Cultural Attraction
There are more than 81 ethnic groups in Ethiopia; the Omo valley region is a home for more than 40 remarkable mixes of contrasting and fascinating tribes. Life styles are as varied as the tribes themselves. The Surma and Karo tribes for example, are experts at body paintings, the Surma and Mursi are famous for the insertion of wooden and terracotta discs. The Omo valley is always decorated naturally and culturally.
HAMMER
Hammer is a tribe which occupies the large territory of South Omo. They speak a language which belongs to the Omotic group of languages and display an elaborate and unique style of body decorations and clothes. Women wear leather skirts decorated with cowri shells. Their braided hair is painted with ochre, and their arms are decorated with 15 or more copper bracelets. The most important event in the Hamer society is the Bull Jumping Ceremony, the rite which marks a passage of men from one age group to another. This ceremony can be attended by tourists visiting the Hamer territory. Two principal settlements of Hamer are Dimeka and Turmi, especially colorful and interesting to visit on the market days.
TSEMAI
The Tsemai, the dominant people of Weito village on the Konso-Jinka road, are regarded to be among the least known ethnic groups of Ethiopia. Estimated to be a total of some 5000 people, their territory extends along the western bank of the Weito River, known in Tsemai as the Dulaika River. They are mixed subsistence farmers who practice flood cultivation, with the major crops being sorghum and maize. They also rear livestock, especially cattle, and keep beehives for honey. The Tsemai speak an Omotic language with an influence of Eastern Cushitic language that is closely related to the one spoken in Konso, which, according to oral tradition, is from where their founding chief Asasa originated. The present chief, who lives at the long-standing Tsemai capital of GandaBogolkila, is claimed to be the ninth in line after Asasa, suggesting that this migration might have happened between 150 and 250 years ago.
Although their appearance and dress style is similar to that of the Omotic Ari people, the Tsemai share closer political and spiritual affiliations with the Erbore, who speak a similar language, and whose territory lies adjacent to the Tsemai chief’s village. The Tsemai also frequently and openly intermarry with the Hammer, whose territory lies immediately west of theirs. In common with many other people of southern Ethiopia, society is structured around and age set system. Four fixed age sets are recognized, with every set graduating in seniority once a decade, when a new generation of boys between the ages of about 11 and 22 is initiated.
ERBORE
Although relatively large, Erbore is far more rustic and unaffected than many similarly sized towns in South Omo, with the police station on its outskirts more-or -less the only building that isn’t constructed along traditional lines.
In common with their linguistically and culturally affiliated Tsemai neighbors, the Erbore migrated to their present homeland from Konso perhaps two centuries ago. Because they have ancestral and cultural links to Konso and the pastoralists of the surrounding lowlands, the Erbore traditionally played an important role as middlemen in trade between the Omo River and the Konso Highlands.
The town of Erbore lies in and area where several tribal boundaries converge, and because the Erbore people routinely intermarry with other ethnic groups like the Guji and Borena Oromo, The Hammer and the Tsemai. It is also inhabited by a substantial number of Hammer and even Borena women – adding a cosmopolitan feel to the worthwhile Saturday market.
DASENECH
The Dasenech, alternatively known as the Geleb or Galeba, Marille and Reshiat, live just north of Lake Turkana, the region where Ethiopia borders Kenya and Sudan. These names all concern the same people, in total 24.000 souls. The Dasenech are neighbored by Turkana and Bume and are Ethiopia's most southern people.
The Dasenech can however be divided in eight clans. These are the Elele (ca. 6,000 people), Inkabelo (8,000), Inkoria (3,000), Koro (700), Naritch (3,000), Oro (1,000), Randal (1,000), and Ri'ele (600). Two of them (Inkabelo and Inkoria) come forth from the same ancestors: the Nyupe tribe in West-Kenya, also called the Pokot. These have more or less assimilated the Naritch (probably a splinter group of the Murle of Western Ethiopia) and the Oro. The Oro historically probably have had the dominating language and are solely responsible for the Kushite language now spoken by all Dasenech. The river people Ri'ele seem to have Borena background but have been Dasenech as time went by. The Randal are connected historically with the Rendille of Northern Kenya, whereas the Koro are related to the Maasai of Lake Turkana's west coast. Having contemplated this information it will not be hard to understand that the Dasenech aren't a united people, but more like a cluster of small groups with shared language, land, and rituals.
All clans have a more or less defined territory, except for the Koro and Oro, who are semi-nomadic. The Inkabelo are the wealthiest Dasenech and occupy the best land (Oro and Koro actually travel around in Inkabelo land). One other thing worth mentioning is that all Dasenech seem to have natural antipathy against fish. Eating fish is really a last resort in times of crises. The most important ritual of the Dasenech is the so-called dime. Taking part in the dime ritual are those men who have daughters that have already reached puberty. After the ceremony, which takes six weeks, the participants are upgraded to 'great men', or those that may engage in politics. The dime ritual is directly connected to the upcoming marriage of the daughters and consists for the larger part of slaughtering large quantities of cattle (per participant: 10 cows, 30 sheep and/or goats).
By the end of the ceremony the participants are extremely well-dressed, with ostrich feathers in their clay hair, oxtails around their arms, leopard skin over their shoulders, as well as the same skirt they wore during their circumcision many years earlier. In their hands they will carry wooden shields and a stick with a fallus symbol.
The nomadic roots of the Dasenech are most clearly seen today in their traditional villages, comprised as they are of small, flimsy, domed huts strongly reminiscent of the impermanent structures built by other African desert pastoralists, from the Tuareg of the Sahara to the Nama of the Kalahari. One such village lies on the west bank of the Omo, practically opposite Omorate, and can be reached by utilizing the flat-bottomed boat that serves as a ferry across the river (police escort mandatory) Another similar village lies about 20 minutes’ walk south of the town center on the east bank of the river.
MURSI
The Mursi number about 5,000 and are primarily pastoralists categorized in the Nilo-Saharan language family. The Mursi are Known for their lip plate tradition; an unmarried woman's lower lip will be pierced and then progressively stretched over the period of a year. A clay disc indented like a pulley wheel is squeezed into the hole in the lip. As it stretches, ever-larger discs are forced in until the lip, now a loop, is so long it can sometimes be pulled right over the owner's head. The size of the lip plate determines the bride price, with a large one bringing in fifty head of cattle. The women make the lip plates from clay, color them with ochre and charcoal, and bake them in a fire. Stick fighting or "donga": At a fight, each contestant is armed with a hardwood pole about six feet long with a weight of just less than two pounds. In the attacking position, this pole is gripped at its base with both hands - the left above the right, in order to give maximum swing and leverage. Each player beats his opponent with his stick as many times as possible with the intention of knocking him down and eliminating him from the game. Players are usually unmarried men. The winner is carried away on a platform of poles to a group of girls waiting at the side of the arena, who decide among themselves which of them will ask for his hand in marriage. Taking part in a stick fight is considered to be more important than winning it. The men paint their bodies with a mixture of chalk and water before the fight.
KARO
A tribe living on the east banks of the Omo, the Karo number about 1000. Tourists enjoy watching the Karo preparing themselves for a celebration or traditional dance when they decorate their bodies with chalk paint, often imitating the spotted plumage of Guinea Fowl. The Karo excel in face and torso paintings. Elaborate facemasks are created using locally found white chalk, yellow mineral rock, pulverized iron ore and black charcoal. Karo women scarify their chests to beautify themselves and become more appealing to their men. The scarification of a man's chest is made when he has killed an enemy or a dangerous animal. The scars are cut with a knife or razor blade, and ash is then rubbed in to produce a raised welt. Like the Hamar, the wearing of a gray and ochre clay hair bun with ostrich feathers indicates a man's bravery.
BENNA
Broadly speaking, the Benna belong to the Hamar-Bashada cultural group. Numbering about 35,000 they are primarily settled farmers living in the highlands to the east of the Mago National Park. They enter the Park to hunt during the dry season; if they manage to kill a buffalo they adorn them with clay and have a celebration.
DORZE
Dorze is a tribe of skillful cotton weavers and potters who live in the mountains just outside Arba Minch. Their houses, standing up to 6 m tall and built in a shape of elephant's head, are the most unique traditional structures in Africa. Staple food of the Dorze tribe is enset or false banana. The Dorze dwellings are entirely organic: they are built using bamboo, grass, and false banana leaves. A visit to the Dorze house is a pleasant and memorable experience for the tourists.
KONSO
Konso is a tribe which inhabits the area of basalt hills about 85 km to the south from Arba Minch. They speak a Cushitic language. Konso live in villages usually located on a top of a hill and surrounded by a 2 m stone wall. Konso are famous all over Ethiopia for their advanced methods of land cultivation, ehich include irrigation and building of terraces. Also very famous are the Konso's waqa - carved wooden monuments erected on the graves.
KONSO CULTURAL LANDSCAPE
Konso Cultural Landscape is a 55km2 arid properties of stone walled terraces and fortified settlements in the Konso highlands of Ethiopia. It constitutes a spectacular example of a living cultural tradition stretching back 21 generations (more than 400 years) adapted to its dry hostile environment. The landscape demonstrates the shared values, social cohesion and engineering knowledge of its communities. The site also features anthropomorphic wooden statues - grouped to represent respected members of their communities and particularly heroic events - which are an exceptional living testimony to funerary traditions that are on the verge of disappearing. Stone steles in the towns express a complex system of marking the passing of generations of leaders.
The Konso Cultural Landscape is characterized by extensive dry stone terraces bearing witness to the persistent human struggle to use and harness the hard, dry and rocky environment. The terraces retain the soil from erosion, collect a maximum of water, discharge the excess, and create terraced fields that are used for agriculture. The terraces are the main features of the Konso landscape and the hills are contoured with the dry stone walls, which at places reach up to 5 meters in height.
The walled towns and settlements (paletas) of the Konso Cultural Landscape are located on high plains or hill summits selected for their strategic and defensive advantage. These towns are circled by between one and six rounds of dry stone defensive walls, built of locally available rock. The cultural spaces inside the walled towns, called moras, retain an important and central role in the life of the Konso. Some walled towns have as many as 17 moras. The tradition of erecting generation marking stones called daga-hela, quarried, transported and erected through a ritual process, makes the Konso one of the last megalithic people.
The traditional forests are used as burial places for ritual leaders and for medicinal purposes. Wooden anthropomorphic statues (waka) carved out of a hard wood and mimicking the deceased, are erected as grave markers. Water reservoirs (harda) located in or near these forests, are communally built and are, like the terraces, maintained by very specific communal social and cultural practices.
The Konso Cultural Landscape integrates spectacularly executed dry stone terrace works, which are still actively used by the Konso people, who created them. They bear testimony to the enormous efforts required to use the otherwise hostile environment in an area that covers over 230 square km, an effort which stands as an example of major human achievement. The association between these stone terraces and the fortified towns in their midst are features of an exceptional cultural landscape, which also bears testimony toa living tradition of stele erection. The Konso erect stone steles to commemorate and mark the transfer of responsibility from the older generation to the younger. Konso are among the last stele-erecting people and thus their continuous practice presents an exceptional testimony to an ongoing cultural tradition.
The relation of the stone terraces and the fortified towns of Konso Cultural Landscape, and its highly organized social system, illustrates an outstanding example of a traditional human settlement and land-use, based on common values that have resulted in the creation of the Konso cultural and socio-economic fabric. The dry stone terraces show a sophisticated adaptive strategy to the environment and the labor needed to construct these terraces necessitated a strong cohesion and unified bond among the clans. This interaction with the environment is based on indigenous engineering knowledge and requires traditional work divisions, which are still utilized to consistently perform maintenance and conservation works.
The boundaries of the Konso Cultural Landscape coincide with natural features, like rivers or edges of densely terraced landscape, and are demarcated by the cultural and socio-economic history of the Konso people. All components relevant to the understanding of the traditional system have been included, such as the key tangible attributes of terraces, walled settlements, sacred forests, shrines and burial sites. The clear distinctive character of the landscape is vulnerable to dispersal of the fortified settlements, in case houses are built outside the town walls.
The Konso Cultural Landscape still largely retains its original form and design. The materials used for the construction of the terraces and the town walls are original and their conservation continues following traditional practices, executed by the community members. The terraces continue in their original arrangements, use and function. The walled towns are still inhabited by the communities and remain organized following the traditional system. The traditionally protected forests are still protected and used for ritual and burial and the water reservoirs remain in use and are periodically conserved. Associated traditions, which continue shaping the landscape, such as the ritual erection of generation and man-hood stones and generation trees continues to be actively practiced. The same applies for the use of the moras and the erection of wakas on the graves. The communities nurture the traditional code of respect to the culture and adherence to the age group (hela) and the ward (kanta), which is responsible for the protection and conservation of the attributes and continues the traditional guardianship.
The property is protected by traditional, regional and federal laws. The regional ‘Proclamation to provide for the protection of Konso Cultural Landscape Heritage’ (2010) gives protection to the nominated area including the 12 walled towns and endorses the traditional management system. The traditional code of management is practiced side by side with the modern administrative system and elected community members and elders ensure the protection and management of the cultural properties. In addition, management committees are formed at different levels – community and district – and a Konso Cultural Landscape Management Office with governmental personnel has been established on-site, to address primarily planning, funding, supervision and conservation tasks. Development is strictly regulated in the 2010 proclamation and no development may occur within 50 meters of the outermost walls of the fortified towns.
A management plan sets out in detail the current management structures and explains how the Konso community, through its recognized village committees and the district management committee, will Endeavour to ensure the necessary standards of conservation. Presentation and visitor management strategies could yet be better addressed by the community to be of more benefit to the community itself. Supportive funds, including through international cooperation, could contribute to the long-term viability of the traditional management system.
THE LOWER OMO VALLEY
A prehistoric site near Lake Turkana, the lower valley of the Omo is renowned the world over. The discovery of many fossils there, especially Homo gracilis, has been of fundamental importance in the study of human evolution.
The Lower Valley of the Omo is located in south-western Ethiopia. It extends over an area of 165 km2. The age old sedimentary deposits in the Lower Omo Valley are now world renowned for the discovery of many hominid fossils, that have been of fundamental importance in the study of human evolution.
The Lower Omo Valley includes the Konso and Fejej paleontological research locations with sedimentary deposit going back to the plio-pleistocene period. These have produced numerous hominid and animal fossils, including fragments of Australopithecus. The deposits of human vertebrae fauna, and paleo-environmental evolution, shed light on the earliest stages of the origins and development of Homo sapiens of Africa. The discoveries of ancient stone tools in an encampment also offers evidence of the oldest known technical activities of prehistoric beings, thus making the property one of the most significant for mankind.
To ensure Omo’s position as the yardstick against which all other ancient deposits in East Africa are measured, researched evidence from the site has established bio-stratigraphical, radiometric and magneto-stratigraphical scales spanning between one and 3.5 million years.
Since 1966, scientific research has proved that the site significantly contributes to prominent archaeological, geological, paleo-anthropological and paleo-environmental studies.
Evidence from the Lower Omo Valley pre-historic and paleo-anthropological site have provided a unique insight into the oldest known technical activities by pre-historic beings.
Discoveries from the Lower Omo Valley represent exceptional developments in the domain of cultural activities in the pre-historic time.
The boundaries of the property are not adequately defined and such definition needs to be undertaken to ensure all the sites that might contribute to its Outstanding Universal Value are included. Its wider context and setting also need to be established and protected.
Due to its very remote location, the Omo Valley is a site that is uniquely preserved for scientific research purposes. Although no development activities are foreseen in the near future, it is vulnerable to the work of petroleum companies and other plantation operating around the site, and has been at risk from pillage.
The sites where discoveries were made remain intact, as does their context. Overall the areas that might provide further evidence of early man are undisturbed.
The property was placed under the protection of the Administration of Antiquities in 1969 through the National Law of 1968.
No special legal framework is provided to protect the Lower Omo Valley, except for the general law, Proclamation No. 209/2000, which established the Authority for Research and Conservation of Cultural Heritage as the institute in charge. Currently the zonal and regional Information and Culture Departments perform the management functions.
A management plan has not yet been established and, due to the extreme geographical difficulties involved, no attempt has yet been made to define the boundary of the property or its buffer zone.
Recently the protection of the property has become a concern as there have emerged development activities around the area. There is therefore an urgent need to put in place structured management and to define the boundaries.
International research expeditions are still working at the property, as an extension of the research activities started in 1976. It was recommended in 1996 that a survey should be carried out on the present state of the deposits to record any changes brought about by erosion and this still needs to be undertaken.
There are an unknown number of nomads living around the Omo Valley who sometimes cross the property, raising the concern of possible occasional damage. A new bridge is scheduled to be constructed in the near future, 104 km from the valley, and this will bring both benefits and threats to the property that will need to be managed.
The hominid remains that have been excavated in the Lower Valley of the Omo are characteristic of a unique type. They bear exceptional witness to important developments in the field of cultural development.
The south-west of Ethiopia is a region rich in wildlife resources, with three major national parks. Distinctly different from other parts of Ethiopia, it offers a mixture of fertile grasslands, terraced hillsides, broad rivers and forests. The National Park in which the hominid remains have been found is one of the most beautiful in Ethiopia. Its 4,068 km2 of wilderness bordered by the Omo River is home to an amazing range of wildlife: 306 species of bird have been identified here, while large herds of eland, buffalo and elephant are not uncommon.
The Lower Valley of the Omo is unlike any other place on Earth in that so many different types of people have inhabited such a small area of land over many millennia. It is believed that it was the crossroads of a wide assortment of cultures where early humans of many different ethnicities passed as they migrated to and from lands in every direction. As a result the Lower Valley of the Omo, which is a prehistoric site near Lake Turkana, is renowned the world over.
The discovery of many fossils there, especially of Homo gracilis, has been of fundamental importance in the study of human evolution. The site is well documented owing to the research undertaken during the 1930s by Professor Camille Aramburg and from 1968 to 1976 by a team of palaeontologists and prehistorians. The discoveries of humanoid fossils in the valley include jaw bones, quantities of detached teeth, and fragments of australopithecines. Furthermore, evidence of the oldest-known humanoid technological activity has been found in this region, as well as stone objects attesting to an encampment of prehistoric human beings that is among the oldest known today.