The Hamar are a highly superstitious people, known for one of the most bizarre rituals, when the women allow themselves to be whipped by the male members of their family as a symbol of their love!The women take great pride in their appearance and wear dresses consisting of a goatskin skirt adorned with rows of red and yellow beads. Their hair is characteristically fixed in dense ringlets with butterfat mixed with red ochre, and they wear bracelets and necklaces fashioned of beads or metal, depending on their age, wealth and marital status.The young Hamar men are famous for their ‘Evangadi dance’ and ‘Bull jumping’ ceremony (pictured at the beginning of this article), in which young men who wish to marry jump over a line of bulls to prove their worth to their intended bride’s family.
