Omo Valley: 2 rival tribes: Karo and Nyagatom

From the plane a Karo village with its huts and corrals for the cattle

At sunset they stood watching

2 elders welcomed us...

with sophisticated hair dress

women with baby goats...

and younger ones with painted face

this one makes sorghum flour

these two carry heavy load of wood

this heavily burnt mother was breastfeeding..

while this young girl shyly smiled at me

I recognized him from my 2009 trip

this was at the private party

where we ate barbecued goat

and after women danced

with the men

and kids at sunset

The next day, sailing on the  Omo river...

one African fish eagle..

crocodiles

and century old termite mounds

our first Nyagatom married woman with metal decorated goatskin skirt

a young pregnant woman

and a very pregnant one!

goat breast feeding

a shy young girl with heavy necklaces

a young warrior

the girls, tall and beautiful

 dance....

and smile..

and sit to watch the men

who left their AK 47

to dance

Omo Valley: Surma Tribe: body scarification,blood drinking etc..

Many Surma women are proud of their body scarification

This mother is the artist who does the scarification

she starts drawing the design on the skin

Then pulls the skin with a thorn to cut it with a Gillette blade

It is painful, but she remains silent and moveless

some young women do not have scarification

This one still has one old lip plate made of wood

it looks terrible when they don't wear it

We are met by a very young cowboy...

Yes, they are covered with cowdung

The cattle is protected in corrals where young boys work with men

they dance

and display their AK 47

they drink directly the milk from the cow

they have to squeeze the neck of the cow

and hit the jugular vein with a arrow

to collect the blood ...

or drink it directly

The village is hidden in the hills and ...

High herb makes the trail almost invisible

Men dance with their long sticks with a phallic end used for fighting

and shoot with AK47

women dance also

Men and women can dance shortly together

One just looks at the dance

some more are coming but we have to go..