ari adopt the western lifestyle and their children go to school. The Dorsi, living in the damp mountains by the lake, are spinners and weavers selling colourful hats and scarves by the roadside. Some live in woven reed houses resembling the head of an elephant, the eyes being the chimney. Like most of Africa, there were old women bent double, carrying huge bundles and small children with large jerry cans of water on a muddy road trampled by goats and zebu – the local humped cattle. The Ari people further south live in more conventional rectangular houses, distil a passable Arak – a West Asian alcoholic spirit – and most children go to school. A troupe of delightful children did a spontaneous tribal dance, not for us but as play.

Traditional women's dress from the Hamer tribe, Omo valley
At the ceremonial tree, a group of young men were grinding rocks to make white and ochre face paint. Teenage girls were bare to the waist with their hair shaven in patterns and rows of coloured beads. They watched the men with long canes, who whipped the backs of the prancing and trumpeting older women until some were crisscrossed with blood. The women asked for more because it is proof of their love for the boy, who was a family member. Further up the hill, young men and woman were dancing in a circle. Meanwhile the older women, backs scarred and bleeding, were rounding up 40 or 50 bulls, making a lot of noise to confuse them. After an hour or so, seven bulls had been lined up side by side by force. The initiate who was completely naked, stood worried at the side. Suddenly, he ran at the phalanx of bulls. He jumped on to the back of the first one and then jumped to another one. He went back and forth, jumping across the bulls’ backs, five or six times. In four minutes his initiation was over. Now he’d be allowed to marry his first bride, who would be chosen for him, and own cattle.
Young Karo girl
I personally don’t think that these tribes can maintain their traditional ways of life for many more generations. Apart from practices that are not palatable to modern societies, there are still inter-tribal conflicts exacerbated by gun-running across the Kenyan border and the government coveting their land. Pressure from government, missionaries, the arrival of electricity and tourism will destroy these societies. Go and see them while you can. Find out more about Cox & Kings’ holidays to Southern Ethiopia here. Share:
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