Book best Omo Valley Ethiopia tours from Addis Ababa, Arba Minch or Jinka, Omo Valley Travel is a local Ethiopian tour operator from South Omo Zone, Jinka (the heart of Omo Valley). The peoples of this area have managed to retain their traditional lifestyle. This is apparently due to the fact that the harsh environment in which most of the tribes live is undesirable to outsiders. The Omo Valley is a cultural melting pot with at least 16 distinct tribes. Two of the four main African linguistic families are represented in the area: Nilo-Saharan; and Afro-Asiatic, with its Omotic (endemic to the South Omo) and Cushitic branches.
The Omo is one of Ethiopia’s largest rivers. It flows south for over seven hundred kilometers from the Shewan highlands to the northern end of Lake Turkana. Some of the tribes live alongside the Omo River and depend on it for their livelihood. They have developed complex socioeconomic and ecological practices intricately adapted to the harsh and often unpredictable conditions of the region’s semi-arid climate.
Tours to Omo Valley Ethiopia Tribes
Our unique Omo Valley Ethiopia tours will take you to the authentic villages of these fascinating peoples who live isolated, extreme and particularly harsh lives. However, they decorate themselves lavishly and their colorful dress and beautification customs give them an identity and highlights their uniqueness. Their dress is often scant, commonly utilizing skins and other natural resources. However, for men and women alike, it is usual to be adorned with jewelry, beads, clay face and body painting, feathers, ear and lip plates, bodily scarification and other practices. Little is known about the origins of these customs but it is sufficient to say that appearance is a distinguishing factor for neighboring tribes; it is indeed extremely important to these exceptional people that you will experience during your Omo Valley Ethiopia Tours.
The annual flooding of the Omo River guarantees food security for some of the tribes along its banks, especially as rainfall is low and erratic. They depend on it to practice ‘flood-retreat cultivation’ using the rich silt left along the river banks by the receding waters. Having reached its maximum level, the river recedes rapidly during September and October, which is when people start preparing the recently flooded area for flood-retreat cultivation. Some also practice rain fed shifting cultivation, growing sorghum, maize, and tobacco. Some tribes, particularly the Kwegu and Kara, hunt game and fish. For most of these tribes one of the source of income is the fees they get from tourists that do Omo Valley Ethiopia tours.
Cattle, goats and sheep are vital to most tribes’ livelihood, producing blood, milk, meat and hides. Cattle are highly valued and used in payment for ‘bride wealth’ (dowry). They are an important defense against starvation when the rains and crops fail. In certain seasons, families, particularly young adult males, travel to temporary camps to provide new grazing for herds, surviving on milk and blood from their cattle. Donkey and poultry are also livestock for most tribes. Bee keeping is widely practiced and honey is used as a household food and to generate income. Milk is mainly for household consumption. Butter, however, is sold in markets and used as face, hair and body cream, as well as in various rituals. For detailed information about the Omo ethnic groups read our blog post “A Guide to Omo Valley Tribes“
6 Days Omo Valley Ethiopia Tours
The annual flooding of the Omo River guarantees food security for some of the tribes along its banks, especially as rainfall is low and erratic. They depend on it to practice ‘flood-retreat cultivation’ using the rich silt left along the river banks by the receding waters. Having reached its maximum level, the river recedes rapidly during September and October, which is when people start preparing the recently flooded area for flood-retreat cultivation. Some also practice rain fed shifting cultivation, growing sorghum, maize, and tobacco. Some tribes, particularly the Kwegu and Kara, hunt game and fish. For most of these tribes one of the source of income is the fees they get from tourists that do Omo Valley Ethiopia tours.
Cattle, goats and sheep are vital to most tribes’ livelihood, producing blood, milk, meat and hides. Cattle are highly valued and used in payment for ‘bride wealth’ (dowry). They are an important defense against starvation when the rains and crops fail. In certain seasons, families, particularly young adult males, travel to temporary camps to provide new grazing for herds, surviving on milk and blood from their cattle. Donkey and poultry are also livestock for most tribes.
Bee keeping is widely practiced and honey is used as a household food and to generate income. Milk is mainly for household consumption. Butter, however, is sold in markets and used as face, hair and body cream, as well as in various rituals.
Recent Comments