The Hamar (also spell as Hamer) are rural-agropastoral community located in the mountainous and lowland areas of the Lower Omo Valley in Southern Ethiopia. They speak Hamar language, a South Omotic language. However, it is not taught in schools and not used in government institutions.

Demography

The Hamar people are one of the largest groups in South Omo Zone of the South Ethiopia Regional State. The South Ethiopia Regional Statistical Report Younger children, especially girls, usually care for the goats and sheep near home. In addition to herding, the Hamar who live in the mountainous area also engage in cultivation.

Origin myths and history

There are shortage of written sources on the origin and history of the Hamar prior to the conquest by Emperor Menelik II towards the end of 19th century. The only important paper about their origin myth based on their oral history was written by Ivo Strecker Today, the Kara are one of the ethnic groups living within the Hamar district and sharing not only administrative district but also language and many other cultural elements.

Additionally, the Kwegu were another group the Hamar encountered during their early migration to their present area. but were later displaced to the western side of the Omo River in the neighboring Nyangatom district.—the Kwegu maintain a distinct hunting and gathering lifestyle, occupying separate ecological and social domains. Initially, their attempts to advance through the Weito Valley were unsuccessful due to the Hamar's resistance and the region's challenging terrain. However, a second offensive from the north, through the Weito Valley and into the Wururi Plains, allowed them to penetrate Hamar territory more effectively.

Following the fall of the Derg in 1991, Ethiopia’s ethnic-based federalism granted the Hamar self-governance and access to modern infrastructure. However, modernization efforts often clashed with traditional Hamar practices, leading to tensions with the district administration. Over time, disputes escalated into armed conflict, culminating in violent clashes between the Hamar and local police in 2015.

Evangadi ceremony

Evangadi translated as night dance is also a well-known cultural event among the Hamar. As its name indicate it is a night time dance and play by adolescent and unmarried males and females and a ground for choosing their future marriage partner. A person, often a child, who was considered mingi is killed by forced permanent separation from the tribe by being left alone in the jungle or by drowning in the river.

Medical Knowledge and Practice

In Ethiopia, the use of medicinal plants has a long history. Research into indigenous plant knowledge among various ethnic groups often emphasizes the specific characteristics of these plants, particularly their perceived effectiveness in alleviating symptoms or addressing the root causes of illness.

Among the Hamar community, traditional medical practices, especially the use of herbal remedies, play a significant role in treating a wide range of human and livestock ailments. Their society functions under a system of regulated anarchy, where seniority and rhetorical skills play a crucial role in daily affairs and conflict resolution. Several factors contribute to this issue, with the most significant being a lack of parental awareness about the importance of education, particularly for girls.

However, mingi has been identified as one of the harmful traditional practices (HTPs) by local government authorities, As a result, the practice is contested as an HTP by human rights organizations and local advocacy groups such as Omo Child.

In a 2025 interview with pontifical charity Aid to the Church in Need, the provincial superior of the Spiritans in Ethiopia, Fr Kilimpe Garbicha, commented on the bull jumping ceremony, and how the Catholic Church navigates the issue in its efforts to evangelise. "As a missionary, I feel called to do something. It is part of evangelisation; it is part of this dialoguing with the culture. It is about small conversations, without judging them. They can still keep their customs, but can we do it an alternative way that is softer and doesn’t harm people’s bodies? It is a slow process that involves a lot of dialogue.” He further said: “I don’t want people to see their culture as bad. We don’t undermine it. We dialogue with and evangelise the culture. We as Catholics don’t create divisions. We create unity and respect culture and engage with it. We learn their language and live their way of life. We find important things in the culture that can help people to learn the Gospel"

The Hamar and their neighbors

The Hamar forms a cultural unit with their closest neighbors (namely, the Bashada, Bana and Kara), with whom they share a common language and most rituals and institutions, freely intermarry, and warfare is prohibited. First, these groups speak the same South Omotic language.

See also

  • Hamer language

References

Further reading

  • Strecker, Ivo A. (1988). The Social Practice of Symbolization: An Anthropological Analysis. Monographs on Social Anthropology, no. 60. London; Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey: Athlone Press. .

Films

  • 1973 – Rivers of Sand by Robert Gardner color, 83 min
  • 1994 – Sweet Sorghum: An Ethnographer's Daughter Remembers Life in Hamar, Southern Ethiopia: a film by Ivo Strecker and Jean Lydall and their daughter Kaira Strecker. A production of IWF. Watertown, Massachusetts: Documentary Educational Resources, [released c. 1997]. VHS. Presenter/narrator, Kaira Strecker; producer, Rolf Husmann.
  • 1996 release – "The Hamar Trilogy." A series of three films by Joanna Head and Jean Lydell; distributed by Filmakers Library, NYC. Titles in the series are: The Women Who Smile, Two Girls Go Hunting and Our Way of Loving.
  • 2001 – Duka's Dilemma: A Visit to Hamar, Southern Ethiopia. A film by Jean Lydall and Kaira Strecker. Watertown, Massachusetts: Documentary Educational Resources, released in 2004. DVD. Camera, sound, and editing, Kaira Strecker; anthropology and production, Jean Lydall.
  • 2001 – The Last Warriors: The Hamar and Karo Tribes: Searching for Mingi. A Trans Media production; Southern Star. Princeton, New Jersey: Films for the Humanities & Sciences. VHS. From The Last Warriors: Seven Tribes on the Verge of Extinction. Series producer/executive producer, Michael Willesee Jr.; writer/director, Ben Ulm. .

Discography

  • 2003 – Nyabole: Hamar – Southern Ethiopia. CD. Museum collection Berlin series. Recorded between 1770 and 1776 and originally published on LP 1768. Mainz, Germany: Wergo.
  • The Hamar People of the Omo Valley, also known as the Hamer People
  • Hamer page from BBC
  • People of Africa
  • Discovery channel
  • Video of Hamer village market – YouTube
  • Video of bull jumping – YouTube
  • Photos taken of members of the Hamar tribe, February 2010
  • Hamer and people of Omo Valley (Photos from Jean Buet)