This coveted clay hair bun is often remade every three to six months, and can be worn for a period of up to one year.ĪDVERTISEMENT Women inflict lacerations and cuts on their chests, stomachs, or backs to produce intricate patterns of scars. Ostrich feathers are inserted in the hair bun to complete the stylish look. Another merit bestowed on brave Karo warriors is the right to wear a grey and red ochre clay hair bun. A man sporting scars on his chest is held in high esteem in his community. If you see a Karo man with scars across his chest, you know that he has bravely killed enemies from rival tribes or a deadly animal. Men scarify themselves too, but for a different reason: To symbolise courageous acts. Those who fail are disgraced while the successful boys qualify to marry and earn the right to appear in sacred places with elders of the clan. An initiate has to prove his readiness for manhood by successfully jumping over rows of cattle six times in a row. Like the Hamar and Bashada, they practice the Bula, or bull jumping, which signifies the coming of age for young men. As expected, the Karo have specific rituals and ceremonies that define their culture. Among other things, they are known for their alluring and intricate body and face painting. The Karo are undeniably artistic by nature. They lather their hair with ochre mixed with animal fat. Karo women usually don only a loincloth made from hide, and drape colourful beads around their necks. The scars are cut with a knife or razor and ash is rubbed in to produce a permanent welt. Again, all this is done for beauty reasons, as a woman with these types of scars on her torso is considered mature and attractive. Women inflict lacerations and cuts on their chests, stomachs, or backs to produce intricate patterns of scars. It’s also done on special occasions.īeauty is an important aspect of the Karo’s cultural tradition, and for the women, it is literally ingrained deep in their bodies. Both men and women practice this symbolic and ornamental expression in a bid to appear more attractive to the opposite sex. Animal motifs such as the spotted plumage of the guinea fowl are some of the striking body painting designs they do. This is an elaborate process with designs ranging from simple and fine dots to rough but remarkable lines traced with palms or fingers. They decorate their bodies with locally found white chalk, yellow mineral rock, iron ore and charcoal. These two tribes are of the same ancestry and some of their cultural practices allude to a rich cultural history together.Īlso Read: The Orngesherr Maasai Ceremony The Karo are closely related to the Harmar tribe, who speak virtually identical Omotic languages. The groups have always traded amongst each other for cloth, beads, cattle, and food. Their neighbours include the Hamar, Bana, Bashada, Nyangatom, and Mursi.
Surrounded by more powerful and wealthier tribes, they created a complex social hierarchy to thwart intermarriage and keep their lineages pure. They also fish and breed cattle and goats.
The Karo predominantly practice flood retreat cultivation, growing sorghum, maize, and beans. The Karo dwell along the banks of the Omo River (according to oral tradition, they settled at the Omo after following a red bull there almost two centuries ago) and largely rely on the river’s annual flood for sustenance – much like the ancient Egyptians who lived along the Nile thousands of years ago. A deadly scourge of sleeping sickness is reported to have reduced their population at the end of the nineteenth century. Forming part of the estimated 200 000 indigenous peoples inhabiting the area are the Karo, who have a population of about 1000 to 2000, making them the smallest ethnic tribe in Ethiopia, probably in the continent as a whole. The Lower Omo Valley in southern Ethiopia is home to over a dozen different tribes, who have lived there for centuries. Somewhere in the Horn of Africa, there are ethnic tribes whose exotic traditions and way of life remain untouched by the modern world.
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