SOUTHERN ETHIOPIA PART VIII- KONSO

I must admit to being somewhat biased when visiting the different cultures John and I saw in Southern Ethiopia. I felt most at home, being a farmer at heart, with the two mainly agricultural tribes that we encountered. The first was the Konso, known for their elaborate stone wall terraced villages and beautifully terraced growing fields. Located in countryside of tall rolling hills or small mountains, they have a population of about 300,000 residing in 48 villages. They wear westernized clothing and many of the children are educated.

The men work in the fields growing maize, sorghum, vegetables, and cotton. The grandmothers care for the young children, while the women go to the fields midday to cook for or bring food to their husbands.

We visited the main village. It was amazing. Built up the side of a small mountain and formed as a series of stone walls built in concentric circles up the hillside growing outward as the inner circle filled with people. Each circle is connected by a series of switchback roads with stone steps, all leading to the top of the mountain. The rationale for the design was to use the stone walls for fire control. Cattle, goats and sheep are also kept safe from predators at night. They share living space with the villagers behind the rock walls.

As you walk up the hillside, small openings lead into individual walled living units. Along the way we saw very large round rocks. These are called "Strong Man Rocks" and are lifted to show a man's strength. Our guide lifted one of the larger ones with some ease; but, he could not hold it but a few seconds.

Whenever we visited a tribal village, we employed a local guide to tell us about their culture. Our Konso guide was the best local guide we had on our tour. He was from this village and gave us a lot of cultural and daily life information about the Konso,. He explained that the main gate, located near the bottom of the mountain is closed every evening at a certain time and open early the next day. If you are outside when the gate closes, you must sleep outside.

He also explained that the Konso have a sophsiticated community governing system. Every 14 years, governance of the village is passed down to the next generation. There is a generational tree symbol near the main Community House, the center of their social life, where the ceremony takes place. There is also a pledging stone there where individuals swear to tell the truth and a hero stone where heroes are venerated. The Konso differ from the majority of Southern Ethiopian tribes in that their women are not circumcised. Men are circumcised at around age 20, after they have sired a child. The Community House in the past had many uses - one use was a form of birth control. Each time a child was born, the husband would have to sleep nights in the Community House, not allowed to share a bed with his wife, the mother of the child, for 2 years. Now, our guide told us that they just use condoms.

Pictures: Our guide lifting a "Strong Man Rock"; Switchback stairs up to the top of the main Konso village; View from the top of the Konso village; Terraced Konso farmland; Terraced villages on the way to the main Konso village; Main gate to the Konso village; Konso Community House

SOUTHERN ETHIOPIA PART VII - KARO

The Karo people, a very small and dwindling culture, live on the left bank of the Omo River. The population stands now at around only 500 people. They supplement their survival economy (sorghum,corn and beans) with beekeeping and fishing which used to be "taboo" before they lost most of their cattle to the tsetse fly. A part of the Karo's small accumuation of livestock (goats and sheep) is looked after by the Hamar and in return, the Hamar receive sorghum from the Karo.

The most striking thing about the Karo people is their painted body and face decorations. This is an elaborate process which ranges from fine and elaborate details to rough but striking paintings traced with the palms or fingers.

Pictures: Ann in front of a huge termite mound on the way to the Karo village; Karo man with young boy with traditionally painted bodies and faces and stunning hairstyles.

SOUTHERN ETHIOPIA PART VI- DASSANETCH

The Dassanetch People occupy land on both sides of the Omo River and the northern edges of Lake Turkana. Although they consider themselves to be livestock farmers, the seasonal cultivation of crops on the flooded banks of the Omo River and Lake Turkana are essential to their survival. They follow a complex age and generational system and are led by an elite group of about thirty elders called "bulls". They have collective rights to cultivable flats and pasture areas. But only individuals can claim special rights to river bank strips.

Despite being a male dominated society, the birth of a daughter is required to participate in certain ceremonies. One of the most striking details of the Dassanetch is the incredible male hairstyles signifying position in the age-system. Their population is about 25,000. They have good relations with the surrounding tribes. In fact, the Hamer People manage the cattle of the Dassanetch in exchange for agricultural products.

Pictures: Dassanetch village huts; Dassanetch woman with pot and ladles; Village girl stripping a goat hide; Two older village women with baby (note hairstyle with bottle caps); Inside a village hut; John in a traditional Dassanetch canoe on the Omo River; Dassanetch farmers cultivating maize on the banks of the Omo River.

SOUTHERN ETHIOPIA PART V - HAMAR

The Hamar occupy a mountainous, dry region in the eastern part of the Lower Omo Valley. They have an agro-livestock connection and bring their surplus agricultural products and livestock to surrounding markets. Hamar women are some of the most elaborately dressed women of the region. Their goatskin skirts are almost always decorated with coloured glass beads. The front of the skirt is edged with beads or pieces of metal whose weight increases at the top of the triangle and causes the skirt to always fall between their legs, thus protecting their decency. The back of the skirt is longer and strongly resembles the tail of a gazelle. They wear distinctive metal necklaces, called esente, which are never taken off. The statuus of a married woman is indicated by a third necklace of leather and metal that also has a distinctive detail protruding from the front. They also wear a profusion of metal bracelets on their arms and legs. Their hair is thoroughly covered with grease and red ochre. The hairstyle worn denotes age and statue. Elaborate plaits denote a married woman. While flattened hair with little tufts is worn by young girls. In comparison male decoration is much simpler with the exception of complicated hairstyles denoting their status within the age system.

The Hamar are best known globally for the male passage rite of "leaping over the bulls" which determines his readiness to make the social jump from youth to adulthood and for the responsibilities of marriage and raising a family. Leading up to this ceremony is the controversial whipping of the young man's female relatives. Perceived by most Hamar women as a badge of honor, the young women taunt the "maz" who use long whips to inflict scars on their backs and arms. John and I felt strongly that we couldn't condone that brutality by paying to see it take place and declined to see the ceremony. But, we did see a video of it. The government of Ethiopia has been trying unsuccessfully to ban the practice,

In a wonderful book,"Touching Ethiopia", the author writes:"The Hamar are a suprising people, not only for their original external appearance but also because they are reserved but polite, quiet but happy, simple but proud, austere but sympathetic, peaceful but arrogant." My impression echoes the writer's. They possess a very interesting combination of traits. Unlike the unpredictable, savageness of the Mursi people, the Hamar live peaceably and synergistically with their neighbors.

Pictures: Beautiful married Hamar woman; Elder Hamar man carrying his combination stool/headrest; Married Hamar woman sewing cowrie shells onto a girdle belt; Hamar woman with scars inflicted by the whips of the "maz" during her brother's coming of age bull leaping ceremony; Hamar woman selling cocks at the Hamar market; Hamar women vendors selling ochre at the Hamar market; Hamar women and children in a small Hamar village.

SOUTHERN ETHIOPIA PART IV - MURSI

Ethiopian Peoples of the Lower Omo Valley have very unique cultures. As we traveled further south toward the Kenyan/Sudan border, the weather became warmer and the people wore fewer articles of clothing. Our first encounter with these peoples, was with the Mursi, a very proud and, sometimes hostile people. Because of their possible aggression (due to abuse of alcohol early in the day and the fact that almost everyone, carries an automatic assault rifle (Kalashnikov), we had to bring along an armed guard to visit the village. The strange thing is that the armed guard only had a single shot rifle to protect us.

John enjoyed our visit; but, I felt uncomfortable the whole time we were there. I didn't feel threatened. But, the villagers were definitely only in this village, all dressed up for us to see and for us to pay them money to take their pictures. And, some became beligerent if you did not take their picture or pay them enough money. I only took a few pictures and was ready to leave.

The Mursi are dedicated to raising livestock on their very dry lands. Although they have had to supplement their food sources by cultivating sorghum and corn and keeping bees. Hunting was once an important resource as the Mursi were the supplier of wild animal skins for other groups. This ceased when the region around the Mago River, the Mursi homeland, was declared a national park and wildlife reserve.

The distinctive trait of the Mursi, shared by other Surmic groups, is the discs worn in the lower lips and earlobes of their women. The plates are made from mud or wood. There are different sizes and shapes (circular and trapezoidal) and they may be decorated with cuts or incisions. Sometimes the centre is hollow, forming a large labial ring. Not all of the women have the discs. We were told that when a woman is widowed, she removes her labial disk and throws it away.

Pictures: 2 older Mursi women; 2 younger Mursi women; Ann and 4 Mursi women; Sammy, our guide and 5 Mursi men with their rifles and sticks

SOUTHERN ETHIOPIA PART III - ARI PEOPLE

The Ari people live in villages around the town of Jinka in Southern Ethiopia. They wear mostly western style clothing. The women plait their hair and the men wear a short shaved haircut. Our guide took us to one of their largest villages where we spent most of the morning watching as the villagers went about their daily lives.

The Ari are mainly maize farmers; but, like all Southern Ethiopians, they keep a small herd of cattle and goats. They are friendly, open and industrious. From the maize they distill corn liquor. They gave John and I samples of this clear liquid when we visited their small still. It was pretty smooth, with a somewhat eathy smoke flavor due to the dung they used for fuel.

They are also known for their wonderful pottery. We watched a young woman take red clay that was gathered nearby and fashion a flat plate used for roasting coffee (buna) beans. There are several social classes among the Ari. Only women are potters and only pottery families can intermarry. The same marriage restriction holds for the blacksmith who hand forges knives and uses his animal hide bellows to bring oxygen to the fire. The blacksmith that we watched, told us that he has been training his daughter, the first woman Ari blacksmith, to carry on his trade.

An Ari woman taught Ann how to pour injera batter onto the hot injera pan and let us taste fresh corn injera. Injera can be made from several plants - tef and corn are the main ones. Injera is the traditional Ethiopian flat large round "bread" that provides the plate for eating all of the special Ethiopian dishes like "Tibs" - small chunks of meat fried with fat, garlic, onion and tomato. Injera is traditionally served and eaten communally. The main dish is placed in the centre of the injera with small portions of other foods surrounding it - a bit of each in front of every person. Cutlery is not used. Thus, the first step before eating, is to wash one's hands. The hostess brings a pitcher of water and a small wash basin. She pours water over the hands of each person at the table. After everyone has washed, the injera is uncovered and everyone can start eating. With only the right hand one breaks off small pieces of injera and uses them to pick up the food. Ethiopians love hot, spicy food and always have a variety of chile pastes or powders at every meal.

Like many other parts of Ethiopia, the Ari also make another form of "bread", kocho, a highly nutritious soft cake made from the pulp of the false banana or enset. In one of the pictures above, John and Sammy, our guide, stand before an enset plant. Later in our journeys we watched the making of kocho.

Pictures: Ari girl clutching a 1 Birr note(the cost of taking her picture); John and Sammy with the enset plant; Ari woman making pottery;Making injera;
Ari blacksmith; Ari women plaiting hair and nursing

SOUTHERN ETHIOPIA PART II - BENNA MARKET

John and I visited several open air markets while traveling in Southern Ethiopia. Our first market was the "Benna Market", located in the village of KeyAfer (red earth). Every Thursday, the Benna, Tsemay and Erbore people bring their goods to market. Almost everyone walks to market carrying their foodstuffs, crafts, clothing, housewares, pottery, gourd containers or fabric. A few travel by bus or truck. As we approached the town, we saw many people carrying large heavy loads, walking towards town. The market starts at noon, allowing time for the vendors to make their way to KeyAfer. They come from their villages up to 50 kilometers away. They also bring any extra livestock and sell it at a nearby market. And, then before sundown, they start the treck back to their villages laden with their market buys.

Market day is the time to dress up, socialize, and purchase or barter for necessary supplies. One of the more interesting sights were the women who carry a wooden bowl used to drink water or eat from by turning it upside down and wearing it as a hat. Some tribes wear westernized clothing, others like the Benna dress traditionally.

Benna females of all ages wear highly decorated hide skirts, swirling collars of cowrie shells, and cover their arms and legs with multiple bracelets. Almost all of the materials used for decoration are natural except for the metal and glass beads acquired from far places thanks to a chain of markets connecting the Lower Omo region with the outside world. The cowrie shells come from the Indian Ocean and Red Sea. The hairstyle changes with your age generation. Young women partially shave their heads and wear beaded headbands. Older women ochre and plait their hair into a dutch boy style. Traditionally dressed Benna males wear feathers on their partially shaved heads, carry walking sticks and wear a miniskirt made of colorful cloth. Whether wearing traditional clothing or not, the typical Southern Ethiopian, male or female, wears sandles made out of old tires.

Pictures: Older Benna woman; John with two young Benna girls; KeyAfar "Benna Market" scene with golden jerry cans used to carry water all over Africa; A vendors blanket filled with traditional clothing, jewelry and crafts.