Omo Valley, Ethiopia 2013
Hamar women take part in their kinsman’s big day…the day the entire tribe watches as he runs over the backs of ten bulls lined up side by side. If he doesn’t fall, he will become a man in the eyes of the tribe. The ceremony is all about him.
The women, from age three and up, must show their devotion to their relative by undergoing a caning, or flogging or whipping. They have adorned themselves with red mud, rubbing it into their hair that they have fashioned into tightly curled skullcaps or long ringlets. As they march around the arena, they blow brass horns that sound like the vuvuzelas at a soccer match. Bells tied around their calves ring harshly as they stamp and strut, shaking their heads, jumping up and down, doing their all to show their pride in the boy who would this day become a man.
Young men who have recently passed the bull-jumping test do the whipping. They are lean, muscular young men in their prime. They use six or eight foot long branches and they put the full force of their strength into the blows. Perhaps they needed to look manly by putting all of their strength into the blows. I don’t know. But I do know that they didn’t hold back.
The women come to the “whippers” one by one. They stand before him and receive the blow that nearly brings them to their knees. They are stunned with pain. Their eyes are vacant and staring but they show no emotion as they are helped back to the group of cheering women. I didn’t get a shot of the whipping. The whip comes flashing down with no warning and I didn’t catch the movement. I was interested in the the women and girls who had been struck, their blank expressions, the bloody backs. I must have looked stunned myself. “It’s their culture.” My little Hamar guide whispered to me.
Why??? I can hear you asking that question. The answer is this. The women suffer for their male relative on the most important day of his life. It adds to his glory. And, if in the future, they should become widowed, or need help in some way, they will show him their scars and remind him that they suffered for him. He is obligated to help them. It is a binding of family ties Hamar style.
As usual, your commentary is ALMOST as interesting as the photo. The whole ceremony is probably not going to catch on here, tho. As I think about it, there ought to be a way to substitute politicians as part of their induction ceremony. It would remind them they are there to serve the people and not vice versa. I may try lobbying for this. I think I can count you in. J.