Description :
“The tribes have lived in this area for centuries and have developed techniques to survive in challenging environment”
Ethiopia, officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia which is a sovereign state located in the Horn of Africa. It shares a border with Eritrea to the north and northeast, Djibouti and Somalia to the east, Sudan and South Sudan to the west, and Kenya to the south. With nearly 100 million inhabitants, Ethiopia is the most populous landlocked country in the world, as well as the second-most populous nation on the African continent after Nigeria. Its capital and largest city is Addis Ababa.
Visiting Ethiopia, you should have trip "in touch local wisdom" such as Visit Omo Valley. A cultural melting pot with at least 16 distinct ethnic groups. Two of the four main African linguistic families are represented in the area: Nilo-Sharan, Afro-Asiatic, with its Omotic (endemic to the south Omo) and Cushitic branches. The Omo is one of Ethiopia's largest rives. The people of this are have managed to retain their traditional lifestyle. this apparently due to the fact that harsh environment in which most of the ethnic groups live in undesirable to outsiders.
If we talk about Ethiopia, we will be reminded of the Queen of Sheba, the history of coffee, Danakil Depression, Tribes, Timkat Ceremonies and much more. The Queen of Sheba - an exotic and mysterious woman of power - is immortalised in the world's great religious works, among them the Hebrew Bible and the Muslim Koran. Of all the stories of the Queen of Sheba, those of Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa are those that probably retain the most resonance today with the people who tell them. The stories are immortalised in the Ethiopian holy book - the Kebra Nagast - where we find accounts of the queen's hairy hoof, her trip to Solomon and her seduction. Stopping with history, we move on the most popular site in Ethiopia is called The Danakil Depression. It's the northern part of the Afar Triangle or Afar Depression in Ethiopia and the hottest place on Earth in terms of year-round average temperatures. Are you can imagine this atmosphere?
For you coffee enthusiast, as you know that Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee. Ethiopian nomadic mountain people may have been the first to recognize coffee's stimulating effect, although they ate the red cherries directly and did not drink it as a beverage. The mystic Sufi pilgrims of Islam spread coffee throughout the Middle East. From the Middle East these beans spread to Europe and then throughout their colonial empire including Indonesia and the Americas. Ethiopian coffee is one of the most popular coffee origins in the world. However, Ethiopia must compete and partner with the coffee companies, which generally have more market power and earn higher profits
Let us explain about the tribes. Mursi Tribe, live in an almost inaccessible area between the Mago and Omo Rivers. They are predominantly pastoral but they also engage in limited agriculture. The Mursi are a tall, striking race, with an aggressive reputation. The men only wear a blanket tied over one shoulder, the women a similarly fashioned goatskin. Both cut their hair very short and shave designs into it. The women are famed for wearing large plate in their lips (round clay plates placed into a cut in the lower lip) and ears.
It is often claimed that the size of the lip plate is correlated with the size of a woman's bride wealth and having it as an object of beauty. This isn't born out by the fact that the marriage of many girls have already been arranged, and the amount of bride wealth to be paid by their husband's families has already been decides, before their lips are cut. Althought they are known to be aggressive and combinative. During festivals, the women also adorn themselves with animal skins, head-dresses made from warthog tusks and suchlike. The men can also be see wearing bracelets made from ivory and elephant hair, carry a large stick (Donga) which they use for fighting.
Besides that The Suri Tribe are agro-pastoralists who live in the lowlands to the west of the Omo bordering Sudang. The Suri live a similar lifestyle to the Mursi. To the untrained eye it’s difficult to tell the Suri and Mursi apart, because their clothing, beautification processes of scarification, lip plates, hair design and jewelry are all similar. Traditionally, their homes are constructed from wood and grasses, and most of the cooking takes place outside on an open fire. The Suri practice also the art of body painting. Different clays are collected to acquire colors ranging from red, orange, yellow and white. They are mixed with a little water and painted onto face and body. The Suri are exceptional artist, although each design is both unique and only tempory.
Next, Hamar Tribe. The Hamar are amongst the most readily identifiable of all the peoples of South Omo. Women wear an elaborately decorated goatskin, often colored with beads and cowries. Beaded necklaces, bracelets and waistbands adorn their bodies, which Hammar, tend to be made with black and read beads (the Banna Tribe, their close neighbors, mostly use blue and black beads). Women wear thick copper necklaces announcing their marital status, they were a lather long tipped necklace and two copper necklaces if they’re second, third or fourth wife to one man.
One striking characteristic of the Hamar men and women is that they indulge in elaborate hair dressing. Men wear clay clap which is painted and decorated with feathers and other ornaments. They also paint themselves with white chalk paste during ceremonies events. The women decorate their hair with clay and butter twisted into a striking long pait. They also have ceremonies events such as Cattle Jumping (ukule Bulla). A Hamar man comes of age by leaping over a line of cattle. This ceremonies qualifies him to marry, own cattle and have children. The timing of the ceremony is decided by the man’s parents and usually happens after harvest.
And then Ari Tribe. The Ari predominantly practice settled agriculture and live in the fertile vicinity of Jinka. The Ari boast the largest population of any the ethno-linguistic groups of the Omo Valley. Their influence extends from the northern border of Mago National Park into the highlands around Jinka and Key Afer and even further north. Mostly, the Ari wear western clothing. However in more rural areas, you will still see Ari women draped in the traditional gori/ koysh (a drees made with leaves from the enset and koysha plants) and decorated around the neck waist and arms colorful beads and bracelets. As well as The Banna Tribe, look very similar to the Hamar and Ari, thay have common rituals and tradition. They also do the Bull Jumping.
The Karo tribe. They live on the east bank of the Lower Omo opposite the Nyangatom. The corps they grow are sorghum, maize and beans. They only keep small cattle because of the tsetse flies, these large flies suck the blood out of vertebrata animals. The Karo excel in face and body painting, practiced in preparation of their dance and ceremonies, they decorate their bodies, with a chalk which is mixed with yellow rock, red earth and charcoal and imitate the spotted plumage of guinea fowl on their bodies. Feather plumes are inserted in their clay hair burn to complete the look. They clay hair bun can take up to three days construct and is usually re-made every three to six months. Their painted facemasks are spectacular. Karo women scarify their chests to beautify themselves. Scars are cut with a knife and ash is rubbed to produce a raised welt. Being the smallest tribe in the area, this group obviously struggles with direct threats from nearby tribes that have more gun power and greater numbers.
After that The Nyangatom Tribe. They are predominantly pastoralists but they also practice dry farming during the wet season and flood cultivation along the west bank of the the Lower Omo and at Kibish Rivers during the dry season. They tend to indulge in honey and frequently smoke out beehives in the park to get the honey inside the nests. They are known to be great warrior and quite frequently, active warmongers, they are often at war with neighboring tribes. Small groups of the Nyangatom living along the Omo are specialized crocodile hunters using harpoons from a dugout canoe. The elders of both sexes wear a lower lip plug, with the men’s made from ivory and the women’s from copper. Young girls wear a dress made from goat or sheepskin with unique decoration made from nails. Nyangatom women wear strings of brightly colored beads around their neck. When they kill an enemy, they scar their upper body to release the bad blood, providing obvious lasting evidence of their heroism. Body scarification is practiced by men and broadly by women for decoration.
Continue to Kwegu tribe. They live at the confluence of the Mago and Omo rivers but they also mingle with the Mursi and the Karo. They are specialist at bee-keeping and fishing. The tradition of bee-keeping (Wera) are constructed by men from brushwood, creeping plants and barks and covered with grasses. Each man owns 15-20 hives whice are hung from forest trees along the riverbanks. And they live on the honey as well as trading it in the local market. Kwegu woman shave their have with a razor blade. They also wear a lower lip plus and adorn themselves with beads and jewelry. Woman wear dresses made from lather which is designed in their traditional style with unique decoration made from nails. The tribesmen are visibly less adorned than men from neighboring tribes.
This is The Bodi tribe. They are predominantly pastoral, living directly north of the Mursi. The appearance of Body mostly like Mursi. The Bodi classification of cattle is complex, with over eight words to denote different colors and patterns. Bodi dress is simple. The women wear goatskins tied at the waist and shoulder, while men fasten a strip of cotton or bark-cloth around their waist or walk naked. Elder in the Bodi tribe wear a lip plug which is called Nama Kula. Many Body men are overweight because the consume large amounts of milk, blood and honey if they wish to participate in the yearly contest ka’el, this is a tradition to see who is the fattest men and each family or clan is allowed to enter an unmarried mad. The men are mostly naked during the contest but do wear a headband with a feather. The winner’s prize is great fame by the tribe.
Moreover, Dassanech tribe. They live around the Omo delta on the northern side of the Lake Turkana. They practice flood retreat cultivation, pastoralism and fishing. Dassanech women wear clothes made from leather. The men wear sarong-like garments. Both men and women of the tribe adorn themselves with beads and bracelets. Men can often be seen carrying a small stool or pillow, which is pretty ubiquitous in this southern region.
Different with Arbore Tribe. They dress in skirt made from skin uniquely designed and decorated with beads and pieces of metal. Unmarried girls shave their hair clean and put a black piece of cloth on top of their head for sun protection. Arbore men wrap a white piece of cloth on their heads. They have funeral tradition is called negelcha. When an adult dies all his jewelry is buried with him. Relatives will put butter and milk in his mouth with a new gourd and the corpse is covered with a new cloth and sheepskin. Then the relatives will ask the dead person to bless his cattle. Finally, four individuals will take the corpse and bury it. Following this ritual it’s believed that this cattle will be safe. As you know that they live in the hot plains north of Chew Bahir and are predominantly pastoralists. They are the southern neighbors of the Tsemay Tribe.
The Tsemay tribe live around the Woito River and predominantly agriculturalists. The appearance of them wear the ode, a sarong-like garment. They also wear beaded ornaments on their elbows and neck. Until marriage, girls wear garments made from cotton or leather. Married women wear the fulat, a skirt made from leather that is narrowed at the front and thicker at the back. They also wear kasha (a necklace). Speaking about tribe, don’t forget the Malle tribe. They are the second largest ethnic group of South Omo zone. They also hunt antelopes, wild boar and other wildlife. They have ceremonial events such as Marriage ceremony, rain-making and harvest Ritual. And so many tribes in Ethiopia region can you see and contact with them.
Do not go back home if you do not follow The Timkat Ceremonies. Timkat is the Ethiopian Orthodox celebration of Epiphany. It is celebrated on January 19 (or 20 on Leap Year), corresponding to the 10th day of Terr following the Ethiopian calendar. This festival is best known for its ritual reenactment of baptis which is similar to such reenactments performed by numerous Christian pilgrims to the Holy Land when they visit the Jordan. In Timket, Tella and Tej are brewed, special bread is baked called "Himbash" (in Tigrigna) "Ambasha" (in Amharic), and sheep are slaughtered to mark the three-day celebration.
It's so excited! Truly of modest country with diversity of cultures. Vamos! Prepare your plan go to Ethiopia, and join with us, Indonesia Trip Advisors J
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