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They say blood is thicker than water. For the women of Ethiopia’s Hamer tribe, it’s an adage they must live by. When the young men of the village are deemed to be ready for the rite-of-passage ceremony that marks their transition to manhood, it is their female relatives who will first be tested in a remarkable—and disturbing—display of endurance.

In a customer that seems brutal to outsiders but which the Hamer women are said to view with pride, the women must prove their devotion to the boy about to be initiated by demanding that the men whip them repeatedly until their backs are bloodied. The resulting scars are a mark of honour, demonstrating the women’s loyalty to their family and tribe. And should they all on hard times in the future, their male kinsman has a very physical reminder of his debt to them.

Scars are a mark of honour for the women, demonstrating their loyalty to their family

Although shocking to Westerners—and recently discouraged by the Ethiopian government—the whipping is an ancient ritual that binds this close-knit tribe from the Omo River Valley in southern Ethiopia. But it is just one half of the initiation that the novice males must go through in order to progress through the ranks of Hamer society and become men, free to marry and own cattle.

The second part is the famous bull-jumping ceremony, a dramatic spectacle in which the boy must leap naked across the backs of cattle. He is taken by the maza—the name given to men who have recently been initiated but have yet to marry and fully join the community—to be prepared for what lies ahead. His hair is partially shaved, his clothes taken and sand poured over him to symbolise cleansing. The maza stand at the head and tail of each animal, crucially holding them steady for the ceremony. With all eyes upon him, the novice must leap onto the cattle’s backs and run over them as if crossing a bridge. He must do this four times—falling is permitted but thought to bring bad luck. Failing to complete four runs is simply not an option for boys desperate to prove themselves men in the eyes of the whole village—they would be humiliated for the rest of their lives.

Cheers accompany each successful crossing of the bulls’ backs but falling is thought to bring bad luck

A great cheer accompanies each successful crossing of the bulls’ backs. The final run is the signal for the feasting and partying to begin. The triumphant young man is taken by the maza to have his head totally shaved as a sign of this rebirth. He will join them, living as a tribe-within-a-tribe until he finds a wife and raises enough money to pay for her. For some maza, this takes a few months. Others have to wait years. During this period they assist in the bull-jumping ceremonies of the new novices.

Are the Hamer’s tribal customs being diluted by the tourist dollar?

The bull-jumping ritual has begun to attract the attention of tourists, leading to an interesting dilemma. As more and more members of the Hamer tribe head to the larger towns and cities, eschewing the traditional way of life led by their peers, the tourist dollar becomes ever more important in preserving these tribal customs, ensuring they don’t fall victim to encroaching modernism. But in allowing tourists to view them, and adapting them accordingly for Western tastes (particularly pertinent in the case of the whipping ceremony), is their authenticity being threatened? Is the Hamer culture being diluted? These are questions being faced by indigenous tribes around the world. In Ethiopia, it seems, the bull-jumping ceremony is quite literally on the horns of a dilemma.

Words: Laura Archer
Photography: Juan Manuel Castro Prieto/Agence Vu