It is possible to travel independently in Southern Ethiopia, but bus journeys are long and many visits require finding local guides, so I decided that in order to maximise the time I had left in the country, I would book a driver and guide through the same organisation that I had travelled to Danakil with. After doing so, I bumped into a couple from my Danakil group - Sonja and Toni - who decided to join me for most of the trip which was lovely.
We didn't have to travel too far South from Addis to notice a marked change in the landscape. Thanks to several Rift Valley lakes and rivers in the area, the environment began to look more like Uganda, with its rolling hills, lush green vegetation and banana plants.
Lakes
Our first night in the South was spent in a very small city called Arba Minch, a region with 40 local springs as well as close proximity to two large lakes - Chamo and Abaya.
Lake Chamo
Lake Chamo resident
Beehives hanging in the trees
After enjoying some natural beauty, we headed further South to meet some local people.
Southern Ethiopia - and in particular the area around the Valley of the Omo River - is known for its many different tribes. Most of the tribal people still lead very traditional, subsistence lifestyles and have some unique and fascinating customs and rituals.
Dorze tribe and village
The Dorze people traditionally built their homes much taller than those of many other tribes, although there was only one floor. They did this as an insurance against termites. The termites would start eating at the base of the house, so the house would become a little shorter every year. The taller the house, the longer it would last without needing to be re-built.
Traditional Dorze home
The Dorze people also have a tradition of cotton-spinning and textile-weaving that continues today.
Cotton-spinning
Weaving
Dorze village rooftops
Bana / Bena tribe (also spelt Banna or Benna)
There are over 40,000 Bana people living in the Omo Valley. Most live directly off the land and are cattle-breeders.
Bana market day
Bana guys posing for a photo
The Bana tribe is one of two tribes that holds a fascinating coming-of-age initiation ceremony for the young men in the tribe. In order to enter the 'maza' and be deemed an adult man who is ready to marry, a young man must first succeed at the challenge of bull-jumping.
Bull-jumping ceremonies are huge celebrations organized by the jumper's father, where family, friends and neighbours gather to enjoy food and drink, to socialize and dance and to witness the bull-jump and rituals associated with it.
Drinking (very watery) coffee at the bull-jumping ceremony .
(Toni also has a large and strong sourgum beer at his feet that
he managed to successfully avoid drinking....)
Food cooking
Bana lady and baby
Maza with gun and headrest
Singing and dancing
Dancing - the young men take turns to perform traditional dances.
The young women run towards the ones they like and the young
men chase them to try to dance with them
Young men dancing
Bulls being lined up for the jump.
The young man must jump and run across the backs of at least 13 lined-up bulls, from one end to the other, naked, four times. If he fails to complete the task, he is shamed and cannot become a 'maza'.
At the ceremony we attended, the young man slipped to the ground between two of the bulls on his first crossing - causing gasps all around - but managed to climb back up and complete the task, earning his right to join the maza. Unfortunately by the time the jump took place, it was dark, so I didn't manage to get any action shots...
Mursi tribe
Many of the tribes are known for the way in which they decorate their bodies. Types of decoration include painting their faces and bodies using natural dyes, using plants, shells or seeds to make elaborate head-dresses, piercing or stretching parts of their bodies or indulging in 'scarification', which is a natural form of tattoo-ing. The Mursi are one such tribe. The Mursi are perhaps the most well known of the tribes for body modification, as the women traditionally make holes in their lower lips into which they insert clay discs of increasing sizes.
The Mursi people have learned that there is profit to be made from curious visitors, so many have a strict charging policy for photographs and can therefore be quite insistent that you take their photo. Quite a lot of travellers find this a bit overwhelming and feel that it lessens the authenticity of the experience as all photos have to be pre-agreed and are then 'staged' rather than natural. It's an interesting debate.
Personally, I feel people should have some choice about whether or not they have their photo taken and should have the opportunity to gain some profit from tourism, rather than it all going to guides and tour companies. As someone who actively avoids appearing in photos, I think i'd want something in return if people were constantly sticking cameras in my face!
Lake Awasa
On my way back to Addis from the South I visited Awasa, a town on the shores of Lake Awasa - another Great Rift Valley Lake. Whilst there, i paid an early morning visit to the fishermen on the lake-shore, who were returning with their catches to sell. One after another, the small rowing boats moored up and the fishermen sold their fish to those waiting on the shore. Amongst those patiently waiting were the Marabou Storks.
After a busy and fascinating trip to the South, my time in Ethiopia was fast running out. But I had to squeeze in one last important visit before I left, so I jumped on a bus in Addis and made my way to a small city to the East called 'Harar'.
Harar
Not only is Ethiopia seen by many as the birthplace of Christianity, but it is also a place of huge significance to Muslims, with Harar itself being considered the fourth holy city of Islam by UNESCO. For its cultural significance, it has also been named as a world heritage site. Harar is said to be the destination of the first pilgrimage of Muslims from Mecca, following an order from Mohammed, and is now home to 82 mosques and many more shrines and tombs.Harar is also a pretty important place for coffee lovers, as the first 'domestic' coffee plant is said to have come from the city!
One of over 350 alleyways in the 1km squared old city
A gate in the old city wall
Lady with fabric stall in the market
Buying spices
The traditional house I stayed in, within the city walls
Man feeding falcons outside the butchers'
Harar is a unique and fascinating city in many ways, but my main reason for wanting to visit was to observe a nightly tradition that takes place just outside the city walls, when two separate 'hyena men' feed scraps of meat - by hand - to wild hyena!
Through a local guide, we found Jusef. Jusef has been feeding the hyenas every night for 50 years, a responsibility he took over from his father. Every night he walks into the forest with a sack of meat and calls for the hyena. He allows visitors to watch for a price - and uses the money he makes to buy the meat. The 'other' hyena man is apparently more of a show-man who enjoys entertaining the visitors. Jusef, on the other hand is a man of few words, preferring just to get the job done and appearing only to tolerate rather than enjoy the company of curious visitors!
I stayed in Harar for two nights and spent both evenings accompanying Jusef into the forest as once just wasn't enough! It was incredible to see the hyenas come out of the forest to his call and approach him. The first night three came to see him. At one point on the second night, he was surrounded by eight. In fact, at one point on the second night, I was surrounded by eight, because he let me help...
The hyena were 'Spotted Hyena'; arguably the most successful carnivore in Africa because they hunt their own prey as well as scavenging. They have the most powerful jaws of any animal, which means they can crush and eat bones. Possibly not too wise to get too close to one really...
Yum!
After my two nights in magical Harar, it was time to return to Addis and prepare to fly out of the country.
I spent just under a month in Ethiopia, but it was nowhere near long enough to really experience such a diverse, unique and surprising country. Nothing about Ethiopia is ordinary. There are extreme natural wonders and extreme man-made wonders around every corner. And there are people who are inspiring and humbling for the way they overcome the challenges they face to survive or make a living, as well as the challenges they set themselves to show and follow their faith.
Ethiopia was also personally challenging for me. If I wasn't climbing a constantly-erupting volcano, or scaling a vertical rock face, I was coming nose to snout with a large predatory carnivore. It was exhausting, but exhilarating - the most adventurous month of my travel so far and the one that has left the biggest impact on me. I loved Ethiopia and hope that one day I will be able to return.
:)
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