The six or seven tourist 4WD’s that were fortunate enough to be at Dimeka that Saturday morning peeled out of there around 2:00 pm. It was going to be a long Jumping of The Bulls Ceremony. Henok drove to the edge of a dried up river bed, parked the car under a lonesome tree and we started walking in the extremely hot sand to a shadier area where the Hamers were gathering. Half dressed women were busy dancing in circles, drinking a home-made alchoholic brew, and tooting a horn calling the Hamers to leave the Dimeka market for the ceremony.

The prospective groom’s father sat down with the tourist guides and hammered out a price, settling on 150 Birr per person, no senior citizen discounts. Once that was decided on, we were free to take pictures and videos. Such a deal…an all-inclusive price. The elders and women continued passing around a bottle of a strong rotgut to get everyone liquored up and/or drunk for the festive occasion. After about an hour of watching them sing and dance, the ceremony got under way. First, they ground up powder for face painting…View image…

Hamer women practicing their dance, Ethiopia

tourists and Hamers in Ethiopia
…and then the facial/body decoration got underway…

Hamer man face painted with whips in hand, Ethiopia 

more facial decoration in Ethiopia
…followed by traditional whipping. A Hamer woman would walk up to a young man, toot her horn, and he’d whip her! I cringed and jumped each time I heard the sound of switch meeting flesh. And then another women would toot and she’d get whipped. Not my favorite part and it almost made me physically sick watching. …View image…

bloody welts after being whipped during the Hamer ritual, Ethiopia 

 

the “whippee” summoning a “whipper” in Ethiopia 

intricately beaded goatskin skirt on Hamer, Ethiopia
….and then it was time to walk across the dry sand bed (the river in rainy season) for the actual bull jumping.