Shepherd From Suri Tribe Receiving Help To Decorate His Body With Camouflage Paintings Before Leaving The Village, Tulgit, Omo Valley, Ethiopia
When the Surma shepherds leave their village, they paint their bodies like for a camouflage;
Like their neighbours, the Surma, living in Omo valley, Ethiopia, paint their bodies; They create a variety of designs on their naked bodies using their fingertips, which helps exposing their dark skins and aims at beautifying themselves and frightenning their opponents; Surma men, generally believed to be expert artists, also paint the girls;
Surma or Suri is a sedentary pastoral tribe living in south west Ethiopia, in Omo Valley on the western bank of the Omo River, in Kibish and Tulgit areas;
Itâs quite common to see men and women carrying Kalashnikovs, which are part of the daily life; Their land has always been a place of traditional rivalries amoung neighbouring tribes such as the Bume (Nyangatom) or the Toposa from Sudan who regularly team up to raid on their cattle; These fights have become quite bloody since automatic firearms have become available during in the Sudanese Civil War;
Only few Surma are familiar with Amharic, Ethiopiaâs official language, and the literacy level is very low; Lip plate and Donga stick fights are the two typical distinctive features of these people, shared with the neighbouring Mursi people;
The land of the Suri, in the Omo Valley, Ethiopia, is being stolen by the Ethiopian government to be rented to foreign companies; They are then rented out for 1 euro per hectare and per year;
© Eric Lafforgue
Shepherd From Suri Tribe Receiving Help To Decorate His Body With Camouflage Paintings Before Leaving The Village, Tulgit, Omo Valley, Ethiopia
When the Surma shepherds leave their village, they paint their bodies like for a camouflage;
Like their neighbours, the Surma, living in Omo valley, Ethiopia, paint their bodies; They create a variety of designs on their naked bodies using their fingertips, which helps exposing their dark skins and aims at beautifying themselves and frightenning their opponents; Surma men, generally believed to be expert artists, also paint the girls;
Surma or Suri is a sedentary pastoral tribe living in south west Ethiopia, in Omo Valley on the western bank of the Omo River, in Kibish and Tulgit areas;
Itâs quite common to see men and women carrying Kalashnikovs, which are part of the daily life; Their land has always been a place of traditional rivalries amoung neighbouring tribes such as the Bume (Nyangatom) or the Toposa from Sudan who regularly team up to raid on their cattle; These fights have become quite bloody since automatic firearms have become available during in the Sudanese Civil War;
Only few Surma are familiar with Amharic, Ethiopiaâs official language, and the literacy level is very low; Lip plate and Donga stick fights are the two typical distinctive features of these people, shared with the neighbouring Mursi people;
The land of the Suri, in the Omo Valley, Ethiopia, is being stolen by the Ethiopian government to be rented to foreign companies; They are then rented out for 1 euro per hectare and per year;
© Eric Lafforgue