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Culture

Festivals

Ethiopia’s calendar is filled with vibrant festivals that celebrate the country’s religious and cultural heritage. Timket (Epiphany) is one of the most important festivals in Ethiopia. It commemorates the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River and is celebrated with processions, prayers, and feasts. Meskel (Finding of the True Cross) is another major festival, which involves the lighting of a large bonfire (Demera) and colorful processions. Irreecha, the Oromo Thanksgiving festival, is a celebration of the end of the rainy season and is marked by singing, dancing, and offerings to Waaq (the Oromo god).
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Traditional Music and Dance

Music and dance are an integral part of Ethiopian culture. Each region has its own unique styles of music and dance, which are often performed during festivals and celebrations. The Eskista, a traditional shoulder dance, is one of the most iconic Ethiopian dances. It involves intricate movements of the shoulders, neck, and chest, and is often accompanied by the rhythmic beats of the kebero drum. The masinko, a single-stringed violin, is a popular traditional instrument that is often used to accompany singing and dancing.
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Cuisine

Ethiopian cuisine is a cultural experience in itself. The staple food is injera, a sourdough flatbread made from teff flour. Injera is served with a variety of stews and dishes, such as doro wat (spicy chicken stew), kitfo (minced raw meat), and shiro (chickpea stew). Ethiopian food is traditionally eaten with the hands, using pieces of injera to scoop up the stews. Coffee is also an important part of Ethiopian culture. The traditional coffee ceremony is a social event that involves roasting, grinding, and brewing coffee in front of guests. It is a symbol of hospitality and friendship.
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Traditional Clothing

Ethiopian traditional clothing is colorful and varied, with each ethnic group having its own distinct style. The habesha kemis, a long, flowing dress made from cotton or silk, is a common traditional garment for women. Men often wear a shawl-like garment called a netela, which is draped over the shoulders. Traditional clothing is often worn during festivals and special occasions.
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Erbore

The Arbore people, whose primary religion is Islam, are from the Omotic language family. They live west of the Woito river (which flows from north to south into the swampy plain which was once lake Stefanie), northeast of the lake, and on the right bank of the lower Sagan. Konso is the lingua franca in this area. Population 7400. In the space of a few square miles, there are four large Arbore villages, Jellifa, Egudi, Gula'ma and Gondara'ba, the last being their main center and the residence of their paramount chief. Arbore is said to be the name of the first ancestor of the Arbore Girl tribe (Source: Ron and Viv). The Arbore claim that they have always lived in their present territory. Together with the Burji, and the Konso, the Arbore speak Cushitic languages. The Arbore are very active traders and spread into distant areas. In the past, they used to possess the monopoly of the ivory trade. They exchange cattle for agricultural products from the Amare Kokke and aquire worked iron from the Kerre and Borana. The Arbore build their huts slightly oval in shape. The Arbore have a bodily mutilation of raised dots on the chest and abdomen. The Arbore believe in a Supreme Being creator and father of men whom they call Waq.
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Hamar & Benna: the Bull-Jumping people

Belonging to a group of culturally distinct people known as the Sidamo are inscribed in the far South West Omotic region, beyond Mount Buska live the Hamar and Benna people. These astounding and superstitious people, were veiled in mystery for over half a century. The Hamar and Benna, are two of the Omotic speakers of remote south west Ethiopia, with unique manifestations of traditional wisdom, the 'jumping of bulls'. The purpose of this rite is twofold: while one is the passage from boyhood to adulthood, the other is the courting occasion when both men and women adorn themselves to win a mate. The men put ochre buns on their skin and head and insert ostrich feather, while the women wear their hair in short tufts rolled in ochre mixed with fat.
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Most of the Hamer are cattle breeders. The Hamer live in camps that consist of several related families. The families live in tents arranged in a circle, and the cattle are brought into the center of the camp at night. When the campsite is being set up, beds for the women and young children are built first; then the tent frame is built around it. The tents are constructed with flexible poles set in the ground in a circular pattern. The poles are bent upward, joining at the top, then tied. The structures are covered with thatch during the dry season and canvas mats during the rainy season. Men and boys usually sleep on cots in the center of the camp, near the cattle. Herds belonging to the Hamer-Banna consist mainly of cattle, although there are some sheep and goats. Camels are used for riding and as pack animals. Most Hamer-Banna plant fields of sorghum at the beginning of the rainy season before leaving on their annual nomadic journey. Some households also plant sesame and beans. Because the crops are usually left unattended, the yields are low. Few households grow enough grain to last through the year. One striking characteristic of the Hamer-Banna men and women is that they indulge in elaborate hair-dressing. They wear a clay "cap" that is painted and decorated with feathers and other ornaments. Much time is spent inpreparing the hair, and care must be taken to protect it from damage. This is one reason the men often sleep on small, cushioned stools. The women use the butter for the perfect look manteinance of their hair-dressing. A well-dressed man will wear a toga-like cloth and carry a spear and a stool. Women also commonly wear colorful toga-like garments. Men may marry as many women as they like, but only within their own tribe. A "bride price" of cattle and other goods is provided by the prospectivehusband and his near relatives. A typical household consists of a woman, her children, and a male protector. A man may be the protector of more than one household, depending on the number of wives he has. Also, men are sometimes assigned the responsibility of protecting a divorced woman, a widow, or the wife of an absent husband (usually his brother). Marriage celebrations include feasting and dancing. Young girls as well as boys are circumcised. Religion of The Hamer-Banna is 90% is a kind of mixed animism. Many elements of their traditional religion are still practiced. For instance, they believe that natural objects (rocks, trees, etc.) have spirits. They also believe in jinnis, or spirits that are capable of assuming human or animal form and exercising supernatural influence over people.
Bull Jumping: Is a ceremonial activity held for a boy who is transferring from child hood to early adulthood. Several days before the ceremonies his made of honor will pass out the invitation in the form of blade of dried grass knotted in places to indicate the day when the ceremony will begin. It is three days ceremony but the last day is very important for the boy and his families. On third day late in the afternoon about thirty bulls are lined up. The naked intiates rushes towards the animal and vaults on to the first bull’s back. Then the boy runs across the line of bulls at the end of the line he jumps down turns round and then repeat the performance in the other direction.

The clay hair bun is worn by the hammer men if they have killed an enemy or dangerous animals. The bun is remade in every three – six months and can be worn for a period of up to one year after the killing.
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Konso:People of Wooden-totem

About 600KMs south west of Addis Ababa lies the widely cultivated Konso land that is embraced by Precambrian serpentines and granites. The Konso peoples speak eastern Cushitic language and are agriculturalists and weavers. These peoples are cryptic beyond visitors' imagination which is demonstrated in the distinctive idealization of the figures and heroic lives of their deceased symbolized with wooden totem.

The Konso are an eastern Cushitic speaking people, who live in the highlands of southern Ethiopia. Lands of Oromo peoples, to whom the Konso are culturally and linguistically related, surround their traditional territory. A Cushitic people, the Konso are of mixed Caucasoid and Negroid ancestry. They are intensive agriculturists who subsist primarily on millet and maize, which is grown primarily on an extensive system of stone terraces. They live in nucleated villages with approximately 1500 persons per village. The Konso are one of the last remaining people, who continue to produce, use, and discard stone tools for their own use on a regular basis. In addition, to the documentation of the Konso stone-tool practices, we have an opportunity to test the hypotheses associated with the source for lithic technological variation. In particular, it is imperative that we study the Konso because they are the only remaining stone tool-using culture, where women predominantly make and use stone-tools.

Unlike most Ethiopian peoples, the Konso live in large villages, each governed by an independent council of elders. The social status of all males, and of some females, is defined by a generation-grading system. Although a generation grade supposedly encompasses the men in an entire region, it does not actually function beyond each town's borders and therefore does not prevent conflicts between towns. Kinship is reckoned in nine existence clans and in lineages that are headed by priests and through which property is inherited. Craftsmen form a distinct social class. Although polygamy is accepted, few men can afford more than one wife. The economy of the Konso rests on an exceptionally intensive agriculture involving irrigation and terracing of mountain slopes. Corn is the staple crop, and cotton and coffee are cash crops. To protect the fields the Konso maintain their cattle in stalls and feed them by hand. They use both the milk and the meat of cattle and the meat of sheep and goats as food, and the animals' dung is collected for fertilizer. Numerous other animals are taboo as food. The Konso are notable for the erection of Wakas, memorial statues to a dead man who has killed an enemy or an animal such as a lion or a leopard. These stylized wooden carvings are arranged in groups, representing the man, his wives, and his vanquished adversaries.
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Mursi & Surma: people of lip plates and Stick fighting

In the remote wilderness of the south west Ethiopia live the Mursi & Surma. These peoples were completely forgotten by Ethiopia and the outside world at large, and they on their part had no notion of the outside world including Ethiopia until the seventies. The peoples of this savannah and mountainous land have such extensive cultural features that never cease to amaze visitors. While the women show their beauty and endurance by the ear lobes and the piercing of the lips, the men demonstrate their courage and stamina in the stick fighting ceremony.

The Mursi (or Murzu) are Sub-Saharan African nomadic cattle herder tribe located in the Omo valley in southwestern Ethiopia close to the Sudanese border. The estimated population of the Mursi is around 5000. Surrounded by mountains and three rivers, the home of the Mursi is one of the most isolated regions of the country. Their neighbors include the Bodi, the Aari, the Banna, the Kara, the Bumi and the Chai. The Mursi have their own language, also called Mursi. Few are familiar with Amharic, the official language of Ethiopia, and their literacy level is very low. The religion of the Mursi tribe is classified as Animism, although about 15% are Christians. The Mursi women are famous of wearing plates in their lower lips. The reason of this "ornament" is for avoiding to be catched as slaves. These lip discs are made of clay. Girls are pierced in the age of 15 or 16. They remove the plate when eating. Similar body ornaments are worn by the Suyá people, a Brazilian tribe.

The women of the Mursi and Surma tribes practice a custom of extending their lower lips by making a cut into the lip and stretching it by means of an inserted wooden peg and later on by a clay lip plate. As the space between the upper and lower lip is created bigger and bigger lip plates can be worn producing a unique appearance.

Only the girls and women of the tribe wear lip plates and the practise is started six to 12 months before a teenage girl is due to get married. The lower front teeth are removed too
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The Dassanetch: people of circumcision

They speak a completely different language and are actually the Cushitic speaking group of the Omo Valley. The most important ritual of the Dassanetch is the so-called dime. In theory, only a man who has had a daughter can be circumcised, although in practice, circumcision is carried out on the entire age-group. The daughter is most important in the dime ceremony. 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 daughter when large quantities of cattle are slaughtered for the occasion.

The Dassanech or Gallab are numbering about 13,000 and live throughout the delta area of the Omo River in various sized villages, spread over numerous islands. Although they consider themselves pastoralists, they also practice flood retreat cultivation on the vast expanses of the delta. Over the years, during periods of drought, the Dassanech hosted members of different tribes seeking relief from hunger. Thus their cultural practices are more related those of the Kenyan Samburu and Rendille tribes with whom they share the custom of male and female circumcision.
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The Dorze tribe: A rich weaving tradition

They are one of the small segments of the great Omotic language group of southern Ethiopia. Once warriors, they now earn their living by farming and weaving. The Dorze name is synonymous with the best in woven cotton cloth and the tall-up bee-hive shaped bamboo house. There is quite a big Dorze community living and weaving on the northern part of Addis, on the way to Entoto. These peoples rarely use the administrative and police force of the city. They settle all disputes in their usual cultural way, through their elders.

The Dorze are numbering approximately 28,000, they live primarily in the southern region of the country, though some have migrated to Addis Ababa and other regions. Many Dorze live in villages near the cities of Chencha and Arba Minch, in the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region (formerly in the Gamu-Gofa province). Weaving is a primary profession for many Dorze. They also are farmers, who prevent soil erosion, by ingenious terracing of the mountainside. Around their huts they have their own little garden with vegetables, spices, but also tobacco and enset (false-banana or Musa ensete). The Dorze people are famous for their huge huts, resembling a giant beehive. Although these huts look fragile, they can last up to 60 years. The huts can also be transported to another locations, thanks to the structure made of vertical poles. Every hut hat a sort of ''nose'' at its south side, serving as reception room. After our eyes were accustomed at the rather darkness, coming from the full sunlight, it was interesting to see the construction of the hut from the inside. It’s surprising the large space in the hut when outside it looked so small. In the middle of the hut there is an open fire for cooking. There are also low benches to sit around the fire. Along the walls are located sleeping places and places for storage.

When you visit a Dorze hut, you can experience its huge size and its construction. The about 12 metres high huts, looking like a beehive, are constructed with vertical hardwood poles and wover bamboo and have thatched roofs of enset (false-banana). So these huts are constructed with the natural materials of the area. Looking at these huts, you can hardly imagine, that these huts can last up to 60 years, if not termites will attack them.
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The Karo:people of chalk painted bodies

The Karo tribe residing along the borders of the Lower Omo River incorporates rich, cultural symbolism into their rituals by using ornate body art, intricate headdresses, and significance within their community. The most important ceremony in the life of a Karo is the Pilla, or jumping over a group of oxen. This ritual marks the passage from adolescence to adulthood. The ceremony is similar to that of the Hamar, however the Karo only have four chances to jump over the oxen without falling.

The Karo, who number only about 3,000 people, mainly live on the practice of flood retreat cultivation on the banks of the Omo River in South-western Ethiopia.

The Karo excel in face and body painting, practiced in preparation of their dances and ceremonies. They pulverize locally found white chalk, yellow mineral rock, red iron ore and black charcoal to decorate their bodies, often imitating the spotted plumage of a guinea fowl. Feather plumes are inserted in their clay hairbuns to complete the look. The clay hair bun can take up to three days to construct and is usually re-made every three to six months. Their painted facemasks are spectacular. Karo women scarify their chests to beautify themselves. Scars are cut with a knife and ash is rubbed in to produce a raised welt.
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