Taking lessons on life and modernity from the Omo tribes of Ethiopia

When I began to plan a trip to Ethiopia, I realised that I could also visit the legendary “Lucy”, the earliest known hominid ancestor of man. Lucy had been discovered in Hadar and I wanted to see if there was a possibility of being able to visit the archaeological site. Whilst doing research on the trip, I began to discover references to the Omo valley and the tribes that inhabited this region. The scattered photographs available on the internet at that time fascinated me and I asked Sangeeta Sahay Prasad to help me visit and photograph these people that have preserved their culture in this remote corner of the world.

The Suri use minerals and charcoal to create intricate patterns on their bodies and will decorate themselves using flowers and plants. Even the smallest children will paint their bodies and faces each day, creating a new masterpiece every day | photos: Courtesy Latika Nath/Academic Foundation

Close to Hadar is the little known region called “Omo”. The tribal diversity of the Omo river basin is unparalleled. Some of the oldest tribes known to man are found in this region where they continue to live in much the same manner over hundreds of years. On my first visit there, I was able to visit and document eight tribes including Hamar, Banna, Dassanach, Arbore, Mursi, Nyanagatom, Kara and, Dorze. I also visited Konso Village, which has been declared a world heritage site by Unesco. The tribe numbers only about 200,000 in toto and with modern development knocking at their doorstep, face changes they had never imagined — the largest dams in Ethiopia are being built on their lands — and tourism.

Cattle and goats are symbols of a man’s wealth and standing. Here, a Mursi woman carries an AK-47 gun, a weapon found in the hands of most men, which can be bought in exchange for five cattle

The people of the Omo region are like no other that I have seen. The multiplicity and strength of the 16 indigenous cultures make the region unique. The people have developed a lifestyle with intricate rituals to cope with living a life in the harshest of conditions. Modernisation has not impacted the lives of the people there with the single exception of the AK-47. The guns are seen in the hands of most men and are used to protect cattle and villages at times of conflict with other tribes or invasions from neighbouring Sudan.

The Hamar wear elaborately embroidered goat skins embellished with cowrie shells and beads

With no written language, the history of the people of the Omo valley is recounted through songs and storytelling. Over the next two years, I visited the valley to create a stock of nearly 60,000 images. This incredible database of the people, their culture, customs and lifestyle is unique and reveals aspects of their lives seldom seen. Breathtaking landscapes, incredible images of men and women of extraordinary beauty, of children of nature who are masters of body art, Omo is a unique glimpse of the tribes of the valley —a place “where time stood still”.

The Kara are masters of creating intricate body patterns using minerals of different colours

A Mursi woman wearing warthog tusks

In the Mursi, lip-plates are praised as a symbol of strength, beauty and womanliness. Women wear their lip-plates only in the company of men and remove them when they are with children or other women as lip-plates make talking difficult

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 Excerpted with permission from Omo: Where Time Stood Still by Latika Nath (Academic Foundation)