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
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