Tour Guide, Jinka, Ethiopia
| 4 mins read
Simply put, for you it is about a once in a lifetime chance to see a land frozen in time. As a kid you would pick up an issue of National Geographic and flip through pages of explorers uncovering the truth of new traditions or being the first outsider to a tribe and thinking “wow that’s incredible"!
Now, the tribes that live in the Lower Omo Valley are believed to be among the most fascinating on the continent of Africa and around the world. South Expedition Africa offers off the beaten tracks and ecological camping to several towns and villages. When you visit the Lower Omo Valley, you have a chance to come in contact with the following tribes: Arbore, Ari, Benna, Bodi, Bumi, Dasanech, Hamer, Kara, Konso, Kwegu, Mursi, Tsemay, Suri and Turkana. It is estimated that the Lower Omo Valley is home to over 200,000 tribal people. Among the ancient African tribes that live in the southern part of Ethiopia, there are a wide variety of wildlife as well. Some of the animals that you will find there are the bites ariettas (a venomous viper species), crocodiles and hippos. The two main national parks in Omo Valley are the Omo National Park and the Mago National Park which are home to the majority of the wildlife in the valley.
South Omo Zone in one of the most diverse culturally rich areas of Africa. It is located in the extreme southwest corner of Ethiopia and is home to 16 distinct ethnic groups, each with it's own culture, reflected by their hairstyle , body decoration dress, jewelry, language and cultural ceremonies.
Highlights about Omo Valley:
Every single tribe is unique in their culture and language. Here’s a really quick look at each of the tribes that you will come in contact with.
Mursi Tribe – Most aggressive out of all of them but fascination to be seen because of their clay lip plate traditions. Out of all the tribes I’d have to say they had the roughest of villages with dung literally everywhere.
Hammer Tribe – Incredibly friendly and easily recognizable by their red shiny wet clay that they have in their braided hair. All the women have the same hair do!
Ari Tribe – The tribe that seemed to have become the most modernized out of everyone. This tribe was right outside Jinka and was essentially indistinguishable from modern-day Ethiopians.
Karo Tribe – The tribe with the best and most well-known view of Omo River that flows right below the edge of the village in a horseshoe shape. I remember them being more well off and established than the other tribes and seemed to have a very well thought out community building planning. This is also the tribe that has it so good that they have their own hut that doubles as the local bar with refrigeration courtesy of outdoor generator.
Nyangatom Tribe –This is the tribe where women will wear large plastic bead necklaces. We didn’t stay too long here but Steve had a blast learning how to sew. I had a chance to get inside a few of the huts and overall you will fascinate with how communities were planned and how similar a sense of “home” is to ours with home, front yard and area for gardening.
Dassenech Tribe – Located near the border of South Sudan and Kenya, This tribe required the crossing of the Omo River in a canoe made of one large tree trunk which was an experience in itself. This tribe where make their home with metal sheet roofed.