{"id":545,"date":"2024-07-26T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-07-26T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fontegaiatour.it\/en\/blog\/?p=545"},"modified":"2024-10-11T00:22:00","modified_gmt":"2024-10-10T22:22:00","slug":"omo-valley-ethiopia-the-wild-heart-of-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fontegaiatour.it\/en\/blog\/omo-valley-ethiopia-the-wild-heart-of-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"Omo Valley, Ethiopia: the wild heart of Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Thinking of Africa and Ethiopia, the first image is that of safaris, among camps, jeeps and mythical animals, that we saw on TV when we were children. But there are remote regions that still have their culture<\/strong>, where traditions survive, passed down from generation to generation. Such as the country of the Hamar<\/strong>, nestled in the mountains, surrounded by swamps and deserts. This population coexists with others, including the Karo<\/strong> (shepherds), the Erbor\u00e9<\/strong> (farmers), the Borana <\/strong>and the wild Mursi<\/strong>, famous for their lip plates. In this article we will tiptoe into their world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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From Arbaminch to Chencha: Guragh\u00e9, Dorze and Konso<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Arbaminch is the largest settlement in the northern Omo region. There it is possible to meet the Guragh\u00e9<\/strong>, breeders and farmers that cultivate banana. In the villages there are also blacksmiths, leather tanners, potters, wood carvers and magicians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Dorze<\/strong>, on the other hand, are famous for their elephant trunk-shaped huts. They cultivate what is called “false banana”. They use the roots of the plant to prepare the traditional bread, the Kotcho, and for weaving cotton. Every Saturday morning it is possible to visit their market, in Chencha.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Konso<\/strong> are farmers and produce fabrics that women use as skirts. They have developed a system of terraces that have become a UNESCO heritage site, against erosion. Another characteristic is that of building villages on the hills, enclosing them with two meter high walls. They also create wooden funerary steles, the “waka”, in honor of the ancestors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Exploring Ethiopia: Turmi<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Turmi is the Hamar<\/strong>\u2019s territory, known for their dances, marriage ceremonies and “bull jumping”, which marks the transition of young people to adulthood. The girls announce the arrival of the \u201cmaz\u201d, the hamar males, by blowing trumpets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The market day is the most important day of the week. Men and women show particular hairstyles, symbol of their social status.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Karo tribe<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Korcho is inhabited by the Karo<\/strong> tribe, a population who lives in circular huts divided into two areas separated by a large central area. The characteristic of this population is body painting, a true art form. It is made with white lime, pulverized yellow and ferrous minerals.

Another peculiarity: Karo women scarify their chests for aesthetic reasons: the skin of a scarified woman attracts men, while a man with a chest covered in scars has killed an enemy or a dangerous animal.
The scarifications are made with a knife or razor blade and the wounds are covered with ash so that they appear raised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Mago National Park<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Mago National Park<\/a> is the Mursi\u2019s territory, descendants of ancient aboriginal populations. The women \u201cwear\u201d the well-known labial plates, a symbol of beauty, terracotta discs inserted by extracting the lower incisors with a chisel. This practice causes difficulties in speaking, drinking and eating. They are farmers and breeders, rivals of every other homotic people. The Mursi practice a “sport” called donga, the stick fighting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Ari<\/strong> occupy a territory that goes from the north of Mago Park to the hills around Jinka and traditions change depending on the area. In the most fertile ones they grow corn, coffee, enset (false banana) and produce honey. Those who stay on the hills live in houses frescoed with natural colors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ethiopia: Erbor\u00e9 and Borana<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Erbor\u00e9<\/strong> are the result of the union of different ethnic groups, since mixed marriages are celebrated between tribes, with the exception of the Hamar, their enemies. Erbor\u00e9 women wear leather skirts, wear long, thin braids, beads, iron rings on their ankles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Borana<\/strong> are semi-nomadic shepherds known for their “singing wells”, very ancient and dug by hand into the rock. El Sod, literally “house of salt” is called black hole: 150 meters of difference in altitude with a pool of dense brackish water up to 5 meters deep in the center where the Borana dive to extract their ‘black gold’, the salt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Welcome to the Omo Valley, welcome to the soul of the African continent.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There are remote regions in Ethiopia that still have their culture, where traditions survive, passed down from generation to generation. In this article we will tiptoe into their world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":546,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[1,16],"tags":[22,11,17],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fontegaiatour.it\/en\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Karo_Tribe_Ethiopia.jpg?fit=700%2C467&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa7uIP-8N","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":782,"url":"https:\/\/fontegaiatour.it\/en\/blog\/hakuna-matata-everything-you-need-to-know-for-your-first-trip-to-kenya\/","url_meta":{"origin":545,"position":0},"title":"Hakuna Matata: everything you need to know for your first trip to Kenya!","author":"Fonte Gaia","date":"11 July 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Everyone has a special place in the world. 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