Coursed through by the Omo River before it empties into Lake Turkana, the remote southwest of Ethiopia is home to more than a dozen culturally and linguistically diverse peoples renowned for their adherence to their own ancient traditions and customs. Functioning in near isolation from the rest of Ethiopia, it is also one of the few places in Africa where decorative traditions such as body scarification, body painting and the wearing of lip-plates remain part of contemporary life.
Discover South Omo and Konso
The road gateway to South Omo, Konso Cultural Landscape, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site named after the Konso people, whose centuries-old terraced and walled hilltop villages rank among Africa’s most beautiful traditional settlements.
Jinka, the main regional air gateway, is a large leafy town notable for its multicultural Tuesday and Saturday markets and the South Omo Research Centre’s excellent ethnographic displays.
Further afield A rough 4×4 track descends from Jinka into Mago National Park, home to the Mursi, nomadic pastoralists whose woman famously adorn themselves with massive clay lip plates.
Hamer women, with their plaited ochre-stained fringes, cowrie-studded leather skirts, and dozens of copper bracelets, are perhaps the archetypal South Omo residents. The main Hamer centers of Dimeka and Turmi are liveliest on market days, which are Saturday and Monday respectively.
The terrifying Hamer bull-jumping ceremony is an initiation ritual performed over Feb-Apr and Jul-Sep. Naked male initiates are required to leap along the backs of up to 30 bulls, then turn around and repeat the feat in the opposite direction.
