SOUTH ETHIOPIA

HAMAR>> Decorations and Ornamentation

Decorations and Ornamentation

Generally the people of the Lower Omo Valley are known by the exceptional ornamental and symbolic wealth of their decorated bodies not only as an expression of beauty, but also as a manifestation of messages and signals expressed through scarification, paintings, ornamentation, and hairstyles.

The Hamer, next to Karo, are considered masters of body decoration. Every adornment has an important symbolic significance; earrings, for example, denote the number of wives a man has and Hair styling enhances beauty and signifies status, bravery and courage.

Hamar Men

The Maz (recently initiated Hamar men) during bull jumping ceremony adorn themselves with feathers, necklaces, bracelets, and appear attired with their best clothes.

To indicate that they have killed an enemy and a dangerous animal such as a lion or a leopard, men put clay hair buns into which ostrich feathers are inserted. This is done after having shaven certain parts of the scalp. The short hairs on the top of the head are moulded with dyed earth.The clay is plastered directly on to the head.The hair is then flattened. A small Wooden tubes or bones are fixed into the front bun to display ostrich feathers for special occasions. The clay bun is usually remade every three to six months and can be worn for a period of up to one year after the kill. The front part of the bun is covered in white chalk and then splattered with ochre paint while the back bun is left a natural grey colour.

Hamar Women

Women tend to wear their hair in short tufts rolled in ochre and fat or in long twisted strands. These coppery coloured strands are called goscha that are a sign of health and welfare. They wear bead necklaces, iron bracelets around their arms, and decorate their skins with cowry shells.

Married women favour a hairstyle of long, twisted strands rubbed in ochre. Around their necks they wear esente (torques made of iron wrapped in leather). These engagement presents, indicative of their future husband's wealth, are made by the village smith and worn for life. An upper torque, the bignere, may only be worn by a man's first wife. Added at the time of marriage, its distinctive iron protrusion is both a phallic and a status symbol.

Young, unmarried girls wear bala in their hair, which is a flat oval-shaped metal plate that protrudes on their foreheads like the front of a hat. The iron bracelets and armlets are an indication of the wealth and social standing of the young girl's family. When she gets married, she must remove the jewellery; it is the first gift she makes to her new family.

On the day after the "jumping of the bull" ceremony, women gather together, beautifully attired in their beaded skins and iron jewellery. Their hair is rubbed with fat(butter ) into small balls and covered with ochre.They also decorate their hairs with seeds or shave it in to different shapes with artistic plaits.