Mursi

The Mursi people are primarily pastoralists. They reside in the western regions of the Mago National Park, and move between the lower Tama Steppe, where they spend the wet season, and the Mursi Hills sector of the Park, where they spend the dry season. They have a population of around 5,000 and they speak a language that belongs to the Central Surma-East Sudanic branch of the Nilo-Saharan language family. Like the Bume, they practice flood retreat agriculture on the Omo River, and hunt occasionally. They also smoke out the hives of bees, found all over the National Park, in order to consume the rich honey. The Mursi women wear lip plates that they make from locally derived clay. The plates are considered an important aesthetic asset. The Mursi men frequently participate in “donga” (also practiced by the Surma), a battle fought with sticks, which is an important rite that allows men to then court village women as their intended brides.

Other Tribes Omo Valley

Arbore

Relatively large, Arbore is far more rustic and unaffected than many similarly size towns in south Omo, in common with their linguistically and culturally affiliated Tsemai neighbors, the Arbore migrated to their present homeland from Konso perhaps two...

Ari

Ari women are famous for their pottery which they sell to support their families. The Ari inhabits the northern border of Mago National park in southwestern Ethiopia. Ari villages have neat compounds in fertile and scenic land with Coffee plantations. They...

Benna

This tribe is part of the Hamer - Bashada cultural unit. The Benna reside in the higher grounds east of the Mago National Park, and their population is estimated at around 35,000 people. They are primarily agriculturalists; however, Benna men also hunt for...

Bodi

The Bodi are pastoralists living close the Omo River in southwestern Ethiopia. The Bodi are of Nilo-sahran stock and pastoral background. Although they do cultivate sorghum along the banks of the Omo River, their culture is very much cattle centered....

Dasenech

The Dasenech, alternatively known as the Galeb or Reshiat, range across a large territory following the western banks of the Omo River to Lake Turkana. Local oral tradition, reinforced by that of the Turkana, recounts that the Dasenech migrated to their...

Karo

The Karo, which number only about 3,000 people mainly live on the practice of flood retreat cultivation on the banks of the Omo River in southwestern Ethiopia. The Karo excel in face and body painting, practiced in preparation of their dances and ceremonies, they...

The Hamer Tribe

The Hamer people are primarily pastoralists who occupy the land southeast of the Mago National Park and beyond, stretching into the Murle Controlled Hunting Area. The Hammer territory also stretches from the lower Omo region in the west to Chew Bahir in...

Bulls Jumping

This often death defying ceremonial practice exists within the Hamer culture. Considered a rite of passage, the jumping of the bulls is a task that a Hamer boy must fulfill in order to pass from childhood to early adulthood. Several days before the...

Nyangatom

Also known as Bume, the Nyangatom live south of Omo National park and occasionally migrate in to the lower regions of the park when water or grazing is scarce. Numbering around 6,000-7,000 in population, the Bumi are agro pastoralists, relying on cattle...

Surma

Also known as the Suri people inhabit the region spanning from the western edges of Omo National Park, over the headwaters of the Kibish River, and into the hills around Maji. The whole nation numbers around 40,000 and their language belongs to the East...