The Hamer are one of South Omo’s most striking tribes. The men are tall and athletic with chiselled faces, adorned with exquisite jewelry (which they make themselves) and an AK 47 slung nonchalantly across their shoulders. Those fearsome he-men never leave home without a dainty looking little stool (which they carry everywhere with them) to sit on should they get tired. The women, with their high cheekbones, red braids and orange skin, dyed in an ochre and butter balm are the prettiest we have seen.
The Hamer initiate their young men into adulthood by having them jump over a line-up of bulls. The more bulls the young man is able to jump over and the more passages he performs over the bulls, the more skill and bravery he demonstrates. Men who do not jump over bulls, or who fail in the attempt are not able to marry and become ostracized.
Before the bull jumping ceremony, the young Hamer women subject themselves to ritual whipping by the young maaz (initiated young warriors, “those who have jumped”). This ferocious beating with thin, sharp birch tree branches leaves their backs bloodied and with deep gashes. The women who do not get whipped hard enough mock the maaz and taunt them to hit them harder. Almost every Hamer woman we see bears horrendous scars on their backs and stomachs from those ritual floggings.
We witness the initiation of a young boy, Dina, who at 11 years old is one of the youngest to attempt the jump. Dina manages seven passages across eight bulls, to roaring applause from the crowd. The brutality of the ritual beating of women contrasts with the beauty and gentleness of the Hamer.
