South Omo Valley
Located in Southwest Ethiopia, the Lower Omo Valley is regarded as Africa’s ‘last great wilderness’ and one of one of the continent’s final frontiers.
The Omo Valley is most famous for its fascinating cultural landscape. More than a dozen tribes live here, their ancient lifestyles largely untouched by the influences of the modern world. Each of the Omo Valley tribes has its own unique cultural dress, traditions and rituals, passed down from generation to generation. Some of the best-known tribes are the Mursi, Hamer, Karo, Konso and Dassenech.
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The Omo Valley is rich in historical value. Recognized for its paleontological discoveries, the Lower Omo Valley was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980. Southern Ethiopia differs vastly from Northern Ethiopia – in topography, climate and character. The remote, lowland landscapes are more reminiscent of sub-Saharan Africa, and characterized by vast savannas and acacia woodlands. An expansive fertile green belt, carved by the Omo River, extends nearly 1,000 kilometers to Lake Turkana, on the Kenyan border. The Omo River is the largest Ethiopian river outside the Nile Basin. The East African Rift Valley runs through low-lying southern Ethiopia, creating a concentration of magnificent rift valley lakes that teem with aquatic birds and other wildlife. Volcanic outcrops and interesting rock formations add to the beauty of the scenery. The villages of the Lower Omo Valley are home to some of Africa’s most fascinating ethnic groups and diverse landscape ranging from dry, open savannah plains to forests in the high hills along the Omo and Mago rivers. Konso landscape constitutes a spectacular example of a living cultural tradition stretching back generations of more than 500 years, adapted to its dry hostile environment. The landscape demonstrates the shared values, social cohesion and engineering knowledge of its communities. Beautiful sceneries of farmlands with scattered and uniquely built villages in rural areas are also other landscape attractions in the country.
Some of the Omo Valley Tribes are:
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The Ari: are the largest tribe that live around Jinka. Most are farmers (sorghum and coffee) and cattle-raising remains important. Villages have full-time blacksmiths and potters. They also produce large amounts of honey from beehives made with bark and dung. The women wear skirts made from Enset but now only on special occasions.
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The Banna: inhabit the higher ground around Key Afer. Most practice agriculture, though their diet is supplemented by hunting. Culturally they’re closely related to the Hamer and they dress quite similarly.
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The Dassanech: live along both sides of the Omo River between Omorate and Lake Turkana. They’re closely related to the Arbore and the languages are mutually intelligible. Originally purely pastoralists, the villages have adopted maize, sorghum and tobacco. Some people also fish. The Dassanech women wear fewer necklaces.
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The Hamer: are subsistence agro pastoralists. They cultivate sorghum, vegetables, millet, tobacco, cotton, and rear cattle and goats. Honey is also part of their diet. The Hamer are particularly known for their remarkable hairstyles. The women mix together ochre, water and a binding resin before rubbing it into their hair. Then they twist strands repeatedly to create copper-colored tresses known as ‘goscha’ a sign of health and welfare. The Hamer are also considered masters of body decoration. The women wear iron coils around their arms and bead necklaces. The ‘ensente’ (iron torques) worn around the necks of married and engaged women indicate the wealth and prestige of their husband. Unmarried girls wear a metal plate in their hair. The iron bracelets and armlets are an indication of the wealth and social status of the young girl’s family. When she gets married she must remove the jewelry; it is the first gift she makes to her new family. Hamer territory is concentrated around Turmi and Dimeka.
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The Karo: the Karo are one of the Omo valley’s smallest groups inhabiting Omo’s eastern bank northwest of Turmi. Some of these traditional pastoralists turned to agriculture (growing sorghum and maize). The Karo paints their body using white and colored chalk to create bold patterns.
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The Mursi: are mainly pastoralists who have been relocated out of Mago National Park to the drier hills west of it. Traditionally the Mursi would move during the wet and dry seasons and practice flood retreat cultivation along the Omo River though raising cattle is the most important part of their life. The most famous Mursi traditions include fierce stick-fighting between men and lip-plates worn by the women. Made of clay 12cm in diameter, the plates are inserted into a slit separating their lower lip and jaw. Due to its obvious discomfort, women only wear the lip-plates occasionally, leaving their distended lips swaying below their jaw. The hole is cut around age 15 and stretched over many months. At this time the women also have their four lower front teeth pulled out. While men remove only the lower two. Women’s large ear holes are cut at about age five.
The Nyangatom: inhabiting the land west of the Omo River to South Sudan are the Nyangatom related to the Turkana in Kenya. They are agro-pastoralists growing sorghum and maize as well as rearing cattle and goats. The women are distinctly known for their thick pile of necklaces.