They are the Hamars, a community in the South-Western part of Ethiopia.
It is said to be the most fertile part of the Omo River Valley, in the Debub Omo zone of the Southern Nations.
Their main occupation has to do with cattle tending, thereby making them pastoralists.
The Hamars have a barbaric tradition called Ukuli Bula, where women of marriageable age accept to be whipped as part of a rite of passage ceremony for males.
During this session, selected females from same family declare love for the young man for which these rites are performed, after which the boy is allowed to choose one of them and marry.
One integral part of this ceremony is that the young women who are family members of the young boy, blow trumpets, and declare their love for him, and their desire to be marked by the whip.
So, instead of fleeing, when they are hurting, these love-struck women beg the Maza (men who have already undergone the puberty rites), to continue whipping them.
Once whipped, the ladies proudly show off their scars, some extreme, others mild, as proof of their courage and eligibility for marriage.
After the whipping ceremony, these women allow their bodies to be coated with butter to lessen the pain inflicted on them — this process is also carried out by the same Maza.
What a way to get married, after all the torture!
