Hamar women dancing at bull jump in South Omo, Ethiopia

Two Hamar women dance at a bull jump, a ritual at which a young man runs across the backs of a number of bullocks in order to become eligible for marriage, in South Omo, Ethiopia. Their hair and neck are coated in butter and red ochre and they have scarifications on their arms and shoulders. A blue cotton singlet and safety-pin necklace add a touch of modernity to the dress of one of the women. The 40,000-strong, cattle-herding Hamar are among the largest of the 20 or so ethnic groups which inhabit the culturally diverse Omo region in south-west Ethiopia.

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Filename: 5404.jpg
Copyright: Copyright © 2006 Anders Ryman. All rights reserved.
Image Size: 5334x3543 / 10.0MB; Adornmet Africa African ethnicity Ajdusting Body Paint Bull Jump Butter Celebration Coming of Age Dreadlocks Earrings Ethiopia Hairstyle Hamar Hamer Head and Shoulders Horizontal Life Cycle Ritual Male Initiaton Marriage Matrimony Necklace Ochre Outdoors Portrait Pre-Marriage Ritual Red Rite de Passage Rite of Passage Scarifications South Omo Traditional and Ethnic Costume Traditional and Ethnic Dress Tribespeople Two People indigenous people
Contained in galleries: Hamar bulljumping, Ethiopia

Two Hamar women dance at a bull jump, a ritual at which a young man runs across the backs of a number of bullocks in order to become eligible for marriage, in South Omo, Ethiopia. Their hair and neck are coated in butter and red ochre and they have scarifications on their arms and shoulders. A blue cotton singlet and safety-pin necklace add a touch of modernity to the dress of one of the women. The 40,000-strong, cattle-herding Hamar are among the largest of the 20 or so ethnic groups which inhabit the culturally diverse Omo region in south-west Ethiopia.