Hamar man participating in bull jump ritual in South Omo, Ethiopia

A Hamar man taking part in a bull jump in South Omo, Ethiopia. The bull jump is ritual at which a young man runs across the backs of a number of bullocks in order to become eligible for marriage. The man is a maz, somebody who has performed the bull jump but has yet to marry, and he is recognized as such by the strip of bark around his head and his painted face. 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: 5407.jpg
Copyright: Copyright © 2006 Anders Ryman. All rights reserved.
Image Size: 5548x3663 / 13.8MB; Adornmet Africa African ethnicity Beadwork Bull Jump Coming of Age Contemplation Earrings Ethiopia Facial Paint Feathers Hamar Hamer Head and Shoulders Headband Horizontal Life Cycle Ritual Male Initiaton Marriage Matrimony Necklace Outdoors Portrait Pre-Marriage Ritual Rite de Passage Rite of Passage Serenity Side View South Omo Traditional and Ethnic Costume Traditional and Ethnic Dress Tribespeople Young Adult Young Man indigenous people one person
Contained in galleries: Hamar bulljumping, Ethiopia

A Hamar man taking part in a bull jump in South Omo, Ethiopia. The bull jump is ritual at which a young man runs across the backs of a number of bullocks in order to become eligible for marriage. The man is a maz, somebody who has performed the bull jump but has yet to marry, and he is recognized as such by the strip of bark around his head and his painted face. 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.