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These People Paint Themselves When They Begin A Relationship
Jul 3, 2020
The tribes of the Omo River can be found in the remote south-west of Ethiopia.
The men count their wealth in cattle and the women in goats, and their status is revealed by the number of enemies they have murdered.
They paint their bodies for war and celebration and drink cow blood to revive their spirits. The women, scar their torsos in elaborate patterns for erotic effect, and in preparation for marriage, insert plates the size of frisbees into their lower lips.
The season of courtship in Kara villages on the river’s Eastside and Nyangatom villages to its West is one that enthralls.
The courtship season begins when Karas have leisure time, according to photographers Carol Beckwith and Angela Fisher, who have made several visits to the villages over the years.
Young men go down to the river bank to paint elaborate designs on their bodies using a mixture of chalk and water. The designs will wear off after a day of dancing and be repainted the next morning.
In the village of Nyangatom, men reportedly prepare for courtship dance by painting their bodies under the shade of a tree while a group of attractive young girls with black-and-white-painted faces and short beaded aprons walk out of the village and towards the men to announce the dance.
The men form long lines and jump in unison toward the girls, who had come forward to approach the men one by one, indicating their choice by bowing in front of the desired man.
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