TRIBES OF THE OMO VALLEY

martes, 17 de noviembre de 2015

TRIBES OF THE OMO VALLEY

The lower Omo is home to a remarkable mix of small, Contrasting ethnic groups including Karo, Dassanach, Bodi, Mursi, Surma, Arbore, Hamer

Just to express their artistic impulses. Both the Surma and the Karo for example, are experts at body painting, using clays and locally available vegetable pigments to trace fantastic patterns on each other’s faces, chests, arms, and legs . These designs have no special symbolic significance but are created purely for fun and aesthetic effect, each artist vying to outdo his fellows.

Cicatrizing, on the other hand, which is also popular amongst most of the peoples of the lower Omo, does contain a number of specific symbolic messages. For example, Mursi warriors carve deep crescent incisions kon their arms to represent each enemhy that they have killed in battle. Elaborate hairstyle are another form of personal adornment. Hamer women wear their hair in dense ringlets smeared with mud and clarified butter and topped off with a head-dress featuring obligation of gleaming aluminium;geleb and Karo men sculpt and shave their hair in to extravagant shapes, with special ochre ’caps’of hair usually containing several ostrich feathers. Jewellery tends to be simple but striking-colorful necklaces, chunky metal wristlets and armlets, shiny nails appended to skirts, multiople earrings, and a variety of other jewellery.

The insertion of wooden and terracotta discs in to the ear lobes is a widespread custom, and mursi and surma women also progressively split and stretch their lower lips to make room for similar discs there, too. Though these ‘lip plates’ may appear bizarre to outsiders, the Mursi and surma regard them as signs of beauty –generally speaking, the larger the lip plate the more desirable the wearer. At certain seasons, a visitor may be lucky to witness these colorful and dramatic traditional ceremonies, periodically young men of both Mursi and the surma tribes engage in ritual stick fighting. These duels are conducted with the utmost vigour since the winners, and those judged to have shown the greatest bravery, are much admired by nubile girls.

Another important event, seen by few tourists, is the Hamer’jumping of the bull’ ceremony. In this rite of passage, youths are required to jump on to the backs of a line of about ten cattle, run the whole length of this formidable obstacle, jump down kon to the other side and then repeat the entire procedure three more times with out falling. Finally they walk out of the arena through a special gateway, after which they are judged to have passed form boyhood to man hood.

A trip along the wild and wonderful Omo River offers many opportunities to meet the colourful local people, as well as an experience such indigenous the country.

The Mursi or Murzu are ethnic groups located in the Southern Ethiopia, inside Mago national park. They are nomadic cattle herder.

The Mursi are surrounded by mountains between the Omo River and its tributary the Mago. This is one of the most isolated regions of the country. Their neighbors include the Ari, the Banna, the Bodi, the Kara, the Kwegu, the Me’en the Nyangatom and the Suri. They are grouped together with the Me'en and Suri by the Ethiopian government under the name Surma.

They have their own language, also called Mursi. It is a Surmic language. It is also closely related (over 80% cognate) to Me'en and Suri, as well as Kwegu and other nearby languages.

The Mursi have their own religion called Animism. The women wear plates made of clay in their lower lips. Girls are pierced at the age of 15 or 16. Similar body ornaments are worn by the Suyá people, a Brazilian tribe. The Mursi people are also known for in DONGA (stick fighting ceremony), hair & wearing style.

DONGA - STICK FIGHTING OF THE MURSI TRIBE

and eliminating him from the game. Players are usually unmarried men. The winner is carried away on a platform of poles to a group of girls waiting at the side of the arena who decide among themselves which of them will ask for his hand in marriage. Taking part in a stick fight is considered to be more important than winning it. The men paint their bodies with a mixture of chalk and water before the fight.

Surma, also known as the Suri people live in the southwestern plains of Ethiopia. They raise cattle and farm when the land is fertile. Cattle are important to the Suri, giving them status. The more cattle a tribesmen has, the wealthier they are. In order for a man to marry a women in the Suri tribe, he must own at least 60 cattle. Cattle are given to the family of the woman in exchange for marriage. Like the other tribes, the Suri will use the milk and blood from the cow. During the dry season, the people will drink blood instead of milk. Blood can be drained from a cow once a month. This is done by making a small incision in it's neck. The Suri are very much like the Muris tribe and practice the same traditions. The women wear lip plates that are made out of clay. The men in the tribe fight with sticks called Dongas. Both the men and women scar their bodies. If you see a Suri man with a scar, it ususally means that he has killed a member of a rival tribe.

DONGA-STICK-FIGHTING

Dongaa is a stick fighting festival of the Mursi and Surma young man. At a fight, each contestant is armed with a hardwood pole about six feet long with a weight of just under two pounds. In the attacking position, this pole is gripped at its base with both hands, the left above the right in order to give maximum swing and leverage. Each player beats his opponent with his stick as many times as possible with the intention of knocking him down, and eliminating him from the game. Players are usually unmarried men. The winner is carried away on a platform of poles to a group of girls waiting at the side of the arena who decide among themselves which of them will ask for his hand in marriage. Taking part in a stick fight is considered to be more important than winning it. The men paint their bodies with a mixture of chalk and water before the fight.

The ethnic diversity you get in the southern part of Ethiopia is great. The Hamer, with their attribute high cheekbones, elaborate costumes of beads, cowries and leather, and thick copper necklaces, are among the most readily identifiable of the South Omo peoples in Ethiopia.

They are known in Evangadi dance (night dancing) and Bull Jumping activities, hair & Wearing style. They are friendly and warm people.

The major towns of the Hamer are Turmi and Dimeka, both of which host compelling and colorful weekly markets – on Monday and Saturday respectively – and will reward anybody who settles into them for a few days.

Turmi will form an undoubted highlight of any trip through South Omo, and it is particularly accessible, since all roads lead there ultimately.

BULL JUMPING

The Hamer, Banna and Karo people share traditions and rituals. One of the most important one from these traditions is the so-called 'jumping over the bull'. If a young man wants to marry the girl of his choice he will have to jump over bulls picked by the girl's family. They have to run over the backs of about ten cattles standing side by side - four times, falling not allowed.

He is required to jump over them four times: two times in each direction. He is assisted by friends (called the 'maz'); those who have successfully performed the jumping in previous years. They (try to) hold the cattle to prevent the young candidate from falling. If the jumper fails, it is considered a bad sign and he will have another chance a year later. Not seldom will the people blame the wind in case of his failure, and will they allow the aspiring groom a second chance. If the groom-to-be succeeds, he may keep the girl in exchange for cattle given to her family. For two months the betrothed couple will share blood and milk (blood from the cow's neck is mixed with her milk and drunk). A wealthy, strong man may marry up to four women.

Banna, Bana, and Benna are other spellings for the Bena people. They are neighbors with the Hamer tribe and it is believed that the Bena actually originated from them centuries ago. The market in Key Afer is often visited by them.

Just like most of the indigenous tribes in the lower Omo Valley, the Bena practice ritual dancing and singing. The men often have their hair dressed up with a colorful clay cap that is decorated with feathers. Both the men and women wear long garments and paint their bodies with white chalk. Women of the tribe wear beads in their hair that is held together with butter.

The Bena look very similar to the Hamer and are often called the Hamer-Bena. Common rituals and traditions of other tribes are shared by the Bena. The boys in the tribe participate in bull jumping. When it is time for the boy to become a man, he must jump over a number of bulls naked without falling. If he is able to complete this task, he will become a man and be able to marry a woman.

The Karo or Kara is a small tribe with an estimated population between 1,000 and 3,500. They are closely related to the Kwegu tribe. They live along the east banks of the Omo River in southern Ethiopia and practice flood retreat cultivation. The crops that are grown by them are sorghum and maize. Only small cattle are kept because of the tsetse flies. These flies are large and consume the blood of vertebrate animals.

Like many of the tribes in the Omo, they paint their bodies and faces with white chalk to resemble the bird genie fowl. The chalk is mixed with yellow rock, red iron ore and charcoal to make its color. Face masks are worn at times and they have clay hair buns with feathers in them. Red clay mixed with butter is put into their hair and clothing is made from animal skin. The women scar their chest believing it makes them beautiful.

The men's scars represent an enemy or dangerous animal killed. They also wear clay hair buns which symbol a kill. A man in the tribe can have as many wives as he wants, but must be able to afford them. Most men will only marry two or three.

Tsamai, are found in the semi-arid region of the Woyto Valley. These people are agro-pastoralist and use both livestock herding and agriculture to survive. Common crops grown by the tribe are sorghum, millet and sometimes cotton.

Unlike any other tribe in Ethiopia, the Tsemay have arranged weddings. The parents of the woman pick who she will marry with or without her consent. Even if the marriage is arranged, the man must still be able to afford to pay for his future wife. Payment of cattle, honey, grain and coffee beans are accepted. Women of the tribe, who are not married, wear a short leather skirt with a v-shaped apron attached. Married women wear long leather dresses with an apron that have an apron covering their front and back side. The men in the tribe are found carrying small wooden seats to sit.

The Tsemay are found colorful on their Thursday market with Bena and Ari tribes and on Saturday local market for Tsemay’s exclusively in Woyto.

The Ari people inhabit the northern part of the Mago National Park in Ethiopia and have the largest territory of all the tribes in the area. They have fertile lands allowing them to have several types of plantations. An Ari's crop can consist of grains, coffee, fruits and honey. It's also common for them to have large herds of livestock.

Their women are known for selling pottery and wearing skirts made from banana trees called enset. Tribe members wear a lot of jewelry and have many piercings in their ears. They wrap beads and bracelets around their arms and waist for decoration. You can find some of the Ari people visiting the market in Key Afer.

The Bodi or Me'en people live close to the Omo River in southern Ethiopia. Men of the Bodi are typically overweight because they consume large amounts of honey. The men wear a strip of cotton around their waist or walk around naked. In June, the Bodi celebrate Ka'el.

This is a tradition that measures the body fat of a contestant. Each family or clan is allowed to enter an unmarried contestant. The winner of this contest is awarded great fame by the tribe. Men also wear a headband with a feather attached to it during rituals. The women in the tribe wear goatskin skirts and have a plug inserted into their chin.

The Daasanach are an ethnic group of Ethiopia, Kenya and Sudan. Their main homeland is in the South Omo zone of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's Region of Ethiopia, around the North end of Lake Turkana. The Daasanach are traditionally a pastoral people by tradition, but in recent years have become primarily agro-pastoral.

Having lost the majority of their lands over the past fifty years or so, primarily as a result from being excluded from their traditional Kenyan lands, including on both sides of Lake Turkana, and the 'Ilemi Triangle' of Sudan, they have suffered a massive decrease in the numbers of cattle, goats and sheep. As a result, large numbers of them have moved to areas closer to the Omo River, where they attempt to grow enough crops to survive.

Like many pastoral peoples throughout this region of Africa, the Daasanach are a highly egalitarian society, with a social system involving age sets and clan lineages - both of which involve strong reciprocity relations.

The Daasanach language is a Cushitic language, notable for its large number of noun classes, irregular verb system, and implosive consonants (for instance, the initial D in Daasanach is implosive, sometimes written as 'D).

The Nyangatom (sometimes written Inyangatom, also known as Donyiro or Bumé) are a numerically small and warlike pastoral ethnic group of south western Ethiopia and south eastern South Sudan, who live with their herds in a particularly inhospitable part of the disputed Ilemi Triangle.

They are related to the Toposa, their only friendly neighbors, in the extreme southeast of South Sudan. Their language is one of the Eastern Nilotic languages, closely related to Karimojong, and Tseo of Uganda, Toposa and Turkana; these languages together form the cluster of Teso-Turkana languages.

The Arbore tribe is a small tribe that lives in the southwest region of the Omo Valley. They have ancestral and cultural links to the Konso people and perform many ritual dances while singing. The Tsemay people are their neighboring tribe.

Arbores are pastoralists (livestock farmers). They believe that their singing and dancing eliminates negative energy and with the negative energy gone, the tribe will prosper.

The women of the tribe cover their heads with a black cloth and are known to wear very colorful necklaces and earrings. Young children will wear a shell type hat that protects their heads from the sun.

Traditional dancing is practiced by the tribe and wealth is measured by the number of cattle a tribesman owns.

The Nuer are pastoral people who rely on cattle products for almost every aspect of their daily lives. These people are a confederation of tribes located in South Sudan and western Ethiopia. Collectively, the Nuer form one of the largest ethnic groups in East Africa. They Border such tribes as the Dinka, Anyuak, Shilluk and other minor tribes in both Ethiopia and Sudan.

Cattle have historically been of the highest symbolic, religious and economic among the Nuer. The Nuer receives facial markings (called gaar) as part of their initiation into adulthood. The pattern of Nuer scarification varies within specific subgroups. The most common initiation pattern among males consists of six parallel horizontal lines which are cut across the forehead with a razor, often with a dip in the lines above the nose. Dotted patterns are also common (especially among the Bul Nuer and among females).

The Anuak are a river people whose villages are scattered along the banks and rivers of southeastern, South Sudan and western Ethiopia, in the Gambela Region. Most of them live in the southwestern area of Ethiopia.

The name of this people is also spelled Anyuak, Agnwak, and Anywaa. Unlike other Nilotic people in the region whose economy is centered on raising cattle, the Anuak are herdsmen and farmers. They are believed to have a common origin with their northern neighbors, the Luo and Shilluk. Also, they share a similar language with their neighbors to the south, the Acholi.

The konso people live in the south Central Part of Ethiopia. The Konso are a Cushitic people. Their sharply delimited traditional territory is bounded by lands of Oromo peoples, to whom the Konso are culturally and linguistically related. Konso people are Cushitic people. They live in large towns, each governed by a council of elders.

They have a clan-based societal arrangement. The people are comprised of nine clans (gada). The clans’ structure is based on exogamy and patrilinearity.

They developed a defensive style of building, with villages on hilltops, protected by fortifications around them. Konso village is a graceful composition of rock walls and wood.

Their livelihood is largely dependent up on agriculture and involves the irrigation and terracing of mountain slopes. Sorghum and corn with cash crops including cotton and coffee are some of the Staple crops they produce while cattle, sheep, and goats are raised for food and milk.

They grow their crops on terraces, thus using every bit of land possible. They are also famous bee-keepers. The Konso are an efficient, resourceful, charming, careful, and hard-working people.

The Konso erect what are known as wakas, which are carvings created in memory of a dead man who has killed an enemy or animal. The statues are often arranged in groups, with statues representing the man, his wives, and his adversaries present.

The Gesergios village is commonly known as ‘’ New York village’’ due to its natural landscape with mountain structure that seems precisely a big city with modern buildings.

They are renowned for their wooden anthropomorph statuettes, erected in honor of important - deceased - people. The statuettes are called Waka in the Konso language.

Within the stone walled terraces and fortified settlements of Ethiopia's Konso highlands you'll find original living traditions that date back to more than 400 years. Over 21 generations, inhabitants have adapted to the dry, hostile environment by creating special social systems, engineering techniques and craft works including wooden statues grouped to represent noteworthy residents and heroic events. The statues are amazing standing remnants of funerary traditions that are in danger of disappearing.

Recently, the Konso people are hailed for their terracing system to conserve the soil from being eroded and preserving the environment in return. The konso terracing system is made to adopt the sloppy landscape. This in return has made the brainy Konso people to work on a terracing system that can go hand in hand with the landscape. The landscape and the terracing system have now been registered by the UNESCO as world heritage.

Well known cotton weavers, the Dorze people were once warriors. They are famous for their cotton woven cloths and beehive huts. The Dorze people also live in large communities north of Addis Ababa. They cultivate their own food and prevent erosion by terracing along the mountainside. In their farmlands, the Dorze will grow highland cereals. They also grow spices, vegetables, fruits and tobacco within their compound.

Women of the Dorze people have most of the responsibility in the family. They must take care of any children and all of the house choirs. The women are also responsible for cooking, spinning cotton and collecting firewood. Male tribal members spend most of their time on the farm or building huts. Sometimes you will find them weaving material to use for different things. The Dorze people wear colorful toga robes called shammas. They are very popular throughout Ethiopia.

A Dorze hut is made up of hard wood poles, woven bamboo, enset and other natural materials. It can stand two stories tall and last up to 80 years. Inside the main hut, you will find a fire place, a seating area and bedrooms. Smaller huts can include guest houses, a workshop, a kitchen and even cattle shed. When termites attack the hut, the Dorze can just remove it from its foundation and relocate it. This allows the home to last much longer.

(Source: tasteethiopiatours.com)

CIENCIA & RAZA - SCIENTIFIC RACE

Menu

martes, 17 de noviembre de 2015