If you are travelling to South Ethiopia it is a must to visit some of the local tribes. If the time allows you, do not miss the chance of arranging a stay in a village so you can fully immerse into the tribal culture. Below you can find some introductory information about some of the known tribes in the south of Ethiopia. 

 

• Dorze

The Dorze people live high up in the Guge Mountain, about 35 km from Arba Minch, in a cold and misty climate. They are very  famous for their skills in cotton- weaving. Many of the traditional cotton clothes of the Ethiopians come from Chencha, the biggest town in the area. The area is also famous for the huts that look like an elephant and are built only out of organic material, but are extremely stable, weather resistant, uncomplicated and mobile. The ensete plant, also known as false banana possesses a significant place in their culture, as it is used to make bread, food, huts and as a fuel.  

 

• Karo

Many of the Karo (or Kara or Kerre) villages are situated very near to the east shore of the Omo River, some offering a magnificent panoramic view over the green and dense savannah of the Omo Valley. Camping near the villages of Korcho and Duz is a lifetime .The Karo’s are considered as the most sociable and hospitable people in the area. The majority of the Karo people are farmers and practice flood retreat cultivation. 

 

• Hamer

Their population is estimated to  be around 50000. They are mostly subsistence agropastoralists. They live scattered and are the closest to the Karo’s,as they use the same language but different dialect. The hammer adult menare famous for bull jumping as a rite of passage for marriage. In the ceremony  the women who are close relatives of the jumper get whipped by stick. Hamer are also particularly known for their hair styles. The women wear iron coils around their arms and beaded necklaces, whose decoration indicates their age or their marital status. The women’s clothes are made of animal skins and are usually decorated with shells. Men usually wear a strip of cloth covering their pubic areas and rolled around their waist. The night dance called Evangadi is another experience in this unique society. The Monday market in Turmi is among the most colourful markets in the area, where men and women gather to sell or buy staff.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• Mursi                                                                             

The Mursi are mainly pastoralists who in the past used to move from place to place according to the seasons, but nowadays there is an access to the villages, so the Mursi community has settled avoiding the seasonal moves. Most of them live in the Mago Naional park and arount the Omo river. The women are famous for putting clay lip plates as a sign of puberty, beauty, and respect to the tradition. The larger the clay plate, the higher her value before she gets married. Events like wedding ceremonies, funerals, and dispute resolution gatherings are the special ones that an outsider can’t afford to miss.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• Surma

The Surma (or Suri) live at the edge of the South Western part of Ethiopia specifically at the Western edges of the Omo National Park, and share borders with the South Sudaneese tribes along the Kibish river. They have fearsome reputation as warriors, in part inspired by their continual search for graze lands. The Surma are also well known for their white, almost ghost like decoration intended to intimidate enemies in battle and for stick-fighting events called Dongas. They have 2 villages named Kibish and Tulkit 14kms apart. They have almost similar traditions to the Mursi, and the women also do put Clay lip plates but smaller in size and sometimes trapezoidal shape. Cattle are very important to their culture and a man must have at least 60 cattle to get married, in order to give  them to the family as an exchange for marriage. 

 

• Nyangatom

The Nyangatom are also known as Bumi or Bume. They inhabit the area south of the Omo National park. They are agropastoralists, growing sorghum near by the Omo river, fishing , and rearing cattle.  They frequently have problems with the neighboring Karo, Hamer, and Surma. They also practice honey collecting hunting, including crocodile hunting. They are famous for body scarification for tribal identification, but also for aesthetic purposes in women and in men to indicate a kill in a rival. 

 

• Banna

They Banna (or Bana or Benna) live over the higher ground east of Mago National park and have a relatively sedentary life, and most practice agriculture. Hunting is also practiced in some areas. They decorate themselves similar to the Hamer, especially the women who wear bead in the hair just ike hamer. The men use clay for their hair in special celebrations. The Banna attend the colorful market in Key Afer every Thursday and Jinka on Tuesdays and Saturdays. 

 

• Ari

Numbering around 120000 Ari inhabits the Northern border of Mago National park surrounding the town of Jinka. They practice agriculture and keep large numbers of livestock They are also known for producing large amounts of honey often used for trade. The women wear skirts made from Enset tree.

   

• Arbore                                                                      

They live 50kms away from Woito on the road that extends to Turmi. This tribe ancestral background is known to have a link to ancient Konso highlanders and the Omo valley tribes. Their dressing style has similaritiesto the neighboring Borena people. The area is a mosquito active area which is known by the locals outside as the “ mosquito town”. Villages are easily accessible with a walking distance from the main road, and they usually sleep in a 5m high platform scared from the mosquitoes.

 

• Desenech

They are located 70kms South of Turmi and live scattered around the shores of the Omo river, They also have a small town known as Omorate. They have regular conflicts with the neighboring Turkana tribe of Kenya and the Hamer in search for graze land. They occupy most of the area that the country borders with Kenya.

 

• Konso

The people of Konso are known for their hard work and have a reputed tradition of  land preservation system that passed down for generations where this practice ages back 500 years. Their terracing tradition  has recently been registered by UNESCO. The Konso live on plateau areas in a highly compacted form leaving their farm areas somewhere close by. They practice agriculture primarilyand keep cattle also. Konso people are also well known as merchants. The land has a beautiful scenery and is recognized by its hilly nature There is a beautiful site named commonly as New Work in a nearby village known as Gesergio, a surface land feature which is thought to occur due to erosion and tectonic forces.