Amazing Omo River People of Ethiopia

While a country can protect and preserve its scenic beauty and exotic wildlife, in today’s ever growing trend of globalization it’s really hard to find a culture or lifestyle that is totally unaffected by the rest of the world. But the region around the Ethiopia’s Omo River is an exception as close to 50 tribes live here according to their ancient customs virtually unaffected by the outside world. The remoteness and difficulty of getting to this region has helped the locals here maintain their ancient customs and way of life.

Each one of these tribes is unique in itself as their folk dances, rituals, customs and their language vary a lot from each other. Recently the region has attracted a lot of tourist traffic as it is one of the few places where you can still observe the real African culture. Although this surge in the tourist traffic may have devastating effects on the unique cultures of these tribes in the long run but for now the region is seeing prosperity because of the revenue that it received.

If you are arriving from abroad then you will have to take a cheap flight to Addis Ababa the capital of Ethiopia from which you can hire a 4wd for making the journey to the Omo River area. One thing to keep in mind while traveling to Omo River is that you will not get any luxury accommodation facility here so doesn’t expect it. There are a few tour operators in Addis Ababa that can arrange a tour to the region for you and if you choose one of them then they may arrange a make shift arrangement for your accommodation in form of camp sites.

Otherwise you will have to stay in one of the many villages. The journey from Addis Ababa can take around 3 days, but this is surely worth it if you consider the fact that at least 45 tribes inhabit this land which are unique to each other in dialect, rituals and are even genetically different. Each of these tribes takes pride in its culture and they oppose fiercely any effort made to assimilate them in the modern Ethiopia.

Mursi are the largest ethnic group of the region and they have quite a large settlement and because of their friendliness towards the tourists there village is the most visited in the Omo River Region. The most striking feature of their culture is the female jewelry which includes lip plates which are pierced in their lower lips. The folk dance of Mursi is quite famous with the tourists and if you arrive at the time of any of their festivals then you may witness that. Hamaras and Karo are the other major ethnic groups with a large population in the region and they are also very welcoming towards the tourists. The best way of exploring this region is to take a local guide with you and spending a couple of nights in each of the major villages of the region.