SAMUEL'S GYM

At Salt Investment at the Ghoubbet compound near Lac Assal,Djibouti, there had been talk of bringing in exercise equipment for the employees to use. When we had our full complement of workers, we had a soccer field with goals and balls. But, money was tight and the exercise equipment never purchased.

So, ever industrious and creative, our amazing Ethiopian mechanic, Samuel, took it upon himself to build an outside exercise circuit located along a wall inside our living compound. He began first with a swing, sturdy enough to carry 3 large adults. He took one of the goal posts from our now unused soccer field and used it as the frame. Took scrap lumber and metal to fashion the seat and used car cables to suspend the seat from the frame which he cemented in. Amazing! It swings on its own in our strong winds and if occupied and pushed, swings almost to the sky.

Next he started building his exercise circuit. First came a set of parrallel bars and then a high bar for chin ups and pull ups.

The pictures show Samuel using his equipment. John and I say "Job well done, Samuel. Thanks so very much for your enthusiasm, skill and creativity."

SOUTHERN ETHIOPIA PART IX - DORZE

The Dorze occupy the mountainous region of Southern Ethiopia north of Arbaminch. Their population is approximately 80,000, living in 13 villages. We visited the village of Chenka (7,600 inhabitants). Here we toured the traditional part of their village. Our guide spoke perfect English and had been raised in the village, went away to school,then returned to help carry on his culture.

The Dorze are an agricultural and weaving society. They also keep livestock for their personal needs. Their land is absolutely gorgeous, fertile and productive. They farm on beautifully terraced land. They use cattle to pull their plows, as do the Konso people - usually 2 animals to 1 plow. Up in the mountains they grow everything they need to eat, except for tef to make injera (which needs hotter, drier weather) and lovely flowers. And, in the lowlands, where some of the farmers are trucked each day, they grow cotton. They are self sufficient, except for sugar. The mountains are cool, the air clean and fresh. We saw roses, apple trees, calla lilies, some cactus, potatoes and lots of false bananna trees. Because they cannot grow tef for injera, they use false bananna (inset) to make a form of spongy, dense cake that they eat at every meal. It is made from the pulp of the inset leaves, fermented for months and then cooked in an injera-style pan over an open outside fire.

They wear a mix of traditional and western clothing. Unlike the majority of Southern Ethiopians, who are animists or ancestral worshipers, the Dorze are Orthodox Christian. They are best known for their extroadinary woven materials.

Their homes are made from the leaves of the false bannana with bamboo frames. They build them very tall to begin with- 30 feet or more in height. They are built with one front door and three windows up near the roof. The termites eat their homes from the bottom up and in just a few years, the houses have shrunk to half their height. The Dorze just keep moving the door up and eventually the house becomes too small for the family and their animals to live in and they use it as a cookhouse or honeymoon cottage for two. One of the pictures shows John and I standing beside a house that is about 15 feet tall (now used as the honeymoon house) and next to us is a new house, 30 feet tall. Tradition holds that after a couple is married, they live in the honeymoon house until they can build themselves a new tall house. The Dorze share their homes with their livestock. There is one entrance to the house from which all enter, including the cattle, sheep and goats. They keep their livestock in their homes to protect them from the cold and predators and to provide additional warmth for the family.

We enjoyed looking at all of the beautiful fabric the Dorze produce. I purchased a lovely shawl and a table runner to bring back to the US. And, John tried on the traditional warrior garb. We were served their home distilled spirits which was pretty tasty - clear and strong- warm going down. We were also able to purchase a jar of homemade Data (a very specific blend of hot peppers and spices which is ground into a paste and very popular in Ethiopia). Our Ethiopian mechanic, Samuel, asked us to bring some back to Djibouti. It is very, very, very hot and very salty tasting. We had searched all over the area to find it and paid a hefty price. But, the Dorze were impressed that we Westerners would request it.

I have to say that this lovely, fertile, cool mountainous region of Southern Ethiopia is a place I could happily live. From here we traveled back to Addis, ending our very interesting 3 week adventure in a part of Ethiopia known for its cultural diversity.

Pictures: Dorze woman carrying her load up the mountain road to Chenka; Ann and John and the Chenka honeymoon house; Inside a Dorze house, shared with the family's livestock; Dorze man weaving; Dorze woman stripping the inset leaves; Cooking inset; John as a traditional Dorze warrior; John and our Dorze guide sharing homemade distilled spirits

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