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A First Wife 1983

The Hamar people of Ethiopia’s Omo Valley carry themselves with a regal bearing, and meet strangers with a clear and direct gaze.

 

This woman wears a burkule or binyere: a leather and metal necklace with a large cylindrical detail on the front. This indicates she is her husband’s “first wife”: a position of status in the community. Men can have as many wives as they can afford – payed for in goats, cattle and guns.

 

For the story: www.ursulasweeklywanders.com/travel/faces-in-a-hamar-vill...

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Uploaded on December 28, 2021
Taken on October 17, 2018