Approx locations of the Omo tribes.
Karo/Kara on the east side of the Omo River.
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Tags: Approx locations of the Omo Tribes diagrammatic Omo Valley tribes Kara Karo
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Termite high-rise --- typical in this Karo corner of South Omo.
Volcanic ochre soil.
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Tags: PS peteshep copyright photo 2016 Ethiopia fz200 Karo country South Omo termite tower ochre soil Finger to the sky
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In Karo village close to the Omo River, near Kolcho. (Karo -- Kara)
Stone grinding of flour.
Silvester, Beckwith & Fisher, and others, wonderfully captured the high graphic skills of the Karo people in face and body painting.
The aesthetic body painting is both tribal daily and for important ceremonies. They dab their torsos with white chalk paint, said to be in imitation of the local guinea fowl, and then artistically pattern it. Colourful face masks are painstakingly made with a combination of pastes made by mixing water with chalk, charcoal, powdered yellow-ochre clay or rock, and iron sand. Much from the east bank areas of the Omo. At this village, simple huts set on a clay-sand cliff overlooking a sweep in the river as shown in two or three of the following shots. In common with other tribes, scarification plays an important role in Kara body decoration.
Karo women wear shell necklaces, beaded belts, and brass or copper bracelets. Men and women may also have pierced holes in their lower lips, into which they insert various adornments. (One of my photos shows a young fellow with Desert Rose inserted.)
With a population below 1,500, the Karo are one of the south's smallest groups. Originally pastoralists, the Karo rely on maize, sorghum, and bean cultivation.
Cattle are owned only in small numbers by the Kara, but goats are their main livestock. They also fish. The people live in villages (Korcho, Duss, and Labuk) as they are comparatively few in number. They don't have their own markets so they trade with the Hamer at the markets in Dimeka and Turmi. And they have cultural commonalities with the Hamer.
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"Tribeswoman grinding corn into a powder using her matching stones. The "grinding slab" (golu oiné) means the mother, so the "handstone" (golu joiné) represents the baby. The handstone must rest well on the grinding slab, just as a baby does on its mother's back." (Bruce Miller)
Tags: PS peteshep copyright photo 2016 Ethiopia fz200 Karo Kara Omo River village aesthetic face-painting graphic skills body-painting scarifications grinding flour Silvester Beckwith & Fisher tribal fishing goats necklaces sorghum
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Dabbed dots are thought to be in imitation of the local guinea-fowl.
As well as tribal face-painting of this type, Beckwith & Fisher suggest that brides may "ochre their entire body, which both beautifies and perfumes her, since the ochre includes aromatic ingredients." Such "body applications also play a protective role: henna guards against evil spirits, and ochre screens the skin from the harsh sun. Animist peoples such as the Karo and Geleb (Dassenech) use chalk body painting to enhance the bride's beauty."
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Tags: PS peteshep copyright photo 2016 Ethiopia fz200 Omo Valley Karo face-painting mother and child village tribal guinea-fowl colour-bead necklaces ochre-clays feathers Kara
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Feathers add to the bird symbolism.
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Tags: PS peteshep copyright photo 2016 Ethiopia fz200 Omo Valley Omo River bird symbolism village Karo couple head-rest/perch-seat animal-skin body-paint dots Kara
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