Tag Archives: Ethiopia

With about 1400 individuals living across three villages, the Kara are the smallest discrete ethnic group in Ethiopia’s Omo Valley. They are closely related to the Benna-Bashada-Hamar group and share many linguistic features and cultural practices with these tribes. For example, their young men take part in the Bula, or Pilla, or Bull-jumping ceremony: jumping […]

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Every society that has been studied by history, anthropology, or sociology, celebrates the passage of its individuals from one social or religious status to another. The ceremonial events that mark these rites of passage can take very different and colourful forms. Many are private affairs, with elders initiating others into secrets that are not shared […]

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Ethiopia is a big country: at 1,104,300 sq km, it is number 28 in the world in terms of area. And, it remains – despite recent progress in alleviating extreme poverty – one of the poorest countries in the world (CIA World Factbook). So, local infrastructure is not what it might be, and the country […]

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One of the beauties of travelling with a photo-tour is that you have more time to immerse and explore at locations. This was certainly true for me in the Omo Valley, in southern Ethiopia. Even with improving roads, the region is difficult to access. But, once I and my fellow-photography enthusiasts got there, we had […]

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When I was young, I had a book with pictures of children around the world in their traditional National Costumes. I found the concept difficult to understand, given that where I lived, people dressed differently from each other, and fashion trends changed with every season. I find it even more remarkable, these countless years later, […]

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