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Young Hamar Woman
With their ochre-coated hair and unique customs, the small population of Hamar people are probably one of the best-known Omotic tribes.
You could call them Ethiopia’s 0.1%.
That is the approximate proportion that the Hamar (or Hamer) people, an agro-pastoralist tribe in the Omo Valley, make up of Ethiopia’s total.
Most of these Hamer-speaking people still live a traditional, semi-nomadic lifestyle on their fertile tribal lands in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region (SNNPR) of the country. Care of cattle, agricultural practices, and cultural ceremonies continue much as they have for generations. According to one report I read, only seven members of the tribe have ever finished secondary school. The women and girls grow crops – with a focus on the staple of sorghum – and care for the households, meals (mostly maize or sorghum porridge), and children. Older children take care of the goats. Young men tend the crops and protect the cattle – with AK47s! Older men also look after the cattle and the crops, as well as plowing the fields and looking after the beehives nested in the acacia trees.
A tall, good-looking people, the Hamar are possibly the most recognisable of the Omotic tribes. Men, women, and children generally sport multiple strands of colourful beads. The men often wear a clay cap, decorated with feathers. Like other groups in the region, they can be seen carrying or using their small wooden stools/pillows. Women have elaborately decorated goatskin bibs, which – these days – are reserved for special occasions. They layer themselves in beaded belts, bracelets and necklaces, as well as wearing copper or metal necklaces that signify their marital status (e.g.: first wife, second wife, etc.). Most strikingly, they coat their hair in a clay and butter mixture – reminiscent of the Himba people of distant Namibia (e.g.: The Morning Routine).
The Hamar practice scarification, much of which can be quite beautiful. What is alarming is the significations of some of these scars: men wear rows of pala or “hero scars” which relate directly to the number of tribal enemies they have personally killed. In addition to decorative scars, women proudly display ragged wounds on their backs, which they have received from a ritual (and distressing to most outsiders – including me) whipping that takes place as part of men’s ‘cattle jumping’ ceremony. This is a unique coming-of-age-initiation practice – which I’ll talk more about when I get to those pictures. (see: Coming of Age in a Hamar Village).
I visited the Hamar on a number of occasions as part of a small-group Piper Mackay Photo-Tour to the Omo Valley led by photographer Ben McRae. The attached environmental portraits are from our first trip to a large village not far from our rooms in the market town of Turmi.
Do join me!
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Laundry in the River
It’s a long drive from our starting accommodation in Arba Minch to the Hamar tribal lands. We stop en route to watch as people go about their daily lives.
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Donkey Cart
The river is the source of drinking water for the villages around here, so re-usable plastic containers are a valuable resource.
Child in Braids
Everywhere we stopped, children would surround us, clamouring for our empty (and full!) drink bottles.
Men on the Horizon
Finally! We reach the Hamar village that our guide has negotiated for us to enter. The men carry their Kalashnikovs as they watch the boundaries and the livestock. Power lines run across the landscape, but it is not clear where they stop… I saw little evidence of the use of electricity, although there must be a charging station somewhere for the ubiquitous mobile phones.
Young Hamar Girl
These people have the most extraordinary faces! This young girl, with her clay-coated hair and worn blanket, had such expressive eyes.
Hamar Girl
She patiently counted the ‘clicks’ of my camera as I took pictures of her against the thorn thickets and dry scrub that extend off towards the distant mountains. This is “pay-per-photo” tourism: Ethiopian tribal groups learned long ago that their traditional appearance is their key to a modern livelihood.
Hamar Woman
Such regal bearing! This beautiful woman clearly has an important place in the village, as demonstrated by her heavy metal necklaces. The top one is a burkule or binyere. Made of leather and metal with a large cylindrical detail on the front, the burkule indicates she is her husband’s “first wife”.
Hamar Couple
The colourfully woven fabric supporting this man’s cap vie for attention with his wife’s layers of bright beads.
Hamar Child
Even young children are draped in layers of beads, interspersed with shells and coins.
Hamar Corral
The compounds housing extended family are simple structures.
Shell Necklaces
Cowry shells were used as currency across much of Africa until the mid 19th century. As cowry are a sea snail, these valuable shells have probably been purchased at the Turmi market. In Hamar culture, they symbolise womanhood, fertility, birth and wealth.
Seated Hamar Woman
This beautiful older woman is wearing her traditional goatskin smock. She is seated on the ground, …
Hamar Man in a Hat
… unlike an elderly male close by …
Hamar Man on a Stool
… who – like all Hamar males – has his wooden stool to sit on.
Man in a Hat
These men! When they are not wearing traditional clay caps, they are rocking jazz hats!
Mother, Child and Attitude
Mother’s Scarred Back
… while a young mother looks after her infant.
Hamar Girls
A teen girl looks after her younger sibling, …
Young Hamar Woman
The Belly and The Belt
I love the contrasts: the tribal belt and scarification against the the modern key!
Hamar Man
In the traditional communities I’ve visited, men are more likely to be in Western dress. This may be because they wander away from the home village more often than the women.
Goatskin Smocks
A pair of friends show off their traditional goatskin smocks – heavily beaded and adorned with shells.
Young Friends
Although these women have similar hairstyles, only one has used the ochre, making for quite a different appearance.
Hamar Attitude
I love that strong, direct gaze! These striking looking women are used to being ‘looked at!’
We’ll return to these tribal villages again.
Until then,
Happy Travels!
Photos: 16October2018
[…] several visits to a large village not far from my accommodation in the market town of Turmi (see: Hamar Village and Hamar Faces). I was travelling with photographer Ben McRae as part of a small-group Piper […]
[…] made several trips to a large Hamar village not far from our accommodation (see: Hamar Village, Hamar Faces, and Hamar Portraits). This was to be our last session with the tribe before we headed […]
[…] the beautiful Omo Valley, where our base was in Turmi. Over the next days, we visited Hamar (e.g.: Visit to a Hamar Village, Face in a Hamar Village; Hamar Village Portraits; and Morning Portraits), Daasanach (see: A Visit […]