Ethiopia - Hamer Bull Jumping

[Manfred M]

CAUTION: Some of the images I have posted and some of the descriptions may bother some people. The Hamer are a tribe that does a lot of whipping; this breaks the skin and ashes and butter are rubbed on the wounds so that raised scars are formed by the healing process. During the bull jumping ceremony, close female relatives and female friends (i.e. ex-girlfriends) of the bull jumper are whipped; so that they may share his pain. Full male nudity in a few images. If these things bother you, you have been warned!

The Hamer (pronounced "Hummer") are the last of the tribes we visited. Here, we got very, very lucky and were in the area where a "Bull Jumping" ceremony was taking place, so we got to watch. Bull Jumping is a "rite of passage" where the bull jumper has to run across the backs of a minumum of eight bulls at least four times to become a man. He is totally naked doing so.

The Bull Jumping ceremony is proceded by by dancing, with chanting, horns and whistles blowing and some whipping. The women wear "bells" on their legs. The age mates of the bull jumpers (i.e. other young men who are about to be or have recently bull jumped themselves) have their faces painted and these young men do much of the whipping.

After the preliminary ceremony has been completed every heads of to an open area where the bull jumping takes place. A bit more traditional ceremony (men and women do separate things); jumping, dancing, whipping, shouting, horns and whistles amongst the bulls. The bulls are lined up and the bull jumper does the jump.

After successful completion of the jump; the bull jumper puts on a lion skin as he has shown his bravery and is now a man (i.e. he can now marry). The Humer head back to the village for a night of celebration (we did not attend that part).

[Manfred M]

The preparation takes place some distance from where the actual bull jumping takes place. The women chant, dance, blow horns and whistles and the ones close to the young bull jumper are whipped with thin sticls.




The age mates of the bull jumpers have their faces painted with ocre. The thin rods in the image are the whips. The two feathers in their head band signify their position. The tribes don't measure time the way we do; the men are in their early 20s.




A painted age mate with that slightly modern touch.



Whipped and bleeding back. You can see the results of the whipping on this woman's back. Some members of our group got splashed by the blood from the whipping.



Off at the field where the bull jumping takes place, more marching, dancing, chanting, bells, horns and whistles amongst the bulls.




A married Humer woman can be identified by this unique hair style. The Humer are polygamous and all marriages are arranged marriages. A man can have up to three wives. Religion is Anamist.




The bull jumper before the jump and one of his friends. The bull jumper looks rather nervous.




And he's off!




Getting near the end of his fourth and final run over the eight bulls.




Relieved and completing the bull jump, he has proven himself to be a man and is now allowed to wear the lion skin signifying he has completed his transition to manhood. He is surrounded by his friends and family.

[Donald]

Goodness me, you struck a photographic gold seam on this trip. You have truly been at the very top of your game with the work we have seen so far. This set just confirms that.

You must be getting more and more of a buzz with every image you see emerging on the screen in front of you.

[Shadowman]

Nice exposures.

[Mike Buckley]

Fabulous series, Manfred! I have never heard of this rite of passage.

Would you characterize the speed of the bull jumping more like walking or running? Is the distance between the bulls far enough that that literally requires the man to jump from bull to bull? Once the bull jumper completes the first exercise, does he get on the ground and start over or does he turn around while standing on the last bull and return across the bulls in the opposite direction?

[Manfred M]

Fabulous series, Manfred! I have never heard of this rite of passage.

Would you characterize the speed of the bull jumping more like walking or running? Is the distance between the bulls far enough that that literally requires the man to jump from bull to bull? Once the bull jumper completes the first exercise, does he get on the ground and start over or does he turn around while standing on the last bull and return across the bulls in the opposite direction?

I would characterize it as running across a shifting, ever moving surface. He did fall between the bulls at least once but got out again without getting damaged. There is a mount / dismount step at the beginning and end of each run. These two images show the mount and dismount process.

[Manfred M]

Goodness me, you struck a photographic gold seam on this trip. You have truly been at the very top of your game with the work we have seen so far. This set just confirms that.

You must be getting more and more of a buzz with every image you see emerging on the screen in front of you.

Thanks Donald - it really was an amazing trip. I've been many stunning places around the world, but this was definitely at or near the top of the list of fascinating places.

This is one place I am seriously thinking of returning to, but would probably be looking at setting up something specifically for photography. Now that I have made some local contacts, it will be a lot easier next time. This would likely mean mostly camping so that we could be near the tribal villages for sunrise and sunset shooting, before the regular tourists show up.

[FootLoose]

Great series Manfred.
It seems the female friends and relatives get the raw end of this ritual. The male may or may not be harmed by the bulls, but the women definitely get the whipping either way.

[John 2]

Excellent story telling Manfred and that's just the photography. Enjoyed the narrative as well. It must be tremendously satisfying to come back with such a worthwhile set of images like those that you have been showing us.

[noeta]

Excellent series of photographs that really capture the story. I do have to say though that I feel pretty bad for the young lady with the bloody back. That looks very painful.

[WJT]

What a journey and so well recorded. These Indigenous cultures are in grave danger of being lost so it is good to see them practiced and appreciated by westerners. Great shots.

[Manfred M]

What a journey and so well recorded. These Indigenous cultures are in grave danger of being lost so it is good to see them practiced and appreciated by westerners. Great shots.

These cultures are changing; contact with the modern world does that. Over the past decade, they have transitioned from animal skins to mass produced clothes; partially from need (there are simply less wild animals around due to a number of reasons, including habitat loss). Many of the people were primarily nomadic herders, but quite a few live in relatively permanent settlements. As well, some have started planting some basic crops, when it the past they did not.

Something else I find quite interesting is the reaction of people to my images. I've had some very negative opinions along the lines of "you are treating these people like animials in a zoo by photographing them" and "you shouldn't pay anyone to take their picture". Neither are positions I agree with; I record what I see and find interesting in all corners of the world. I asked if they would have had the same reaction had they seen these images in National Geographic or other similar publications, but in all cases the people I asked told me that was different.

Same comment for paying someone to have their picture taken; I guess they haven't figured out where models get some of their income....

[WJT]

These cultures are changing; contact with the modern world does that. Over the past decade, they have transitioned from animal skins to mass produced clothes; partially from need (there are simply less wild animals around due to a number of reasons, including habitat loss). Many of the people were primarily nomadic herders, but quite a few live in relatively permanent settlements. As well, some have started planting some basic crops, when it the past they did not.

Something else I find quite interesting is the reaction of people to my images. I've had some very negative opinions along the lines of "you are treating these people like animials in a zoo by photographing them" and "you shouldn't pay anyone to take their picture". Neither are positions I agree with; I record what I see and find interesting in all corners of the world. I asked if they would have had the same reaction had they seen these images in National Geographic or other similar publications, but in all cases the people I asked told me that was different.

Same comment for paying someone to have their picture taken; I guess they haven't figured out where models get some of their income....

It is similar to Australia where there are many people who have opinions, most of whom haven't even been out bush and met the Indigenous Australians. We are also seeing the traditional cultures fading but the traditions are still practiced. Just as long as the people themselves are happy with you being there and taking photos then the critics can stay in their arm chairs safe and sound back in the cities and keep their opinions to themselves as far as I am concerned. Keep at it.

[Manfred M]

It is similar to Australia where there are many people who have opinions, most of whom haven't even been out bush and met the Indigenous Australians. We are also seeing the traditional cultures fading but the traditions are still practiced. Just as long as the people themselves are happy with you being there and taking photos then the critics can stay in their arm chairs safe and sound back in the cities and keep their opinions to themselves as far as I am concerned. Keep at it.

Wayne - I think you are on to something and I quite agree with you. I find that the people with the loudest voices and strongest opinions on a particular subject usually have no personal experience with it and are making their decisions based on half-cocked ideas based on their limited experience...