This Hamer village was based in Turmi area, in southwestern Ethiopia in the lower Omo valley. The Hamer, who number around 46,000 people, are mainly pastoralists, their cattle very important for them.
Scarification has several meanings in Hamer culture. All Hamer women do this to decorate themselves, to be more beautiful and attractive for Hamer men. I have been told that the woman on the right was seen as a very strong and respected woman because she could handle the pain of being scarred.
In Karo culture hierarchy is very important. It’s very important to respect the elderly. This guy was nicknamed “Americano” by Karo children. When I asked him why they gave him this nickname he told me that Americans are seen as successful people.
To witness village life in the Omo Valley was, for me, like going back in time 300 years.
There are an estimated 10,000 members of Mursi, a beautiful, sedentary tribe, whose lip plated face plate decorations are a source of endless fascination.
When the women are ready to marry, they begin the process of the lip plate by making a hole in the lower lip with a wood stick which is expanded a little everyday. Eventually, when the hole is big enough, women insert a plate and gradually the plate is replaced by a bigger plate until it has reached its full size.
