Visits to a Kara Village (#1), Lower Omo Valley, Ethiopia

Portrait: Kara Youth in white and black beads, Dus Village, Ethiopia

Kara Youth in Beads
Although the Kara people of the Lower Omo Valley love their face and body paint, one of my favourite pictures from their village is this one of a clean-skinned youth, free of clay paint and ritual scarring.

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 is not particularly easy to get around!

This inaccessibility has to be a help to the 16+ distinctive ethnic groups who live in the far reaches of Ethiopia’s Omo Valley. I was there on a Piper Mackay photographic tour with a small group of photo-enthusiasts under the tutelage of photographer Ben McRae. We had taken a short flight into the Great Rift Valley from Addis Ababa some days before, and had visited the Dorze people (see: Roadside and Village Portraits) before overnighting in Arba Minch. From there, we enjoyed the scenic drive south into 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 to the Daasanach) and Arbore (e.g.: Portraits in an Arbore Village; and Arbore Village Portraits) villages.

What continued to amaze me was how distinctive each of these groups was!

On our sixth day in the country, we hopped into four-wheel drives after breakfast, and drove north again, deep into the heart of Kara (Karo) territory. A beautiful, fully equipped campsite had been set up for us (Grand Holidays Ethiopia) in shady forested clearing along the Omo River, not far from Dus Village. This gave us unique access to the Kara people, Ethiopia’s smallest ethnic group, but possibly one of the most popular. They are well known for their decorative face- and body-painting in chalk and ochre.

There are about 100,000 members of the Kara ethnic group, but most live in South Sudan or the Central African Republic. In Ethiopia, there are only about 1400, living across three villages on the left bank of the Omo River. As speakers of an Omotic language, they are loosely affiliated with the Hamar people; this puts them at odd with the more aggressive and more numerous Nilo-Saharan-speaking Nyangatom who live on the other side of the river.

Join me on an excursion into Kara territory.

Portrait: Ethiopian woman in cornrows, Buska Lodge, Turmi

Worker – Buska Lodge
After breakfast in Turmi, we farewell the staff there and hit the road. (iPhone6)

Dirt road, Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples

Driving Ethiopian Roads
The roads on the east side of the Omo River into Kara territory are dirt tracks …

Dusty car driving into the jungle, Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples

Dusty Tracks
… that lead into the jungle. At one point we had to stop and remove fallen trees before we could pass.

Mobile tent camp outside Dus Village, Ethiopia

Dus Mobile Camp
After a challenging drive, it was lovely arriving at our beautiful campsite, which was set up and ready for us in a shady clearing in the forest along the Omo River in the heart of Kara land.

Inside a large tent, outside Dus Village, Ethiopia

Home Away from Home
My tent in the Dus Camp was airy and spacious.

Rain clouds over Dus Kara Village, Ethiopia

Dus Kara Village
When we drove to the nearby Kara village in the afternoon, the rains came …

Villagers in clay paint crowded onto a building porch, Dus Ethiopia

Escaping the Rain
… and the locals huddled under the eaves of a community building to protect their face- and body-paint. Kara people enjoy decorating their bodies and faces daily with coloured ochre, white chalk, yellow mineral rock, charcoal, and pulverised iron ore.

Kara man in clay paint on a building porch, Dus Ethiopia

Kara Man
Kara men paint their faces and bodies in white chalk on special occasions. A brief gap in the rain allows a natural-light shot of a man in his ceremonial paint.

Kara village in the open plains, Omo Valley Ethiopia

Kara Village
The rains have made little impression on the dry landscape. Although all the homes are the traditional conical huts (ono) we saw on entering the village, there are a few more modern buildings scattered around, …

A simple schoolhouse, Dus Village, Omo Valley Ethiopia

Looking into the Schoolhouse
… including a simple schoolhouse.

Looking out through the Schoolhouse Windows, Dus Village, Omo Valley Ethiopia

Looking out through the Schoolhouse Windows
With the weather being so chancy, we take shelter in the school and set up a a black cloth and a soft-box lighting system to take some “studio” shots of the youngsters who have gone to so much trouble with their body art.

Portrait against black: painted Kara girl in red and yellow beads, Dus Village, Omo Valley Ethiopia

Kara Girl
Men, women, boys, and girls, all engage in creating and wearing symbolic and artistic body and/or face decorations.

Composite portrait: two painted Kara children, Dus Village, Omo Valley Ethiopia

Painted Children
The decorations can be elaborate and detailed, or rough, but striking paintings traced with the palms or fingers.

Portrait against black: painted Kara girl in red and yellow beads, Dus Village, Omo Valley Ethiopia

Kara Youth in Beads and Paint
The patterns can change daily, and there is a vast lexicon of painting motifs to choose from.

Composite portrait: two painted Kara children, Dus Village, Omo Valley Ethiopia

Face Paint and Beads
Even so, some common themes emerge.

Early morning landscape, Dus Village, SNNPR Ethiopia

Dawn in the Dus Village
We returned to the village early the next morning to learn more about the Kara and their customs.

Ceremony House, Dus Village, SNNPR Ethiopia

Ceremony House
Only initiated men are allowed into this structure – in fact, only initiated men …

Portrait: Kara man face paint and ostrich feather, Dus Village, SNNPR Ethiopia

Kara Elder in his Ostrich Feather
… like this elder, are even allowed to touch it! A friendly, but watchful, eye was kept on us, lest we got too close.

Kara man, two women and babies, Dus Village, SNNPR Ethiopia

Kara Family

Portrait: Two Kara men face paint, Dus Village, SNNPR Ethiopia

Men in Body Paint
With these men side by side, you can see the different body paint patterns in use.

Portrait: Kara man face paint, Dus Village, SNNPR Ethiopia

Man in Face Paint
The notch in the man’s left ear was given to him after initiation to symbolise his ability to listen to tribal secrets.

Portrait: Kara woman in face paint and flowers, Dus Village, SNNPR Ethiopia

Woman with Flowers
Men and women make an incision below their bottom lip and often insert straw or wood – or in this case flowers – into it.

Portrait: young Kara woman in beads and face paint, Dus Village, SNNPR Ethiopia

Pensive Young Woman

Portrait: Kara man with an AK47 in a Skull Cap and face paint, Dus Village, SNNPR Ethiopia

Automatic and a Skull Cap
Kara share many similarities with their Hamar cousins. Men who have killed an enemy from another tribe or a dangerous animal are entitled to wear an ochre clay cap with an ostrich feather. All men need to own an AK47 before they marry, so they can prove their ability to protect their village and herds.

Portrait: Young Kara woman in a hut, Dus Village, SNNPR Ethiopia

Young Woman in a Hut
The huts are hot and dark, even mid-morning. With a helper and an off-camera flash, I manage a few shots of this solemn young woman before we all have to get outside where it is slightly cooler.

The Kara are a beautiful and fascinating people – fortunately, with our tents set up so close, we were able to return to this village several times.

In this era of being confined within my own borders, I look forward to reviewing more of my photos from these visits.

Text: Keep smilingUntil then,

Keep Smiling!

Photos: 19-20October2018

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