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➥ᴄʀᴇᴅɪᴛꜱ
🍑 ʜᴇᴀᴅ: ʟᴇʟᴜᴛᴋᴀ ᴇᴠᴏ x - ʙʀɪᴀɴɴᴏɴ ʜᴇᴀᴅ 3.1
🍑 ʙᴏᴅʏ: ʟᴇɢᴀᴄʏ - ʟᴇɢᴀᴄʏ (ꜰ)
🍑 ꜱᴋɪɴ: ᴏᴅɪᴏ - ꜱᴏᴍɪ ꜱᴋɪɴ [ ᴡᴀʀᴍ ᴛᴏɴᴇ ]
🍑 ᴇʏᴇꜱ: ᴠɪᴠᴏ - ᴛᴏ ʜᴇᴀʀᴛ ᴇʏᴇꜱ
🍑 ᴍᴀᴋᴇ-ᴜᴘ:
ᴍᴏᴍɪʀᴀɪ - ᴍɪɴᴊɪ ᴇʏᴇꜱʜᴀᴅᴏᴡꜱ ➔ ʜᴀʀᴀᴊᴜᴋᴜ 原宿 ᴇᴠᴇɴᴛ
ꜱᴇʀᴇɴɪᴛʏ - ꜱᴀʀᴀ ʟɪᴘɢʟᴏꜱꜱ ➔ ᴘʟᴀɴᴇᴛ29
ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴍᴏʀᴇ - ᴀʀɪɴ ᴇʏᴇʟᴀꜱʜᴇꜱ ➔ ʜᴀʀᴀᴊᴜᴋᴜ 原宿 ᴇᴠᴇɴᴛ
🍑 ʜᴀɪʀ: ꜰᴏxʏ - ᴇᴅᴇɴ ʜᴀɪʀ
🍑 ᴀᴄᴄᴇꜱꜱᴏʀɪᴇꜱ:
ᴏɴᴇᴅᴀʏꜱ - ᴍɪɴɢɪ'ꜱ ꜱᴜɴɢʟᴀꜱꜱ ➔ ᴘʟᴀɴᴇᴛ29
ɢᴏᴏʀᴍ - ʙᴏɴɴʏ ʜᴀɪʀᴘɪɴꜱ & ʙɪʙɪ ᴡᴀʟʟᴇᴛ ➔ ᴘʟᴀɴᴇᴛ29
ꜱᴀꜱꜱ - ᴄᴇʟᴇꜱᴛɪᴀʟ ᴄᴀᴛ ɴᴇᴄᴋʟᴀᴄᴇ ➔ ᴘʟᴀɴᴇᴛ29
ᴍɪᴄʜᴀɴ - ꜰɪᴏɴᴀ ᴇᴀʀʀɪɴɢꜱ
🍑 ᴏᴜᴛꜰɪᴛ: ꜰɪᴏ'ꜱ - ᴀʟʟɪᴇ ʟᴏᴏᴋ ➔ ᴘʟᴀɴᴇᴛ29
🍑 ᴘᴏꜱᴇ: ɢᴏʏᴏ - ʙᴏɴɴʏ ᴘᴏꜱᴇ + ᴅᴏᴜʙʟᴇ ᴄʜᴇʀʀʏ ᴘᴀᴄᴋ ➔ ᴘʟᴀɴᴇᴛ29
www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTPPYdXAPg0
I'm starting to be like you
And, God, how much I hate
That you are always right
And I am always wrong...
And when you make me tremble
Of fear of don't know who
You are everybody's
I am
I am nobody's
SPONSORED :
Outfit : .:: Hanatsumi ::. Ritsuko @ store
SLurl : maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/My%20Pleasure/32/16/3000
Head LeLutka Ceylon
Skin Mudskin IU
Body Legacy
Hair : Wasabi // Bubbly Hair
Boots : 718 // Animosity Boots // Black //
Glasses : ONEDAYs - MINGI'S SUNGLASS
Bracelet right arm : toksik - Chained Bracelets
Bracelet left arm : Vibing -- miley bracelet -- onyx
Nails&rings : Pure Poison - Sara set
Foto tomada en el glaciar del Elbrus, cerca de Barrels Huts Base Camp, Kabardia-Balkaria, Rusia. Agosto 2015
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This photo was taken in Elbrus' glacier, close to Barrels Huts Base Camp, Kabardia-Balkaria, Russia. August 2015
La aclimatación para el Elbrus es relativamente rápida.
Tras vuelo Barcelona - Moscú - Mineralnye Vody, tuvimos 5 días para aclimatar antes de hacer cima. La mayoría de los días los pasamos en Gara Bashi o Barrels Camp a 3780m.
Foto tomada en el glaciar del Elbrus, cerca de Barrels Huts Base Camp, Kabardia-Balkaria, Rusia. Agosto 2015
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The Elbrus' acclimatization is relatively fast.
After fly Barcelona - Moscow - Mineralnye Vody, we had 5 days to acclimate before to achieve summit. We stayed the majority of days in Gara Bashi or Barrels Camp (3780m).
This photo was taken in Elbrus' glacier, close to Barrels Huts Base Camp, Kabardia-Balkaria, Russia. August 2015
Pose: Animosity Poses - 194 new male poses, comes with guitar and mirror poses
Hat: TOMASU - Mingi Headwear @ The Warehouse Event
Outfit: GABRIEL - ::GB::AROHA shirt 2023 set @ FLF Birthday Bash
.....
@Warehouse Sale
maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Rotten/127/109/23
TOMASU / Mingi Headwear #Wear
TOMASU Mainstore
maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/The%20Sign%20II/195/121/22
THIS IS WRONG Gothica tattoo BLACK FRESH - BoM
THIS IS WRONG atelier Garmonbozia mainstore
maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Humanity/96/151/1100
Thank you for taking a peek.....🌹
Es cierto que a montaña siempre llevas algo encima, pero yo no soy demasiado amigo de llevar peso porque si.
El 'por si' no va conmigo: 'por si hace frio', ' por si llueve', 'por si paso hambre',... Prefiero planificar la actividad, ver la meteorología, posibles riesgos según la nieve, el material justo y no llevar nada innecesario, ya que todo pesa y lo llevas encima.
Otras veces no hay remedio y tienes que cargar la casa encima, pero lo haces a conciencia.
Foto tomada desde el glaciar del Elbrus, Barrels Camp, Kabardia-Balkaria, Rusia. Agosto 2015.
Probablemente este grupo debía acampar en altura antes de hacer cima y por lo tanto llevaban tienda, comida y material para cocinar, aparte de todo lo demás.
Front Page of Serendipity Photography L1 Hamlet. May'17
Front Page of Perfection in Photography L1. Jun'17
Cover Photo of - *LEVEL-3 : WORLD Peace*HallofFame. November'17
Cover Photo of - *LEVEL -5 :PEACEKEEPERS*. March'18.
Cover Photo of - *LEVEL - 7 : GIVE "PEACE" A CHANCE*. June'18
After bad weather, luckily we could enjoy a fantastic day to climb the Elbrus' summit. We woke up at 1:00 am at Barrels Camp. After a quickly breakfast we went with a ratrac to Pastukhov rocks (4600 metres) and following we began to climb up to the summit.
The day began wonderful, the weather was absolutely perfect.
Barrels Huts Base Camp is the Base Camp before to reach the summit of Mount Elbrus.
In this picture you can see these Barrels. These sites are the accommodation to rest during the acclimation and after you got the summit.
As well you can see a lot of ratracks. These vehicles work as transport to go up until where you want to begin your ascension.
El reto no acaba hasta que vuelves al lugar de partida. Hay que volver a bajar.
La mayoría de los accidentes en montaña ocurren en la bajada.
La alegría de haber conseguido hacer cima o la tristeza por lo contrario, el cansancio acumulado, las prisas por llegar al lugar de partida y celebrarlo con los compañeros, .... Todo suma en no cuidar una pisada, no ir demasiado concentrado en lo que haces y el accidente puede ser inminente. 'No hay enemigo pequeño'.
Monte Elbrus, Rusia, Agosto 2015.
While all acclimation days were perfect, when it arrived the summit day the weather changed. A big storm with strong winds stoped our hopes. Then, we were to remain in our shelter during one day more with a lot of nerves on edge. Maybe, the next day would be better.
Top of the Month Gallery (June'17) - Into Your Heart Level 1
Hello Everyone,This is My MINGI'S Sunglass [UNISEX] @Planet29 Event
EXCLUSIVE : MINGI'S Sunglass
▸ FATPACK [HUD]
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▸ Please Try Demo First !!
Hope you guys like it , see you around :D
Jump to ▶.@Planet29.
In this picture you can see the twin peaks of Mount Elbrus.
The highest is the West peak with 5642 metres and usually is the normal ascension.
The East peak is also climbed and its altitude is 5626 metres. The mainly point of this ascension is to reach the mountain pass between two peaks. After that, you must have a big patience and psych yourself up to reach the summit.
This photo was taken in Elbrus' glacier, close to Barrels Huts Base Camp, Kabardia-Balkaria, Russia. August 2015
Mingun bell is the second large and heaviest ringing bell in the world. It is made from bronze and situated at Mingun Unfinished Pagoda in Sagaing region of Myanmar which is located 11 km north from Mandalay on the western bank of Irrawaddy River. The weight of Mingun bell is approximately 90,718 kg or 199,999 pounds and it is written on its surface in white mnemonic words. The bell has no clangor but it is ringing by striking on its outer surface edge.
Casting of Mingun bell was started at 1808 and finished by 1810. King Bodawpaya cast this bell for his big stupa Mingun Pahtodawgyi. As said by people the bell was casted on the opposite side of the river and bringing by two boats. After crossing the river the boats were reached at the stupa by crossing two new canals that was specially digging for this purpose. The canal was blocked after reaching the bell and the bell was easily lifted by raising the water level as similar to the earth position. By the way Mingun bell is originally suspended first. After 29 years later in 23, March 1839, Mingun bell was cut down its support as a result of a strong earth quack. Then it was suspended again by the Irrawaddy Flotilla Company in March 1896 by using screw jack and lever.
Stool Pigeons.
Mae pissio straeon yn dychrynllyd yn gweithio llenyddol, gan greu difyrion difrifol yn canfod barnau hynafol,
squallidi animali tempo spregevole meazione esagerazioni mingi deplorevoli riflessi poetici pasticci,
en colligo benevolentia leones recensiones plantario luminaria ultro ingerebant intro dethroning epigrammata scripta scribit duris,
angreifende Proben vibrierende Aufregung Rezitationen beunruhigend angespornte Versuche Experimente Wortwahl,
decadentes destacados membros cínicos rhymers arredores arcaísmos clima ardente imagens de martelar,
разные вечеринки выпивка выносливость эпические предложения подозрения заметки скрытые термины гхарих главы,
plumas evaluaciones ventanas adicionales período crítico explicando reacciones rechazando controles escapando pan tostado,
ストローを握って分からない年スタッカートトークスタンピング発見の泣いている欠陥魅力的な誘惑噂の火山知的な親密なダンスマスター.
Steve.D.Hammond.
The Hamar (or Hamer) is a catlle herder tribe which lives on the Eastern side of the Omo Valley in Southern Ethiopia. Honey collection is their major activity and their cattle is the meaning of their life. There are at least 27 words for the subtle variations of colours and textures of a cattle ! And each man has three names: a human, a goat and a cow name.
The Hamar have very unique rituals such as a bull-leaping ceremony, that a young men has to succeed in order to get married. The cow jumping is an initiation rite of passage for boys coming of age in Hamar tribe. Cows are lined up in a row. The initiate, naked, has to leap on the back of the first cow, then from one bull to another, until he finally reaches the end of the row. He must not fall of the row and must repeat successfully the test four times to have the right to become a husband. While the boys walk on cows, Hamar women accompany him: they jump and sing. Totally committed to their initiated sons, the mothers are whipped to blood, in order to prove their courage and accompany their sons during the test.
The Hamar are very preoccupied with their beauty. They have at times spectular haidresses.
Men use a wooden head rest which prevents the hair from touching the ground. You can see them walking with it everywhere ! It is used as head rest to protect the clay wig that some do on the top of the head, but it is also usefulas a seat ! Even if there is a chair close to them, they prefer to use the head rest !
Women know many ways to do their hair. The most famous hair style is when their hair is in short tufts rolled in ochre and fat or in long twisted strands. These coppery coloured strands are called "goscha", it's a sign of health and welfare.
They also wear bead necklaces, iron bracelets around their arms, and decorate their breast with lots of cowry shells, like a natural bra.
Around married women's necks, you can see "esente": torques made of iron wrapped in leather. These are engagement presents; they are worn for life and indicate their husband's wealth. One of the necklaces catch more especially the attention: it is called the "bignere". It's also an iron and leather ring, which has a phallic-shape end. But this jewelry can only be worn by a man's first wife.
I remember a woman I have met. On her neck, there were three necklaces. According to what I just explained about the bignere, the biggest one at the top means she was "First Wife". This is important, as her statut is the higher one in Hamer society. But as she has two more simple necklaces around her neck: that means her husband took two more wives... The Hamar women who are not first wife have a really hard life and they are more slaves than wives... During my trip, I could see some of these women, working like slaves for the men: their skin were covered with clay, butter and animal fat... So they were a little scary ! Another thing to know about these women: the more scars one has on her back, the higher is her status.
The young unmarried girls, for their part, wear a kind of oval shape plate, in metal. It is used like a sunshield, but it tends to be rare in the tribe. Some of them have fund their future husband, but have to wait in their house until the so-called prentender can provide all the money for the ceremony: he has to pay for all the cows the bride-to-be's family asks for. These girls are called "Uta" and have to wait three months, entirely covered with red clay... And no right to take baths or showers ! They cannot go out of the house, let alone the village.That's why it is very rare to see or take a photo of a Uta. A cruel tradition still has currency for some Hamar: unmarried women can have babies to test their fertility, but some of them are just abandonned in the bush. This tradition tends to disapear but NGO still save abandonned new borns. Abandonments are all the more frequent than some Hamar believe that a child born out of formal marriages has "mingi", as to say something abnormal and unclean. For them, it is the expression of the devil, which may cause disasters such as epidemics or drought in the village. So, illegitimate children are abandoned.
© Eric Lafforgue
(aka day 475-730)
The Daily Shoot assignment for 2011/04/20 was : Make a photograph of a smile, either literal or symbolic.
Smile, Happy looks good on you! :)
Camera info: Pentax K200D – 50mm – f/1,7 – ISO 100 – 1/60s
Handheld – Lightroom
Comments & tips are welcomed. Thanks.
The Hamar (or Hamer or Hammer) is a tribe with a total population of about over 35,000, which lives in Hamer Bena woreda, a fertile part of the Omo River valley, in the Debub Omo Zone of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region (SNNPR). They are largely pastoralists, so their culture places a high value on cattle, the menaning of their life. There are at least 27 words for the subtle variations of colours and textures of a cattle! And each man has three names: a human, a goat and a cow name.
Honey collection is their major activity.They are as well semi nomadic and migrate every few months to find pastures for their goats and cattle. They have a special relationship with Bana-Bashada group than the others as they share a common language and culture.
Hamer society consists of a complex system of age groups. To pass from one age group to another involves complicated rituals. The bull-jumping is the most significant ceremony in the social life of the Hamer, the final test before passing into adulthood and in order to get married. The teen must jump naked over a number of bulls without falling. That is why we can mention it as cow jumping or bull leaping. If he is able to complete this task, he will become a man and be able to marry a woman.
The Hamar are very preoccupied with their beauty. They have at times spectacular haidresses.
Men use a wooden head rest which prevents the hair from touching the ground. It is used as head rest to protect the clay wig that some do on the top of the head, but it is also useful as a seat.
Women know many ways to do their hair. The most famous hair style is when their hair is in short tufts rolled in ochre and fat or in long twisted strands. These coppery coloured strands are called "goscha", it's a sign of health and welfare.
They also wear bead necklaces, iron bracelets around their arms, and decorate their breast with lots of cowry shells, like a natural bra.
Around married women's necks, you can see "esente": torques made of iron wrapped in leather. These are engagement presents; they are worn for life and indicate their husband's wealth. One of the necklaces catch more especially the attention: it is called the "bignere". It has a phallic-shape end. This jewelry can only be worn by a man's first wife.
Her statut is the higher one in Hamer society. The Hamar women who are not first wife have a really hard life and they are more slaves than wives...
The young unmarried girls, for their part, wear a kind of oval shape plate, in metal. It is used like a sunshield, but it tends to be rare in the tribe. Some of them have fund their future husband, but have to wait in their house until the so-called prentender can provide all the money for the ceremony: he has to pay for all the cows the bride-to-be's family asks for. These girls are called "Uta" and have to wait weeks, entirely covered with red clay... And no right to take baths or showers . They cannot go out of the house. Friends bring her food.
A cruel tradition still has currency for some Hamar: the babies who have the upper teeth first coming out, are abandonned in the bush. This tradition tends to disapear but NGO Omochild still save abandonned new borns in Jinka. Abandonments are all the more frequent than some Hamar believe that a child born out of formal marriages has "mingi", as to say something abnormal and unclean. For them, it is the expression of the devil, which may cause disasters such as epidemics or drought in the village. So, illegitimate children are abandoned. This kind of beliefs can also be observed in other Ethiopan tribes.
The weekly markets in Turmi and Dimeka are meeting points where tourist observation and photography can be satisfy against money.
© Eric Lafforgue
Tall nagu vaatas rohelist põõsast, kes teda mingi kaameratoruga vaatas, aga ei osanud seda näha ega reageerida.
Samal ajal kõik muu normaalne rahvas ikka magas magusat pühapäeva- hommikust und. Kui ausat öeldes siis jõudsin nii õigeks ajaks kohale, kui ültse sai tulla ! Kuna, mingi pooltundi hiljem oli peegel -järvest saanud virvendus ja ka pilveke hakkas taeva tekkima. Pilte sai klõpsatud ohtralt . Nii ühele poole järve, kui ka päikese tõusu poole järve.
Ps! Nüüd-siis päikese poole tõus tehtud fotod !
#Viljandi järv #päikesetõus #peegel #imelineloodus #kevad #taevas #hommik #canon
Selged pildid ,
Ixa
Hiir jäi suure kuuri vundamendi peal ette piisavalt lähedal, et temast mingi enam-vähem mõistlik pilt saada. Tsipa udune, kuna sellise fookuskaugusega pole talvel valgust päris piisavalt.
She is not yet married.
The Hamar (or Hamer) is a catlle herder tribe which lives on the Eastern side of the Omo Valley in Southern Ethiopia. Honey collection is their major activity and their cattle is the meaning of their life. There are at least 27 words for the subtle variations of colours and textures of a cattle ! And each man has three names: a human, a goat and a cow name.
The Hamar have very unique rituals such as a bull-leaping ceremony, that a young men has to succeed in order to get married. The cow jumping is an initiation rite of passage for boys coming of age in Hamar tribe. Cows are lined up in a row. The initiate, naked, has to leap on the back of the first cow, then from one bull to another, until he finally reaches the end of the row. He must not fall of the row and must repeat successfully the test four times to have the right to become a husband. While the boys walk on cows, Hamar women accompany him: they jump and sing. Totally committed to their initiated sons, the mothers are whipped to blood, in order to prove their courage and accompany their sons during the test.
The Hamar are very preoccupied with their beauty. They have at times spectular haidresses.
Men use a wooden head rest which prevents the hair from touching the ground. You can see them walking with it everywhere ! It is used as head rest to protect the clay wig that some do on the top of the head, but it is also usefulas a seat ! Even if there is a chair close to them, they prefer to use the head rest !
Women know many ways to do their hair. The most famous hair style is when their hair is in short tufts rolled in ochre and fat or in long twisted strands. These coppery coloured strands are called "goscha", it's a sign of health and welfare.
They also wear bead necklaces, iron bracelets around their arms, and decorate their breast with lots of cowry shells, like a natural bra.
Around married women's necks, you can see "esente": torques made of iron wrapped in leather. These are engagement presents; they are worn for life and indicate their husband's wealth. One of the necklaces catch more especially the attention: it is called the "bignere". It's also an iron and leather ring, which has a phallic-shape end. But this jewelry can only be worn by a man's first wife.
I remember a woman I have met. On her neck, there were three necklaces. According to what I just explained about the bignere, the biggest one at the top means she was "First Wife". This is important, as her statut is the higher one in Hamer society. But as she has two more simple necklaces around her neck: that means her husband took two more wives... The Hamar women who are not first wife have a really hard life and they are more slaves than wives... During my trip, I could see some of these women, working like slaves for the men: their skin were covered with clay, butter and animal fat... So they were a little scary ! Another thing to know about these women: the more scars one has on her back, the higher is her status.
The young unmarried girls, for their part, wear a kind of oval shape plate, in metal. It is used like a sunshield, but it tends to be rare in the tribe. Some of them have fund their future husband, but have to wait in their house until the so-called prentender can provide all the money for the ceremony: he has to pay for all the cows the bride-to-be's family asks for. These girls are called "Uta" and have to wait three months, entirely covered with red clay... And no right to take baths or showers ! They cannot go out of the house, let alone the village.That's why it is very rare to see or take a photo of a Uta. A cruel tradition still has currency for some Hamar: unmarried women can have babies to test their fertility, but some of them are just abandonned in the bush. This tradition tends to disapear but NGO still save abandonned new borns. Abandonments are all the more frequent than some Hamar believe that a child born out of formal marriages has "mingi", as to say something abnormal and unclean. For them, it is the expression of the devil, which may cause disasters such as epidemics or drought in the village. So, illegitimate children are abandoned.
© Eric Lafforgue
I repost some pictures, as Flickr asked me to moderate them. So i put some clean versions..
Hamar in Turmi, Ethiopia.
The Hamar live on the eastern side of the Omo Valley in southern Ethiopia. They are a tribe with unique rituals such as a bull-leaping ceremony that young men go through in order to to marry, own cattle and have children, whereupon young Hamar women get whipped to prove their love and strenght to the relative who jumps.
Honey collection is a major activity and their cattle is the focus of their life. There are at least 27 words for the subtle variations of colour and texture of cattle - and every man has 3 names: a human name, a goat name, and a cow name.
The Hamar are very pre-occupied with their beauty. They have at times spectular haidresses. They use a wooden head rest that prevents the hair from touching the ground.
Women tend to wear their hair in short tufts rolled in ochre and fat or in long twisted strands. These coppery coloured strands are called goscha that are a sign of health and welfare. They wear bead necklaces, iron bracelets around their arms, and decorate their breast with lots of cowry shells; like a natural bra.
Married women favour a hairstyle of long, twisted strands rubbed in ochre. Around their necks they wear esente (torques made of iron wrapped in leather). These engagement presents are worn for life and indicative of their future husband's wealth. An upper torque, the bignere, may only be worn by a man's first wife. Added at the time of marriage, its distinctive iron protrusion is both a phallic and a status symbol.
Young, unmarried girls wear Bala in their hair, which is a flat oval-shaped metal plate that protrudes on their foreheads like the front of a hat.
Some Hamar believe that evil exists in certain unholy or impure things, which are the causes of some disastrous circumstances like drought and epidemics on the village. Twins, a child born outside of formal marriages are considered to possess mingi (abnormality, pollution, unclean) and, for this reason, they are abandonned into the bush to die.
Les hamar vivent sur la partie est de la vallée de l'Omo dans le sud de l'Ethiopie. Ils sont celebres pour la ceremonie du saut de vaches, durant laquelle les jeunes gens doivent marcher sur uen quinzaine de betes alignées sans tomber pour pouvoir se marier et avoir des enfants. Pendant cette ceremonie, les femmes de la famille du suateur se font fouetter violement le dos pour le soutenir.
Les Hamar soignent leur apparence, et surtout leur coiffure. les hommes utilisent tous un appui tete en bois pour la proteger lorsqu'ils dorment.
Les femmes Hamar ont de multiples coiffures, la plus conjue etant celle qui presente les cheveux en longues tresses pendantes occres et pleines de graisse.
Elles portent autour du cou et la poitrine de longs colliers de cauries, et de nombreux colliers et bracelets.
Un collier doit retenir l'attention: le bignere. Cest un anneau de fer entouré de cuir et qui se termine par une pointe phallique. il est porté par la premiere epouse. Les autres colliers en fer indiquent que le mari a une 2eme, une 3eme epouse.
Les jeunes filles qui ne sont pas mariées portent le bala sur la tete, une sorte de plaque de fer ovale , qui fait aussi office de par soleil, mais il se fait rare.
Certains Hamar croient toujours en des forces et signes malefiques pour le village, la famille ou leur vie. Ainsi, les jumeaux, les enfants nés hors mariage, sont considerés comme mingi (pas purs) et sont abandonnés à la naissance dans le bush. Le sacrifice des enfants se retrouve dans d'autres tribus de la région. les parents preferent tuer l'enfant plutot que de voir la famile ou la communauté frappée par le mauvais oeil.
© Eric Lafforgue
Lastehaiglas, Juhan Viiding
Lastehaiglas olles mul ei tulnud õhtul uni,
ikka olin üleval ja kuni hommikuni.
Haigla oli varem olnud mingi elumaja -
olid toad ja esikud ja vannitoad, kus vaja.
Minu palat oli kohe vastu vannituba,
uksetahvel aga klaasist, läbipaistvast juba.
Oli aeg, kus enam polnud, kuid ei olnud veel
matti klaasi, jääklaasi - nägi läbi veel.
Õhtul tehti tuled surnuks, lapsed unne jäivad.
Ma ei jäänud, piilusin, kuis õed ja tädid käivad.
Vahekojas põles tuli - üldse mitte hele -
mina olin keskendunud oma ootusele.
Ja ma nägin igal õhtul - kui tal oli mahti -,
kuidas õde vanni läks ja jättis ukse lahti.
Siis ei teadnud, miks ta jättis, nüüd ma tean, et liiga
palav oli vannitoas, seepärast tegi nii ta.
Miks, ei ole tagantjägi enam oluline,
oli vaid see vaatepilt, see vanniskäigu-ime.
Kuidas viskas kitli varna, kuidas vaatas varvast!
Ihu liikus, vesi tilkus ninast, käest ja karvast.
Ilu igas liigutuses - kaunim luulest, filmist;
olin tummas vaimustuses arstitädi Silvist.
Oligi see kogu ravi. Siis sain haiglast välja.
Ravi kestab.
Tema mõju
ma ei mõelnud välja.
The Hamar (or Hamer or Hammer) is a tribe with a total population of about over 35,000, which lives in Hamer Bena woreda, a fertile part of the Omo River valley, in the Debub Omo Zone of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region (SNNPR). They are largely pastoralists, so their culture places a high value on cattle, the menaning of their life. There are at least 27 words for the subtle variations of colours and textures of a cattle! And each man has three names: a human, a goat and a cow name.
Honey collection is their major activity.They are as well semi nomadic and migrate every few months to find pastures for their goats and cattle. They have a special relationship with Bana-Bashada group than the others as they share a common language and culture.
Hamer society consists of a complex system of age groups. To pass from one age group to another involves complicated rituals. The bull-jumping is the most significant ceremony in the social life of the Hamer, the final test before passing into adulthood and in order to get married. The teen must jump naked over a number of bulls without falling. That is why we can mention it as cow jumping or bull leaping. If he is able to complete this task, he will become a man and be able to marry a woman.
The Hamar are very preoccupied with their beauty. They have at times spectacular haidresses.
Men use a wooden head rest which prevents the hair from touching the ground. It is used as head rest to protect the clay wig that some do on the top of the head, but it is also useful as a seat.
Women know many ways to do their hair. The most famous hair style is when their hair is in short tufts rolled in ochre and fat or in long twisted strands. These coppery coloured strands are called "goscha", it's a sign of health and welfare.
They also wear bead necklaces, iron bracelets around their arms, and decorate their breast with lots of cowry shells, like a natural bra.
Around married women's necks, you can see "esente": torques made of iron wrapped in leather. These are engagement presents; they are worn for life and indicate their husband's wealth. One of the necklaces catch more especially the attention: it is called the "bignere". It has a phallic-shape end. This jewelry can only be worn by a man's first wife.
Her statut is the higher one in Hamer society. The Hamar women who are not first wife have a really hard life and they are more slaves than wives...
The young unmarried girls, for their part, wear a kind of oval shape plate, in metal. It is used like a sunshield, but it tends to be rare in the tribe. Some of them have fund their future husband, but have to wait in their house until the so-called prentender can provide all the money for the ceremony: he has to pay for all the cows the bride-to-be's family asks for. These girls are called "Uta" and have to wait weeks, entirely covered with red clay... And no right to take baths or showers . They cannot go out of the house. Friends bring her food.
A cruel tradition still has currency for some Hamar: the babies who have the upper teeth first coming out, are abandonned in the bush. This tradition tends to disapear but NGO Omochild still save abandonned new borns in Jinka. Abandonments are all the more frequent than some Hamar believe that a child born out of formal marriages has "mingi", as to say something abnormal and unclean. For them, it is the expression of the devil, which may cause disasters such as epidemics or drought in the village. So, illegitimate children are abandoned. This kind of beliefs can also be observed in other Ethiopan tribes.
The weekly markets in Turmi and Dimeka are meeting points where tourist observation and photography can be satisfy against money.
© Eric Lafforgue
Hamer woman from south Ethiopia crying during the one year dead husband celebration. While she was crying, lying on the fence of her home, the elders were chatting to find an agreement as the youngest son of the dead man must offer cows for a giant BBQ in the village. They found a deal for 10 cows, after a long negociation. Trading versus pain...
Taken with Sony a7r
24-70mm F2.8 ZA SSM
24,0 mm
1/500 s; f/5,0; ISO 125
One of the main interests of the Sony is that even in full sun, the colors remain very bright, and you do not have this dull effect you can find on others cameras. this was taken at 1 in the afternoon..
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The Hamar (or Hamer) is a catlle herder tribe which lives on the Eastern side of the Omo Valley in Southern Ethiopia. Honey collection is their major activity and their cattle is the meaning of their life. There are at least 27 words for the subtle variations of colours and textures of a cattle ! And each man has three names: a human, a goat and a cow name.
The Hamar have very unique rituals such as a bull-leaping ceremony, that a young men has to succeed in order to get married. The cow jumping is an initiation rite of passage for boys coming of age in Hamar tribe. Cows are lined up in a row. The initiate, naked, has to leap on the back of the first cow, then from one bull to another, until he finally reaches the end of the row. He must not fall of the row and must repeat successfully the test four times to have the right to become a husband. While the boys walk on cows, Hamar women accompany him: they jump and sing. Totally committed to their initiated sons, the mothers are whipped to blood, in order to prove their courage and accompany their sons during the test.
The Hamar are very preoccupied with their beauty. They have at times spectular haidresses.
Men use a wooden head rest which prevents the hair from touching the ground. You can see them walking with it everywhere ! It is used as head rest to protect the clay wig that some do on the top of the head, but it is also usefulas a seat ! Even if there is a chair close to them, they prefer to use the head rest !
Women know many ways to do their hair. The most famous hair style is when their hair is in short tufts rolled in ochre and fat or in long twisted strands. These coppery coloured strands are called "goscha", it's a sign of health and welfare.
They also wear bead necklaces, iron bracelets around their arms, and decorate their breast with lots of cowry shells, like a natural bra.
Around married women's necks, you can see "esente": torques made of iron wrapped in leather. These are engagement presents; they are worn for life and indicate their husband's wealth. One of the necklaces catch more especially the attention: it is called the "bignere". It's also an iron and leather ring, which has a phallic-shape end. But this jewelry can only be worn by a man's first wife.
I remember a woman I have met. On her neck, there were three necklaces. According to what I just explained about the bignere, the biggest one at the top means she was "First Wife". This is important, as her statut is the higher one in Hamer society. But as she has two more simple necklaces around her neck: that means her husband took two more wives... The Hamar women who are not first wife have a really hard life and they are more slaves than wives... During my trip, I could see some of these women, working like slaves for the men: their skin were covered with clay, butter and animal fat... So they were a little scary ! Another thing to know about these women: the more scars one has on her back, the higher is her status.
The young unmarried girls, for their part, wear a kind of oval shape plate, in metal. It is used like a sunshield, but it tends to be rare in the tribe. Some of them have fund their future husband, but have to wait in their house until the so-called prentender can provide all the money for the ceremony: he has to pay for all the cows the bride-to-be's family asks for. These girls are called "Uta" and have to wait three months, entirely covered with red clay... And no right to take baths or showers ! They cannot go out of the house, let alone the village.That's why it is very rare to see or take a photo of a Uta. A cruel tradition still has currency for some Hamar: unmarried women can have babies to test their fertility, but some of them are just abandonned in the bush. This tradition tends to disapear but NGO still save abandonned new borns. Abandonments are all the more frequent than some Hamar believe that a child born out of formal marriages has "mingi", as to say something abnormal and unclean. For them, it is the expression of the devil, which may cause disasters such as epidemics or drought in the village. So, illegitimate children are abandoned. This kind of beliefs can also be observed in other Ethiopan tribes: many parents prefer to sacrifice their own child rather than risk being affected by the evil eye.
Something left me a really strong impression in Africa: football is of the highest importance, even in the most remote places !
I remember a boy, who was living several days-walk from the Turmi market. But as most of the young Hamar, he came there to watch football on television ! This guy was wearing a Chelsea tee-shirt, but still had to jump over ten bulls to be able to marry a girl in his tribe: a real culture shock! They are all really into Chelsea, Arsenal... such as many Ethiopians, who are just crazy about English football, because the national TV brodcasts every single match ! So, while I was in deep South Ethiopia, I still could ask “did Arsenal win?”, and always had an accurate answer: the score, the name of the scorers, etc...Strange, but true ! Meantime, the world economic crisis was at its high ! Even if you do not speak their language, you can exchange with those guys with few words like “Ribery, Thierry Henry, Drogba", etc. ! Of course, all the tribes do not go into this village, and only the ones who are not too far have this passion.
Other special feature in these tribes: their relation to the photos. I remember a day, in a restaurant in Dimeka -not to say the only one around there. I made a polaroid of a Hamar couple. The man was angry because, as he said, "the colors were not good" ; he threw the picture away. But the lady finally let him go, and took the picture with her ! It' was not the first time those people, from remote areas, do not have any pictures of themselves and so are very demanding about the quality of the picture they are on! For instance, the Mursi do not understand why the picture do not have their own real size !
Besides, it is not so easy to get smiles in this area. First, because people work really hard and second, because it is very difficult to share anything with them as we are seen as walking wallet with cameras !
© Eric Lafforgue
During bull jumping ceremony, Hamer girls show that they do not fear anything. So they drink a lot, they dance with guns and they ask the men to whip them to blood...
The Hamar (or Hamer or Hammer) is a tribe with a total population of about over 35,000, which lives in Hamer Bena woreda, a fertile part of the Omo River valley, in the Debub Omo Zone of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region (SNNPR). They are largely pastoralists, so their culture places a high value on cattle, the menaning of their life. There are at least 27 words for the subtle variations of colours and textures of a cattle! And each man has three names: a human, a goat and a cow name.
Honey collection is their major activity.They are as well semi nomadic and migrate every few months to find pastures for their goats and cattle. They have a special relationship with Bana-Bashada group than the others as they share a common language and culture.
Hamer society consists of a complex system of age groups. To pass from one age group to another involves complicated rituals. The bull-jumping is the most significant ceremony in the social life of the Hamer, the final test before passing into adulthood and in order to get married. The teen must jump naked over a number of bulls without falling. That is why we can mention it as cow jumping or bull leaping. If he is able to complete this task, he will become a man and be able to marry a woman.
The Hamar are very preoccupied with their beauty. They have at times spectacular haidresses.
Men use a wooden head rest which prevents the hair from touching the ground. It is used as head rest to protect the clay wig that some do on the top of the head, but it is also useful as a seat.
Women know many ways to do their hair. The most famous hair style is when their hair is in short tufts rolled in ochre and fat or in long twisted strands. These coppery coloured strands are called "goscha", it's a sign of health and welfare.
They also wear bead necklaces, iron bracelets around their arms, and decorate their breast with lots of cowry shells, like a natural bra.
Around married women's necks, you can see "esente": torques made of iron wrapped in leather. These are engagement presents; they are worn for life and indicate their husband's wealth. One of the necklaces catch more especially the attention: it is called the "bignere". It has a phallic-shape end. This jewelry can only be worn by a man's first wife.
Her statut is the higher one in Hamer society. The Hamar women who are not first wife have a really hard life and they are more slaves than wives...
The young unmarried girls, for their part, wear a kind of oval shape plate, in metal. It is used like a sunshield, but it tends to be rare in the tribe. Some of them have fund their future husband, but have to wait in their house until the so-called prentender can provide all the money for the ceremony: he has to pay for all the cows the bride-to-be's family asks for. These girls are called "Uta" and have to wait weeks, entirely covered with red clay... And no right to take baths or showers . They cannot go out of the house. Friends bring her food.
A cruel tradition still has currency for some Hamar: the babies who have the upper teeth first coming out, are abandonned in the bush. This tradition tends to disapear but NGO Omochild still save abandonned new borns in Jinka. Abandonments are all the more frequent than some Hamar believe that a child born out of formal marriages has "mingi", as to say something abnormal and unclean. For them, it is the expression of the devil, which may cause disasters such as epidemics or drought in the village. So, illegitimate children are abandoned. This kind of beliefs can also be observed in other Ethiopan tribes.
The weekly markets in Turmi and Dimeka are meeting points where tourist observation and photography can be satisfy against money.
© Eric Lafforgue
She is a Hamer woman.
On the neck of the woman, you can see 3 necklaces. the biggest one at the top means she is First Wife. This is important, as her statut is the higher one in Hamer society. But as she has 2 more simple necklaces around her neck, it means her husband took 2 more wifes... The Hamer women who are not First Wife have to live a hard life , as they are more slaves than wifes...
The Hamar is a catlle herder tribe which lives on the Eastern side of the Omo Valley in Southern Ethiopia. Honey collection is their major activity and their cattle is the meaning of their life. There are at least 27 words for the subtle variations of colours and textures of a cattle ! And each man has three names: a human, a goat and a cow name.
The Hamar have very unique rituals such as a bull-leaping ceremony, that a young men has to succeed in order to get married. The cow jumping is an initiation rite of passage for boys coming of age in Hamar tribe. Cows are lined up in a row. The initiate, naked, has to leap on the back of the first cow, then from one bull to another, until he finally reaches the end of the row. He must not fall of the row and must repeat successfully the test four times to have the right to become a husband. While the boys walk on cows, Hamar women accompany him: they jump and sing. Totally committed to their initiated sons, the mothers are whipped to blood, in order to prove their courage and accompany their sons during the test.
The Hamar are very preoccupied with their beauty. They have at times spectular haidresses.
Men use a wooden head rest which prevents the hair from touching the ground. You can see them walking with it everywhere ! It is used as head rest to protect the clay wig that some do on the top of the head, but it is also usefulas a seat ! Even if there is a chair close to them, they prefer to use the head rest !
Women know many ways to do their hair. The most famous hair style is when their hair is in short tufts rolled in ochre and fat or in long twisted strands. These coppery coloured strands are called "goscha", it's a sign of health and welfare.
They also wear bead necklaces, iron bracelets around their arms, and decorate their breast with lots of cowry shells, like a natural bra.
Around married women's necks, you can see "esente": torques made of iron wrapped in leather. These are engagement presents; they are worn for life and indicate their husband's wealth. One of the necklaces catch more especially the attention: it is called the "bignere". It's also an iron and leather ring, which has a phallic-shape end. But this jewelry can only be worn by a man's first wife.
I remember a woman I have met. On her neck, there were three necklaces. According to what I just explained about the bignere, the biggest one at the top means she was "First Wife". This is important, as her statut is the higher one in Hamer society. But as she has two more simple necklaces around her neck: that means her husband took two more wives... The Hamar women who are not first wife have a really hard life and they are more slaves than wives... During my trip, I could see some of these women, working like slaves for the men: their skin were covered with clay, butter and animal fat... So they were a little scary ! Another thing to know about these women: the more scars one has on her back, the higher is her status.
The young unmarried girls, for their part, wear a kind of oval shape plate, in metal. It is used like a sunshield, but it tends to be rare in the tribe. Some of them have fund their future husband, but have to wait in their house until the so-called prentender can provide all the money for the ceremony: he has to pay for all the cows the bride-to-be's family asks for. These girls are called "Uta" and have to wait three months, entirely covered with red clay... And no right to take baths or showers ! They cannot go out of the house, let alone the village.That's why it is very rare to see or take a photo of a Uta. A cruel tradition still has currency for some Hamar: unmarried women can have babies to test their fertility, but some of them are just abandonned in the bush. This tradition tends to disapear but NGO still save abandonned new borns. Abandonments are all the more frequent than some Hamar believe that a child born out of formal marriages has "mingi", as to say something abnormal and unclean. For them, it is the expression of the devil, which may cause disasters such as epidemics or drought in the village. So, illegitimate children are abandoned. This kind of beliefs can also be observed in other Ethiopan tribes: many parents prefer to sacrifice their own child rather than risk being affected by the evil eye.
Something left me a really strong impression in Africa: football is of the highest importance, even in the most remote places !
I remember a boy, who was living several days-walk from the Turmi market. But as most of the young Hamar, he came there to watch football on television ! This guy was wearing a Chelsea tee-shirt, but still had to jump over ten bulls to be able to marry a girl in his tribe: a real culture shock! They are all really into Chelsea, Arsenal... such as many Ethiopians, who are just crazy about English football, because the national TV brodcasts every single match ! So, while I was in deep South Ethiopia, I still could ask “did Arsenal win?”, and always had an accurate answer: the score, the name of the scorers, etc...Strange, but true ! Meantime, the world economic crisis was at its high ! Even if you do not speak their language, you can exchange with those guys with few words like “Ribery, Thierry Henry, Drogba", etc. ! Of course, all the tribes do not go into this village, and only the ones who are not too far have this passion.
Other special feature in these tribes: their relation to the photos. I remember a day, in a restaurant in Dimeka -not to say the only one around there. I made a polaroid of a Hamar couple. The man was angry because, as he said, "the colors were not good" ; he threw the picture away. But the lady finally let him go, and took the picture with her ! It' was not the first time those people, from remote areas, do not have any pictures of themselves and so are very demanding about the quality of the picture they are on! For instance, the Mursi do not understand why the picture do not have their own real size !
Besides, it is not so easy to get smiles in this area. First, because people work really hard and second, because it is very difficult to share anything with them as we are seen as walking wallet with cameras !
© Eric Lafforgue
Hamar in Turmi, Ethiopia.
The Hamar live on the eastern side of the Omo Valley in southern Ethiopia. They are a tribe with unique rituals such as a bull-leaping ceremony that young men go through in order to to marry, own cattle and have children, whereupon young Hamar women get whipped to prove their love and strenght to the relative who jumps.
Honey collection is a major activity and their cattle is the focus of their life. There are at least 27 words for the subtle variations of colour and texture of cattle - and every man has 3 names: a human name, a goat name, and a cow name.
The Hamar are very pre-occupied with their beauty. They have at times spectular haidresses. They use a wooden head rest that prevents the hair from touching the ground.
To indicate that they have killed an enemy and a dangerous animal such as a lion or a leopard, men put clay hair helmet into which ostrich feathers are inserted. This is done after having shaven the front head. The clay bun is usually remade every three to six months and can be worn for a period of up to one year after the kill.
Some Hamar believe that evil exists in certain unholy or impure things, which are the causes of some disastrous circumstances like drought and epidemics on the village. Twins, a child born outside of formal marriages are considered to possess mingi (abnormality, pollution, unclean) and, for this reason, they are abandonned into the bush to die.
Les hamar vivent sur la partie est de la vallée de l'Omo dans le sud de l'Ethiopie. Ils sont celebres pour la ceremonie du saut de vaches, durant laquelle les jeunes gens doivent marcher sur une quinzaine de betes alignées sans tomber pour pouvoir se marier et avoir des enfants. Pendant cette ceremonie, les femmes de la famille du suateur se font fouetter violement le dos pour le soutenir.
Les Hamar soignent leur apparence, et surtout leur coiffure. les hommes utilisent tous un appui tete en bois pour la proteger lorsqu'ils dorment.
Pour indiquer qu"ils ont tué un ennemi ou un animal dangereux, les hommes se confectionnent un petit casque d'argile à l'arriere de la tete, dans lequel ilx fixent une plume d'autruche. Le casque d'argile peut etre conservé tres longtemps. Il fait aussi office de décoration.
Certains Hamar croient toujours en des forces et signes malefiques pour le village, la famille ou leur vie. Ainsi, les jumeaux, les enfants nés hors mariage, sont considerés comme mingi (pas purs) et sont abandonnés à la naissance dans le bush. Le sacrifice des enfants se retrouve dans d'autres tribus de la région. les parents preferent tuer l'enfant plutot que de voir la famile ou la communauté frappée par le mauvais oeil.
© Eric Lafforgue
Hamer tribe as the Kara and the Bana, still practise ritual infanticide; if the first tooth appears in the upper jaw, instead of the lower, the child becomes what they called “mingi”, and this applies also to the baby teeth and the adult teeth when the kids are 7 or 8.
If a "mingi" kid is kept in the village by the mother, elders believe droughts, famines and diseases will come in the community, so they kill the babies... The practise of “Mingi” is also used to qualify twins, girl (expensive dowries are required to marry a daughter), baby who is born from a non approved pregnancy. As a baby is declared “Mingi” it is like he was sentenced to death, only few of them can survive. The tribes get ride of the “Mingi” kid by leaving them in the desert without food or water or by drowning them in the river. This kind of practise tends to disappear in the Karo tribe.
One NGO tries its best to save the kids:
The girl on the picture was saved few weeks ago by Lale Labuko team.
© Eric Lafforgue
The Hamar (or Hamer) is a catlle herder tribe which lives on the Eastern side of the Omo Valley in Southern Ethiopia. Honey collection is their major activity and their cattle is the meaning of their life. There are at least 27 words for the subtle variations of colours and textures of a cattle ! And each man has three names: a human, a goat and a cow name.
The Hamar have very unique rituals such as a bull-leaping ceremony, that a young men has to succeed in order to get married. The cow jumping is an initiation rite of passage for boys coming of age in Hamar tribe. Cows are lined up in a row. The initiate, naked, has to leap on the back of the first cow, then from one bull to another, until he finally reaches the end of the row. He must not fall of the row and must repeat successfully the test four times to have the right to become a husband. While the boys walk on cows, Hamar women accompany him: they jump and sing. Totally committed to their initiated sons, the mothers are whipped to blood, in order to prove their courage and accompany their sons during the test.
The Hamar are very preoccupied with their beauty. They have at times spectular haidresses.
Men use a wooden head rest which prevents the hair from touching the ground. You can see them walking with it everywhere ! It is used as head rest to protect the clay wig that some do on the top of the head, but it is also usefulas a seat ! Even if there is a chair close to them, they prefer to use the head rest !
Women know many ways to do their hair. The most famous hair style is when their hair is in short tufts rolled in ochre and fat or in long twisted strands. These coppery coloured strands are called "goscha", it's a sign of health and welfare.
They also wear bead necklaces, iron bracelets around their arms, and decorate their breast with lots of cowry shells, like a natural bra.
Around married women's necks, you can see "esente": torques made of iron wrapped in leather. These are engagement presents; they are worn for life and indicate their husband's wealth. One of the necklaces catch more especially the attention: it is called the "bignere". It's also an iron and leather ring, which has a phallic-shape end. But this jewelry can only be worn by a man's first wife.
I remember a woman I have met. On her neck, there were three necklaces. According to what I just explained about the bignere, the biggest one at the top means she was "First Wife". This is important, as her statut is the higher one in Hamer society. But as she has two more simple necklaces around her neck: that means her husband took two more wives... The Hamar women who are not first wife have a really hard life and they are more slaves than wives... During my trip, I could see some of these women, working like slaves for the men: their skin were covered with clay, butter and animal fat... So they were a little scary ! Another thing to know about these women: the more scars one has on her back, the higher is her status.
The young unmarried girls, for their part, wear a kind of oval shape plate, in metal. It is used like a sunshield, but it tends to be rare in the tribe. Some of them have fund their future husband, but have to wait in their house until the so-called prentender can provide all the money for the ceremony: he has to pay for all the cows the bride-to-be's family asks for. These girls are called "Uta" and have to wait three months, entirely covered with red clay... And no right to take baths or showers ! They cannot go out of the house, let alone the village.That's why it is very rare to see or take a photo of a Uta. A cruel tradition still has currency for some Hamar: unmarried women can have babies to test their fertility, but some of them are just abandonned in the bush. This tradition tends to disapear but NGO still save abandonned new borns. Abandonments are all the more frequent than some Hamar believe that a child born out of formal marriages has "mingi", as to say something abnormal and unclean. For them, it is the expression of the devil, which may cause disasters such as epidemics or drought in the village. So, illegitimate children are abandoned. This kind of beliefs can also be observed in other Ethiopan tribes: many parents prefer to sacrifice their own child rather than risk being affected by the evil eye.
Something left me a really strong impression in Africa: football is of the highest importance, even in the most remote places !
I remember a boy, who was living several days-walk from the Turmi market. But as most of the young Hamar, he came there to watch football on television ! This guy was wearing a Chelsea tee-shirt, but still had to jump over ten bulls to be able to marry a girl in his tribe: a real culture shock! They are all really into Chelsea, Arsenal... such as many Ethiopians, who are just crazy about English football, because the national TV brodcasts every single match ! So, while I was in deep South Ethiopia, I still could ask “did Arsenal win?”, and always had an accurate answer: the score, the name of the scorers, etc...Strange, but true ! Meantime, the world economic crisis was at its high ! Even if you do not speak their language, you can exchange with those guys with few words like “Ribery, Thierry Henry, Drogba", etc. ! Of course, all the tribes do not go into this village, and only the ones who are not too far have this passion.
Other special feature in these tribes: their relation to the photos. I remember a day, in a restaurant in Dimeka -not to say the only one around there. I made a polaroid of a Hamar couple. The man was angry because, as he said, "the colors were not good" ; he threw the picture away. But the lady finally let him go, and took the picture with her ! It' was not the first time those people, from remote areas, do not have any pictures of themselves and so are very demanding about the quality of the picture they are on! For instance, the Mursi do not understand why the picture do not have their own real size !
Besides, it is not so easy to get smiles in this area. First, because people work really hard and second, because it is very difficult to share anything with them as we are seen as walking wallet with cameras !
© Eric Lafforgue
Multirole New Generation Jet -1. Affectionately known as "Mingi", with its official designation "Menace", it is a sixth-generation multi-role jet, mainly offensive in nature. The "Menace" was developed in parallel with the "ArrowHead" jet, from which it takes the style of the front fuselage. The "Menace" will have to operate offensively by attacking and neutralizing targets outside national borders. The MNGJ, therefore, can operate as a raider, reconnaissance aircraft, fighter-bomber, and air supremacy jet, depending on the armaments installed. The "Menace" is equipped with the latest avionics technologies and latest-generation sensors, including advanced stealth capabilities and very low infrared signature. It has a top speed of Mach 2.1, an operational range of 1150 km, and a payload of 30 tons (fuel included). Its armament, the same as its brother "ArrowHead", includes air-to-air missiles and air-to-ground missiles (laser, infrared and radar guided, both long and medium-short range), bunker-busters, cruise missiles, anti-ship missiles, and general-purpose bombs. This model completes the "trident": Y-02 "Vanguard" (offense and defense, aircarrier-based), NGF-1 "ArrowHead" (defense, ground-based), MNGJ-1 "Menace" (offense, ground-based).
The Hamar (or Hamer or Hammer) is a tribe with a total population of about over 35,000, which lives in Hamer Bena woreda, a fertile part of the Omo River valley, in the Debub Omo Zone of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region (SNNPR). They are largely pastoralists, so their culture places a high value on cattle, the menaning of their life. There are at least 27 words for the subtle variations of colours and textures of a cattle! And each man has three names: a human, a goat and a cow name.
Honey collection is their major activity.They are as well semi nomadic and migrate every few months to find pastures for their goats and cattle. They have a special relationship with Bana-Bashada group than the others as they share a common language and culture.
Hamer society consists of a complex system of age groups. To pass from one age group to another involves complicated rituals. The bull-jumping is the most significant ceremony in the social life of the Hamer, the final test before passing into adulthood and in order to get married. The teen must jump naked over a number of bulls without falling. That is why we can mention it as cow jumping or bull leaping. If he is able to complete this task, he will become a man and be able to marry a woman.
The Hamar are very preoccupied with their beauty. They have at times spectacular haidresses.
Men use a wooden head rest which prevents the hair from touching the ground. It is used as head rest to protect the clay wig that some do on the top of the head, but it is also useful as a seat.
Women know many ways to do their hair. The most famous hair style is when their hair is in short tufts rolled in ochre and fat or in long twisted strands. These coppery coloured strands are called "goscha", it's a sign of health and welfare.
They also wear bead necklaces, iron bracelets around their arms, and decorate their breast with lots of cowry shells, like a natural bra.
Around married women's necks, you can see "esente": torques made of iron wrapped in leather. These are engagement presents; they are worn for life and indicate their husband's wealth. One of the necklaces catch more especially the attention: it is called the "bignere". It has a phallic-shape end. This jewelry can only be worn by a man's first wife.
Her statut is the higher one in Hamer society. The Hamar women who are not first wife have a really hard life and they are more slaves than wives...
The young unmarried girls, for their part, wear a kind of oval shape plate, in metal. It is used like a sunshield, but it tends to be rare in the tribe. Some of them have fund their future husband, but have to wait in their house until the so-called prentender can provide all the money for the ceremony: he has to pay for all the cows the bride-to-be's family asks for. These girls are called "Uta" and have to wait weeks, entirely covered with red clay... And no right to take baths or showers . They cannot go out of the house. Friends bring her food.
A cruel tradition still has currency for some Hamar: the babies who have the upper teeth first coming out, are abandonned in the bush. This tradition tends to disapear but NGO Omochild still save abandonned new borns in Jinka. Abandonments are all the more frequent than some Hamar believe that a child born out of formal marriages has "mingi", as to say something abnormal and unclean. For them, it is the expression of the devil, which may cause disasters such as epidemics or drought in the village. So, illegitimate children are abandoned. This kind of beliefs can also be observed in other Ethiopan tribes.
The weekly markets in Turmi and Dimeka are meeting points where tourist observation and photography can be satisfy against money.
© Eric Lafforgue
This is a Hamer woman with a one week baby under her goat skin. This one is lucky as he still lives, because some Hamer still have a cruel tradition: woemn can have babies before being married, to test their fertility...Once they have the baby, some forgive him. This tradition tends to disapear but NGO still save abandonned new borns.
On the neck of the woman, you can see 3 collars. the biggest one at the top means she is First Wife. This is important, as her statut is the higher one in Hamer society. But as she has 2 more simple collar around her neck, it means her husband took 2 more wifes... The Hamer women who are not First Wife have to live a hard life , as they are more slaves than wifes...
The Hamar is a catlle herder tribe which lives on the Eastern side of the Omo Valley in Southern Ethiopia. Honey collection is their major activity and their cattle is the meaning of their life. There are at least 27 words for the subtle variations of colours and textures of a cattle ! And each man has three names: a human, a goat and a cow name.
The Hamar have very unique rituals such as a bull-leaping ceremony, that a young men has to succeed in order to get married. The cow jumping is an initiation rite of passage for boys coming of age in Hamar tribe. Cows are lined up in a row. The initiate, naked, has to leap on the back of the first cow, then from one bull to another, until he finally reaches the end of the row. He must not fall of the row and must repeat successfully the test four times to have the right to become a husband. While the boys walk on cows, Hamar women accompany him: they jump and sing. Totally committed to their initiated sons, the mothers are whipped to blood, in order to prove their courage and accompany their sons during the test.
The Hamar are very preoccupied with their beauty. They have at times spectular haidresses.
Men use a wooden head rest which prevents the hair from touching the ground. You can see them walking with it everywhere ! It is used as head rest to protect the clay wig that some do on the top of the head, but it is also usefulas a seat ! Even if there is a chair close to them, they prefer to use the head rest !
Women know many ways to do their hair. The most famous hair style is when their hair is in short tufts rolled in ochre and fat or in long twisted strands. These coppery coloured strands are called "goscha", it's a sign of health and welfare.
They also wear bead necklaces, iron bracelets around their arms, and decorate their breast with lots of cowry shells, like a natural bra.
Around married women's necks, you can see "esente": torques made of iron wrapped in leather. These are engagement presents; they are worn for life and indicate their husband's wealth. One of the necklaces catch more especially the attention: it is called the "bignere". It's also an iron and leather ring, which has a phallic-shape end. But this jewelry can only be worn by a man's first wife.
I remember a woman I have met. On her neck, there were three necklaces. According to what I just explained about the bignere, the biggest one at the top means she was "First Wife". This is important, as her statut is the higher one in Hamer society. But as she has two more simple necklaces around her neck: that means her husband took two more wives... The Hamar women who are not first wife have a really hard life and they are more slaves than wives... During my trip, I could see some of these women, working like slaves for the men: their skin were covered with clay, butter and animal fat... So they were a little scary ! Another thing to know about these women: the more scars one has on her back, the higher is her status.
The young unmarried girls, for their part, wear a kind of oval shape plate, in metal. It is used like a sunshield, but it tends to be rare in the tribe. Some of them have fund their future husband, but have to wait in their house until the so-called prentender can provide all the money for the ceremony: he has to pay for all the cows the bride-to-be's family asks for. These girls are called "Uta" and have to wait three months, entirely covered with red clay... And no right to take baths or showers ! They cannot go out of the house, let alone the village.That's why it is very rare to see or take a photo of a Uta. A cruel tradition still has currency for some Hamar: unmarried women can have babies to test their fertility, but some of them are just abandonned in the bush. This tradition tends to disapear but NGO still save abandonned new borns. Abandonments are all the more frequent than some Hamar believe that a child born out of formal marriages has "mingi", as to say something abnormal and unclean. For them, it is the expression of the devil, which may cause disasters such as epidemics or drought in the village. So, illegitimate children are abandoned. This kind of beliefs can also be observed in other Ethiopan tribes: many parents prefer to sacrifice their own child rather than risk being affected by the evil eye.
Something left me a really strong impression in Africa: football is of the highest importance, even in the most remote places !
I remember a boy, who was living several days-walk from the Turmi market. But as most of the young Hamar, he came there to watch football on television ! This guy was wearing a Chelsea tee-shirt, but still had to jump over ten bulls to be able to marry a girl in his tribe: a real culture shock! They are all really into Chelsea, Arsenal... such as many Ethiopians, who are just crazy about English football, because the national TV brodcasts every single match ! So, while I was in deep South Ethiopia, I still could ask “did Arsenal win?”, and always had an accurate answer: the score, the name of the scorers, etc...Strange, but true ! Meantime, the world economic crisis was at its high ! Even if you do not speak their language, you can exchange with those guys with few words like “Ribery, Thierry Henry, Drogba", etc. ! Of course, all the tribes do not go into this village, and only the ones who are not too far have this passion.
Other special feature in these tribes: their relation to the photos. I remember a day, in a restaurant in Dimeka -not to say the only one around there. I made a polaroid of a Hamar couple. The man was angry because, as he said, "the colors were not good" ; he threw the picture away. But the lady finally let him go, and took the picture with her ! It' was not the first time those people, from remote areas, do not have any pictures of themselves and so are very demanding about the quality of the picture they are on! For instance, the Mursi do not understand why the picture do not have their own real size !
Besides, it is not so easy to get smiles in this area. First, because people work really hard and second, because it is very difficult to share anything with them as we are seen as walking wallet with cameras !
© Eric Lafforgue
On our last day in Dus Village (I think we were there for 15 nights and 16 days) after the Kara had ended Mingi, we had wrapped principal on the documentary, the Kara sent us off in style. They threw us a party Kara style. This was by far one of the coolest things I have ever experienced. They all gathered outside the village and came stomping in singing and screaming and dancing. The dance lasted probably two hours or more, till dusk. It was a very special day. Here you can see Steve McCurry getting in there for a shot as they came down the hill into the center of Dus Village. You can also see photographer John Rowe over on the far left. Read Steve McCurry's blog about his trip here. stevemccurry.com/blog/save-child
Should see on lightbox...
The Hamar (or Hamer or Hammer) is a tribe with a total population of about over 35,000, which lives in Hamer Bena woreda, a fertile part of the Omo River valley, in the Debub Omo Zone of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region (SNNPR). They are largely pastoralists, so their culture places a high value on cattle, the menaning of their life. There are at least 27 words for the subtle variations of colours and textures of a cattle! And each man has three names: a human, a goat and a cow name.
Honey collection is their major activity.They are as well semi nomadic and migrate every few months to find pastures for their goats and cattle. They have a special relationship with Bana-Bashada group than the others as they share a common language and culture.
Hamer society consists of a complex system of age groups. To pass from one age group to another involves complicated rituals. The bull-jumping is the most significant ceremony in the social life of the Hamer, the final test before passing into adulthood and in order to get married. The teen must jump naked over a number of bulls without falling. That is why we can mention it as cow jumping or bull leaping. If he is able to complete this task, he will become a man and be able to marry a woman.
The Hamar are very preoccupied with their beauty. They have at times spectacular haidresses.
Men use a wooden head rest which prevents the hair from touching the ground. It is used as head rest to protect the clay wig that some do on the top of the head, but it is also useful as a seat.
Women know many ways to do their hair. The most famous hair style is when their hair is in short tufts rolled in ochre and fat or in long twisted strands. These coppery coloured strands are called "goscha", it's a sign of health and welfare.
They also wear bead necklaces, iron bracelets around their arms, and decorate their breast with lots of cowry shells, like a natural bra.
Around married women's necks, you can see "esente": torques made of iron wrapped in leather. These are engagement presents; they are worn for life and indicate their husband's wealth. One of the necklaces catch more especially the attention: it is called the "bignere". It has a phallic-shape end. This jewelry can only be worn by a man's first wife.
Her statut is the higher one in Hamer society. The Hamar women who are not first wife have a really hard life and they are more slaves than wives...
The young unmarried girls, for their part, wear a kind of oval shape plate, in metal. It is used like a sunshield, but it tends to be rare in the tribe. Some of them have fund their future husband, but have to wait in their house until the so-called prentender can provide all the money for the ceremony: he has to pay for all the cows the bride-to-be's family asks for. These girls are called "Uta" and have to wait weeks, entirely covered with red clay... And no right to take baths or showers . They cannot go out of the house. Friends bring her food.
A cruel tradition still has currency for some Hamar: the babies who have the upper teeth first coming out, are abandonned in the bush. This tradition tends to disapear but NGO Omochild still save abandonned new borns in Jinka. Abandonments are all the more frequent than some Hamar believe that a child born out of formal marriages has "mingi", as to say something abnormal and unclean. For them, it is the expression of the devil, which may cause disasters such as epidemics or drought in the village. So, illegitimate children are abandoned. This kind of beliefs can also be observed in other Ethiopan tribes.
The weekly markets in Turmi and Dimeka are meeting points where tourist observation and photography can be satisfy against money.
© Eric Lafforgue
The Hamar (or Hamer) is a catlle herder tribe which lives on the Eastern side of the Omo Valley in Southern Ethiopia. Honey collection is their major activity and their cattle is the meaning of their life. There are at least 27 words for the subtle variations of colours and textures of a cattle ! And each man has three names: a human, a goat and a cow name.
The Hamar have very unique rituals such as a bull-leaping ceremony, that a young men has to succeed in order to get married. The cow jumping is an initiation rite of passage for boys coming of age in Hamar tribe. Cows are lined up in a row. The initiate, naked, has to leap on the back of the first cow, then from one bull to another, until he finally reaches the end of the row. He must not fall of the row and must repeat successfully the test four times to have the right to become a husband. While the boys walk on cows, Hamar women accompany him: they jump and sing. Totally committed to their initiated sons, the mothers are whipped to blood, in order to prove their courage and accompany their sons during the test.
The Hamar are very preoccupied with their beauty. They have at times spectular haidresses.
Men use a wooden head rest which prevents the hair from touching the ground. You can see them walking with it everywhere ! It is used as head rest to protect the clay wig that some do on the top of the head, but it is also usefulas a seat ! Even if there is a chair close to them, they prefer to use the head rest !
Women know many ways to do their hair. The most famous hair style is when their hair is in short tufts rolled in ochre and fat or in long twisted strands. These coppery coloured strands are called "goscha", it's a sign of health and welfare.
They also wear bead necklaces, iron bracelets around their arms, and decorate their breast with lots of cowry shells, like a natural bra.
Around married women's necks, you can see "esente": torques made of iron wrapped in leather. These are engagement presents; they are worn for life and indicate their husband's wealth. One of the necklaces catch more especially the attention: it is called the "bignere". It's also an iron and leather ring, which has a phallic-shape end. But this jewelry can only be worn by a man's first wife.
I remember a woman I have met. On her neck, there were three necklaces. According to what I just explained about the bignere, the biggest one at the top means she was "First Wife". This is important, as her statut is the higher one in Hamer society. But as she has two more simple necklaces around her neck: that means her husband took two more wives... The Hamar women who are not first wife have a really hard life and they are more slaves than wives... During my trip, I could see some of these women, working like slaves for the men: their skin were covered with clay, butter and animal fat... So they were a little scary ! Another thing to know about these women: the more scars one has on her back, the higher is her status.
The young unmarried girls, for their part, wear a kind of oval shape plate, in metal. It is used like a sunshield, but it tends to be rare in the tribe. Some of them have fund their future husband, but have to wait in their house until the so-called prentender can provide all the money for the ceremony: he has to pay for all the cows the bride-to-be's family asks for. These girls are called "Uta" and have to wait three months, entirely covered with red clay... And no right to take baths or showers ! They cannot go out of the house, let alone the village.That's why it is very rare to see or take a photo of a Uta. A cruel tradition still has currency for some Hamar: unmarried women can have babies to test their fertility, but some of them are just abandonned in the bush. This tradition tends to disapear but NGO still save abandonned new borns. Abandonments are all the more frequent than some Hamar believe that a child born out of formal marriages has "mingi", as to say something abnormal and unclean. For them, it is the expression of the devil, which may cause disasters such as epidemics or drought in the village. So, illegitimate children are abandoned. This kind of beliefs can also be observed in other Ethiopan tribes: many parents prefer to sacrifice their own child rather than risk being affected by the evil eye.
Something left me a really strong impression in Africa: football is of the highest importance, even in the most remote places !
I remember a boy, who was living several days-walk from the Turmi market. But as most of the young Hamar, he came there to watch football on television ! This guy was wearing a Chelsea tee-shirt, but still had to jump over ten bulls to be able to marry a girl in his tribe: a real culture shock! They are all really into Chelsea, Arsenal... such as many Ethiopians, who are just crazy about English football, because the national TV brodcasts every single match ! So, while I was in deep South Ethiopia, I still could ask “did Arsenal win?”, and always had an accurate answer: the score, the name of the scorers, etc...Strange, but true ! Meantime, the world economic crisis was at its high ! Even if you do not speak their language, you can exchange with those guys with few words like “Ribery, Thierry Henry, Drogba", etc. ! Of course, all the tribes do not go into this village, and only the ones who are not too far have this passion.
Other special feature in these tribes: their relation to the photos. I remember a day, in a restaurant in Dimeka -not to say the only one around there. I made a polaroid of a Hamar couple. The man was angry because, as he said, "the colors were not good" ; he threw the picture away. But the lady finally let him go, and took the picture with her ! It' was not the first time those people, from remote areas, do not have any pictures of themselves and so are very demanding about the quality of the picture they are on! For instance, the Mursi do not understand why the picture do not have their own real size !
Besides, it is not so easy to get smiles in this area. First, because people work really hard and second, because it is very difficult to share anything with them as we are seen as walking wallet with cameras !
© Eric Lafforgue
In the hair: a paste of clay and animal fat + a feather
The Hamar (or Hamer) is a catlle herder tribe which lives on the Eastern side of the Omo Valley in Southern Ethiopia. Honey collection is their major activity and their cattle is the meaning of their life. There are at least 27 words for the subtle variations of colours and textures of a cattle ! And each man has three names: a human, a goat and a cow name.
The Hamar have very unique rituals such as a bull-leaping ceremony, that a young men has to succeed in order to get married. The cow jumping is an initiation rite of passage for boys coming of age in Hamar tribe. Cows are lined up in a row. The initiate, naked, has to leap on the back of the first cow, then from one bull to another, until he finally reaches the end of the row. He must not fall of the row and must repeat successfully the test four times to have the right to become a husband. While the boys walk on cows, Hamar women accompany him: they jump and sing. Totally committed to their initiated sons, the mothers are whipped to blood, in order to prove their courage and accompany their sons during the test.
The Hamar are very preoccupied with their beauty. They have at times spectular haidresses.
Men use a wooden head rest which prevents the hair from touching the ground. You can see them walking with it everywhere ! It is used as head rest to protect the clay wig that some do on the top of the head, but it is also usefulas a seat ! Even if there is a chair close to them, they prefer to use the head rest !
Women know many ways to do their hair. The most famous hair style is when their hair is in short tufts rolled in ochre and fat or in long twisted strands. These coppery coloured strands are called "goscha", it's a sign of health and welfare.
They also wear bead necklaces, iron bracelets around their arms, and decorate their breast with lots of cowry shells, like a natural bra.
Around married women's necks, you can see "esente": torques made of iron wrapped in leather. These are engagement presents; they are worn for life and indicate their husband's wealth. One of the necklaces catch more especially the attention: it is called the "bignere". It's also an iron and leather ring, which has a phallic-shape end. But this jewelry can only be worn by a man's first wife.
I remember a woman I have met. On her neck, there were three necklaces. According to what I just explained about the bignere, the biggest one at the top means she was "First Wife". This is important, as her statut is the higher one in Hamer society. But as she has two more simple necklaces around her neck: that means her husband took two more wives... The Hamar women who are not first wife have a really hard life and they are more slaves than wives... During my trip, I could see some of these women, working like slaves for the men: their skin were covered with clay, butter and animal fat... So they were a little scary ! Another thing to know about these women: the more scars one has on her back, the higher is her status.
The young unmarried girls, for their part, wear a kind of oval shape plate, in metal. It is used like a sunshield, but it tends to be rare in the tribe. Some of them have fund their future husband, but have to wait in their house until the so-called prentender can provide all the money for the ceremony: he has to pay for all the cows the bride-to-be's family asks for. These girls are called "Uta" and have to wait three months, entirely covered with red clay... And no right to take baths or showers ! They cannot go out of the house, let alone the village.That's why it is very rare to see or take a photo of a Uta. A cruel tradition still has currency for some Hamar: unmarried women can have babies to test their fertility, but some of them are just abandonned in the bush. This tradition tends to disapear but NGO still save abandonned new borns. Abandonments are all the more frequent than some Hamar believe that a child born out of formal marriages has "mingi", as to say something abnormal and unclean. For them, it is the expression of the devil, which may cause disasters such as epidemics or drought in the village. So, illegitimate children are abandoned. This kind of beliefs can also be observed in other Ethiopan tribes: many parents prefer to sacrifice their own child rather than risk being affected by the evil eye.
Something left me a really strong impression in Africa: football is of the highest importance, even in the most remote places !
I remember a boy, who was living several days-walk from the Turmi market. But as most of the young Hamar, he came there to watch football on television ! This guy was wearing a Chelsea tee-shirt, but still had to jump over ten bulls to be able to marry a girl in his tribe: a real culture shock! They are all really into Chelsea, Arsenal... such as many Ethiopians, who are just crazy about English football, because the national TV brodcasts every single match ! So, while I was in deep South Ethiopia, I still could ask “did Arsenal win?”, and always had an accurate answer: the score, the name of the scorers, etc...Strange, but true ! Meantime, the world economic crisis was at its high ! Even if you do not speak their language, you can exchange with those guys with few words like “Ribery, Thierry Henry, Drogba", etc. ! Of course, all the tribes do not go into this village, and only the ones who are not too far have this passion.
Other special feature in these tribes: their relation to the photos. I remember a day, in a restaurant in Dimeka -not to say the only one around there. I made a polaroid of a Hamar couple. The man was angry because, as he said, "the colors were not good" ; he threw the picture away. But the lady finally let him go, and took the picture with her ! It' was not the first time those people, from remote areas, do not have any pictures of themselves and so are very demanding about the quality of the picture they are on! For instance, the Mursi do not understand why the picture do not have their own real size !
Besides, it is not so easy to get smiles in this area. First, because people work really hard and second, because it is very difficult to share anything with them as we are seen as walking wallet with cameras !
© Eric Lafforgue
The Hamar (or Hamer) is a catlle herder tribe which lives on the Eastern side of the Omo Valley in Southern Ethiopia. Honey collection is their major activity and their cattle is the meaning of their life. There are at least 27 words for the subtle variations of colours and textures of a cattle ! And each man has three names: a human, a goat and a cow name.
The Hamar have very unique rituals such as a bull-leaping ceremony, that a young men has to succeed in order to get married. The cow jumping is an initiation rite of passage for boys coming of age in Hamar tribe. Cows are lined up in a row. The initiate, naked, has to leap on the back of the first cow, then from one bull to another, until he finally reaches the end of the row. He must not fall of the row and must repeat successfully the test four times to have the right to become a husband. While the boys walk on cows, Hamar women accompany him: they jump and sing. Totally committed to their initiated sons, the mothers are whipped to blood, in order to prove their courage and accompany their sons during the test.
The Hamar are very preoccupied with their beauty. They have at times spectular haidresses.
Men use a wooden head rest which prevents the hair from touching the ground. You can see them walking with it everywhere ! It is used as head rest to protect the clay wig that some do on the top of the head, but it is also usefulas a seat ! Even if there is a chair close to them, they prefer to use the head rest !
Women know many ways to do their hair. The most famous hair style is when their hair is in short tufts rolled in ochre and fat or in long twisted strands. These coppery coloured strands are called "goscha", it's a sign of health and welfare.
They also wear bead necklaces, iron bracelets around their arms, and decorate their breast with lots of cowry shells, like a natural bra.
Around married women's necks, you can see "esente": torques made of iron wrapped in leather. These are engagement presents; they are worn for life and indicate their husband's wealth. One of the necklaces catch more especially the attention: it is called the "bignere". It's also an iron and leather ring, which has a phallic-shape end. But this jewelry can only be worn by a man's first wife.
I remember a woman I have met. On her neck, there were three necklaces. According to what I just explained about the bignere, the biggest one at the top means she was "First Wife". This is important, as her statut is the higher one in Hamer society. But as she has two more simple necklaces around her neck: that means her husband took two more wives... The Hamar women who are not first wife have a really hard life and they are more slaves than wives... During my trip, I could see some of these women, working like slaves for the men: their skin were covered with clay, butter and animal fat... So they were a little scary ! Another thing to know about these women: the more scars one has on her back, the higher is her status.
The young unmarried girls, for their part, wear a kind of oval shape plate, in metal. It is used like a sunshield, but it tends to be rare in the tribe. Some of them have fund their future husband, but have to wait in their house until the so-called prentender can provide all the money for the ceremony: he has to pay for all the cows the bride-to-be's family asks for. These girls are called "Uta" and have to wait three months, entirely covered with red clay... And no right to take baths or showers ! They cannot go out of the house, let alone the village.That's why it is very rare to see or take a photo of a Uta. A cruel tradition still has currency for some Hamar: unmarried women can have babies to test their fertility, but some of them are just abandonned in the bush. This tradition tends to disapear but NGO still save abandonned new borns. Abandonments are all the more frequent than some Hamar believe that a child born out of formal marriages has "mingi", as to say something abnormal and unclean. For them, it is the expression of the devil, which may cause disasters such as epidemics or drought in the village. So, illegitimate children are abandoned. This kind of beliefs can also be observed in other Ethiopan tribes: many parents prefer to sacrifice their own child rather than risk being affected by the evil eye.
Something left me a really strong impression in Africa: football is of the highest importance, even in the most remote places !
I remember a boy, who was living several days-walk from the Turmi market. But as most of the young Hamar, he came there to watch football on television ! This guy was wearing a Chelsea tee-shirt, but still had to jump over ten bulls to be able to marry a girl in his tribe: a real culture shock! They are all really into Chelsea, Arsenal... such as many Ethiopians, who are just crazy about English football, because the national TV brodcasts every single match ! So, while I was in deep South Ethiopia, I still could ask “did Arsenal win?”, and always had an accurate answer: the score, the name of the scorers, etc...Strange, but true ! Meantime, the world economic crisis was at its high ! Even if you do not speak their language, you can exchange with those guys with few words like “Ribery, Thierry Henry, Drogba", etc. ! Of course, all the tribes do not go into this village, and only the ones who are not too far have this passion.
Other special feature in these tribes: their relation to the photos. I remember a day, in a restaurant in Dimeka -not to say the only one around there. I made a polaroid of a Hamar couple. The man was angry because, as he said, "the colors were not good" ; he threw the picture away. But the lady finally let him go, and took the picture with her ! It' was not the first time those people, from remote areas, do not have any pictures of themselves and so are very demanding about the quality of the picture they are on! For instance, the Mursi do not understand why the picture do not have their own real size !
Besides, it is not so easy to get smiles in this area. First, because people work really hard and second, because it is very difficult to share anything with them as we are seen as walking wallet with cameras !
© Eric Lafforgue
The Hamar (or Hamer or Hammer) is a tribe with a total population of about over 35,000, which lives in Hamer Bena woreda, a fertile part of the Omo River valley, in the Debub Omo Zone of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region (SNNPR). They are largely pastoralists, so their culture places a high value on cattle, the menaning of their life. There are at least 27 words for the subtle variations of colours and textures of a cattle! And each man has three names: a human, a goat and a cow name.
Honey collection is their major activity.They are as well semi nomadic and migrate every few months to find pastures for their goats and cattle. They have a special relationship with Bana-Bashada group than the others as they share a common language and culture.
Hamer society consists of a complex system of age groups. To pass from one age group to another involves complicated rituals. The bull-jumping is the most significant ceremony in the social life of the Hamer, the final test before passing into adulthood and in order to get married. The teen must jump naked over a number of bulls without falling. That is why we can mention it as cow jumping or bull leaping. If he is able to complete this task, he will become a man and be able to marry a woman.
The Hamar are very preoccupied with their beauty. They have at times spectacular haidresses.
Men use a wooden head rest which prevents the hair from touching the ground. It is used as head rest to protect the clay wig that some do on the top of the head, but it is also useful as a seat.
Women know many ways to do their hair. The most famous hair style is when their hair is in short tufts rolled in ochre and fat or in long twisted strands. These coppery coloured strands are called "goscha", it's a sign of health and welfare.
They also wear bead necklaces, iron bracelets around their arms, and decorate their breast with lots of cowry shells, like a natural bra.
Around married women's necks, you can see "esente": torques made of iron wrapped in leather. These are engagement presents; they are worn for life and indicate their husband's wealth. One of the necklaces catch more especially the attention: it is called the "bignere". It has a phallic-shape end. This jewelry can only be worn by a man's first wife.
Her statut is the higher one in Hamer society. The Hamar women who are not first wife have a really hard life and they are more slaves than wives...
The young unmarried girls, for their part, wear a kind of oval shape plate, in metal. It is used like a sunshield, but it tends to be rare in the tribe. Some of them have fund their future husband, but have to wait in their house until the so-called prentender can provide all the money for the ceremony: he has to pay for all the cows the bride-to-be's family asks for. These girls are called "Uta" and have to wait weeks, entirely covered with red clay... And no right to take baths or showers . They cannot go out of the house. Friends bring her food.
A cruel tradition still has currency for some Hamar: the babies who have the upper teeth first coming out, are abandonned in the bush. This tradition tends to disapear but NGO Omochild still save abandonned new borns in Jinka. Abandonments are all the more frequent than some Hamar believe that a child born out of formal marriages has "mingi", as to say something abnormal and unclean. For them, it is the expression of the devil, which may cause disasters such as epidemics or drought in the village. So, illegitimate children are abandoned. This kind of beliefs can also be observed in other Ethiopan tribes.
The weekly markets in Turmi and Dimeka are meeting points where tourist observation and photography can be satisfy against money.
© Eric Lafforgue
The Hamar (or Hamer or Hammer) is a tribe with a total population of about over 35,000, which lives in Hamer Bena woreda, a fertile part of the Omo River valley, in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region (SNNPR). They are largely pastoralists, so their culture places a high value on cattle. There are at least 27 words for the subtle variations of colours and textures of cattle! Each man has three names: a human, a goat and a cow name. Honey collection is their major activity. They are as well semi nomadic and migrate every few months to find pastures for their goats and cattle. They have a special relationship with Bana-Bashada group than the others as they share a common language and culture. Hamer society consists of a complex system of age groups. To pass from one age group to another involves complicated rituals. The bull-jumping is the most significant ceremony in the social life of the Hamer, the final test before passing into adulthood and in order to get married.
Before the jump, the family women of the jumper are whipped to blood, in order to prove their courage and accompany their sons during the test.
The maze is the name given to the whipper running the bull jumping. Mazes are single men who have already performed bull jumping. They are hired to whip the women during the ceremony. As salary, they can earn goats and a jug of money. Mazes have to survive on payments received for bull jumping ceremonies. They only feed themselves with milk, honey and meat. Once they get married, they get a dowry and land if they are lucky. After that, their strict diet is likely to change. The Mazes take part to the elders meeting before the ceremony, so they are important as participant in decision making in their village or tribe.
The teen must jump (in fact walk) naked over a number of bulls without falling. That is why we can mention it as cow jumping or bull leaping. If he is able to complete this task, he will become a man and be able to marry a woman.
Any boy who fails to complete his runs, however, will be publicly humiliated: he will be whipped by his female relatives and thereafter, for the rest of his life, he will be teased, insulted and beaten by both men and women.
The Hamar are very preoccupied with their beauty. They have at times spectacular haidresses.
Men use a wooden headrest / pillow which prevents the hair from touching the ground. It is used as head rest to protect the clay wig that some do on the top of the head, but it is also useful as a seat. The most famous hair style for woman is when their hair is in short tufts rolled in ochre and fat or in long twisted strands. These coppery coloured strands are called "goscha"; it's a sign of health and welfare.
They also wear bead necklaces, iron bracelets around their arms, and decorate their breast with lots of cowry shells, like a natural bra.
Around married women's necks, you can see "esente": torques made of iron wrapped in leather. These are engagement presents; they are worn for life and indicate their husband's wealth. One of the necklaces catches more especially the attention: it is called the "bignere". It has a phallic-shape end. A man’s first wife can only wear this jewellery. Her status is the higher one in Hamer society. The Hamar women who are not first wife have a really hard life and they are more slaves than wives...
The young unmarried girls, for their part, wear a kind of oval shape plate, in metal. It is used like a sunshield, but it tends to be rare in the tribe.
Some of them have fund their future husband, but have to wait in their house until the so-called pretender can provide all the money for the ceremony: he has to pay for all the cows the bride-to-be's family asks for. The future bride is called “Uta”; she has to follow a strict ritual before she gets married. Her body is buttered and covered with ochre clay. The soon-to-be bride have to stay at the hut of the family of her husband during one month or until she has her period. She has no right to take baths or showers or to go outside the hut. The reason of this confinement is to be sure that the future bride is not pregnant. Most of the time, the marriage are arranged but the tribes will not allowed a marriage if the husband is not the father of the wife’s child.
Hamer tribe as the Karo and the Bana, still practise ritual infanticide; if the first tooth appears in the upper jaw, instead of the lower, the child becomes what they called “mingi”, and this applies also to the baby teeth and the adult teeth when the kids are 7 or 8.
If a "mingi" kid is kept in the village by the mother, elders believe droughts, famines and diseases will come in the community, so they kill the babies... The practise of “Mingi” is also used to qualify twins, girl (expensive dowries are required to marry a daughter), baby who is born from a non approved pregnancy. As a baby is declared “Mingi” it is like he was sentenced to death, only few of them can survive. The tribes get ride of the “Mingi” kid by leaving them in the desert without food or water or by drowning them in the river. This kind of practise tends to disappear in the Karo tribe.
The weekly markets in Turmi and Dimeka are meeting points where tourist observation and photography can be satisfied against money.
© Eric Lafforgue