Hamar people are a community inhabiting southwestern Ethiopia. They live in Hamer woreda a fertile part of the Omo River valley, in the Debub Omo Zone of the Southern Nations. They are largely pastoralists, so their culture places a high value on cattle.
In the tradition known as Ukuli Bula, women are whipped as part of a Rite of Passage ceremony for boys, when female family members declare their love for the young man at the heart of the celebration. The boy is then allowed to marry since the ceremony makes him a man.
A key element of the ceremony is the whipping of young women who are family members or relatives of the boy undertaking the Rite-of-Passage.
The women trumpet and sing, extolling the virtues of the Jumper, declaring their love for him and for their desire to be marked by the whip
The women instead of fleeing beg men to whip them again during the ceremony held in the Omo River Valley.
Once whipped, the girls proudly show off their scars as a proof of their courage and integrity.Some whipping appears to be tender, others more fierce
They coat their bodies with butter to lessen the effect of the whipping which is only carried out by Maza – those who have already undergone this Rite-of-Passage
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