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“Whipped and happy – Hamer girl Ethiopia. You can see the scars she has in the back.
Explanation: The Hamar have very unique rituals such as a bull-leaping ceremony, that a young men has to succeed in order to get married. The cow jumping is an initiation rite of passage for boys coming of age in Hamar tribe. Cows are lined up in a row. The initiate, naked, has to leap on the back of the first cow, then from one bull to another, until he finally reaches the end of the row. He must not fall of the row and must repeat successfully the test four times to have the right to become a husband. While the boys walk on cows, Hamar women accompany him: they jump and sing. Totally committed to their initiated sons, the mothers are whipped to blood, in order to prove their courage and accompany their sons during the test”. (Photo and comment by Eric Lafforgue)
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